Minnesota's Rep. Ramstad to retire

MINNETONKA, Minn., Sept. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., announced Monday he will retire at the end of his current term in 2009.

"It's time for me to do something else," Ramstad said during a news conference at Minnetonka in his home state of Minnesota, WCCO radio in Minneapolis reported.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representative in 1990, after serving in the Minnesota Senate for nine years.

Considered a moderate, Ramstad represented one of the state's wealthiest districts, which is made up of the southern, western and northern suburbs of Minneapolis.