AM.MN: Like Oprah, Pawlenty will quit his show in 2011

The year 2011 will be the end of an era in broadcasting. That’s when Oprah will leave her long-running show — and, by coincidence, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty will leave his, Minnesota Public Radio confirms. Today, his “hot” wife Mary sits in for T-Paw on ‘CCO, but you won’t see Her Hotness unless the First Couple follows Garrison Keillor’s lead and starts simulcasting in high-def to movie theaters.

Elsewhere in Minnesota News this morning …

STATEWIDE: Local property taxes up 3.5 percent. That’s an estimated average; the truth comes out at Truth-in-Taxation hearings starting next week. [Associated Press]

RAMSEY COUNTY: She gets put on the Coleman-Franken recount board, the unallotment lawsuit, now the dad-shirt case. Doesn’t Judge Kathleen Gearin deserve a “Stay Out of the News Free” card?” [St. Paul Pioneer Press]

STATEWIDE: Al Franken’s bill would aid homeless kids. Bill would help them stay in the same school when possible. [ECM Publishers]

OWATONNA: Texts (both kinds) prompt race tensions. White kids and Somali kids are fighting after anti-Somali writings circulate. [Star Tribune]

MOORHEAD: Native Americans in college. They’re the focus of a national conference today.  [Associated Press]

ALBERT LEA: “Pay-to-play” charges could sink junior-league puck squad. The whistleblower is a bowling alley owner in Elkhorn, Neb. [Albert Lea Tribune]