Can your district representative sing? Because Peggy Flanagan sure can.
Flanagan, a representative of District 46A in Minnesota, took Minnesota's house floor on April 25 to pay her respects to Prince Rogers Nelson, who passed away on April 21, with a moving vocal performance.
Representative Mike Freiberg from District 45B joined her on the piano.
"Representative Freiberg said, 'Hey this may be the greatest idea or the worst idea ever, but I think we should try to sing 'Purple Rain' on the house floor,'" said Flanagan, remembering how the idea first developed.
And lest any of you Minnesotans worry about your tax dollars, this performace was undertaken after the House formally adjourned.
Kare11 in Minneapolis reports:
Rep. Flanagan said the star's sudden death had hit her as hard as the loss of her political idol, Sen. Paul Wellstone, in a 2002 plane crash.
"I just needed something to do with my grief," Flanagan explained. "This is something we can pour some energy into and to honor someone who is so purely Minnesotan -- he’s ours."
The five-minute performance ended in a standing ovation.
Flanagan, who was elected to the Minnesota state congress in 2015, also moonlights as a board member for Sojourners.
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