Gov. Mark Dayton and US Sen. Al Franken are facing narrow margins of victory, according to a KSTP-SurveyUSA poll released on Thursday.

Former Republican House Rep. Marty Seifert, who is still competing against a field of GOP contenders to take on Gov. Mark Dayton, will start running ads this week. Dayton Campaign Manager Katharine Tinucci said it's not time yet for the governor to run ads.

Leitz detailed efforts aimed at addressing website glitches, with a team of experts from IBM working on-site over the last two weeks.

No “if” about it: There will be a special session to appropriate state funding to help with the aftermath of the floods that wrought destruction last month in northeastern Minnesota. And part of the preparation involves seeking assurances from legislative leadership that their caucuses won’t use the session to advance other political aims.

By conventional wisdom, 2012 is a bonding year. It’s during even-numbered years that the Minnesota governor and Legislature usually assemble and pass a large package of bonding projects. And at present, that prospect is further sweetened by historically low interest rates and a voracious appetite for construction work, sources say.

The Minnesota Vikings’ partnership with Ramsey County officials in pursuit of a new football stadium in Arden Hills has remained intact. But the alliance appears to be increasingly isolated in the face of forces in business and elected office in Minnesota who have reservations — or other ideas.

With two weeks left until the end of the biennial budget cycle, the largest question facing the state is increasingly not whether the government will be forced to shut down July 1, but just how much will be shuttered when it does.

Michelle Kelm-Helgen, who most recently served as outgoing Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller's chief of staff and was a senior advisor to the transition effort, will be deputy chief of staff.

Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, who is facing a likely recount in the Minnesota governor's race against GOP nominee Tom Emmer, aligned finance officials of the last four governors on Wednesday to talk about the $6 billion budget deficit and long term fiscal problems in the state.

Mark Dayton, who has an unofficial lead over Republican Tom Emmer in the governor's election, has announced two well-known DFL operatives to lead his transition team including Tina Smith, above.