VIP of the Week, Mayor Keith Carlson of Lindstrom
Posted on 03. Jul, 2010 by Rose M Garland in Popular Stories, VIP of the Week
First impressions are key. My first impression of Mayor Keith Carlson of Lindstrom is that he is a smart, connected fellow, who can easily go with the flow and knows a lot about history! I also appreciated that he was willing to take my last minute interview, and was very considerate.
Speaking further with Mayor Carlson, I found out he is passionate about golf, the history of this historic little town, and that he and his wife love to travel. My absolute favorite part of the interview were his responses to the two questions I asked him at the end.
Here are some of the highlights of our conversation, and his responses.
Rose M. Garland: How long have you been Mayor of Lindstrom?
Mayor Keith Carlson: Although not consecutive, this is my third 2 year term. Before this I was on the City Council for twenty years.
RMG: 20 years on the City Council? That’s a long time! What is your favorite thing about Lindstrom?
Mayor Carlson: I lived here my whole life, it is my hometown. All 8 of my great-grandparents settled in this county, they all came from Sweden and immigrated here.
I grew up here, and never left except for attending the University of Minnesota. While I loved college and the friends I made at the University of Minnesota, this is where my friends and family are mostly based . It is a very scenic town, and I like the lakes, and the proximity to the Twin Cities. It’s well-situated, and an extremely pretty part of the state.
RMG: What is one surprising thing about Lindstrom?
Mayor Carlson: Surprisingly, Lindstrom is one of the tourist stops of Swedish tours that come to the United States.
It’s great speaking to people from Sweden. I love hearing them tell people that they visited famous cities like New York, DC, San Diego, Nashville, Chicago and Lindstrom! I wouldn’t say we’ve promoted ourselves as much as the Swedish people have promoted us! Swedes think of us as America’s Little Sweden and we're proud of that.
RMG: Who were your heroes growing up?
Mayor Carlson: Nationally? Abraham Lincoln.
Close to home? Normal people, like my father, and my grandfather.
But I really have to say Abraham Lincoln and Dwight D. Eisenhower influenced me quite a bit.
RMG: What do you do in your spare time?
Mayor Carlson: Spare time? Well, I play golf, but not as much as I used to, like to travel with my wife, and am a quasi musician. In my ancient life I played a clarinet and a mellophane in college, and was in the church choir for about 30 years at Trinity Lutheran Church.
RMG: If you could change one thing about the town what would it be?
Mayor Carlson: A little milder climate might be nice – maybe a northern California climate. (We both laugh)
RMG: What do you hope will never change about Lindstrom?
Mayor Carlson: What is special about Lindstrom, is that in this area you have the benefits of a rural area, combined with the proximity to a major metropolitan area. I hope that in the future, that people will always appreciate the natural beauty of Lindstrom, its lakes, its shops and environment, as well as how close it is to the Twin Cities.
RMG: What is the most important lesson you have learned from being Mayor?
Mayor Carlson: I’ve learned that the thing to try to strive for is to hear people’s concerns as sincerely as possible and try to work and help to improve their situation. People don’t go to a city council meeting because they want to be there – in fact, I'm sure of it! People go there because they really need something– and while we can’t always address their concern, we try hard to see if there’s anything we can do, and do what we can.
RMG: Do you have any advice for a young person wanting to pursue politics?
Mayor Carlson: I hope there are young people who do want to pursue politics – the main thing is that if you get into politics or anything else, the main thing to focus on is the needs of the people. You’re elected to be a servant of the people – no one should be or will be impressed that you’re elected to the position for itself, but the fact that a person has been elected means that you’ve accepted the responsibility to serve the people that elected you. It’s an obligation, and one to treat with care and honor.
Mayor Carlson is the first VIP of the week for the East Minnesota Weekly. Do you have someone in the Chisago Area that you’d like to see nominated?
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