Former State Rep. Sandra Peterson, who helped guide the merger of Minnesota’s two largest teachers unions, has died. She was 79.

A bill by DFL Sen. Terri Bonoff that mirrors teacher layoff provisions in the House bill appears down the list of priorities for the Senate majority.

A House Education Finance Committee work group calls for Q Comp and a 2011 evaluations program to be overlaid, with neither altered significantly.

Deciding just how to spend — or, indeed, whether to spend — the largest projected surplus since 2007 ought to be complex enough to occupy state politicos’ time for the next five months.

Education Minnesota President Denise Specht says GOP House changes the union’s expectations, but not its priorities.

Gov. Mark Dayton vowed to once again boost per-pupil funding for the state’s public schools, which he said still remains in the middle of the pack when compared with other states.

Sen. Branden Petersen, R-Andover, has been tackling the complex issue of teacher evaluation since he arrived at the Capitol. As a House freshman in 2011, Petersen played a central role in crafting a new system of teacher evaluations that passed as part of that year’s education bill.

During 2012, roughly 1,400 lobbyists were paid to represent 1,354 organizations in St. Paul, according to a report on lobbyist spending released by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Wednesday. Those groups spent $11,478,298 on lobbying activities, a number that doesn't include lobbyist fees or salaries.

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.

On the afternoon that the House cast its historic vote in favor of gay marriage — completely monopolizing attention at the Capitol — the Senate quietly debated a bill overhauling the state’s campaign finance rules. Most notably, the bill would significantly increase caps on spending and contributions for political campaigns.