Zellers announced his plans to seek the office on a sunny Sunday in Maple Grove, surrounded by supporters. In launching his run, the six-term GOP lawmaker railed on the governor and DFL majorities for passing $2 billion in new tax increases this year.

State Rep. Karen Clark, who was the lead sponsor of legislation legalizing same-sex marriage, will receive the lifetime achievement award as part of the fourth annual Leaders in Public Policy awards, sponsored by Capitol Report and Politics in Minnesota. Clark and the other honorees will be recognized at a ceremony at the Saint Paul Hotel on July 11.

The bill will increase the basic funding formula to schools by $234 million, or 3 percent, which Marquart said would break down to more than $300 in new spending per student.

K-12 education finance bills that account for roughly 40 percent of the state’s general fund spending are moving through the House and Senate floors this week.

House DFLers want to increase the amount of money that all public schools receive by 2 percent in each year of the next biennium -- a total cost of $315 million. That works out to $209 in additional spending for each student across the state.

A protracted floor fight over House rules ended exactly as anticipated -- with the DFL majority passing the proposed rules on a party-line vote.

House Republicans, now in the minority with 61 members, picked Blaine Rep. Tim Sanders as minority whip. The job requires Sanders, who is heading into his third term, to count caucus votes and communicate with leadership both before and during major floor votes.

House Republicans submitted their committee requests to incoming DFL House Speaker Paul Thissen on Thursday. Among the notable picks: outgoing Majority Leader Matt Dean, of Dellwood, was put forward as the minority lead on the Capitol Investment Committee.

In the first hours and days after the state’s new redistricting maps landed at the Capitol Tuesday, the collective sense of relief among Minnesota Democrats was unmistakable.

At an appearance to support Canterbury racetrack -- which is near closure because of the state government shutdown -- Republican Senate Finance Chair Claire Robling said she supports revenue from a racino to help solve the budget deficit.