AM.MN: Wanna run for guv? Wait a decent interval, like 21 hours

If you’re thinking about running for governor, here’s some advice: “You can’t just rush into it.” That’s from House Minority Leader Marty Seifert, who has set a news conference for 11 a.m. this morning — a full 21 hours since Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he won’t seek re-election. If he were to run, Seifert says it wouldn’t be right to seek Pawlenty’s endorsement: “I wouldn’t even ask him.” The Marshall Independent notes Seifert would be the first area legislator to seek the post since Cal Ludeman (now state commissioner of human services) in 1986.

Elsewhere in Minnesota headlines this morning …

STATEWIDE: More mercury found in fish. Big-game fish in most lakes show rising levels of the toxin; officials blame coal-plant emissions from Asia. [Alexandria Echo Press]

INVER GROVE HEIGHTS: Suit says strip club broke law on wages … by not paying any. Dancers’ only income came from tips, they say, and even those they had to share with bosses — an arrangement that’s OK for Starbucks but not the King of Diamonds club. [St. Paul Pioneer Press; Associated Press]

MINNEAPOLIS: Sketches show how turning vehicles killed two. In incidents only one block apart on Park Avenue last month, a truck hit a bicyclist and a bus hit a pedestrian — both while turning, as seen in new illustrations. [Twin Cities Streets for People]

WHITE BEAR LAKE: Driest May ever has consequences. Cattails thrive, but the city has to pump more water for (restricted) lawn-watering, and lake levels dropped so low authorities closed the county beach for the season. [White Bear Press]

SHAKOPEE: Scott County puts penalty on hosting underage drinkers. The state’s first county ordinance against allowing teen booze-fests raised rural hackles. [Shakopee Valley News]

WORTHINGTON: New police-dog patrol cites man. On only their second shift since K-9 training, Thor led his human partner to man who allegedly chased children with his pants down. [Worthington Daily Globe]