UW-Superior Preps for President Biden’s Visit
SUPERIOR, Wis. – For the first time since Harry Truman came through the city in 1948, a sitting President will be making a stop in Superior Wednesday.
UW-Superior’s Yellowjacket Union is undergoing a transformation as President Biden, along with First Lady Jill Biden, will speak to an invite-only crowd at Shippar Family Atrium, focusing on the infrastructure bill that passed into law last year.
“I think it’s a really cool opportunity to come see one of the main areas of ports in the United States,” says Josh Porter, a junior who lives in Superior. He was surprised his city was selected over its larger counterpart in the Twin Ports. “Superior is a little bit more of a smaller town. The President is talking about how Superior does more in the shipping business than Duluth does currently. So I can see why he chose Superior in that sense.”
Porter also believes Superior offers a wide variety of focus points President Biden can focus on during his speech. “We’ve got the Blatnik and the Bong Bridge right here in town, and those sorts of things. And they’re currently fixing up the I-35 interchange up there, so I think it’s a good place to do it. We’ve got a lot of representation in all the fields of the infrastructure bill.”
“I think it’s really important that he does something like this because college students and other people who don’t necessarily go to college but are part of this age group are the future of the workforce in the area. I think it’s important that he goes meets with students or people of the same age group so he can get their opinion because the President serves the people. I think it’s a really good opportunity to get a viewpoint that he may not get from the Oval Office and (Washington) D.C.”
Porter is one of the lucky few who will be inside Yellowjacket Union to hear the President in person. He believes he will be in the background. “I think it’s a real honor. It’s really exciting to meet one of the Presidents of history. It’s something you don’t get to do every day, so it’s really exciting.”
So what if Porter has a chance to share a few words with the President? “I think it would be really cool to get a chance to shake his hand and say hello and greet him a little bit. But, knowing all the security that is going on, it’s just really cool to be a part of it.”
Fox 21 will have live coverage of President Biden’s visit to Superior, including his arrival and departure at Duluth International Airport, on our website and Facebook.
