President Obama's Rural Bus Tour Schedule, August 15-17: Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois

White House: Three-day trip not part of 2012 re-election effort...

President Obama will make a three-day bus tour through Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois starting on Monday, August 15th. He has five different events scheduled, all focusing on the challenges of creating jobs and boosting the economy in America's rural areas. The visit comes following the release on Friday of the White House Rural Council's new report, Jobs and Economic Security for Rural America (the post about the Report is here). (Above: The White House graphic for the trip)



Not a campaign trip, White House says...

The President's visit to Iowa also comes just as GOP presidential hopefuls are finishing a week of aggressive 2012 campaigning in the crucial state. But White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Friday insisted the bus tour is not an effort to woo Obama voters.



"The President views it as one of the chief responsibilities in office to spend some time outside Washington, D.C., talking to people all across the country about the economy and about how they’re impacted by the policy decisions that he’s making here in Washington, D.C.," Earnest said.

The President's Bus Tour Schedule

Monday August 15th - Minnesota, Iowa

President Obama will travel to Cannon Falls, Minnesota, for an economic town hall at Lower Hannah's Bend Park. The event starts at 12:05 PM local time and is free and open to the public. Tickets are required, and will be available at Cannon Falls City Hall, starting Sunday, Aug. 14 at 1:00 PM.



Later in the day, President Obama will travel to Decorah, Iowa to host a 5:15 PM town hall event at Seed Savers Exchange. Tickets have already been issued. He will spend the night in Decorah.



Tuesday, August 16th - Iowa

The President will host an hours-long Rural Economic Forum at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta. He will be joined by Cabinet Secretaries, including Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, as he meets with invited farmers, small business owners, private sector leaders, rural organizations, and government officials.



Wednesday, August 17th - Illinois

The President will travel to Illinois to host two town halls, one in Atkinson and one in Alpha.



Atkinson, 11:30 AM: The President will speak at Wyffels Hybrids Inc., 740 East Henry Street. Tickets are required and will be available at Wyffels beginning at 8:00 AM CDT, on Monday, August 15, 2011. Tickets will be limited to two per person and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.



Alpha, 3:30 PM: President Obama will speak at a town hall at the Country Corner Farm Market, 5333 U.S. Highway 150. No ticketing information available.



Download "Jobs And Economic Security For Rural America" here (PDF)



Related: The President has spent plenty of time outside Washington on the campaign trail since he announced his 2012 re-election bid in April, with more than 35 different fundraisers, many outside Washington, DC, including two in New York this week. The federal government, as noted here, has multiple and competing definitions for "rural."



*Photo by Pete Souza/White House