St. Cloud Preparing for National Political Spotlight

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Local officials will be scrambling this week in advance of former President Donald Trump's rally in St. Cloud.

Mayor Dave Kleis says his office did not have a lot of advance notice before Tuesday's announcement.

St. Cloud's Public Safety Department will be coordinating efforts with the Sheriff's Offices, the Minnesota State Patrol, and the Secret Service for security not only for Trump and JD Vance but also for the people attending the rally.

It'll be a lot of coordinating efforts, especially in light of the recent assassination attempt, that probably heightens it even more, but it's not unique.

Kleis says Trump is landing at the St. Cloud Regional Airport on Saturday. He says Trump and Vance may not be traveling together, which could add more logistics to security.

He says the city will bill the Trump campaign for the added expenses.

What that dollar amount is it's hard to tell, depending on what's necessary. It's in the evening so of course, you are looking at overtime shifts, but we won't know the scope of it until after all the dollars are added up.

Kleis says the Secret Service will likely identify multiple routes to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, and there will have to be temporary road closures along the route with likely longer-term street closures closer to the venue.

Kleis says he plans to be at the airport to greet the former President.

Yes, I am honored to be at the airport and welcome former President Trump, as I have with former President Clinton, President George W. Bush, and Vice President Harris.

Kleis says he's stayed out of partisan politics for 20 years, so he does not plan on going to the rally.