Reporter recalls crash that claimed Sen. Wellstone’s life

By Peter Passi ppassi@duluthnews.com

Former News Tribune reporter Lee Bloomquist was working in his home office in Iron on the morning of Friday, Oct. 25, 2002, when an airplane crashed, killing U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone; his wife, Sheila; his daughter, Marcia Markuson; three campaign workers, Will McLaughlin, Tom Lapic and Mary McEvoy; and two pilots, Richard Conroy and Michael Guess.

He first heard a report that an airplane had gone down near the Eveleth-Virginia Airport while listening to a police scanner.

With the airport only a short distance away, Bloomquist jumped in his vehicle.

“I can remember it was a dreary, cool day, and there was a mist in the air. It was right around the freezing point,” he said.

Given the conditions, Bloomquist said he suspected icing could have been a factor in the crash.

He headed to the airport first but saw no sign of a crash.

So, Bloomquist decided to check out Bodas Road, which runs along the south side of the airport. There, he was met by emergency vehicles.

Bloomquist got out of his own vehicle and encountered just one other member of the media, a cameraman from KBJR-TV.

“Neither one of us had any idea where the plane had gone down or who was in it,” Bloomquist said, recalling how more and more law enforcement and first responders arrived on the scene.

“Law enforcement kept us on Bodas Road, and basically we stood there for about 2½ hours. And we had real poor cell phone reception out there, so we didn’t really know what was going on,” he said.

Bloomquist knew some of the first responders coming out of the woods personally.

“They couldn’t or wouldn’t offer anything, of course,” he said. “It was not their place to do so at that time.”

Meanwhile, authorities closed Bodas Road to traffic, but allowed Bloomquist and the KBJR cameraman to remain.

“So, we were basically kind of in the dark there for a long period of time over the details. We couldn’t see the plane or any smoke or anything like that. It was real thick woods to the north of Bodas Road, between there and the airport,” he said.

Finally, Bloomquist received a call from the News Tribune newsroom informing him that a plane carrying U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone had reportedly gone down.

“When I heard, it was a shock for me personally,” he said.

Bloomquist said his thoughts flashed back to his last interaction with Wellstone, who had met with steelworkers concerned about their jobs at EVTAC a couple of weeks earlier. Bloomquist covered the senator’s visit and recalled walking out of the union hall meeting alongside Wellstone, who greeted him by name on the sidewalk.

“We were not close friends. But he put his left arm around my shoulder, and I put my right arm around his,” Bloomquist said. “That was the last time I saw him.”

Bloomquist recalled the impression Wellstone made on him.

“He had a personal connection with you. Tom Rukavina and him were a lot alike that way. Once he knew your first name, he never forgot it,” Bloomquist said.

Wellstone, seeking his third term, had chartered his final ill-fated flight to the Iron Range just 11 days prior to the general election to attend a funeral for Martin “Benny” Rukavina, state Sen. Tom Rukavina’s dad. The plane crashed about 2½ miles southeast of the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport in a remote thickly wooded area. The aircraft was found in pieces, and the wreckage continued to burn for five hours after impact.

Bloomquist said he left his post on Bodas Road to attend a hastily called press conference at the airport.

“It was a tough story to cover,” he said, reflecting on the emotional scene. “I remember seeing Sen. Wellstone’s aide, Lisa Pattni, and just how hard it hit her.”

“It was a huge loss to people up here,” Bloomquist said. u