When President Obama hits the road for a three-day bus tour next week, Minnesota will be part of his itinerary, the White House announced Tuesday.

The tour, designed to promote his job-creating strategy will include stops in southern Minnesota, northeast Iowa and western Illinois next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The White House has been tight-lipped about the tour since it was announced last week and has offered no other details.

The tour comes on the heels of the bruising fight with Congress over the federal debt ceiling and, more recently, the precarious performance of the world financial markets.

Announcing the tour last week, press secretary Jay Carney said Obama "looks forward to talking to the folks about growing the economy, creating jobs."

According to the White House announcement, Obama "will discuss ways to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class and accelerate hiring in communities and towns across the nation and hear directly from Americans, including local families andsmall business owners. The President knows we must do everything we can to promote economic growth, restore confidence in our nation's future and restore the sense of optimism for future generations."

Although Republicans have complained that the bus tour is a thinly-veiled campaign swing, the White House has called it an official administration event -- not part of Obama's re-election campaign.

For the record, Obama handily won all three states in 2008.