AM.MN: In guv race, Rukavina promises ‘moxie,’ Jungbauer brandishes ‘B.S.’

State Rep. Tom Rukavina tried to announce his 2010 run for governor at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Duluth but got the bum’s rush from organizers who said speaking slots were filled with locals. So Rukavina moved his announcement to the wings, promising “moxie,” as other DFL gubernatorial hopefuls mingled away from the mics. Meanwhile at the State Fair, state Sen. Mike Jungbauer stood out from a crowd of eight debating GOP guv candidates by flashing a government global-warming flyer and calling it “pure, unadulterated B.S.”

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning … 

ST. PAUL: Economic slump no picnic for unions. At least in Duluth unions could afford a Labor Day celebration … not so in St. Paul, where the annual event has gone the way of union-sent flowers at funerals. [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

STATEWIDE: Do you support prosecution of torturers? The respective responses one citizen got from U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken: a belated yes, a change of subject and no answer. [MN Progressive Project]

ST. PAUL: Pawlenty support slips 6 percent in a year. Compared to double-digit drops in Survey USA approval ratings for neighboring governors, that makes Minnesota’s governor “a strong leader.” [Smart Politics]

GOLDEN VALLEY: Audiotapes of Carl Sandburg surface as his namesake school closes. The poet’s warnings to kids about TV and radio when he helped dedicate the building 50 years ago stand in contrast to Obama’s school-speech shout-outs today to Twitter and Facebook. [Minnesota Public Radio]

LANESBORO: Two dollars but no takers. Despite a very affordable filing fee, no one has filed to run for three open school board seats in the St. Francis School District. [Anoka County Union]

BEMIDJI: When in a recession, do as the squirrels do. Collectors of acorns can sell them to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for $20–$120 a bushel, starting today. [Associated Press]