After two months of negligible action at the Capitol, serious work will now begin on the main agenda for the 2013 legislative session: crafting a budget for the next biennium.

Positive budget news has been in short supply at the Capitol in recent years. So it’s no surprise that Republicans and DFLers alike greeted with relief the surprise announcement that the state is projected to have an $876 million surplus in the current two-year budget cycle.

Here's a rundown of the year's top 10 political stories.

The gaming machine may have provided a novel wrinkle in Minnesota's never-ending debate over legalized gambling. But otherwise, Thursday's hearing on various gaming measures introduced by legislators was as predictable as a blackjack deal.

Constitutional amendments aren't at the forefront as lawmakers try to pass a bonding bill before they move on to the strenuous task of solving another general fund budget deficit in excess of $1 billion.

Congressional Democrats and the Obama administration reached a tentative accord to set up a commission to study deficit reduction as part of the effort to extend the U.S. government's borrowing authority, House Democratic aides said.

With the Legislature set to reconvene next month, DFLers are preparing to pass legislation that would constrain - or perhaps eliminate - the unallotment authority of the state's top official.

State finance officials again told a legislative panel on Wednesday that Minnesota may need to borrow money as early as this spring simply to keep the state's cash flow in the black.

Whatever the 2010 Minnesota Legislature does to confront the state's massive budget deficit will have to be a long-term solution rather than a short-term fix, or legislators will find themselves merely "kicking the can down the road," legislative leaders declared this week.

Roger Moe might be one of the few people in Minnesota not surprised by this afternoon’s ruling from Judge Kathleen Gearin stopping Gov. Tim Pawlenty from unalloting money for the Minnesota Supplemental Aid Special Diet program.