am.mn logoGov. Pawlenty will be speaking to citizens all day long today as he travels around the state … of Virginia. He didn’t cancel his trip to campaign there for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell despite the howling of critics ever since excerpts surfaced from McDonnell’s 1989 academic thesis (pdf) revealing his preference for retrograde social policies (laws should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators,” working moms are “detrimental”). They’re like the dredged-up writings that nearly sunk Al Franken — except McDonnell wasn’t kidding.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …  

WHO KNOWS WHERE: President said to speak in state Saturday. The topic: health care. The draw: Mayo Clinic. The place: Who knows? [MinnPost]

ROCHESTER: Walz lukewarm on Afghan troop surge. Just back from Afghanistan, the First District DFLer said he won’t support more boots on the ground “simply to increase our footprint.” [Rochester Post-Bulletin]

STATE CAPITOL, EDEN PRAIRIE: Doom and boom. At separate summits on the state’s economy, leaders said things are worse than they look or better than they seem. [Star Tribune]

MINNEAPOLIS: Separate and unequal. Disrepair and decay haunt parks in poorer parts of town, and the park board can’t prove it’s not redlining because it doesn’t track its own spending. [City Pages]

DULUTH: School board candidate endorses opponent. He’s already a board member but filed to run for another seat in case a judge kicked him off … it’s complicated. [Duluth News Tribune]

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: One in three will get flu soon. The H1N1 virus will strike 30 percent of the student body in the next three to four weeks, an expert says. [Minnesota Daily]