A special court panel will likely have to decide how to redraw the districts because Dayton and Republican legislators probably won't agree on a plan. Every 10 years the state redraws the boundaries to account for population changes in the Census.

Many observers speculate a five-judge panel will release the new legislative and congressional district maps next week. The court panel is now responsible for the maps because the GOP-controlled legislature and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton failed to agree on the new maps. Redistricting is required every 10 years to keep nearly the same number of people in each district.

When Minnesota's political parties were unable to agree on new political boundaries, they went to court ... and now the bills are coming due. Democrats, Republicans, and citizens who joined the lawsuit are seeking reimbursement of $628,000 in legal costs. A panel appointed by the state Supreme Court eventually handled the redistricting.

Forum Communications reports candidates may be raising some money now, but are ultimately waiting to see how districts shake up after the new political maps are completed in February before tossing their hat into the ring.

The Associated Press reports the court panel assigned with redrawing the state's political boundaries won't rule until late February -- a point where the Republican Congresswoman should know if its time to abandon her presidential campaign if her placement in the polls don't improve.

The five-judge redistricting panel appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court released an outline Thursday. All parties must have their proposed maps to the court next month. The court will then have a hearing on the plans in January.

With the new state House and Senate district lines in place, MinnPost has mapped the political leaning of each district based on average precinct results from the three most recent elections: 2006, 2008 and 2010.

The news is a blow for Medtronic and investors, who expected big things from an experimental device that uses extreme heat to regulate heartbeat. Medtronic bought the company that developed the device for $225 million in 2009. The panel's recommendation isn't the final say, but the FDA will take it under consideration.