U.S. President Barack Obama is in the midwestern state of Minnesota, starting a three-state bus tour aimed at answering criticism that he has not done enough to improve the ailing economy.

The president, who arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota for the start of the tour, is holding two town hall meetings Monday — one in Cannon Falls, south of St. Paul, and the other later in day in the neighboring state of Iowa.

With national unemployment at more than 9 percent, the president is expected to focus on ways to create jobs and accelerate economic growth. The White House says participants at the town halls will include small business owners, local families, private sector leaders, rural organizations, and government officials. Mr. Obama visits Illinois later this week.

The bus tour comes as Mr. Obama's approval rating has reached an all-time low. A recent Gallup poll indicated only 39 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance.

Mr. Obama will be in Iowa two days after Republicans held a poll to make known their top presidential candidates for 2012. U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota won the non-binding vote, known as a “straw poll.”

The straw poll comes months before the Iowa caucuses in February, the first serious vote in the long presidential campaign season. It is seen as just one indication of which candidate is likely to do well in next year's presidential primary elections.

Bachmann is a favorite of conservative Tea Party activists. She advocates lower taxes and smaller government and says her goal is to make Mr. Obama a one-term president.

Texas Representative Ron Paul came in second in the poll. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty finished a distant third and announced he is quitting the presidential race, while Texas Governor Rick Perry announced he is entering the race.

Perry was not on the ballot in Iowa. But he won more write-in votes than former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who was on the ballot and had been considered the front-runner.