U.S. Senate candidates Norm Coleman, Al Franken and Dean Barkley will participate in five debates in the next few weeks, the campaigns announced in a joint statement Friday afternoon.
At least two debates will be broadcast on TV, another will be carried on Minnesota Public Radio, and details on the others are still being discussed.
The first debate will be held Oct. 5 in Rochester. It will be followed by a Twin Cities debate on Oct. 11, a Duluth debate on Oct. 16, and St. Paul debates on Oct. 24 and Nov. 2.
The first three debates will be sponsored by Debate Minnesota, a multi-partisan organization, with joint sponsorship by KARE-TV for the second debate.
The fourth debate, on Oct. 24, will be telecast on Twin Cities Public Television as part of the Almanac show, and the last debate will be broadcast from the Fitzgerald Theater on Minnesota Public Radio.
For the first three debates, each candidate will have two minutes to answer a question and one minute for rebuttal. Venues and panelists for those debates haven't yet been finalized.
The candidates will not accept other debate invitations, according to the campaigns.
