ST PAUL, Minn. — As lawmakers are in the final stretch of passing legislation, there is someone helping them get the job done without being remotely involved in the legislative process.
"I like just meeting the people," Eric Harms said. "Just talking to the people."
Harms runs the convenience store down the hall from the House and Senate Chambers. He's been working 13-hour days so he can provide lawmakers with a source of snacks during the late-night debates.
"It is nice to come say hello to someone who isn't involved in all of the politics and head back to work with ice cream. " Diane Hansmeier said.
Harms is friendly, efficient, and legally blind.
"I lost both of my eyes to Retinoblastoma," he said.
Retinoblastoma is a disease that occurs when cancer grows in your eye tissues. Harms lost both of his eyes when he was a young boy.
"Blind people are the same as sighted people. We might just do things a bit different. We are still able to be in sighted communities to work and live our daily lives," Harms said.
Sometimes his wife has to pick him up when he works really late nights, otherwise, Harms is completely self-sufficient and operates his convenience stores by himself. He has help in the forms of technology.
The voice dictation on his iPad helps him calculate totals during sales, and he has a barcode scanner that helps him see which products he is grabbing.
"Different tools can be accommodating," Harms said.
Harms also operates 40 vending machines.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist: