Attorney General Lori Swanson's opposition to the proposed release of Thomas Duvall from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program (MSOP) has drawn the embattled program into the political crosshairs once again.

Solicitor General Alan Gilbert argued that the plaintiffs in the case do not have standing to bring their claim.

Though the ink has long since dried on the Minnesota Vikings stadium legislation, there is still sufficient action on several stadium-related fronts to keep Vikings lobbyists employed for the foreseeable future.

Not one of three available options would make any great strides in getting the election -- which was supposed to start on Wednesday -- back on track anytime soon.

By all accounts, the Dayton administration’s shutdown playbook went something like this: Limited to only the most essential, core services, a hard but short-lived shuttering of state government would ramp up the pressure on intransigent Republicans and push the Legislature toward compromise.

"It really sounds like you want me to become an activist judge," Gearin told the two Republican transportation committee chairmen.

As June began to slip away and it grew increasingly likely that the Minnesota budget impasse was headed for a government shutdown, talks around the Capitol began to revolve around the bargaining leverage each side would hold as the full attention of Minnesotans turned to its dysfunctional Capitol.

Dozens of petitions from interest groups around the state will be heard in coming days from beneficiaries of the many state services deemed non-essential earlier this week.

Minnesota continues to violate the U.S. Constitution by prohibiting corporations from making political contributions that seek to directly influence campaigns. That's the gist of the argument made by plaintiffs in a hearing Friday afternoon before U.S. District Court Judge Donovan Frank.