I am back!

It has been a little more than two months since my last blog entry, and a few of things have happened.

First, the Vikings are finally getting a new stadium. All it took was a visit from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Steelers president Art Rooney to (finally) motivate Minnesota legislators to do something or risk the franchise relocating to another state. It was a bitter battle and I am not sure what kind of impact this will have on legislators in the November general elections. At this point, my guess is the DFL will take back of the Minnesota Senate, while the Republican Party holds on to the Minnesota House.

Second, as predicted, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney secured enough delegates to become the Republican nominee for the presidential election against President Barack Obama. It's going to be a close race and things seem to be stacked up against Obama at the moment. However, anything is possible between now and then. So brace yourself for a long four-and-a-half months of negative campaign attacks from both candidates and other political action committees.

Third, Texas Congressman Ron Paul is still making an impact on American politics - especially in Minnesota - even though he will not be the Republican nominee in November. Paul's supporters outnumbered traditional Republicans at the Republican State Convention in May. It was there that Minnesota Rep. Kurt Bills of Rosemount secured the nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the general election in November. Polls have shown Klobuchar leading Bills by double digits.

Fourth, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker survived a recall election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, his 2010 gubernatorial opponent. Democrats and labor groups collected enough signatures for a recall after Walker and a Republican-controlled Legislature stripped away collective bargaining rights for public unions (except for public safety). Democrats and labor groups, however, did a poor job executing their message and even caused some Democratic-leaning voters to vote for Walker out of protest for the recall election. Walker won the recall with 53 percent of the vote to Barrett's 46 percent. Walker will finish his first term as governor and will be up for re-election again in 2014.

My apologies for taking some time away from this post. I will try to get back to the daily grind of writing and analysis on top news stories in politics, sports, and entertainment. Thank you for your continued interest in this blog.