Governor Tim Walz is due for surgery on his left knee today (THU). Walz is a runner and says he first hurt his knee back in December, and in February found he had torn his meniscus. Walz says “I’ve got a really great general practitioner, he’s a marathon runner, we’ve been friends for about 30 years, run together some. He says you can be running in about a week, he may be a little tougher than me, but we’ll see.” During the operation, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan assumes the powers of governor and Walz says “I just think that she knows that this comes with both ceremonial and real responsibilities and she is fully prepared, God forbid that something would happen during that time, obviously the chances are relatively slim, I have the full confidence and I think the people of Minnesota should that she should be able to do that.” Walz says he’s hoping to be back in the office on Monday and our running again soon after.