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Gov. Tim Pawlenty said this morning that he will he not be in Dayton, Ohio, this morning and strongly suggested that he won't be John McCain's running mate. "I'm going to be at the [Minnesota] state fair," Pawlenty said on WCCO just minutes ago. "I will not be in Dayton, Ohio, so I think that's a fair assumption," he added in an interview with the Twin Cities radio station, when asked if this was an indication that he would not be chosen. He added: "It was an honor to be considered." Asked if he was relieved "that the whole thing...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty this morning praised the Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Sen. John McCain's choice for a running mate. "She's an executive, she's a reformer...and she is going to be a great leader for our country," Pawlenty said after his weekly radio show at the Minnesota State Fair. Until this morning, Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had been front runners in the Republican vice presidential race. Palin is expected to appear with McCain at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, later this morning. Pawlenty said will continue working for McCain. He said McCain told him this morning, in a...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that Mrs. Laura Bush and Mrs. Cindy McCain will participate in the National Park Service First Bloom Service Event on Monday, September 1st at Civic Fest in Minneapolis, MN. Monday, September 1, 2008 MINNESPOLIS, MINNESOTA WHO: Mrs. Laura Bush and Mrs. Cindy McCain WHAT: National Park Service First Bloom Service Event WHEN: Monday, September 1, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. CST WHERE: Minneapolis Convention Center 1301 2nd Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55403

Gov. Tim Pawlenty told WCCO radio this morning that he is going to the State Fair and not to Dayton, Ohio, where Republican Sen. John McCain is to announce his choice for vice president at 11 a.m. “I plan to be at the State Fair,” he said. “You can draw your conclusions from that.” A conservative source told CNN's John King just after 8 a.m. that Pawlenty had just received a call informing him that he is not McCain's pick. The governor told the station’s Eric Eskola during a 6:25 a.m. telephone interview: “All I can say is that I’m...

  I'm confident enough to put this up now, but willing to be wrong.Right now though, every sign, signal, and background chatter indicates John McCain will pick Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's governor, as his running mate.UPDATE: A source close to the campaign now confirms for me that it "more likely than not" is Pawlenty. He does, however, caution me that the campaign does not actually want to leak tonight lest the Obama camp get too much of a chance to play the victim card with a sympathetic media.Below the fold, I've compiled data on Pawlenty that you might find useful.Protecting the...

I'm confident enough to put this up now, but willing to be wrong. Right now though, every sign, signal, and background chatter indicates John McCain will pick Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota's governor, as his running mate. UPDATE: A source close to the campaign now confirms for me that it "more likely than not" is Pawlenty. He does, however, caution me that the campaign does not actually want to leak tonight lest the Obama camp get too much of a chance to play the victim card with a sympathetic media. Below the fold, I've compiled data on Pawlenty that you might find...

Helicopters buzzing overhead, satellite dishes sticking up in the air, neighbors stopping to ask -- "Is it him?" We don't know yet. We're swarming outside Gov. Tim Pawlenty's home in Eagan ... waiting for a sign

Being on John McCain's short list for vice president makes Tim Pawlenty a busy guy. One day last week began with a meeting on security for the upcoming Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., where Gov. Pawlenty will play host. Then it was off to Farmfest, the state's biggest agricultural fair. Following that, a side trip to Iowa where, as national co-chair for Sen. McCain's presidential campaign, he passed out tire gauges as a way of poking fun at Barack Obama's suggestion the energy crisis be addressed by having Americans better inflate their cars. The next day it was off...

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/lone_republican/?p=276&srvc=home&posi tion=recent Holly Robichaud (Lone Republican)(blog) All the scheduling for Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been turned over to the McCain camp today, according to GOP sources. The move signals Pawlenty will be John McCain's running mate. GOP sources say that Pawlenty is the only potential VP candidate who has relinquished all his scheduling. I'm predicting it will be a McCain-Pawlenty ticket. The news should break tonight with the official announcement coming tomorrow in Dayton, Ohio, at a rally with McCain and Pawlenty. Stay tuned. ------- On Sunday, she wrote: Now that Obama has chosen Joe Biden everyone is wondering...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- who has frequently been mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain -- abruptly canceled his afternoon interviews with reporters in Denver today. Pawlenty, a loyal McCain surrogate, has spent the last several days in the Mile High City defending the Arizona senator against the Democratic attacks. So the news that he's cleared his schedule has to make one wonder: Did Pawlenty, the governor of an important swing state, get the big call from McCain?

A headline like that may seem inocuous enough, but amid the fevered speculation about whom John McCain will select as a vice presidential running mate, maybe it’s a tea leaf. Or maybe not. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, in Denver as an unofficial Republican observer during the Democratic National Convention, has canceled several TV interviews that were scheduled for this afternoon, said a Republican spokesman.

Since McCain has already made his veep choice, it doesn't make any sense to say he is leaning more and more in this or that direction. But from the calls I've made and the conversations I've had, I would say the person to watch is Pawlenty. No Romney, no Lieberman — although the people I talk to still think (worry?) that there is a chance McCain has a surprise up his sleeve.

A nurse and a sergeant in the Air Force Reserve, Nancy Winter won a commendation for her work helping to recover bodies after Sept. 11 at the World Trade Center. As her father watched from a trailing motorcycle, Nancy Winter's cycle hit a patch of sand and then the guardrail along a Wisconsin highway Sunday. "I took her off the railing as gently as I could and felt her heart," David Winter, of Lino Lakes, said Wednesday. A paramedic passing on his motorcycle stopped to assist. "He pumped on her chest, and I blew down her throat," David Winter said....

I've never voted for a Republican presidential candidate, but this year is different. I'm voting for John McCain. Throughout the primary season, I supported Hillary Clinton. Between the final two Democratic contenders, Hillary was the only candidate who demonstrated leadership and a true understanding of key issues. She inspired millions of women around the country, Democrats and Republicans alike. When Barack Obama became the presumptive Democrat nominee, I was faced with a difficult question: Could I support a candidate who gives good speeches but has no substance and little experience? No. During the primaries, I was turned off by Sen....

Make An Effort is a campaign for The UnConvention designed by Campbell Mithun to encourage Twin Cities residents to find their own unconventional ways to welcome the visitors who will be arriving for the Republican National Convention. The campaign does not ignore the undeniable irony of the Republicans’ choice to hold the convention here in Minnesota, and the entire tone of the campaign captures the unique brand of intelligent, rewarding creativity that Minnesota is justifiably world famous for. View the videos below or download any of the 6 posters and feel free to send them to friends, colleagues, whomever you...

Pawlenty may provide the shorter road to electoral victoryBy Christopher Cook LA Times interactive electoral map provides Americans with an easy tool for creating various electoral map scenarios. We have used this tool to run scenarios this morning, and we have come to an interesting conclusion: Assuming it's between Romney and Pawlenty, the map-math appears to suggest Pawlenty may be the better choice. The LA Times map starts with the assumption of the following battleground states: WashingtonOregonNevadaColoradoNew MexicoMinnesotaIowaMissouriWisconsinMichiganOhioPennsylvaniaFloridaNew HampshireNew JerseyDelaware First point: We have to assume a close election here. If we don't, then there's no point in running...

I've never voted for a Republican presidential candidate, but this year is different. I'm voting for John McCain. Throughout the primary season, I supported Hillary Clinton. Between the final two Democratic contenders, Hillary was the only candidate who demonstrated leadership and a true understanding of key issues. She inspired millions of women around the country, Democrats and Republicans alike. When Barack Obama became the presumptive Democrat nominee, I was faced with a difficult question: Could I support a candidate who gives good speeches but has no substance and little experience? No. During the primaries, I was turned off by Sen....

WASHINGTON — Freshman Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has become a de facto American emissary, meeting with foreign policy makers both here and abroad to preach peace and democracy. Ellison, a Democrat, had already developed an international reputation when he took his oath of office on the Quran last year. In his first term in office, he's built on that with congressional trips, State Department functions and internationally themed town hall meetings in his district. "Peace is a key component of what I'm here to do," he said in a recent interview.

Political funnyman Al Franken entertained the Massachusetts DNC delegates at their breakfast yesterday asking the locals to help him in his battle to unseat Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman. “In the most recent poll, I am ahead by a commanding 1 percent,” Franken told the delegates. “I certainly can double that.” The onetime “Saturday Night Live” funnyman and the author of “Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot,” Franken’s Senate campaign is no joke. He has a fund-raiser at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge on Sept. 18 (2008, not 2009 as his campaign literature advises), and he has the backing of...

All eyes at Denver's Pepsi Center will be on New York Sen. Hillary Clinton tonight when she delivers her speech to the Democratic National Convention. Democrats have been hoping to leave the convention united behind the presumptive nominee, Barack Obama. But the sting from a bruising primary battle and questions about Obama's experience have left some delegates, and some voters back home in Minnesota, wondering if they'll support Obama at all. Denver — Delegates who pledged their support to Hillary Clinton during the primary season are conflicted on how they'll vote during the roll call of the states Wednesday night....

DENVER—As Sen. John McCain comes to an end in his search for a running mate, there are new indications today that he is looking at Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and not foe-turned-pal Mitt Romney. Sources close to Romney tell us that his camp has not had vice presidential talks and dealings for a while, leading them to believe that the other running mate topping McCain's list has edged him out. Of concern is the likelihood that the Democrats would dub a McCain-Romney ticket the richest ever. In fact, at a breakfast today, when I asked Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow if...

DENVER — As Sen. John McCain comes to an end in his search for a running mate, there are new indications today that he is looking at Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and not foe-turned-pal Mitt Romney. Sources close to Romney tell us that his camp has not had vice presidential talks and dealings for a while, leading them to believe that the other running mate topping McCain's list has edged him out. Of concern is the likelihood that the Democrats would dub a McCain-Romney ticket the richest ever. In fact, at a breakfast today, when I asked Michigan Sen. Debbie...

Recommend to a friend Print Submit a Comment Strib tells AP: we're canceling It’s hard to imagine: the Star Tribune without the Associated Press. But that’s what could happen in 2010; the region’s biggest news source recently sent the nation’s most prominent wire service the required two years' cancellation notice, an AP spokesman confirms. If a split comes to pass, Strib readers will notice changes from the biggest international headlines to the smallest sports agate type. Just this morning, I counted at least 18 AP stories or photos in the Strib’s news sections; a wire-service credit was attached nearly all...

Senate candidate Al Franken is spending just a "couple of days" at the Democratic National Convention, but by the time he dropped in on the Minnesota delegation breakfast Monday, he sounded a little homesick. "I've got to get back ..." he said, catching himself. "I want to get back to the fair." Franken is keeping a low profile at the convention, passing up a chance to appear on stage Wednesday night with other Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate. The Wednesday time slot was selected after Franken had already made his travel plans, according to an aide.

Summer is entering its final weeks, but the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota is hotter than ever. A poll released today by Minnesota Public Radio and the Humphrey Institute has Democrat Al Franken and Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in a statistical dead heat. Respondents gave 41 percent support to Franken and 40 percent for Coleman. Another 8 percent said they are backing Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. Eleven percent said they are undecided.

It took seven years, but Charles Ulrich did something many people dream about, but few succeed at: He beat the IRS in a tax dispute. Not only that, but tax experts say potentially millions of other taxpayers could benefit from his victory. The accountant from Baxter, Minn., challenged the method the IRS has used for more than 20 years to tax shares and cash distributed by mutual life insurance firms to their policyholders when they reorganize as public companies. A federal court recently agreed with his interpretation. "There's a tremendous amount of money at stake," said Robert Willens, a New...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, whose name has been said to be on the short list for the GOP vice presidential nomination, made a swing through Pennsylvania this weekend, including a stop at Westgate Mall in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, speculation swirled about how Democrat Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his vice presidential pick might influence the choice made by John McCain. Pennsylvania Avenue got to ask him a few questions in a phone interview...Q: You're here, in part to promote Sen. McCain's sportsmen group. How important an issue will gun rights be in PA? A: In Minnesota and Pennsylvania our...

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has taken himself out of the running for the vice presidency or for any other position that would take him away from the Minnesota governor's office before the end of his current term in 2010. That may sound like a pretty big scoop, but it's not. It's based on straightforward statements that Pawlenty made in 2006, as he announced his candidacy for a second term, and in early 2007, after his term had begun. More recently, Pawlenty has adopted a statement that it's an honor to be considered for the ticket and that it would hard to...

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. - Minnesota's No. 1 politician received plenty of encouragement Friday from his constituents about the possibility of being Republican John McCain's No. 2, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty offered few clues about his prospects in return. Pawlenty maneuvered through the Minnesota State Fair, chowing down on fried food and getting an upclose look at some giant snakes. Like the python, rattlesnake and bull snake that appeared as guests on his weekly radio show, the governor squirmed his way around the question that seemed to be on a lot of minds: Will he uproot for a chance to be...

The federal government is telling emergency managers to be on the lookout for fake emergency and commercial vehicles during this year's political conventions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says terrorists could use these "cloned vehicles" to conduct surveillance or carry out an attack.

Turns out that Al Franken had a chance to speak, if only briefly, at the Democratic National Convention next week in Denver. But he turned it down to squeeze in more face time with voters at the State Fair. Officials with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) said that they asked Franken to join a handful of Senate challengers at the podium early next Wednesday evening. The convention has scheduled about 10 minutes for the candidate showcase, which will include U.S. Rep. Tom Allen of Maine, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley, former New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and U.S. Rep....

Workers this morning began installing the first of 600 banners sporting messages welcoming those attending the Republican National Convention to Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first of the banners went up at 9 a.m. today on Hennepin Avenue between 6th and 7th streets and in St. Paul on streets near the Xcel Energy Center where the conventions runs Sept. 1-4. Banners will be hung along Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis today. Banners along with floor decals will be placed throughout the baggage claim area at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport starting Monday.

A man faces 10 years in jail for smuggling two illegal immigrants into the United States. Marek Jerzy Struzik was charged Thursday with one count of alien smuggling Wednesday. The 31-year-old Polish national was helping two men, from Poland and Slovakia, walk across the Pigeon River from Canada to the Grand Portage State Park earlier this month. He went back to retrieve his vehicle, and was supposed to pick the men up in Grand Portage State Park, however he was arrested at the Grand Marais Border Patrol Station. During his arrest, Struzik told police officers that he was contacted by...

America's first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992. Sixteen years later, there are 4,128 charter schools educating 1.24 million students in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Another 300 to 400 are expected to open in the coming school year. Charter schools are public schools, but they are very different. The Center for Education Reform's 2008 Annual Survey reports that responding charter schools are one-third smaller than conventional public schools, with about 348 students, compared with 521. They spend less—about $7,625 per student, compared with $9,138 in public schools—and they receive only about 61% of the per pupil...

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Democratic dominance in presidential elections has been the norm for decades throughout much of the country's union-strong industrial Great Lakes region. The GOP presidential candidate is mounting strong challenges to Democratic rival Barack Obama in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and eyeing Minnesota — four states that have thwarted Republicans in at least four straight elections. The Arizona senator is also fighting to hang on to Ohio, a bellwether that President Bush won twice. They are home to large numbers of blue-collar whites, whom Obama has struggled to win over; senior citizens, who polls show tilt toward...

[A] new political commercial from a pro-business group being shown in Maine suggests that the Democratic Senate candidate in a competitive race is trying to infringe on the privacy of workers. The advertisement, disputed by the candidate, is part of a large-scale effort by two independent advocacy groups to turn a relatively low-profile pro-labor vote in Congress into a major impediment for Democrats as they seek to expand their Senate majority. “We have a very simple strategy,” said Mike Murphy, media adviser to the group behind the advertisement in Maine and one in Minnesota about the vote on a measure...

Minnesota Democrats are offering a big cash prize to anyone who snaps a picture of Norm Coleman and President Bush together at the upcoming Republican National Convention...... ...SNIP... Republicans aren't content to let Democrats corner the market on gimmicky contests. In response, they're dangling a $25 gift card for gas to anyone who can get Al Franken's accountant to explain errors in Franken's tax filings prior to 2003.....

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's lead in Minnesota appears to be narrowing. The latest Rasmussen poll, released late last week, showed the Illinois senator with a 49 percent to 45 percent lead over U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. The poll suggests that McCain is closing the gap on Obama, who in an earlier Rasmussen poll was up by 12 points. That makes Minnesota, which was once rated as leaning for Obama, a toss-up, according to RealClearPolitics, a political Web site. All three major polls taken over the last three months -- from Rasmussen, Quinnipiac, and SurveyUSA -- all show Obama...

John McCain has picked up a little ground on Barack Obama, now trailing by only two points in a recent SurveyUSA poll in MN, and by seven in WA. However, McCain has gained significantly in WA: Obama was down four, McCain up five from the last poll. Both are of LIKELY voters.

According to a KSTP exclusive new SurveyUSA poll, Barack Obama leads John McCain by two points, 47 to 45 percent in Minnesota. That's well within the three-point-eight percent margin of error. Four percent prefer another candidate. Only four percent are undecided. The poll not only shows a close race, but also points again to Minnesota voters becoming increasingly polarized. In the poll of 682 "likely voters," McCain has the support of 89 percent of republicans. Obama garners support from 86 percent of democrats. McCain has a narrow two-point lead among independents. McCain does have a bit of a gender-gap to...

<p>MADISON, Wis. - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, often mentioned as a potential running mate for Sen. John McCain, promoted McCain's energy policy and critiqued his rival's as he campaigned across Wisconsin on Monday.</p> <p>Pawlenty said Democratic Sen. Barack Obama would "slam the door shut" on additional nuclear power and offshore drilling if elected president because of his conditional support for those options.</p>

One week after Barbara Bachman's husband was killed in a random knife attack in China that also hospitalized her with life-threatening injuries, she is back in her home state of Minnesota to continue her recovery. Bachman arrived at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester late Friday morning, where she is listed in fair condition and hospital officials said she was alert, talking and had good memory function. Bachman was stabbed in the abdomen at a popular Beijing tourist attraction last Saturday. Her husband, Todd Bachman, died at the scene. The assailant, Tang Yongming was identified by police as a distraught unemployed...

What if a politician held a campaign event and nobody came? That’s what almost happened to comedian-turned-Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken last week. In what sounds like a sketch he might have written for Saturday Night Live, only one voter showed up for Franken’s roundtable on veterans issues in St. Cloud, Minnesota. It marked a particular low point in Franken’s quixotic, controversial 18-month campaign to unseat unpopular Republican Senator Norm Coleman. The race should have been the Democrats’ to lose, but a recent poll gives Colman a 15-point lead. Some party members are now questioning the wisdom of choosing Al...

An injured National Guard soldier from Woodbury gets a great gift Friday -- a new home. Sgt. Marcus Kuboy was seriously injured by an explosion in Iraq last year and is mostly confined to a wheelchair because of leg and back injuries. Right now he can only use his legs for short periods of time. The project's been under construction for several months now and hundreds of people have helped. On Friday, volunteers were getting started on the landscaping by planting flowers and shrubs. The inside is almost complete as well. Kuboy will have his own elevator and a kitchen...

Dozens of illegal immigrant gang members from Mexico and other countries have been swept up in the past two weeks by federal agents and Twin Cities-area police, officials from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Thursday. Called Operation Community Shield, the ongoing effort netted 50 arrests, including 35 gang members and seven gang associates from 10 Twin Cities-area gangs. Of the 50 arrested, 38 are illegal immigrants, said ICE spokesman Tim Counts. Participating law-enforcement agencies also arrested 10 U.S. citizens and two permanent residents, also known as green-card holders, on various state and federal charges, including weapons possession,...

Much of Barack Obama’s 12-point lead over John McCain has disappeared in Minnesota. He is now ahead of his Republican rival by only four percentage points 46% to 42%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Minnesota voters. With “leaners” factored in, Obama leads 49% to 45% (Demographic Crosstabs available for Premium Members.)

At his first public appearance for Barack Obama, former Vice President Walter Mondale today told a group of campaign volunteers they will confront "trash ads" and subtle racism aimed at the Democratic presidential candidate. During an event with about 50 seniors at Obama's state campaign headquarters in St. Paul, an audience member asked Mondale why the race between the Obama and Republican John McCain was so close when polls show a large majority of Americans are dissatisfied with GOP policies.

Much of Barack Obama’s 12-point lead over John McCain has disappeared in Minnesota. He is now ahead of his Republican rival by only four percentage points 46% to 42%, according to the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Minnesota voters. With “leaners” factored in, Obama leads 49% to 45% (Demographic Crosstabs available for Premium Members.) Last month the Democrat had a 49% to 37% lead on McCain. In June he was ahead 52% to 39%. McCain is now supported by 91% of Republicans, up from 79% a month ago. Obama earns the vote from 89% of Democrats, down two points...

When Democrats this spring sized up Al Franken's bid to win a Senate seat in his native Minnesota, they saw plenty of promising signs: an engaging and famously funny candidate familiar to voters, a stockpile of campaign cash, and a vulnerable incumbent Republican. Less than three months before Election Day, however, the Republican seat held by a former New Yorker, Norm Coleman, looks safer than ever, and Mr. Franken's hopes could be doomed by his own New York past. The former "Saturday Night Live" star, best-selling author, and talk show host is lagging far behind in the polls amid a...