Good morning. The longest January in history will be followed by the shortest (but still busy!) month on the calendar.

A first window for winnowing races is on tap tomorrow as voters from around the state weigh in in precinct caucuses. The local straw poll ballots will take the temperature on candidates vying for Minnesota governor after a turbulent few weeks in the race. DFL Gov. Tim Walz announced he wouldn’t run again, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar entered the race on the DFL side and attorney Chris Madel dropped out on the GOP side. Strong feelings around federal immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota are expected to boost turnout. Our team has more about what’s at stake and what to know if you go.

A federal judge over the weekend denied a request from Minnesota and its two largest cities to block the federal law enforcement surge in the state. The state, along with Minneapolis and St. Paul, sued the Trump administration last month. They alleged that Operation Metro Surge had violated Minnesota’s state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution and spurred chaos and violence. In an order filed Saturday , U.S. District Court Judge Katherine M. Menendez said the state made a strong case of the impact that the federal surge has had on Minnesota and its residents. And she acknowledged that “there is evidence that ICE and CBP agents have engaged in racial profiling, excessive use of force, and other harmful actions.“ But Menendez said those aren’t the only harms to be considered. She said a recent federal court opinion on a separate Minnesota case against the federal government “reiterated that entry of an injunction barring the federal government from enforcing federal law imposes significant harm on the government.” Menendez wrote that the injunction wasn’t justified partly because the state didn’t prove that it had a likelihood of success. 

Another federal judge over the weekend ruled that a 5-year-old boy and his father who’d been detained by federal immigration officers and held in Texas must be released. U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery in an order issued Saturday said the government violated the Constitution by detaining the pair without proper judicial warrants, calling the practice “the fox guarding the henhouse.” The judge granted habeas relief, citing the Fourth Amendment and long-standing due process protections. “The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompletely implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” the judge added. Attorneys representing Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias told MPR News they are grateful to the court for acting swiftly to reach a decision. In a statement, the legal team said “we are now working closely with our clients and their family to ensure a safe and timely reunion. We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal.” The pair returned to Minnesota yesterday and were reunited with family.

Fundraising reports covering the 2025 activity have rolled in (we’ll have more tomorrow). But some numbers came out ahead of the Jan. 31 filing deadline. Senate DFLers, who are defending a single-seat majority, say they entered this year with $2.89 million in the bank — a record for the caucus. House DFLers said they had just shy of $1.6 million banked as they work to break a current party tie in the House. A full rundown of campaign reports should be posted early today on the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board site.

Meanwhile, in the open U.S. Senate race, both of the DFL candidates have raised millions of dollars for their campaigns. U.S. Rep. Angie Craig started this year with about $3.8 million in her campaign account (she has a $373,000 personal loan still outstanding) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan ended 2025 with $816,646 available. Of the Republican candidates, military veteran Adam Schwarze finished last year with the most money to carry into the new year: about $294,000. Royce White, Tom Weiler and other Republican candidates were further back. Keep in mind that two prominent Republicans, former state GOP Chair David Hann and former TV sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya entered the race last month, so they won’t have to file initial fundraising reports until April.

In the open 2nd Congressional District race, the leading Democratic contenders also have more money than the Republican hopefuls.  This is the seat that Craig is giving up to run for Senate. Former state Sen. Matt Little came into 2026 with nearly $391,000 in cash on hand, although there is a $155,000 personal loan still outstanding. State Sen. Matt Klein entered this year with a loan-free $328,000 at his disposal. That compares to the $53,000 for state Rep. Kaela Berg. For Republicans, state Sen. Eric Pratt is the money leader with $142,500 banked as of Jan. 1, but that’s built somewhat on a personal loan of $105,000. His key GOP rival is Tyler Kistner, who has run previously for the seat and who came into 2026 with $10,350 but no loans.

Gov. Tim Walz has taken to the national media circuit to defend the state’s response to federal immigration enforcement operations. He’s also disclosed that he plans to hang up his political career at the end of his term. The second-term DFLer told MS Now that he won’t run for another political office, instead focusing on other ways to serve. "I have no political consideration," Walz told the national outlet . "Never again. And I will just do the work." Walz announced he was dropping a bid for reelection last month, days before Renee Macklin Good was killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. NPR had a sitdown interview with Walz on Friday, which you can hear and see here.

One of the key reasons Walz cited in not pursuing a third consecutive four-year term was over fraud and the state’s efforts to root it out of state programs. Over the weekend, Star Tribune reporters shared a pair of stories on the subject – one highlighting whistleblowers’ complaints about fraud that dated back years and another providing some national context around Medicaid fraud cases around the country. Reporter Jessie Van Berkel spoke with Department of Human Services employees and people who’ve worked with the department who say they reported potential fraud in state programs and faced retaliation. Some said that the department’s treatment of whistleblowers has worsened in recent years. Agency heads said employee voices matter and the department is creating an action plan based on recent feedback from DHS employees. Eleanor Hildebrandt and Eva Herscowitz tried to answer the question of how Minnesota compares to other states when it comes to Medicaid fraud and found that the state launched fewer investigations into possible Medicaid fraud compared to states that take in similar amounts of federal funding but convicted more people in connection with misuse of the money.

Maybe they’ll give him a chainsaw sendoff. Longtime state Republican Rep. Paul Torkelson will not seek reelection this fall. He’s known as one of the Capitol’s dealmakers. He says he won’t run again for a House seat that covers Brown, Redwood, and Blue Earth counties. Torkelson was first elected in 2008 and lives in Hanska. He's been a caucus leader and been atop keep committees during his tenure. That includes co-chairing the main House budget committee now.  He helped broker last year’s session-ending budget deal. (He has bragged about his chainsaw collection, hence the lead-in above.) In a statement, Torkelson played up a local issue victory — funding he helped secure in 2022 to create four lanes of highway 14 between Nicollet and New Ulm. Torkelson is among a lengthening list of lawmakers moving on from their seats after this year. A Republican candidate has already announced. It’s Redwood falls business owner and real estate broker Geri Theis whose local involvement includes work for U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach as a political coordinator.

A longtime KARE-11 reporter/anchor also announced she’s trying to take the TV to Capitol route last week.  Karla Hult, a former reporter and advocate for people with Alzheimer's Disease, announced Friday that she’s vying for a state Senate seat representing Edina. DFL Sen. Alice Mann is stepping down from the Senate District 50 seat when her term comes to a close. Hult said she’s reported through challenging moments in Minnesota’s history and felt compelled to run for office as the state faces what she called a moment of urgency. “I’ve long felt the call to serve,” she said. “After these past weeks, I knew I needed to say yes — for my neighbors, for our shared values, and for the future we owe our children.” In 2022, there were two former TV meteorologists who won seats, both for the DFL. They are current state Sen. Rob Kupec of Moorhead and ex-Sen. Nicole Mitchell of Woodbury.