ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota researchers will soon get text messages from dead moose. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said Friday it will conduct research aimed at better understanding the sharp decline in the state's moose population. Through a combination of GPS technology and implanted devices, researchers think they can get a quicker handle on the locations and causes of moose deaths.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - In a prelude to a coming tax debate, Minnesota lawmakers began to pore over bills Wednesday that would apply the state sales tax to online purchases and expensive apparel. A state Senate subcommittee didn't take any votes because the Legislature is only starting discussions of how to balance the budget and remake the tax code. With the Capitol now controlled entirely by Democrats, proposals to raise taxes are no longer seen as out of reach. Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to put sales tax changes on the table when he releases his budget next week.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Tucked inside Gov. Mark Dayton's budget are less-heralded changes that would alter how Minnesota residents pay for and interact with their government from cradle to grave. These fine-print details won't provoke the clashes of the governor's controversial sales or income tax plans, but they could dictate how the state tackles childhood obesity, stretches the availability of broadband Internet and disposes of old paint and carpet.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton says it will take a "very compelling case" to win exemptions from his plan to subject more items and services to the sales tax. Dayton told the Minesota Newspaper Association on Thursday that he will resist significant carve-outs because that would undermine the goal of a tax tradeoff. By expanding the reach of the tax, Dayton is also proposing to drop the underlying sales tax rate to 5.5 percent - a cut of 20 percent.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - About two dozen Minnesota cities and counties whose sales taxes piggyback on the state's would see a gusher of new money if Gov. Mark Dayton's proposed sales tax expansion prevails. Most of the local taxes are temporary and dedicated to specific purposes, which could mean quicker repayment of public debt on civic centers, airports, stadiums and sewer projects. That would mean the local sales taxes would end sooner. Other cities have more flexibility on how they could spend a windfall from taxes that either never expire or won't for decades.

...would have to shrink employees, decent middle class jobs. I thought that's what this is about." ___ AP reporters Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond in Madison, Wis., John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., Catherine Lucey in...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Protect the environment. Support the troops. Show some college pride. Special Minnesota license plates that act as state-sanctioned billboards and fundraising tools for various causes are causing angst among some lawmakers, who are worried about where to draw the line and whether they're actually a losing proposition.

...they left St. Paul a few weeks into April. The constitutional deadline for adjournment this year is May 20. ___ Brian Bakst has covered Minnesota politics for The Associated Press since 1999. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - In a day devoted to the ceremonial transfer of power at Minnesota's Capitol, a Legislature now under complete Democratic control offered early clues Tuesday of the priorities and skirmishes that lie ahead. New House Speaker Paul Thissen said the first batch of bills would attempt to whittle away at state IOUs to schools, give rebates to more property taxpayers, install a health care insurance exchange and prop up business investment grant programs. Meanwhile, Republicans relegated to the minority tried to drive a wedge between urban and rural Democrats.

...leave St. Paul," Hutchinson said. "People in Minnesota know the tax system isn't fair. They want fixes." ___ Brian Bakst has covered Minnesota politics for The Associated Press since 1999. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com...