An unusually large number of legislators and prominent Minnesota politicos are opting to run in county commissioner races across the state.

Two marquee pieces of environmental legislation in the 2012 session owe their victories in no small part to horse trading between Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature.

On the fifth and final ballot GOP delegates in Senate District 31 pushed Sen. Michelle Benson over the 60 percent threshold required for endorsement. The freshman legislator defeated three-term incumbent Sen. Mike Jungbauer in a tight contest for party backing.

On Saturday Reps. Glenn Gruenhagen and Ron Shimanski squared off in Hutchinson for the GOP endorsement in House District 18B. On the second ballot Gruenhagen pulled within half a percentage point of crossing the 60 percent threshold required for endorsement.

At least three incumbent Republican legislators appear to be facing serious challenges for party endorsement.

House and Senate races across the state are rapidly shaking out after the release of the 2012 legislative map last month. And with local endorsing conventions set to take place throughout March, incumbents and challengers alike have little time to make decisions about their political futures.

At least three prospective Republican candidates for the Minnesota Senate crowded a gathering of activists in the newly drawn Senate District 39 over the weekend.

When Republican state senators gather on Tuesday to elect a new majority leader, their top-of-mind priority will be to choose someone who can bail out a sinking boat and set it sailing in the right direction again. But the stakes will also be very high for a set of Capitol interest groups facing an historic chance to make years’ and countless dollars’ worth of lobbying efforts pay off.

Former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch admitted having a relationship with a Senate staffer in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. The acknowledgment was Koch's first public comment since suddenly reigning from her post a week earlier.

The Minnesota Senate Republican caucus is in disarray after a tumultuous few days that saw Majority Leader Amy Koch suddenly step down following allegations of an “inappropriate relationship” with a direct subordinate on the Senate staff.