The state Republican party will stand behind state Supreme Court candidate Michelle MacDonald despite legal troubles stemming from an intoxicated driving allegation.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter rejected calls from American Indian activists who were pushing for the delay of bond sales on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, the Star Tribune reports. The activists are trying to get assurances that the word "Redskins," the' nickname for the Washington, D.C. NFL team, will not be displayed inside the stadium.

After taking a pounding from Congressman Tim Walz in the 2012 general election, Republicans in the 1st Congressional District appear to be dusting themselves off and getting serious about preventing the Mankato Democrat from winning a fifth term.

Miller, who lives in Winona and is serving his second term in the Senate, said he is considering a run for the seat after being approached by "more than one person and some major players" in the district. He plans to make his decision in the next few weeks in order "to be fair to everyone" considering a run for the seat.

St. Peter Democratic Rep. Terry Morrow went unchallenged last fall in his race for House District 19A, but his sudden retirement from the seat in December enticed nearly a dozen candidates to jump into the special election to replace him.

Clark Johnson, a professor at Minnesota State University in Mankato, won the House District 19A primary race with about 66 percent of the vote, or 241 total votes. Farmer Karl Johnson came in second place with 26 percent of the vote, while St. Peter Mayor Tim Strand and educator Robin Courrier each garnered about 5 percent of the vote or less.

The 2013 legislative session may be in its second week, but it’s campaign season once again in two Minnesota House districts after recently re-elected lawmakers opted to take national lobbying jobs instead of returning to St. Paul.

Former state Rep. Allen Quist on Friday ended days of speculation by announcing his candidacy for the state House in District 19A. He's the second Republican in as many days to enter the campaign to succeed Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter.

The House seat that includes North Mankato and St. Peter has given every appearance of being a DFL stronghold in recent election cycles. Rep. Terry Morrow weathered the 2010 GOP wave by 10 points. In 2012, after the new district maps were unveiled, the GOP did not field a candidate to challenge him in the general election. Now that Morrow is resigning, the GOP and the Independence Party are feeling suddenly bullish on their chances to claim victory from the DFL.

One notable exception: Cravaack/Nolan CD 8 race