New business filings in the state for 2012 are up for the fifth straight month compared to the previous year, Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie announced Saturday. Ritchie also said the number of out-of-state businesses incorporating in the state is up 3.2 percent from 2011.

Each side is digging in in the fight over the titles of the proposed Constitutional amendments that will appear on Minnesota's fall ballot. Attorney General Lori Swanson filed papers with the Supreme Court insisting it's up to the Secretary of State to come up with the titles. Meanwhile, a Senate committee scheduled a Friday hearing to question Secretary of State Mark Ritchie about his changes to the titles suggested by the Legislature.

A complaint filed by two Republican legislators against Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has been dismissed, the Star Tribune reports.

Candidates have begun filing to run for elected positions ranging from the Minnesota Legislature to the U.S. Congress. The filing period for the 2012 election opened Tuesday at the Secretary of State's office and continues through June 5.

Voter turnout has been steady and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says he expects that Minnesota will once again rank No. 1 in voter turnout among the states. Minnesota has been at the top of that list 12 times in the last 16 elections, the Christian Science Monitor says. Here's a quick round-up of what things looked like at the polls today.

New state data for the second quarter of 2012 has revealed that the state government has shed 863 positions -- more than two percent of its workforce -- from the same period a year ago. Among those affected the most are the Department of Transportation, which lost 298 positions, leaving a workforce of 4,686 people; and the Employment and Economic Development Agency, which shed 218 positions to leave 1,570 employees.