Buffalo Lake sixth-grader to sing anthem for Obama visit

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BUFFALO LAKE, Minn. — An 11-year-old who attends a Bird Island, Minn., school has been invited to sing the national anthem when President Barack Obama makes a campaign visit to Minneapolis on Saturday.

McKaia Ryberg, a sixth-grader, was “discovered” by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton when she sang the national anthem for a benefit he attended last March, according to her mother Sandy Ryberg. Her parents, Brian and Sandy Ryberg, live and farm in the Buffalo Lake area.

Sandy Ryberg said they received a call recently from Dayton’s office asking whether their daughter would sing the national anthem for the president’s visit.

They also asked if she would be comfortable singing before a crowd of 20,000.

Her mother said her daughter has performed before crowds of 1,000 and 3,000, and she quickly responded: “What’s a few thousand more?”

Sandy Ryberg said their daughter’s musical talents are hers alone. She’s very musical, her mother said, adding: “She just has the gift.”

The West Central Tribune in Willmar, Minn., is owned by Forum Communications Co.

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