Last night, Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at 6:05 p.m. the Interstate 35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed, carrying with it many rush hour commuters. As Governor Tim Pawlenty said, it is a catastrophe of historic proportions for Minnesota. We at the Sesquicentennial Commission office mourn the loss of our fellow citizens. So many of us innocently cross that bridge nearly every day, never thinking something so stunning could happen.
We send out our thoughts and prayers to the families of those who died, and to those who were injured and traumatized. We thank those ordinary citizens and rescuers who reacted so courageously to help people immediately at the site.
As we see our 150th anniversary as a state looming ahead in 2008, we see even more clearly why statehood is so important and so dear. It is a commitment to one another as citizens, to care for each other, and to respond, whether in day-to-day routine life or in a crisis, as a community working and connected together.
Minnesota Sesquicentennial 