WASHINGTON — Tim Pawlenty will formally announce that he's running for president on Monday in Des Moines, Iowa, MinnPost has confirmed. His wife, Mary Pawlenty, will introduce him at what's being called a "town hall" event at the Iowa Historical Building, steps from the Iowa state Capitol.

The announcement is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Central time. News of the formal announcement was first reported by Brian Bakst, an Associated Press writer in Minnesota.

None of this will come as a surprise to anyone who has heard Pawlenty's name in the last, say, two years or so. Pawlenty already has a robust campaign up and running that, though tentatively titled an "exploratory" campaign, is legally a fully-fledged campaign and has basically been working this run for some while now.

Pawlenty will follow that announcement with a quick national tour. On Tuesday, he'll hold a Facebook town hall in Coral Gables, Florida (a very up-class suburb just south of Miami that's home to the University of Miami) and a press availability outside the historic Biltmore Hotel, which has been a favorite destination for everyone from Bill Clinton to Al Capone.

On Wednesday, he'll travel to Washington for an event at the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank that gave him an "A" rating as governor in 2010. No doubt he'll make mention of that report card, as he has many times on the campaign trail already, during an afternoon press conference outside the front doors of Cato's headquarters.