What to know about President Biden's Fridley, Minn. visit

CATHY WURZER: President Biden is scheduled to land at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in just a few minutes. He's heading to Fridley for a tour of Cummings Power Generation facility. That's a factory that makes clean energy technology. The White House says Biden will be promoting recent bills like the Inflation Reduction Act which included money for clean energy.

Minnesota is the second stop in a tour of the country. The president, as well as First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and other cabinet members are making similar stops in 20 states over the next three weeks. Now, this is happening as Biden is expected to announce a bid for re-election and begin pitching the case to voters for giving him another term.

Mark Zdechlik is in Fridley waiting for the event to begin. He's with us right now. Hey, Mark.

MARK ZDECHLIK: Hi, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: Where are you? What are you seeing?

MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, I'm at the Cummings plant facility in Fridley. It's a large, very heavy industrial complex. And I'm in one of the buildings where the president will be speaking in a couple of hours.

It's set up for kind of a small group, not thousands but maybe a couple hundred people. And he's going to be talking, as you said, about his administration's initiatives to move the country to a new era of green energy here.

CATHY WURZER: For folks who are not familiar with Cummings, what does the company make? Why did the president choose to put it in the spotlight?

MARK ZDECHLIK: They make engines. They make filtration systems and power generation systems. It's a huge company with a worldwide presence, Cathy. They're based in Indiana.

They just announced plans to invest $1 billion in plants like this one throughout the country. They're working to develop clean energy, and they're focusing on ways to produce hydrogen with minimal carbon pollution. So this is a perfect place for the president to talk about big spending initiatives designed to bolster this type of work.

CATHY WURZER: Now, this speech is the second stop in his Investing in America tour, as the president is expected to announce a campaign for re-election. Do you have any insight? Have you talked to anybody into why the Biden administration chose Minnesota for this early stop?

MARK ZDECHLIK: Well, as you know, Cathy, Minnesota, in terms of statewide elected office, Democrats have been in pretty good shape here for a decade and a half or so. When it comes to presidential politics, so Minnesota's considered to be a state that's in play. You'll recall that Donald Trump, in 2016, nearly defeated Hillary Clinton here. He just had about-- Clinton had about 1 and 1/2 percent. While Joe Biden increased his percentage over Trump, Trump got more votes in 2020 in Minnesota than he got in 2016. So they're not taking Minnesota for granted. It's a good time for him to be here to shore up the base, bolster the base, and maybe convince some Independents and even some Republicans that his administration is on the right track.

CATHY WURZER: All right. By the way, when will the president speak to the news media? Is there a time later this afternoon?

MARK ZDECHLIK: I don't think he's having a press conference.

CATHY WURZER: OK.

MARK ZDECHLIK: I think we're just going to be listening to his remarks.

CATHY WURZER: All right. Mark Zdechlik, thank you so much.

MARK ZDECHLIK: You're welcome.

CATHY WURZER: Mark Zdechlik reporting from Fridley, where the president is expected to speak in a couple of hours. By the way, the head of the Minnesota Republican Party, David Hann, says, in a statement, that, quote, "The president shouldn't be traveling the country celebrating. He should apologize for making it harder for families to save for college or retirement, pay the bills, start a business, or even buy the things they need every day like groceries and gas."