A television ad paid for by the "Red, White, and Blue" PAC tries to link Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich with President Obama, saying they've all backed big government and bailouts. The hero of the ad, Rick Santorum, is coming to Minnesota this weekend with campaign stops in Eden Prairie and Bemidji.

Is Mitt Romney a lock or can Newt Gingrich bounce back? Minnesota may hold the answer. Of all the states that vote in February, one analyst thinks those of us in North Star Land may provide the best test of Romney's momentum. A recent poll showed Gingrich leading here.

A new survey from Public Policy Polling shows Newt Gingrich capturing about 36 percent of Minnesota's likely Republican caucus-goers. That's far ahead of even his second-place rival, Mitt Romney, who draws just 18 percent. But the contest is still very much up in the air: About two-thirds of the respondents who have a preferred candidate say they might change their minds before the caucuses on Feb. 7.

Rick Santorum will visit Rochester on Monday morning, Ron Paul will rally in St. Cloud, and Newt Gingrich will appear Monday evening in Bloomington. MPR has details on the campaign events. The International Business Times takes a look at what is shaping up to be a volatile and competitive race here in Minnesota, and the Associated Press says Minnesota's conservatives are veering hard right, which could be a bad sign for Romney.

Even amid a slow crawl out of the recession, waterfront and luxury homes sales in Minnesota are selling well. On Sunday, realtors are hosting a special open house tour of 127 homes for sale on 43 different Minnesota bodies of water.

Job vacancies were up nearly 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with the same period a year earlier. Employers reported nearly 50,000 job openings, according to the latest figures from the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The Romney and Obama campaigns are making their first ad buys on Minnesota television stations. That may reflect the tightening of the race here. Or, as some pundits suspect, the ads may be aimed at viewers in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Independent groups have been running ads on behalf of the candidates, but the new ones are the first purchased by the campaigns themselves.

The former Minnesota governor owed nearly $500,000 last fall after he dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination in August. Pawlenty has also filed papers to officially terminate his campaign committee. He supports Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in November.