This is a letter from Abby about Will Steger's idea for an open forum with Pawlenty.

Friends at Team MN,

I met with Will Steger briefly today to discuss his idea of
getting 1,000+ MN student together for an open forum with Governor Pawlenty.
Apparently Pawlenty seemed interested in the idea. If we can get enough people,
Will thinks Pawlenty will do it. There is a lot of potential here for Team MN
to shape the event in whatever ways you would like - though Will and the Will
Steger Foundation (WSF) need to be involved in the discussion. Here are some
thoughts from us on what the event might look like:

1. The Pawlenty event would be a forum - with Pawlenty in
the audience (maybe speaking initially to open the event, then turning the
floor over the students), about 45 min/1 hour long, to be held possibly this
coming February. Location TBD.

2. The focus/goals of the forum would be discussed between
the WSF and Team MN, and could be on a variety of topics,
i.e.:

- enlightening the the
Gov/legislature on the youth climate movement, locally and nationally:
powershift, campus wars, climate action, etc - He/they may not realize how much
the movement has grown and that it is a voice to be reckoned with.

- realistic and concrete
recommendations for the governor/legislature to step up their global warming
policies

3. In the words of Will, 'it can not be a politicized
event'. By this he means, it can not be directly aimed at alienating the
governor and republicans in general. The idea if to 'soften them up' to the
idea of participating/driving global warming solutions on a state/national
level. The WSF wants to build alliances with our unlikely allies - b/c they are
the ones we need o win over, not necessarily the Amy Klobuchars of the world.
We don't want to scare them away.

4. The event could also be more than just a forum. It could
be an all-day teach-in on climate change education and strategies. You could
train people in on Campus Wars and other initiatives, get more MN students
excited and informed about Team
MN, and do a teach-in on campus
organizing. Just a few ideas for you. I'm sure Team MN could
come up with many ideas on its own.

Will would like to keep this ball rolling, if Team
MN are interested in discussing
it further. Any chance I (Abby Fenton)
could meet with a small group next week to brainstorm a vision around the
event? I would like to take something back to Will sooner rather than later,
who will in turn pursue it with Pawlenty.

Seems like a good opportunity here. Let me know what you
think.

Abby

Abby Fenton

Education Program Manager

Will Stegert Foundation

abby@willstegerfoundation.org

(612) 799-9591