Minn. Democrats gather to pick new party leader

COKATO (AP) — Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is electing a new leader in a race that has featured only one candidate.

Veteran operative Ken Martin was unopposed heading into Saturday’s voting at the DFL State Central Committee meeting in Cokato. He is running to replace DFL Party Chairman Brian Melendez, who passed on another two-year term.

Martin has worked behind the scenes in state and presidential politics for years.

In 2010, Democrats swept all of the statewide offices, including their first win for governor in 25 years. But they lost both chambers of the Legislature despite huge financial and numerical advantages heading into the election.

Republicans plan to elect their party leaders this spring.

Gym roof collapses at Minnesota church

APPLE VALLEY (AP) — The gymnasium roof at an Apple Valley church and school collapsed early Friday.

Fire officials say no one was injured because the gym was unoccupied.

Apple Valley Fire Chief Nealon Thompson says staff at Heritage Lutheran Church expressed concern about cracks in the ceiling drywall earlier this week. Thompson says maintenance workers then identified “a significant issue with the roof truss over the gym.”

Canadian panel OKs nuclear shipment on Great Lakes

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has approved a shipment of 16 scrapped power generators with radioactive contents across three of the Great Lakes.

The panel announced its decision Friday, turning aside objections from environmentalists and some local officials in the region who said the lakes would be contaminated if there were an accidental spill.

Bruce Power Inc. plans to send the spent generators to a recycling plant in Sweden.

Possible presidential contender Pawlenty in Ill.

Possible Republican presidential contender Tim Pawlenty isn’t shying away from President Barack Obama’s home state.

Pawlenty was in Chicago on Friday as part of a book tour for his new “Courage to Stand.”

The former Minnesota governor said Chicago and Illinois are important to get the pulse of what’s going on in the country.

He says he’s not worried or intimidated by coming to a state with Democrats because his home state of Minnesota is like that.

Pawlenty said he’ll soon make a decision about running for president and will make an announcement in the next few months.

Klobuchar hopes for ‘grace period’ before campaign

ANOKA (AP) — Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar says she hopes for a “grace period” before the 2012 campaign begins, with no declared opponents and $1.6 million in the bank.

Klobuchar said in an interview Friday that she isn’t worrying about next year’s campaign.

GOP Chairman Tony Sutton says he expects the field to firm up in two to three months.

Republicans including former Sen. Norm Coleman and former state Rep. Laura Brod say they’re not running.