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

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.

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.

Rep. Frank Hornstein narrowly defeated Rep. Marion Greene in a DFL endorsement contest Saturday for a South Minneapolis seat. Greene conceded defeat after the third ballot.

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.

House and Senate races across the state are rapidly shaking out following the release of new legislative maps.

The most anticipated political event of the year at the Capitol — the unveiling of court-drawn state legislative and congressional districts that will be used for the next decade — arrived at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

When Republicans swept into control of the state House and Senate in the 2010 elections, business groups had high hopes for advancing policies that had gotten swatted down by DFL majorities in the past.

With Gov. Mark Dayton’s proposal to place a fourth-tier income tax on the state’s wealthiest earners running into a Republican wall of opposition, any compromise that moves Dayton’s way on revenue is likely to find legislators sifting through lower-profile options such as shifts, fees, tax loopholes and surcharges to close the gap.