With the inauguration of the first Democratic Minnesota governor in 24 years occurring on the last full day for lobbyists to give campaign contributions to the House and Senate DFL caucuses before the beginning of the legislative session, it's no surprise Education Minnesota president Tom Dooher's dance card was full on Monday. However...

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota is leading spending in the Minnesota governor's race by third party groups, with almost all of its $2.9 million already spent on ads against GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer. But the Alliance is not the group raking in the cash.

Business-backed MN Forward raised eyebrows last week when it announced support for three DFL legislators. But the reliably Republican PAC isn't the only big cash player at the Capitol that is backing candidates on the other side of the aisle. The Education Minnesota teachers union's PAC, which most frequently endorses DFLers, has endorsed a handful of Republican incumbents who are facing DFL challengers in November.

The state House voted by a 68-65 margin this evening to reject an amendment to the K-12 education bill that would have permitted alternative teacher certification. Supporters of the proposal believe it could help close the achievement gap for minority students by allowing non-traditional licensing programs such as Teach for America into the state's public schools.

The statewide teachers union Education Minnesota today backed House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher's bid for governor. Kelliher, who received the DFL endorsement, will face Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza in an August DFL primary.

An omnibus bill that proposes to shore up public pension funds by reaching into the pocketbooks of both public employees and retirees is teed up for end-of-session floor debate.

In the waning days of the 2010 legislative session, Minnesota Republicans from the Legislature and the Pawlenty administration have begun to push hard on the issue of education reform.

The Service Employees International Union -- one of the state's largest and most influential labor organizations -- has not endorsed anyone in the DFL gubernatorial contest. But Javier Morillo, the president of SEIU Local 26, is backing Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.

GOP state legislators criticized the influence of Education Minnesota after the teachers union's leader was allowed to sit at the committee table this morning during a joint House and Senate committee hearing.

As the DFL state convention draws closer, Democrats are watching the two remaining big unions that have kept their powder dry -- Education Minnesota and SEIU -- for signs as to where they will cast their lot in the gubernatorial election.