Amy Klobuchar’s dad Jim dead – Veteran reporter and former miner dies at 93 after Alzheimer’s battle
Amy Klobuchar's father has died aged 93 following a battle with Alzheimer's disease.
The death of Jim Klobuchar, a veteran journalist, was first confirmed in a heartfelt post by his daughter on Twitter.
Amy Klobuchar called her late dad a "champion of those on the outside."
Jim was the son of an iron ore miner and began a career as a journalist in Bismarck, later working for the Associated Press before moving to the Star Tribune in 1961.
"My dad went from that hardscrabble mining town of Ely, Minnesota, to travel the world, interviewing everyone from Mike Ditka to Ginger Rogers to Ronald Reagan. He led adventure trips from Minnesota’s bike trails to the mountains of Nepal," Amy Klobuchar wrote.
"Through his columns my dad told stories of the 'heroes among us,'—ordinary people doing extraordinary things. He used his words to stand up for people.
"But he also stood up for me, from urging me on to finish a father/daughter ten-day 1100-mile bike trip from Minneapolis to Jackson Hole, to believing that a woman could actually win a Minnesota U.S. Senate seat," she added.
Jim Klobuchar wrote an estimated 8,400 columns during his 34-year career at the Star-Tribune.
He was also voted the nation’s "outstanding columnist" in 1984 by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expressed his condolences during a press conference on Wednesday.
"I feel very blessed that I had the privilege over the last 20 years or so to get to know Jim Klobuchar and spend some considerable time. His stories of mining and of being a veteran were inspiring to me," he said.
Jim Klobuchar was very public about his struggles with alcholism.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar mentioned her father's battle with addiction during a speech last year as evidence of the importance of funding for substance abuse treatment.
"His own struggles with alcoholism were very public and he helped others by sharing those stories, as well as how his faith and family and friends helped him on his lifelong journey to redemption and sobriety," she wrote in her tribute.
"Even to the end, as he lived the final chapter of his life with Alzheimer's, he was still singing songs and telling incredible stories to my sister Meagan and me.
"He loved our state. He loved journalism. He loved sports and adventure. And we loved him," Klobuchar said.
Her father died on Wednesday at the Emerald Crest care facility in Burnsville, a suburb of Twin Cities.
Jim was a veteran, and as such, will be buried at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis.
He was well remembered for his wit, and his famous interviews with people like Ginger Rogers to Ronald Reagan.
Jim was also a licensed pilot who spent his time going through mountains in Asia and the bike trails of Minnesota.
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