President George W. Bush's Minnesota visit has begun.

Air Force One landed shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday, and he was met at the Air Force reserve hangar at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by Gov. Jesse Ventura. Senate candidate Norm Coleman took the trip with Bush.

Bush is in town to talk education policy at Eden Prairie High School and headline a series of evening fund-raisers for Coleman's Senate campaign, expected to raise $1 million.

It is Bush's second visit to the state since assuming the presidency, the first since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

After a brief airport reception, Bush's motorcade hit the highway heading toward Eden Prairie High School.

There he will meet with a small group of educators and address the entire school stumping for his education initiatives. Bush is seeking close to $3 billion to aid states in recruiting and training teachers and principals.

The stop at the southwest metro school is part of a whirlwind visit that will be capped by what is expected to be the lucrative fundraiser for Coleman, Bush's favored son candidate to unseat incumbent Paul Wellstone.

After his school visit, Bush is expected to slip back into his limousine and heading to the Hilton Hotel in downtown Minneapolis for the fundraising reception and dinner. His stop is expected to snarl traffic around the hotel as the Secret Service is closing several stretches of roads.

Combining his policy speech in the afternoon with the evening of politicking will allow the President to have taxpayers pick up at least part of the tab for the visit, according to a published report during the weekend. The combination and public subsidy has been a common practice for presidents of both parties in recent decades.

The price of seats at the fundraisers varies, with one costing $1,000 and the other $2,500. The event is expected to pump at least $1 million into Coleman's coffers, offering the challenger a chance to play catch up to Wellstone in terms of campaign cash.

Bush's visit also adds another spotlight on the state's Senate, expected to be among the most closely watched -- and financially supported -- in the country this campaign year.

Democrats hold a razor-thin margin in the Senate, and with Wellstone being among the most liberal of senators he is a marked man by conservatives and Republicans seeking to regain control of the Senate.

The latest financial filings by the candidates show that Wellstone raised $4 million last year, and ended the year with $2 million in cash on hand. Meanwhile, Coleman raised $2.2 million last year and ended the year with $1.5 million in the bank.

Coleman began running his first round of television advertisements last week.

Political caucuses are set for Tuesday, the official start of the political year for voters.