Traditionally, there have been a number of more or less well-worn paths to the Minnesota Legislature. They include backgrounds in local government, business, and partisan political activism. Each, in its own way, has tended to breed familiarity with the levers of government and how they operate.

Around convention time in the spring, Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, boasted that his caucus would retake the chamber’s majority in November. Considering Senate Republicans’ 38-year stranglehold on minority status, and the 13 seats that his troops will need to gain to make good on the pledge, it amounts to a tall order.

The power divide between DFLers and Republicans in the Minnesota House may look daunting on its face, but not so long ago the GOP held a similarly imposing majority.

Republicans are sensing blood in the water of more than a dozen state House and Senate districts, and they’re circling.

State lawmakers and agriculture lobbyists are debating how to deal with the escalating property tax bills that are hitting Minnesota farms. And the differences of opinion reach all the way down to House and Senate DFL committee chairs.

If it’s possible to judge a legislator’s re-election vulnerability solely on the number of challengers that he or she attracts, then Lisa Fobbe, Jim Carlson and Kevin Dahle should probably watch their backs.

The politics of education policy are unpredictable. That reality was on display at Tuesday's gathering of the Senate's Education Committee.

Minnesota Republicans, buoyed by national congressional gains and an increasing tide of conservative sentiment, are queueing up to challenge incumbent DFL state legislators this year.

Nine more Minnesotans have registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board to run for seats in the state Legislature this fall.

Legislative love fest coming to Milaca and Onamia