Hastings man knew vice presidential candidate Walz when they were growing up in Valentine | 1340 KGFW

HASTINGS – Bud Pettigrew of Hastings knew Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz when they were growing up in Valentine.

Ironically, Pettigrew is also active in the Democratic Party.

“I went to high school with Tim in Valentine. He was a freshman when I was a senior. He was on the football team with me,” Pettigrew said. “His sister Sandy was in my class (in 1979). I've spent some time doing political things with him since 2010.”

Pettigrew said Walz's father was the school superintendent in Valentine.

“That was his last year at Valentine (1979). He got cancer and they moved to Butte. The family was from that area. Tim graduated from Butte in 1982. His father died in 1983, I believe,” Pettigrew said.

“Tim is an excellent choice for our new vice president. He is very knowledgeable. Extremely smart. He likes people. He is very down to earth. He understands the consequences of government decisions and cares about them. I have spoken to Tim a few times since we both got into politics. He is a regular person who loves America and will honor his oath to it,” Pettigrew said.

Pettigrew said Walz is very smart, caring and willing to learn. He “will change his mind as he learns new things that warrant a change. He's a very hard worker. He's a great example of the American dream,” Pettigrew said.

Walz is an example of “the fact that you don't have to be a super-rich person to make it to the top. And you don't have to destroy your opponent to achieve something.”

Walz was born at West Point and grew up in Valentine. During his sophomore year of high school, his family moved to Butte. Shortly before graduating high school in 1982, he enlisted in the Nebraska Army National Guard. He served in the Army National Guard for 24 years.

Walz earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Education from Chadron State College.

After graduating from college, he taught in China for a year. He returned to Nebraska, where he taught and coached in Alliance. In Alliance, he met his wife, also a high school teacher. They married in 1994 and moved to her home state of Minnesota in 1996.

He has been Governor of Minnesota since 2019. From 2007 to 2019 he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Pettigrew has recommended selecting Walz as his vice presidential candidate.

“I'm one of the vice-chairs of National Security Leaders 4 America (NSL4A). We're a mix of veterans, presidential appointees, ambassadors, flag officers, etc. We're a pro-Democracy group and very anti-Trump. We've been driving the campaign for Tim. We've also been contributing to blogs” and writing editorials in his favor. Pettigrew said a lot of the lobbying was done by phone.

“It was worth it,” he said.

Pettigrew has been active in the Nebraska Democratic Party for some time.

“Right now, I don't hold any position with the Nebraska Democratic Party. From 2008 to 2022, I was chair of the chairs, which means I was chair of all the precinct chairs,” he said.
“I was a national delegate in 2012 and 2020. I was whip captain of the Biden national delegation from Nebraska. I am now on the Veterans Advisory Council for the Harris Walz campaign, so I will be busy in Chicago at the convention and throughout the campaign,” he said.

Pettigrew is basically retired.

“But in September 2021, President Biden appointed me as one of the commissioners of the American Battle Monuments Commission. It is not subject to the Hatch Act. So I can get involved in the campaign,” said Pettigrew, who is vice chair of National Security Leaders 4 America.

Pettigrew, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, said, “I'm just very pleased that a fellow veteran will be the next Vice President of the United States.”