The race had divided many of the city's prominent Democrats.

JoAnn Ward decided to run when Rep. Nora Slawik, DFL-Maplewood, decided to retire. Redistricting pushed the new House District 53A farther to the east and across I-494 into Washington County. Even though partisan voter indices still pegged the new district as DFL-leaning, the race caught the attention of Republicans.

Leaders from all four legislative caucuses are spending the waning days of the 2012 campaign barnstorming key districts around the state.

It’s not hard to see why campaign operatives from both political parties have had Minnesota’s newly drawn Senate District 53 on their radar since day one.

The last two election cycles have witnessed wave elections for both parties that tilted the Minnesota House of Representatives in polar opposite directions.

After adjourning in the wee hours of Thursday morning, the Minnesota House of Representatives plunged ahead with the bittersweet biennial ritual of retirement speeches from departing members.

The seven-term DFLer from Maplewood said she's retiring as the financial burden of college for her children grows. DFLers in the redistricted District 53 are scheduled to meet next Saturday.

Department of Human Services claims it saved $175 million through competitive bidding for state-funded insurance programs.

House GOP leaders released "phase one" of their proposed budget for health and human services on Monday morning. The proposal calls for spending $10.7 bill during the next biennium, a reduction of $1.6 billion from the projected health and human services budget.

More than 14 months before the 2010 general election, 19 people have filed with the Campaign Finance Board to run for the state Senate in 16 districts, and 16 have filed to run for House seats.