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To some he was Frank, to others Fran, but Francis R. McGovern (Francis Raymond Albert), owner/editor of the Minneapolis Daily American, was an icon when it came to old-time fiery newspaper editors, publishers and owners who believed in digging behind the scenes to report the news factually, with no holds barred. His drive to stop wasteful government spending and over-taxation never ended. Even more important, Francis R. McGovern showed me how, rather than being objective, most newspapers have their own slant; their own ideologies. By asking specific questions, reporters can gear their articles to reflect only what the paper's owner wants the public to know, and only one side of an issue. (Read later about Minneapolis' Metrodome costs and McGovern's "MN Taxpayer PowerBloc.") The Minneapolis Daily American's purpose was to break the newspaper monopoly in Minneapolis, MN and give "the other side of the story," so readers could learn both sides of important issues, and thus make their own informed decisions. Yet as I write this, Fran McGovern's name doesn't pop up on any search engines. Like many others who influenced the lives of multitudes besides making an impact on taxpayers, politicians and reporters, Francis McGovern, best known for his newspaper, the Minneapolis Daily American, died before computers became a news medium. So now there is only hard copy available of his publications and his history, mostly on microfilm and in a student term paper at the MN Historical Society. As a reporter for the Mpls. Daily American from 1973 to McGovern's death in 1990, I intend to rectify that. This historical/biographical article will include not only McGovern's Mpls.Daily American, but other publications that relied on him, such as Air Scoop, the Minneapolis Annals, the East Minneapolis Argus, and the Minneapolis Daily Herald, besides some people featured in his paper, and some "name-dropping" throughout. Perhaps it's Francis R. McGovern's life history that drove him to start the Daily American and persist in keeping it alive, because the writing bug struck him at an early age. Born in Watertown, Wisconsin, he originally studied to become a foreign missionary during high school and college. But during high school at St. Paul's Mission House (now known as Divine Word Seminary) in Epworth, Iowa, he was their sports editor, and before graduating from Sacred Heart in Girard, Pennsylvania, he was the college's news editor. Because his father died when he was eight years old, McGovern was raised by his mother (Mary Elizabeth Weimer) along with siblings Hugh, Robert, Cletus and Gertrude. During the depression, McGovern's odd jobs included working on a railroad section gang, being a bus boy, fry cook, selling Watkins products door-to-door, and selling newspapers. World War II and Air Scoop: In 1943 Francis R. McGovern signed on as a naval air cadet, but in his own words, he "washed out." But at this time he also started Air Scoop, a Naval Air Force paper. I recall McGovern telling me he taught himself the style of writing for newspapers, honing his skills by meticulously copying other newspaper articles longhand onto sheets of paper. For the rest of his stint, McGovern served as a deep-sea diver aboard a sea-going rescue tug. (They disarmed mines and tugged disabled carriers and other ships to safety.) McGovern's eldest daughter, Mary Helen, recalls him telling her that, "this little wooden tugboat was one of 80 that went out, and only five returned. At one time during an ordered blackout, while they were in mined waters, a school of dolphins appeared and led them through safely." She also recalls that, "when the captain learned that my dad could cook, he made him head cook on the tugboat." Navy Days & Meeting Kaye: When McGovern was stationed in London, he had an internship with the London Times. According to Bill Hamm, who wrote a term paper in 1966 entitled "Francis McGovern and his struggles against a monopoly press," McGovern also spent much time "conversing with Lord Beaverbrook, publisher of the Daily Express, the world's largest newspaper." Hamm wrote his term paper for Professor Edwin Emery's History of Journalism class at the University of Minnesota. The MN Historical Society in St. Paul has a copy on file. http://www.mnhs.org/index.htm While McGovern was on leave, he went to a USO dance in Washington, D.C., where citizen volunteers were teaching military personnel how to dance. McGovern became enamored with Kathryn, the young woman who paired with him. She had left her family's farm when she was 18, and moved to the District to work as a secretary in the White House. Soon the two were inseparable. The Annals and the Argus: Francis McGovern continued serving overseas, while Kathryn (Kaye) continued working in D.C., but they corresponded regularly, and he proposed to her by mail. After he returned to the U.S., they got married in 1945 in Minneapolis, MN, and that same year he published and edited the Minneapolis Annals, a weekly shopper on the East Side. In 1950, McGovern was first a reporter, then was promoted to editor of the East Minneapolis Argus, a weekly community paper owned by Emmet Duemke. At the same time, McGovern's brother Cletus, who worked there from 1950 to 1960, worked on circulation before being promoted to business manager. According to Bill Hamm's paper, when Francis McGovern began at the Argus, its circulation was 2,000. When he resigned in 1960, not only had circulation risen to 27,000 during those ten years, but the Argus had become Minneapolis' largest weekly newspaper. Afterwards, during 1960 and 1962, McGovern published 13 Twin City neighborhood shoppers and two magazines. He also wrote freelance articles, for the Catholic Bulletin and national magazines, on two topics he knew first-hand: newspapers, and how to raise children. During this time, Fran and Kaye also ran their 450-acre riding ranch, Fort Cody, in Big Lake, MN, with help from their children. (Their nine children, beginning with their eldest, are Francis C., Mary Helen, Patrick, Theresa, Kathryn, Michelle, Debbie, Angela and Michael.) I still remember Fran's fond memories of how, when they had the ranch, they taught handicapped children how to ride horses. And McGovern's daughter Kathryn says that charitable groups and Catholic nuns and priests regularly came to ride. Minneapolis Daily Herald: All along, Francis McGovern had yearned to have his own paper in order to compete with Minneapolis' only daily newspaper, the Minneapolis Star in the evening, and its morning companion paper, the MinneapolisTribune (they merged in 1982). Newspapers were basically the only way to get the news in those days. There were no news stations like CNN on TV, radio news was limited, and there was no internet. But McGovern was financially strapped. Then on April 12, 1962, opportunity arose when the presses for the two papers suddenly came to a screeching halt. According to Hamm's term paper, "a strike was called by the fleet driver's union, and they were joined on the picket lines by members of the mailers' and typography union." The combined circulation of both papers was 500,000 at this time, he wrote. On April 27, 1962, McGovern presented a proposal for a new Minneapolis paper to Mpls. businessman Maurice McCaffrey. Hamm explained that not only was McCaffrey the founder and director of a local ad agency, and formerly an advertising manager for the Dayton's department store, but he was committee head of many civic organizations. McCaffrey agreed to back the new paper, whose offices would be in the Delmac Building on 4th St. and East Hennepin, and "...within 96 hours, the Minneapolis Daily Herald was rolling off the presses under the guidance of its publisher, McCaffrey, and its editor, McGovern," Hamm wrote. "Front page congratulations appeared in the first issues from such political dignitaries as Mayor Naftalin, Congressman Walter H. Judd and Congressman Clark MacGregor." The Star and Tribune strike lasted 116 days. Meanwhile, Hamm said that after five months, the Mpls. Daily Herald, "...had managed to achieve a peak circulation of over 159,000. Both the New York Herald Tribune and the London Times labeled that feat 'journalistic genius'." (McGovern's eldest son, Francis C., who was sports editor, also worked with the news division on rewrites, copy editing, headline writing, photo assignment and layout.) "Nevertheless, rather than fighting the newly resumed Star and Tribune," Hamm said, "publisher McCaffrey decided, against McGovern's wishes, to close up shop; the combined payroll costs of the Star and Tribune amounted to over $15,000,000 yearly, a figure that the conservative McCaffrey did not, even if he could, want to compete with." Mpls. Daily American: McGovern's daughter Mary Helen recalled that when the Herald was shut down, "My father cried. But he became determined never again to be anything but the full owner of his own paper." As a result, McGovern again sold articles to national magazines, besides publishing travel guides and "shoppers" for Minneapolis and St. Paul, but now his focus was on organizing what he would eventually call-The Minneapolis Daily American. The Star and the Tribune monopoly, which had reigned since the 1940's, would be broken. Minneapolis would no longer be a one-newspaper town. According to Bill Hamm, "In November of 1964, McGovern began to make over 200 speeches in a six-month span in an attempt to sell charter subscriptions as a means of capitalizing his proposed" newspaper. The subscriptions were to be paid in advance of publication. Although McGovern raised extremely less than his desired goal, his dream became a reality. According to his notes and the MN Historical Society's library catalog records, he put out four "preview issues" of the Minneapolis Daily American in 1964; during May, June and July. The first issue was on April 30, with the last on July 18. By January of 1965, McGovern had acquired printing equipment and installed it at the old Emrich Bakery Building at 26th and Bloomington Ave. On Jan. 12, the Daily American resumed daily publication with a 24-page format, and was hailed with acclaim. Hamm wrote that McGovern received "letters of 'well-wishes' from such men as Wheelock Whitney and J. Edgar Hoover." Publications such as "Editor & Publisher and Ad Age featured in their pages the Daily American's climb to reality." Unfortunately, Minnesota suffered a record-breaking harsh winter in 1965, and on April 19 the paper was again forced to cease publication. Hamm wrote, "Out of 700 carriers recruited to deliver the Daily American, only 70 showed up on the first day; the temperature that day was -17 below zero. The Daily American had over 27,000 subscribers at its onset, but the distribution problem reduced that number to 12,000 by the time the paper was suspended." The McGovern children will never forget how their newsstands were knocked over, the papers yanked out and strewn along the streets, all in the name of competition. Daughter Mary Helen recalls, "The six unions bled us dry, and the theft from and desecration of the corner newspaper boxes..." Furthermore, Francis McGovern was a man of principles, who refused to cater to causes he didn't believe in, and he forthrightly reported the news. According to daughter Kathryn, who was quoted in his obituary in the Dec. 26, 1990 issue of the Mpls. Star Tribune, "He ran into many problems-a monopoly press, union contracts, newsstands being ripped off, the worst weather in the state in years. But what really killed the newspaper was a story he ran about money passing hands between liquor lobbyists and manufacturers. After that, he kissed all of his liquor ads goodbye." McGovern went back to making speeches and sending out letters. When publication resumed on Jan. 1, 1966, it was as a four-page newsletter, until he could raise enough capital to return his paper to its 24-page format. In April of 1967, the Minneapolis Daily American was again full-sized. This time, according to Hamm, "the first four successive issues sold 24,000, 32,000, 40,000 and 76,000 issues respectively." But McGovern's obstacles remained as tenacious as he was to overcome them. He originally had a three-year lease at the Emrich Building, and was actually able to stay there for six years, but then he was forced to leave, and that was disastrous. At this time the Daily American still had everything necessary for their major press operation, including their Linotype press, other machines, and tables for laying out the page plates. McGovern had to abandon his big printing equipment. It would have cost nearly $20,000 to move it, and he couldn't raise the money. Therefore, in 1971, the Daily American's offices moved to 2909 Nicollet Ave., where the paper was run off on a Gestetner mimeograph machine during various periods of time. When I was hired on as a reporter in February of 1973 and joined the other staff members, the paper contained 24 pages, was being published weekly, and cost 50 cents a copy. Running it was still a concerted family effort, with Fran and Kaye at the helm. Kaye still primarily handled the bookkeeping and circulation, while other family members lent their own particular capabilities. Besides still being News Editor/Managing Editor, daughter Mary Helen had a column called "Minnesota Heartbeat," which Fran described as, "a column that is supposed to catch the feelings and emotions of people in this state." On the opposing end, there were McGovern's probing editorials, later called "Editor's Scratchpad." Staffer Cheryl Baker, who filled various capacities at the paper, also wrote a chatty yet insightful column called "Letter to: Cheryl." Subscribers often called her "the blond bombshell." She and McGovern used to intrigue me with stories about how, in the "old days," members of the Hell's Angels would drop by the office, plop into our chairs, prop their legs up our desks and chat with them. Despite the outfit's notoriousness, they had quite an amicable relationship with Fran. Then there was the "Night Prowl" column by the ever-elusive Patrick Cunaard, who cruised the back streets at night and insightfully reported both the gritty and heart-rendering night life that most of us never see. We also ran a column, "Inside Pro Wrestling," by a young wrestling reporter named Mick Karch, who went on to become an AWA Announcer. After 1992 , Karch hosted the cable access show, "Slick Mick's Bodyslam Revue," for about seven years, and he has been known as "The Voice of Minnesota Wrestling" since 1988. I still have a copy of the issue sporting a picture of Mick Karch shaking hands with Nick Bockwinkel in 1973, when Mick was president of "The Bockwinkel Brigade" fan club. In each issue, there also were hard-hitting "Letters to the Editor" from our subscribers, advertising, news and human interest articles, and then the grit. For instance, when attacks were made against public officials, the Minneapolis Daily American quickly investigated and uncovered the truth. As an example, the Sept. 14, '73 issue of the Daily American reported how mayoral candidate Gladys Brooks, as a means of getting elected, was challenging then-Mayor Charles Stenvig's bid for re-election by criticizing his handling of the Mpls. Police Department. Calling the department inefficient, she basically accused Stenvig of letting it fall apart. In rebuttal, Stenvig clarified her accusation by pointing out that, "The FBI report on the seven major crime areas show we are 3 to 1 better than the national average this year." When Brooks charged that the public needed more visibility of police on the street, Stenvig again set the record straight: "The previous administration took foot officers off their beats before I came in. We put them back into the loop area; we added the canine corps. Mrs. Brooks sat on the Ways and Means Committee...that refused to give us more manpower. She was in a position to help the police force, and she didn't." The article, an exclusive to the Minneapolis Daily American, ran a small notation at the end: "When Mrs. Brooks made her charges, the Star-Trib said the Mayor was unavailable to comment. However, the Daily American experienced no problem in reaching the Mayor." Francis McGovern was a staid proponent for free enterprise, as shown in an Oct. 5, '74 article concerning George Holter, owner of the Richfield Bus Co. Because Holter had refused to comply with a Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC) ruling that his company could not raise its bus fares, Henn. Co. Dist. Court Judge Donald Barbeau had ruled that Holter's company was in contempt of court. Holter felt the authority to regulate such matters as bus fares should revert back to the Public Service Commission, to give independent owners like him "a fairer shake." Holter's response was, "I don't think a competitor should have the right to tell me how to operate. Where do they (the MTC) need justification for such a small fare increase (between 12 ½ cents and 30 cents)?" According to Holter, the MTC had already reached the point where their taxes were higher than his fares. "I could have raised my fares years ago, before the MTC came into power, but I didn't because the government said that private enterprise had to help fight inflation. We're guilty of saving the taxpayers money. And the MTC will still have to raise its fares, even if they are subsidized, if costs continue to go up. "The MTC is saying they want to take us over," Holter added. "But I can guarantee, if they took over, they might put on more buses, but they wouldn't be nearly as dependable as we are. And that's what people want, dependability." The Richfield Bus Co. is still alive and living up to its dependability. http://www.richfieldbus.com Francis McGovern's features also covered the lives of many prominent Minnesotans. In an article about Bernard Casserly, former reward-winning editor of the renowned Catholic Bulletin, the Daily American's June 29, '73 issue explains how, since grade school, Casserly's life ambition had been to become a reporter. After graduating from the U of M in 1939, he spent five years as a merchant marine. In 1947 he became a reporter for the Mpls. Star, moved on to other newspapers, and then worked his way up from a reporter at the Catholic Bulletin. Twelve years later, he became their editor. Now known as the Catholic Spirit, there's an online obituary about Casserly, who died Sept. 18, 2008. http://thecatholicspirit.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=473&Itemid=27 As for human interest, the Mpls.Daily American ran articles on many "average" local folks who were just starting their mission in life, and have since "made it." For example: Back in Feb. of '73, we ran a spread on 6-year-old Jeff Lee, who idolized Mark Spitz. Jeff's story begins when he was two, flapping his arms in the family's pool, determined to tread water like everyone else. By the time he was 4, he had developed his own overhand stroke. Admiring the success not only of Spitz, but of his sisters, who swam competitively with the Tonka Swim Club, self-taught Jeff joined the club when he was six so he could compete, too. Shortly thereafter, a swimathon was held so club members could raise money to attend a meet in Indiana. The number of laps allowed was limited to 200, but 6-year-old Jeff blew it. Instead, he swam 3 miles, or 265 laps of the pool-65 additional laps-in 2 hours. After that, Jeff swam competitively for 17 years. He was 1984's Minnesota Swimmer of the Year, a 5-time All-American, State Record holder and held every record at Richfield High when he graduated, besides winning titles from the U of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1987 he qualified for the USA Olympic Trials, and then coached competitive swimming for high schools such as Richfield High, Mpls. Southwest High (where he was voted Section 5AA Coach of the Year) and Bloomington Jefferson. In 1998 he became head coach for the Barracuda Aquatics Club, a USA Swimming Club that trains and prepares beginning competitive swimmers to national qualifiers for competition. In 2007 he became president and head coach of the club, where he now devotes his time. http://www.offtheblocks.org/barracuda Charlie Wiederholt, 22, from Miesville, MN, had already won various medals in bronco riding when the Daily American ran an article on him in 1973. Because his father had recently passed away, he stopped riding to help take over the family's restaurant. Now Charlie not only is a heavily-medaled circuit rodeo champion, but he still owns Wiederholt's Supper Club, in Hastings. http://www.equestrianmag.com/news/charlie-wiederholt-swrha-non-pro-10-08.html That same year, Fran McGovern also ran a feature on young Minneapolitan Harold Berglund, who had quit his job in the U of M Wilson Library's circulation department to become an artist, particularly to work on the surrealistic tradition. Berglund now lives in Sweden and is a highly-accomplished painter, mostly working on still-lifes. His website is at http://www.hberglund.com Wasteful Spending: Examples of Francis McGovern's articles on wasteful spending included: "Local freeway ramp built 16 years ago at cost of $185,000 never opened to traffic; rebuilt at cost of $480,000," and "$151,000 of taxpayers' money used to build fence around private junkyard." Finding enough space with affordable rent continued to challenge McGovern throughout the years. After 2 ½ years, the Minneapolis Daily American again had to move, this time because McGovern's rent had been raised for the third time during their short stay, combined with a lack of air conditioning and vandalism. Over time, the now-adult McGovern children left the paper to pursue their own quests. Since my specialty was writing human interest articles, when daughter Mary Helen left in 1974, I took over her "Minnesota Heartbeat" column, too. Eventually, Cheryl Baker also left. We were then at 1513 E. Lake St. Soon the grown children of original subscribers were subscribing on their own. Members of the Armed Forces, such as Kevin Goplin, even subscribed while serving overseas. After Kevin returned, he eventually became our printer and mailer. NEWSLETTER format: In Oct. of 1980, the Minneapolis Daily American switched to a 4-page newsletter format published five days a week. Francis R. McGovern was now 60-years-old. METRODOME STADIUM (RealCost): The MN Vikings and MN Twins originally played outdoors at the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. In 1979, when proposals were underway to build a new, indoor domed stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Francis McGovern began warning taxpayers that the cost to build it would soar well over $100 million, rather than the $55 million authorized by the legislature. To prove this, McGovern kept a tally using two sets of books: the one publicized by the media, besides another one he kept that delineated additional expenses accrued in building the stadium that weren't factored in as part of the stadium's cost. "No one has admitted that the cost of installing electricity, phones, plumbing, etc. will be borne by the taxpayers," McGovern wrote. "And the cost of additional traffic control downtown will also come out of the taxpayers' pockets." He added that, "Everybody's forgotten, but the taxpayers gave away 500 acres on a land deal for the stadium, and they'll pay to build a new juvenile detention center to replace the one which now sits on the stadium site." McGovern's forecast proved true. As of April 21, 1981, the "Official Book" released to the public (covered by city bonds) totaled $55,400,000. Meanwhile, McGovern's Second Book, the "real" tally in the Minneapolis Daily American showed, for example: an additional $16,400,000 paid by Mpls. property taxes for the Center Village Ramp (from Mpls. property taxes); $491,000 for sewers and water (from Mpls. taxpayers); and $12,100,000 for the Gateway Ramp, Bus Terminal and Skyways (from taxpayers and federal grants). Also, part of a 7-county area liquor tax and Mpls. liquor and hotel/motel tax went to cover $8,601,072 for the Debt Service Fund. "They never mention that the land on which the dome sits would be collecting $25 million a year if free-enterprisers were operating in the misnamed area-Industrial Square," Fran McGovern wrote in Dec. '83. "They tore down the juvenile detention center. Now you're spending $17 million to build another one. Yet that's part of the cost of the stadium." McGovern's book showed $16,300,000 for the Juvenile Center ($12 million from businessmen, $6 million from Mpls. taxpayers, and $8.2 million from County taxpayers). Construction of the Metrodome began in Dec. 1979 and it was completed in April 1982. According to the Daily American's accounting, the final cost came to $166 million-not $55 million, as reported by the major media. CHILDREN in the WORKPLACE: The McGoverns believed in children being raised by their parents during their formative years. In addition to theirs growing up at the Daily American, staffer Cheryl Baker's delightful daughter, Shamara Baker, grew up there. And seven years after I was hired, my husband Mark and I had our daughter, Shira Ariel Levenson, who grew up there, too. At first, Shira relaxed on various staff-members' desks in her infant seat and jabbered with them. Fran and Kaye helped change her diapers, and Kaye encouraged me to drape a blanket over one shoulder and discretely nurse Shira so I could stay in the office area instead of going into an empty room. As a toddler, Shira sat on Fran McGovern's knee, learning to spell short words besides beginning addition. Once she could walk, she became our "copy girl." Subscribers called her "the office baby," and just before turning three, she began opening our MN Taxpayer PowerBloc conventions (covered below). Occasionally Fran and Kaye left work early and brought Shira home with them so I could stay and work. Shira already loved musicals and plays from watching them with Mark and me, but the McGoverns sealed her love for the theater. At their house, the three often made up little plays and performed them until I picked her up. Now she's an actress, but like most creative people, still has her day job. When Shira was 9, she had her own column in the Daily American, called "Shira's Scratchpad." Subscriber Robert Stein, a cartoonist, did an illustrated rendition of one of her "stories" so she could see it in comic form. It was printed in the Dec. 13, 1989 issue, and Mark and I still have a framed copy hanging on our wall at home. The MINNESOTA TAXPAYER POWERBLOC (a revolt against MN's tax/spend politicians): In Sept. of 1983, Francis R. McGovern founded the non-partisan "MN Taxpayer PowerBloc" as a Mpls. Daily American promotion, in anticipation of the Nov. '84 elections to the MN House of Representatives. Because Minnesota was among the highest-taxed states in the U.S., the purpose of the PowerBloc was to enlighten taxpayers as to why and how they could vote only for State Representatives who vowed to "cut back and maintain Minnesotans' taxes at the per capita average of all 50 states," which included "meat-axing" reckless spending to the same extent. To achieve this goal, McGovern held monthly PowerBloc Conventions, urging everyone throughout the state to attend: DFL'ers and Independent Republicans, subscribers and non-subscribers; even House candidates and those up for re-election. Guest speakers showed taxpayers that, to quote McGovern, "they have the power to control their own income and paychecks, rather than to leave the control in the hands of arrogant politicians who have achieved and maintain power by confiscation of taxes to pass around and buy their constituencies." Congressmen such as Vin Weber, Representatives including Dennis Schulstad (Minority Leader), David Jennings, Cal Ludeman, Don Valento , and Gaylin Den Ouden, and Senators such as Charlie Berg, Don Storm and Pat Kronebusch lent their advice and support. Back in the 80's, local precinct caucuses were held in March. Prior to the '84 elections, McGovern also urged everyone to attend their caucuses so they could introduce and urge others to vote for a PowerBloc Resolution, and become a delegate or elect delegates who would support it. To reach more taxpayers, Fran McGovern entailed a "pyramid affect," urging everyone who attended his conventions to bring 2 or more people unacquainted with the PowerBloc with them, and in turn urging those people to bring 2 or more newcomers to the next convention, etc. The scheme worked. After 200 people attended his initial convention in Sept. of '83, 600 gathered at his Oct. convention at the River Palace. One thousand taxpayers braved a sleeting blizzard to go to the Prom Ballroom in Nov., '83, and the audience reached over 2,000 at the Leamington Hotel in Jan. '84. As the crowds kept growing, they later packed into the Northrop and Mpls. Auditoriums, even coming from nearby states. Francis McGovern's PowerBloc Conventions were dynamic. Initially, audiences were entertained by the Dick Macko Orchestra. My daughter Shira became part of the opening ceremonies just before her third birthday. McGovern introduced her as "Shira Levenson, the youngest member of the PowerBloc movement." Standing on a chair onstage, she would rap a gavel on the lectern for attention before saying, "Everybody please stand up." Then Richfield's Fred Babcock VFWPost color guard would file in and present their flags. Once they were assembled, Shira announced, "We will now recite the Pledge of Allegiance," and she led everyone in the Pledge. McGovern chose Rep. Kenneth ("K.J.") McDonald, who put his heart into promoting the PowerBloc and its ideals, to be chairman and moderator of the conventions. Speakers were tax victims, experts and legislators who gave cutting-edge testimony on the misuse and abuse of taxpayer money in Minnesota, showing how taxpayers could empower themselves to stop it. For example, Dr. Ken Snell, who was leading a recall tax revolt in Michigan, spoke at the Feb. '84 convention. In April '84, Jack Ardoyno's topic was "A Better Education for Less Money," while Sen. Marion "Mike" Menning explained his "Turn it Around 180 Degrees" drive, and Rep. McDonald spoke on "Accentuate the Positive." James Davidson, founder & chairman of the National Taxpayers Union, spoke on "The Taxing Tragedy" at McGovern's May '84 convention, while MN Representatives James Heap, Ray Welker, and K.J. McDonald, along with editor Don Larson, from Don Larson's Business Newsletter, covered "A Billion and a Half Spending Spree." The evening concluded with various legislators signing a PowerBloc Declaration, in which they vowed to uphold the PowerBloc's intent. Allan Brownfield, who was the associate editor of the AIM Report, published by Washington, D.C.-based Accuracy in Media, also spoke at one of McGovern's conventions. (AIM is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog group that monitors the U.S. media for fairness, balance and accuracy in U.S. news reporting.) Meanwhile, outlying cities such as St. Cloud, Bertha and Ham Lake held their own PowerBloc meetings. "People who were apathetic about politics; taxpayers who had never voted before...we brought them into the political process," McGovern noted. INSIDE SECRETS: Francis McGovern swore that no employees, his family included, worked as long and hard, and for as little pay, as his own. (He himself worked 16-20 hours a day putting out the paper.) Obviously, as our mentor, he was helping us advance in our careers, but the work was self-fulfilling. Also, we stayed because we admired Fran and the Minneapolis Daily American. Every cent possible was used to keep the paper alive, and staunch subscribers often contributed. Meanwhile, Francis McGovern's principles ruled. He couldn't afford to repair his house's exterior when his neighbors complained, yet later in life he refused to draw out Social Security, insisting the money should be there for those who truly needed it. When a prominent birth control organization approached him, he refused to run their ads because he was pro-life. Despite our different religions, my daughter Shira often joined the McGovern clan to celebrate Christmas and Easter at Fran's house. She never made it on Christmas Day in 1990. Fran McGovern died on Christmas Eve. Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life (MCCL) brought a large wreath to McGovern's funeral service. An attached note said they had lost a dear friend. Francis R. McGovern always vowed that he would die before he quit, and he kept that promise. The last issue of the Minneapolis Daily American, dated Dec. 28, 1990, was compiled and published by his son Francis C. I did the typesetting, and Kevin Goplin printed it. The front page headline read: PUBLICATION CEASES WITH THIS ISSUE The Voice is Stilled In Memoriam Francis R. McGovern: Jan. 11, 1920-Dec. 25,1990 Kathryn McGovern: 1922-May 25, 2004 Cletus McGovern: 1923-Aug. 21, 2008 Mary Elizabeth McGovern: 1889-1973 Cheryl Baker: 1945-Aug. 10, 1982 Feel free to add your memories or comments in the comment area at the very bottom of the pages, and please forward this article to anyone you know who might be interested. |
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