Now that it's election year, more voters  may start paying attention to the governor's race -- as opposed to activists, who are always interested. Two early chances for DFLers come this week.

Thursday in Fridley:
Fridley Community Center, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Confirmed participants include: Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Tom Bakk, Susan Gaertner, John Marty, and Paul Thissen. All other DFL candidates have been invited, and more may participate.

From 6:30 to 7:00 p.m., the candidates will meet and greet; at 7 p.m., candidates will respond to questions from forum moderator Steve Brown. Then, the candidates will respond to questions from the audience.

Saturday in Alexandria:
Alexandria Technical College, 1 to 3 p.m.

Candidates invited are: Tom Bakk, Mark Dayton, Matt Entenza, Susan Gaertner, Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Steve Kelley, John Marty, Tom Rukavina, R.T. Rybak and Paul Thissen. Questions will be posed by local DFL activists, organizers say.