NORWEGIAN EMBASSY CLOSING

Governor Pawlenty wrote a letter to the new ambassador from Norway, asking him not to shut down the Minneapolis embassy. Pawlenty said there are 800,000 Norwegian-Americans in Minnesota and he hopes Norway reconsiders closing the embassy on the eve of Minnesota's 150th anniversary. The current US Ambassador to Norway, Benson Whitney from Minnesota would also be disappointed. The new Ambassador from Norway, Wegger Christian Strommen is coming to Minnesota next month and the governor said perhaps they can talk more about it then.