In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Campaign Finance board dismissed the complaints brought by nonprofit Common Cause Minnesota, which alleged that the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) teamed up on a $200,000 ad buy last fall to push for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage and both failed to properly report their activities.

Since May, when state lawmakers passed a ballot question that will ask Minnesota voters next year whether marriage should be defined solely as a union between one man and one woman, Minnesota has found itself a key battleground in a campaign finance legal battle that is playing out across the United States.

As organizers start to contemplate the fundraising push for next year’s gay marriage constitutional amendment proposal, insiders will be tuned in on Thursday to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure (CFPD) Board’s meeting as the board weighs a potentially critical rules clarification on political contributions to ballot questions.

Members of the Capitol lobbying corps could have been excused for thinking they were in the wrong building at the start of the 2011 legislative session. A new administration and 60 new legislators took office in St. Paul, and a new complement of Republican leaders and chairs took the place of DFLers in both legislative chambers. The Capitol building itself was just about the only thing that resembled the state of affairs from the prior year.

On Friday afternoon, controversial preacher Bradlee Dean called a press conference on the second floor of the Capitol. The apparent purpose was to speak with reporters about the controversy kicked up by his opening prayer at today's House session.