Few mentions of bridge at convention

Given the way Republicans embraced 9/11 and the stories of heroism at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, it was mildly surprising that they wouldn’t do the same with the stories of the I-35W bridge disaster in Minneapolis.

That changed — at least a little bit — on Tuesday when Shanna Hansen spoke (above).

Many of us know her from a different profile:

She played it straight, however. No politics.

But looking back after a year, what strikes me most about that tragic day is how in-between the chunks of broken concrete we got to see the best of the human spirit in action. I have never been more proud to serve as a Minneapolis firefighter; to work as part of a team with the paramedics and police that showed up to serve our community.