ST. PAUL  — Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is ready to make his return to the podium, albeit without being in the Republican presidential hunt.

Pawlenty is scheduled to address an energy company’s gathering at a posh resort in California in mid-September. It’s about a month after he ended his White House bid following a disappointing third-place finish in Iowa’s GOP straw poll.

The speech at Royale Energy’s West Coast Energy Summit Conference in Santa Barbara was announced by the company on Thursday. Earlier this year, Pawlenty was commanding five-figure appearance fees through an arrangement with a speakers’ bureau. His paid speeches diminished as he became a 2012 candidate.

Pawlenty hasn’t said what career options he’ll pursue after two decades in political office.

Bachmann

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has criticized President Barack Obama’s handling of the recovery from the Great Recession as she brings her campaign back to South Carolina.

The Minnesota congresswoman said Thursday that during the recession, 7 million private sector jobs were lost but after Congress passed the stimulus bill hundreds of thousands of government jobs were added.