For former DFL Sen. Jim Carlson, it was a matter of a little reflection and time to “lick my wounds” before he knew he was ready to run again for the state Senate. Carlson, who served one term in the chamber, was ousted last fall by Republican newcomer Ted Daley as part of a massive GOP wave that saw the party take control of both the House and Senate for the first time in nearly four decades.

It’s hard to argue with Charlie Kyte’s qualifications. Before becoming a lobbyist for the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA), Kyte spent more than five years teaching math, science and physics at a school in southern Minnesota. He then moved to Eden Valley-Watkins to become the school’s principal, and, ultimately, the mayor of the town.

Many Republican candidates from greater Minnesota have hammered constantly on what they called school funding inequities that favored districts in the Twin Cities metro area. But Democrats and urban school advocates are outraged.

After two days of public testimony and debate, the House Education Finance Committee passed Republican's K-12 budget bill, which caps special education funding and strips dollars from areas like Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth while increasing the funding formula for schools across the state.

With Republicans now officially in control of the Minnesota Legislature, a proposal that would make it easier to license teachers who lack education degrees is likely to pass, and some say a bill could drop during the second week of session.

There were few surprises when the Minnesota House GOP released committee rosters last week. Legislators, Republican and Democrat alike, landed in spots where they've sat before, or - in the case of new lawmakers - where they have accrued relevant experience in their professional and personal lives.

Ranging in age from 24 to 65, new class presents a varied face

Many Republican frosh have records of local civic service HD 15B: King Banaian King Banaian was surrounded by politics growing up in New Hampshire. The state is inundated with presidential hopefuls every four years, and Banaian was recruited at 15 to put flyers on doors for the George McGovern campaign.

Last Wednesday, just a day after new Republican legislative majorities unveiled their downsized committee structure, it rained gavels at the Capitol. Incoming caucus leaders Amy Koch and Kurt Zellers handed down a total of 40 chair appointments as a substantial contingent of the anointed stood beaming at their side.

Making good on what they called part of their core campaign message, Republican leadership at the Legislature on Tuesday rolled out a drastically scaled back committee roster for the upcoming legislative session. The committee reconfiguration reduced the total number of legislative panels from 61 to 40, and GOP leaders predicted the move could save as much as $800,000. And they followed it up just a day later by appointing chairs to lead the freshly reconstituted committees.