Left for dead in April, the Vikings stadium bill sprinted to passage in the session’s closing days. What happened?

When the Legislature returned on Monday, it quickly became clear that lawmakers weren’t going to meet their own deadline. What follows is a series of vignettes from the past few days of action at the Capitol.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leaders of the Legislature spent the week fielding questions about their close-of-session priorities, and lawmakers shuttled between news conferences and marathon floor sessions in both chambers.

Since the start of the legislative session, Republican leaders have promised an early adjournment. But with legislators vacating the Capitol this week for spring break, significant work remains to be completed.

Earlier this month, when GOP activists in Carver County gathered to pick their slate of delegates for the state party convention in May, supporters of Congressman Ron Paul’s long-shot presidential bid turned up in droves. And once all the votes were tallied, Paul backers had secured 30 out of 52 delegate slots.

Members of the GOP legislative majorities came into the 2012 session carrying some unflattering baggage ahead of the fall election. Last year they agreed to a budget deal that shifted an additional $750 million of K-12 school aid into the future.

If there’s one thing lobbyists and longtime Capitol observers of all stripes can agree on with respect to the 2012 legislative session, it’s that the pressure is off.

House Speaker Kurt Zellers and House Education Finance Committee chairman Pat Garofalo announced legislation that would shift $430 million of the surplus to repay K-12 schools at a Capitol news conference on Thursday.

Assistant Senate Minority Leader Terri Bonoff predicted Friday that the bill -- which has drawn the ire of teachers and some DFLers -- would pass and head to the governor's desk.

Last year the House Republican majority introduced wide-ranging and comprehensive proposals to overhaul the teaching profession and diminish the power of teachers unions to set education policy.