Alice Tripp
Alice Tripp | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alice Raattama Tripp August 22, 1918 Nashwauk, Minnesota, U.S |
| Died | September 11, 2014 (aged 96) Belgrade, Minnesota, U.S |
| Alma mater | Lawrence University |
| Political party | DFL |
| Movement | Anti-power line |
Alice Raatama Tripp (August 22, 1918 - September 11, 2014) was an American anti-power line activist, English teacher, and farmer who ran for President of the United States in the 1980 Democratic party presidential primary, receiving two delegates at the convention.[1][2] Tripp also ran for Governor of Minnesota in the 1978 election as a primary challenger to incumbent governor Rudy Perpich but was defeated.
Early life and career[edit]
Alice Raattama Tripp was born on August 22, 1918, in Nashwauk, Minnesota to Finnish and Swedish immigrant, Republican parents.[1][2][3] She attended Hibbing Junior College where she fell in love with her chemistry lab partner, John Tripp. The couple married in 1942 after Tripp graduated from Lawrence College.[1] The couple briefly lived in Detroit and Chicago before moving back to Minnesota and buying a 250-acre farm in 1957.[1] She taught English in Belgrade, Minnesota for over ten years.[1]
Anti-power line movement[edit]
In the early 1970s, the proposed CU Powerline would have cut across 8,000 acres of farmland in North Dakota and Minnesota, which caused much controversy in rural areas.[1] In an April 1978 poll, the Minneapolis Tribune asked Minnesotans whether they sided with the farmers or the utilities. Sixty-three percent said they sided with the farmers. Among rural Minnesotans, support for the farmers ran at 70 percent.[3]
Tripp led opposition to the power line and campaigned against it, supported by Karen Clark.[4][5] In order to gain publicity, she performed stunts such as presenting an armed state trooper with flowers and throwing snow into a cement truck to delay construction.[1] While campaigning against the power line, she was arrested three times, being known to resist arrest.[1][6][7] Tripp was a member of the National People's Action group.[8] The CU Powerline became fully operational in August 1979.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Tripp passed away on September 11, 2014.[9][10] She was married to her husband until he died of a heart-irregularity in 2005.[9]
Political campaigns[edit]
1978 gubernatorial campaign[edit]
A leftist, Tripp ran for Governor of Minnesota in the 1978 election as a primary challenger to incumbent governor Rudy Perpich as part of her anti-power line activism, she received a total of 19.96%, performing well in rural areas and winning over 97,000 thousand votes despite spending only $5,000 on her campaign.[1][3][4][11] Her running mate was Carleton College physics professor, Mike Casper.[1][11] The Democratic Party of Pope County had encouraged her to run and endorsed her campaign, she finished with nearly 44% in the county.[3] She campaigned on anti-war sentiment, abortion rights, and women's rights.[12]
1980 presidential campaign[edit]
In 1980, Tripp ran for President of the United States in the Democratic Party primary in order to garner support for the anti-power line movement.[1] She was unable to gain the required number of delegate signatures and endorsed Ron Dellums and spoke in his support at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York City.[1][13] She received votes of two delegates at the convention.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Loetscher, Elizabeth. "Tripp, Alice Raatama (1918‒2014)". MNOPedia. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Candidate - Alice Tripp". Ourcampaigns. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b c d "MPR: Vote for Alice!". Minnesota Public Radio. September 12, 2002. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b Gilman, Rhoda R. (2012). Stand Up!: The Story of Minnesota's Protest Tradition. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0-87351-857-4.
- ^ "Good-bye Karen Clark and Susan Allen . . . and thanks – Southside Pride". January 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ Wuebben, Daniel L. (July 1, 2019). Power-Lined: Electricity, Landscape, and the American Mind. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-1598-7.
- ^ Gyorgy, Anna (1979). No Nukes: Everyone's Guide to Nuclear Power. South End Press. ISBN 978-0-89608-006-5.
- ^ Marchiel, Rebecca K. (September 16, 2020). After Redlining: The Urban Reinvestment Movement in the Era of Financial Deregulation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-72378-5.
- ^ a b "Alice Tripp Obituary (1918 - 2014) - Glenwood, MN - St. Cloud Times". Legacy.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Sep 13, 2014, page A5 - St. Cloud Times at St. Cloud Times". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ a b Libraries, University of Minnesota. "Minnesota Historical Election Archive". Minnesota Historical Election Archive. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Minnesota Powerline Oral History Project: Interview with Richard A. Hanson". Gale Library. February 14, 1979. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
- ^ "Tripp, on podium, emphasizes power of people 4 only briefly but said farmers nationwide are beset by government-related troubles". Newspapers.com. August 14, 1980. Retrieved July 2, 2024.