Old Federal Building in Minneapolis Will Be Renamed in Senator Paul Wellstone’s Honor

Sen. Paul Wellstone speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on March 20, 2001. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (MNN/KDLM) – A bill passed by the U-S House will name the Old Federal Building in downtown Minneapolis in honor of the late Senator Paul Wellstone. The legislation now heads to the desk of President Biden. It comes as Minnesota and the nation mark 20 years since Wellstone, his wife Sheila, daughter Marcia, three staffers (Will McLaughlin, Tom Lapic, and Mary McEvoy), and two pilots (Richard Conry and Michael Guess) were killed in a plane crash near Eveleth airport just 11 days before the 2002 election. Senator Amy Klobuchar says Wellstone showed that “public service is really about improving people’s lives.” Senator Tina Smith says Wellstone “never wavered from his convictions or his commitment to improving the lives of working people.”