Ventura vents over Olympic torch route

MINNEAPOLIS -- Gov. Jesse Ventura is facing a budget deficit, slumping approval ratings and the potential shutdown of the Minnesota Twins on his hands. But for constituents who take pride in cold, he's tapped a new issue.

"I'm outraged that the state of Minnesota is not getting the Olympic torch," Ventura declared Thursday. "There should be an outcry from the public. Minnesota is known for its winters."

The torch for the Winter Games in Salt Lake City started its relay Tuesday in Atlanta, the last U.S. city to be host of the Olympics. The torch will be carried through 46 states -- including Alaska -- en route to Utah, but will miss Minnesota, the Dakotas and Hawaii.

Lyndsay Rowles, a spokeswoman for the relay, said the torch route is determined by time and logistics.

The relay includes more states than ever, Rowles said, and the torch will travel 13,500 miles before arriving in Salt Lake City for the start of the games Feb. 8. About 11,500 people will carry it, including more than 50 Minnesotans, she said.

"We love our four seasons in this state, and we face our winters head-on, straight into the wind. A little heat from the Olympic torch would be most welcome and appropriate," Ventura said in a letter Thursday to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Renowned for long, tough winters, Minnesota is home to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and boasts national-caliber courses for cross-country skiing and rinks for speedskating. More than half of the U.S. hockey team that won a gold medal in the 1980 Olympics were from the state.

Mike Ramsey, a member of that team, said he wasn't even aware of the snub.