2012 Watch: T-Paw Joins the Sharing Club

ABC News’ Rick Klein Reports: From your annals of early 2012 watching, don’t miss an intriguing item out of Minnesota.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., has reached an agreement with Gov. Jim Doyle, D-Wis., to find ways for the neighbor states to combine resources, as both governors face huge budget deficits.

“With a few inevitable Vikings-Packers jokes thrown in, the governors of Wisconsin and Minnesota said Tuesday they are looking at ways to combine operations such as purchasing and technology to save money in the face of budget deficits projected at around $5 billion in each state,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

“The upper Midwest neighbors will look at such steps as volume purchasing of the 600,000 tons of road salt they use each season; Wisconsin’s borrowing Minnesota’s helicopters for deer counts; and combining operations in areas such as licensing and call centers.”

This is a Republican governor working with a Democratic governor in the interest of cost savings and good government.

It’s also a new resume item for a likely 2012 candidate; watch for this one to make it into the unofficial official Pawlenty bio.