The high court confirmed it will take up Harris v. Quinn, an Illinois case similar to one brought in Minnesota by opponents of an effort to unionize child-care workers. In September, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a Minnesota law authorizing the unionization vote pending a Supreme Court ruling on the Illinois case. The case was previously pending before the court.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted an injunction on Thursday halting implementation of a state law authorizing roughly 12,000 childcare providers that receive state subsidies to seek union representation.

A pair of lawsuits seeking to invalidate legislation that allows in-home child-care providers to join unions were dismissed by a federal judge on Sunday. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis determined that the claims were not yet "ripe" because any potential damages have not yet occurred.

A pair of lawsuits seeking to thwart legislation allowing day care providers to unionize will be taken up in U.S. District Court on Thursday morning.

The successful effort to legalize gay marriage in Minnesota this session also turned out to be one of the most expensive lobbying efforts in 2013, with advocates and opponents spending nearly $2 million to try an influence legislators votes on the issue.

A dozen child care providers filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to have legislation that allows them to unionize tossed out as unconstitutional. The legal complaint argues that the controversial law, which is set to take effect on July 1, violates the First Amendment rights of day care workers by potentially requiring them to pay union dues.

DFL Sen. Sandy Pappas (Staff photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher) Following an extraordinary overnight debate, the Senate passed legislation Wednesday morning allowing child care providers and personal care assistant to join labor union . The controversial proposal carried by a 35-32 vote after 17 hours on the floor, and four DFL senators ultimately joined all Republicans in voting against it.

Legislation that would allow child care providers and personal care assistants to unionize was defeated in the Senate Finance Committee on Monday. The surprise legislative setback came in the final committee before the bill would have been taken up on the Senate floor.

Before closing his victory speech after winning back the DFL majority in the Minnesota Senate, a teary-eyed DFL Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk grabbed the arm of one of his first-time candidates and lifted it high. “I want to introduce you to Senator-elect Melisa Franzen,” Bakk shouted to an exuberant crowd of DFLers gathered in downtown St. Paul at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. “They didn’t lose because they are Republicans; they lost because they are wrong.”

GOP House leaders are warning Gov. Mark Dayton not to unilaterally unionize home daycare providers through an executive order. In a letter sent on Wednesday, Speaker Kurt Zellers and Majority Leader Matt Dean argue that such a step would violate the state constitution by usurping legislative powers.