ST. PAUL, Minn. – Former Gov. Jesse Ventura’s complaints about his gubernatorial biography in the Minnesota state Capitol has resulted in the changes he requested being made.
KSTP reports that the Minnesota Historical Society has agreed to remove a quote which Ventura says was falsely attributed to him.
“That’s Kenny Patera’s. I can tell you exactly who said it. Ken Patera used to say it, not me,” Ventura told KARE 11 earlier this month. “To put that quote in at a building like the Capitol, I think is utterly ridiculous.”
The quote, “Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat,” will be removed in short order.
“We have decided to remove it since it does not materially alter the historical content and people are reading the quote in a different way that it was intended since Ventura used it to describe his time as a wrestler,” Minnesota Historical Society Spokeswoman Jessica Kohen told KSTP.
The society also stated that it has always planned to continue to edit the biographies of Minnesota’s living governors. Aside from incumbent Gov. Mark Dayton, Minnesota has had 39 governors. Four of them are living, and aside from Ventura they are all Republicans. This includes former Govs. Al Quie, Arne Carlson, and Tim Pawlenty.
Pawlenty has also complained about his biography, saying that it is written in a politically biased manner against him.
“It’s disappointing, reads like a political commentary in parts, and is not up to the Historical Society’s usual quality standards,” Pawlenty wrote in an email to KARE 11.
Pawlenty’s objections come from what he perceives to be a political bias against him in the formatting of the biography. Specifically he told KARE 11 he objects to the plaque highlighting the Interstate 35W bridge collapse during his tenure, without mentioning a design flaw dating back to the 1960s which led to the collapse.
