Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson won a four-way Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin. Thompson will face Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin in the general election this fall. Democratic incumbent Sen. Herb Kohl is not running for his fifth-term.

The Associated Press reports honeybees produced 6.4 million pounds in Minnesota last year. Wisconsin also had an off year, down 12 percent. North Dakota is the nation's leader producing nearly 33 million pounds of honey in 2011.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will get a high-profile speaking spot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., later this month, putting a spotlight on one of the party's rising stars.

Jack Reich, 43, of Zap, N.D., who recently served as the North Dakota Stockmen's Association president, was among the three killed in a crash near Dodge Center on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. His son, 10-year-old Vander, was also killed. They were returning from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where a tumor was removed from the boy's brain after he was diagnosed with cancer Oct. 22. Their vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck on Highway 14, and the pickup driver also died.

... at least for northern states, that is. Smart Politics writes "a Barack Obama victory in Minnesota in 2012 would give the Gopher State the longest consecutive Democratic winning streak in presidential elections outside of the south."

Gov. Scott Walker survived a highly contentious recall election in Wisconsin on Tuesday, defeating Democrat and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. What did the result say about Walker, his stand against public employee unions, big money vs. grassroots campaigning and what's next for the two parties?