Scott Wente of Forum Communications -- which publishes many Minnesota newspapers, including the Duluth News Tribune, Red Wing Republican Eagle, Worthington Daily Globe, West Central Tribune, Bemidji Pioneer, as well as the Fargo Forum and Grand Forks Herald -- has a look at the Minnesota Legislature's successes and failures during the session that ended Monday.

Aimed at outstate readers, it has a slightly different approach from that of the metro dailies.

Some highlights:

Anderson highway: A stretch of Highway 53 in far northern Minnesota will be named after the late House Speaker Irv Anderson of International Falls, who died last November.

Anti-bullying: Lawmakers passed a bill requiring schools to establish an anti-bullying policy. It awaits action by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Bisphenol-A: The state is banning the sale of children's products containing a plastic chemical that can be harmful to humans.

Booster seats: A new law requires that children up to 8 years old and 4-feet, 9-inches tall use a proper vehicle safety restraint, such as a booster seat. Current law requires such restraints for children younger than 4.

Bovine tuberculosis: Lawmakers learned this year there was little they needed to do to fight tuberculosis in cattle herds, after intensive state and federal efforts in 2008 succeeded.

Brandon's law: A new law requires law-enforcement agencies to take reports about missing young adults and launch searches more quickly than under the old law. The law is named after Brandon Swanson, a missing young adult.

Budget: The Legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty failed to reach agreement on a two-year state budget — the main job of the session — so Pawlenty will unilaterally cut spending by $2.7 billion.

Clean-car standard: An effort to require tougher vehicle emission standards in Minnesota faltered.

Dedicated outdoors funding: Lawmakers passed a package of outdoors, parks and arts projects totaling $397 million over two years. Pawlenty said he must review the package before deciding whether to sign it.

Drunken driving: A statewide pilot project for drunken-driving offenders will use a device to test their blood-alcohol level before they can operate a motor vehicle.

Education funding: After Pawlenty, the House and Senate offered differing education funding plans; schools likely will see flat state aid over the next two years but some delayed payments.

Elections: Lawmakers proposed changing some absentee-voting provisions, following ballot problems exposed in the 2008 U.S. Senate race. Pawlenty has not said whether he will sign the bill.

Environment: It was a mixed year for environmental programs. General state funding was reduced, but for the first time dedicated sales-tax revenue could bolster some environmental programs.

Ethanol: Some payments to corn-based ethanol producers were delayed, totaling $6 million, to help balance the state budget.

Flood funding: Flood-damaged communities, mainly in the Red River Valley, will benefit from funding for flood relief and flood-prevention projects. The funding was part of a public works borrowing package.