Obama to visit Midwest next week

by Brett Neely, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — President Barack Obama will travel to southern Minnesota next week.

The President travels on a three-day campaign-style bus tour of three Midwest states to discuss the economy. The tour starts Monday and will include stops in Iowa and Illinois. Details are not disclosed of where exactly he will visit.

The tour comes after a bruising showdown with House Republicans over the debt ceiling, a downgrade of the counry's credit rating and turmoil in the stock market.

The White House says the President will speak with ordinary Americans and discuss ways to grow the economy.

The visit to the region begins almost immediately after the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa where GOP rivals in next year's election have been hammering Obama's stewardship of the economy.