As I was checking in yesterday in at the NW counter in Rochester, MN, the agent handed my son and I boarding cards and immediately said that our baggage (which had not yet been checked in) would have to be hand-searched prior to their being checked. The bags had not yet been x-rayed. Clearly, we were flagged for some reason . After an extensive search of our 3 ,not-yet-checked-in bags, (all searched in an area, where travelers could see every personal item we had packed) we were then able to check them and get baggage tags. It was all a bit bizarre.