A St. Charles mayoral candidate will remain on the ballot despite two felony drug convictions. Stephen Thomas Conlin will be sentenced in December after a jury found him guilty of third-degree marijuana sale and fifth-degree possession of marijuana last week. The charges stem from a 2010 raid on his home and downtown barbershop where authorities confiscated more than 17 pounds of pot, marijuana plants, cash and firearms.

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.

Twin Cities restauranteur Thom Pham faces felony charges for allegedly writing bad checks. The news comes in the same week his downtown restaurant upbruptly closed. According to a Mille Lacs County complaint, Pham wrote $30,000 worth of bad checks to A-Z Restaurant Equipment in Princeton, Minn. Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen closed its doors earlier this week.

Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris is leading the charge in asking President Barack Obama for disaster assistance in the wake of the flooding that affected Duluth and surrounding areas. Duluth Mayor Don Hess says Harris wrote the president, saying "devastation could not have come at a worse time" because the businesses in the affected areas heavily rely on tourism.

The Duluth News Tribune endorses a write-in Independent candidate in the race for House District 7B race to replace disgraced State Rep. Kerry Gauthier of Duluth. The paper says Jay Fosle -- a member of the Duluth City Council campaigning as an independent write-in candidate -- is better suited for the job than Erik Simonson.