Republican Rep. Chip Cravaack didn't wait long after Tuesday's primaries to take a shot at his Democratic opponent in Minnesota's 8th Congressional District. On Wednesday, Cravaack kicked off his re-election campaign by calling former Rep. Rick Nolan a "big-government guy," and Nolan called himself a "real true native of this district" in reference to his party's issue with Cravaack’s family moving to New Hampshire.

A meeting between six people in the Twin Cities Sunday night was made possible by a rare chain of three kidney transplants which included six surgeries, two in South Dakota and the other four in Minnesota.

In an era when more people are connecting with others online, one-third of Americans don't know their neighbors' names. But more than 100 Twin Cities neighborhoods are now using Nextdoor.com to meet the people they wave to over the fence. The free social website also aims to create regular communication among neighbors and create stronger and safer neighborhoods.

On Thursday Antoine Winfield attended the funeral of his younger brother Anthony Travis, who was murdered last week in Ohio. Winfield was back at practice with the Vikings on Friday. He said his brother was a "good guy" and having to bury him was "one of the toughest" days of his life.

In a groundbreaking ruling Wednesday, the Hennepin County Court ruled a Minneapolis man is entitled to his late, same-sex partner's assets. The ruling effectively stated that Minnesota's Defense of Marriage Act does not deny the right of same-sex partners to the "benefits of marriage," including the right to inherit.

A DNA laboratory that specializes in dog feces now offers apartment complex managers a way to track down tenants who let dogs do their business in public spaces. The managers collect dog DNA saliva when new tenants move in. If managers later find droppings where they don't belong, they send in the sample for testing to identify the disobedient pet owner. The service has arrived in the Twin Cities.