Gov. Mark Dayton had joined the chorus of Democrats calling on Obama to let people keep their existing coverage.

Rep. Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, one of the GOP candidates hoping to challenge Dayton next year, has led the charge on the issue.

Dayton has asked Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson to suspend any provisional releases from the Minnesota Sex Offender Program until a special task force and legislators can address concerns about the constitutionality of potentially locking up offenders for life.

The issue of voting registration apparently did not arise during the debate over the legislation's passage more than a dozen years ago.

The increase would cost about $86 million in the current budgeting period, and advocates are hoping there will be extra cash in the state’s coffers after the November and February budget forecasts.

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.

Paulsen has recently endured pressure over his moderate stance on the shutdown, though that pressure came from right-leaning Republicans.

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.

During 2012, roughly 1,400 lobbyists were paid to represent 1,354 organizations in St. Paul, according to a report on lobbyist spending released by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board on Wednesday. Those groups spent $11,478,298 on lobbying activities, a number that doesn't include lobbyist fees or salaries.

It’s been 14 years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the matter of Olmstead v. L.C. In that case, the high court found that states cannot continue to house disabled citizens in isolated, state-run institutions if those people are capable of thriving in a more independent setting.