am.mn logoGov. Pawlenty is a “natural antidote to Barack Obama” says the British newsmag The Economist. It’s a phrase also applied to Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign last year, and a possible clue to who wrote the unsigned story, datelined St. Paul. The last Minnesota pol to make such a splash across the pond was U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, in a spread on the pink pages of the Financial Times. Meanwhile Pawlenty, in Florida today, continues to plot out an apparent Southern strategy, booking a speaking gig in Alabama.

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

ST. PAUL: State to borrow to cover costs. A quarter-century-long streak of not taking out a loan may end next year. [Associated Press]

BIG LAKE: Northstar commuter rail starts Monday. But transit to (and more importantly, from) such destinations as Maple Grove and Eden Prairie is still years off. [Minnesota Public Radio]

MOORHEAD: What’s your major? That’s what U.S. Sen. Al Franken asked students at Minnesota State University. [InForum]

GREENFIELD: Stand down, Jill. That’s what residents said to Jill Krout, mayor of the beleaguered Hennepin County town. [Star Tribune]

RED WING: Shoemakers get the boot. Sixty second-shift workers at Red Wing Shoe Co. face layoffs. [Rochester Post-Bulletin]

PRAIRIE ISLAND: More nuclear energy and nuclear waste. Thanks to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which approved Xcel Energy’s plans. [Rochester Post-Bulletin]