The teachers union counts 70,000 educators among its members.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter rejected calls from American Indian activists who were pushing for the delay of bond sales on the new Minnesota Vikings stadium, the Star Tribune reports. The activists are trying to get assurances that the word "Redskins," the' nickname for the Washington, D.C. NFL team, will not be displayed inside the stadium.

New 2013 test results from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as the "Nation’s Report Card," showed that Minnesota fourth graders had the highest math scores in the nation this year and the 10th best reading scores. Black fourth graders in Minnesota posted the fourth-highest math scores in the nation, moving up from 22nd in the nation two years ago, and improved reading scores by roughly 25 percent since 2009.

Mills, the only declared GOP candidate in that race so far, was endorsed by a number of prominent Republicans who represent parts of the 8th District.

Former U.S. representative and senator Rod Grams, who rose to politics after years as a television anchor, died on Tuesday at the age of 65. Grams, who suffered from cancer, had been in hospice care at his home in Crown, Minnesota for the last several weeks.

In a letter sent to Legislative Auditor Jim Noble’s office on Monday, GOP leaders said Ritchie “unilaterally” started the program without vetting the proposal in committee hearings. The program allows new voters to register online or returning voters to update their information.

The loss of projected collections from the agriculture tax will remove $29 million in revenue toward the DFL majority's budget, and the warehouse tax would take away an additional $90 million.

Republican leadership has used Dayton's openness to additional topics to push for a repeal of the business-to-business warehouse tax.

A special legislative session appears imminent. Gov. Mark Dayton has suggested Sept. 9 for a one-day gathering of the House and Senate. But the exact agenda for the session has remained uncertain in recent days. Dayton indicated on Tuesday that he wanted disaster assistance relating to storm damage in 18 counties to be the sole item on the agenda.

Gov. Mark Dayton indicated in a speech at FarmFest on Thursday that he wants to utilize an upcoming special session to repeal a controversial tax on farm machinery repairs.