Amy Klobuchar Wrote A Book About The Metrodome
Uncovering the presidential candidate's "Uncovering the Dome"
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Amy Klobuchar is many things: U.S. Senator from Minnesota, moderate candidate for the democratic nomination, leading member of the Society of Barely Concealed Disdain for Pete Buttigieg, and daughter of a longtime local newspaper columnist. Her father Jim covered sports and politics for the Star Tribune.
Klobuchar was in fact almost a sports writer once herself. She at least brushed against this (extremely noble) craft. In 1982, Klobuchar published a book called Uncovering the Dome. It was a history of the political dealings that finally ended in the construction of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. (Humphrey was actually a live for most of this battle; he died in 1979, and construction began later that year.) This is interesting to me as the author of an upcoming book that is in part about the construction of an iconic sports stadium and the politics that preceded it.
But this book is also interesting to me in that it’s a pretty random thing for a presidential candidate to have written. On one hand, it makes sense: by all accounts the Metrodome was an efficient, utilitarian, and generally effective if uninspiring building. This kind of also describes Klobuchar herself: practical, sensible, the kind of politician who, if she was a domed arena constructed with public tax dollars, may not have any exciting features, but would definitely come in under budget. On the other hand, this is a fairly obscure topic. This is not necessarily a book the world was screaming for. What led her to write it? And what kind of writer was/is Amy Klobuchar?
Well, the answer to the second question is right there in the prologue. In short, Amy Klobuchar writes like a local sports columnist:
Under the Dome began as Klobuchar’s senior thesis as an undergraduate at Yale. (Despite her midwest mom persona, Klobuchar is definitely also a product of the Ivy League.) She talks a bit about the book and its origin in her other book, The Senator Next Door. She spent years interviewing players in Minnesota politics, doing academic research, and clipping newspapers. I will admit: the self-portrait she paints of sitting at a folding card table in a spare apartment transcribing interviews on a typewriter is deeply relatable.
And the book reads, despite Klobuchar’s propensity for corny jokes, like the thesis of an earnest, smart undergraduate. She delves into all the details of what was essentially a long, regional political battle that culminated in the construction of the Metrodome. There are elections, there are obstinate city counselors, there are successful public-private partnerships enacted, and there are taxes levied.
Klobuchar discusses the universal, philosophical question at the heart of publicly financed sports stadiums: is it worth it? But she doesn’t get too deep into the psychology that causes cities to go crazy and throw logic out the window when it comes to enacting the policies that benefit these particular private businesses. In my upcoming book (sorry I keep talking about this) I dive into LA’s desire to become a “big league” city. This was, for some people, a really urgent matter even though by all means LA was already a major, thriving metropolis by the time the Dodgers arrived. Civic identity is a hard thing to pin down. And many folks in the Twin Cities certainly didn’t think they needed to do any favors to pro sports teams. Here’s how the future Senator puts the Minnesota version of this discussion in the context of the beloved Vikings threatening to leave town:
Well, it turned out that the Metrodome was a pretty fitting status symbol for Minneapolis. It got the job done, and the air-pumped roof only fully deflated that one time. Minneapolis didn’t become a frozen Omaha. It hosted some amazing sports moments, including a bunch of Final Fours, the awesome Randy Moss era Vikings teams, and this:
Also: it was designed by world famous architect Faziur Rahman, who innovated a unique method to build skyscrapers. Yes, the man who designed the Sears Tower also designed the Metrodome.
And while Uncovering the Dome did not change the world, (Klobuchar later wrote that vendors tried to actually sell the book in the dome itself, but didn’t find much of an audience for an academic treatise on the subject of a 10-year political battle to construct a publicly-financed building) it does continue to provide some insight into the author herself. Here she is discussing her definition of “what serves the public interest.”
To anybody who follows her campaign now, this will look pretty familiar. Even in her 20s, Amy Klobuchar was a consensus-seeker, who envisioned a practical politics that worked backwards from popular public consensus, as opposed (it seems) to a politics driven purely by her own ideology:
Related Readings:
The related reading for this … is Amy Klobuchar’s Uncovering the Dome which you can buy on Amazon or find from select academic libraries. But if you’re super interested in the actual construction of the Metrodome and don’t want to track down the book, here’s a timeline on the battle that was put together using Klobuchar’s work.
Also: if you are into stories of women in Minnesota, here’s a shoutout for the novels of J. Ryan Stradal: Kitchens of the Great Midwest and The Lager Queen of Minnesota. As a non-midwesterner, I credit J. Ryan with any insight I might have into the region in general and Amy Klobuchar in particular.
More Importantly:
Last year, Adam drew 365 musicians and posted them on Instagram. He sold the prints for $100 a piece to his followers. This year is a leap year, and he’s drawing 366 musicians. If you subscribe to this newsletter, you should definitely also be following Adam as he draws his way through the musical universe.
STEALING HOME is out March 24. If you like Amy Klobuchar’s book, well, I promise this one is even more interesting. We’re still sending out signed cards to folks who pre-order. Just reply to this email with proof of purchase.
This has been Vol. 18 of Sports Stories by Eric Nusbaum (words) and Adam Villacin (art). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please reply to this email or contact enusbaum@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you.
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