Washburn High School Students First To Get Tickets For Presidential Visit

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Beginning at noon Wednesday single tickets will be available first-come, first-served for folks who want to see the President on his second visit of the year to the Twin Cities.

President Obama will hold a town hall Thursday at Minnehaha Park before attending a private fundraiser in the evening.

Martin Donovan and Paige Havenstall are students at Washburn High School. They came to stand in line with another Washburn student, Emily Byars-Olson.

It took them ten minutes to walk to the bandshell. They were wrapped in blankets and brought chairs to sit in.

When they first arrived, they camped out in front of the bandshell.  They moved to a nearby kiosk when they found out the tickets would be handed out there.

They were the first three in line.

"We'd thought there would be more people. I was a little surprised, but there wasn't too much publicity around it. It was very quick," Donovan said.

"We're proud. We're happy," Havenstal said about being first in line.

"I think it's really cool, it's an experience that none of us have ever experienced," Byars-Olson said. "It's kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He doesn't come here regularly, obviously. We hang out here all the time, and it's like, really cool."

Obama was last in Minnesota when he visited St. Paul in February, where he spoke on infrastructure issues at the Union Depot.