Former Vice President Walter Mondale was doing well after being released Saturday morning from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, where he was being treated for flu and cold symptoms, said hospital spokeswoman Kelley Luckstein.

Mondale, 87, was admitted after a routine checkup on Friday.

The announcement that Mondale was in the hospital came from former President and Nobel Laureate Jimmy Carter before a Friday afternoon speech at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Minneapolis. Carter said he'd just gotten off the phone with Mondale, who he said was in the hospital but looking forward to returning home.

"He said [to] tell everybody he's doing well," Carter told the crowd.

Mondale, formerly a U.S. senator from Minnesota, served as Carter's vice president from 1977 to 1981. He had been scheduled to introduce Carter at the forum, which is put on annually by Minneapolis' Augsburg College.

Mondale underwent heart surgery at Mayo last year, days after the death of his wife, Joan Mondale.

Staff writer Emma Nelson contributed to this report.

Jim Buchta • 612-673-7376