WASHINGTON, D.C. — It might be easier for everyone concerned if Minnesota employed Sherlock Holmes to decipher the clues contained in the federal Race to the Top funding rubric. As is, the amateur detectives at the state level are left to guess as to how effective their solutions, designed to address those nebulous goals, will be perceived by the judges — with literally hundreds of millions of dollars to gain for those who guess correctly — and lost for those who don't.

"I no longer think that competition is appropriate for many reasons," he says. "The most compelling one is that education is not necessarily a market. A business must concentrate on its most profitable customers. Public education has to serve everybody."

Related: A new feature: MinnPost asks

The brand-new Bipartisan Redesign Caucus introduced itself to the Minnesota public this noon. There was only one small problem: Republicans on the legislative committee couldn't attend because they were at a highly partisan caucus meeting. So, a bunch of DFLers were left to speak to the wonders of a bipartisan spirit.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — White House aims to double the number of U.S. exports in the next five years, and experts point to companies in Minnesota as models for achieving that goal. Minnesota exports grew by 50 percent over the past five years.

Neither Rep. Lyndon Carlson, House author, nor his Senate partner, Dick Cohen, DFL-St. Paul, can predict whether their bill will be greeted as a partisan challenge to Republicans, or whether GOP legislators will see the measure as an honest effort to preserve legislative autonomy into the future.

They're all back again. DFLers are promising to pass, with great speed, a $1 billion bonding bill. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened that he might veto the package, if, in his eyes, it's too big. So does this mean we're starting a new session in the same chaotic and angry place the last session ended? Not necessarily.

Senate majority leader Larry Pogemiller is in the spotlight as never before. As a new legislative session begins today with one over-riding problem — the budget deficit — the 58-year-old Pogemiller is the one key player in St. Paul not seeking higher office.

Before Tuesday, I had never attended a caucus. I came close in 2008, but thought it'd be too much of a pain to take off work. I had to lifeguard that night. So this year I was a first-timer, and here's what I found.

CAUCUS NIGHT IN MINNESOTA

Nobody expected the sort of record crowds and excitement of the 2008 presidential-year caucuses. But the bland nature of caucuses like these would indicate most Minnesotans aren't paying much attention yet to a governor's race that both parties keep saying is vitally important to the state's future.

Before Tuesday, I had never attended a caucus. I came close in 2008, but thought it'd be too much of a pain to take off work. I had to lifeguard that night. So this year I was a first-timer, and here's what I found.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The president plans to direct $45 million to begin construction on the Central Corridor light rail train, money that local and federal officials say all but confirms the project will win federal approval later this year.

In a year in which there are so many candidates, the straw poll may not necessarily determine winners, but it surely will identify some losers. The ballots, for example, might eliminate as many as half of the 10 DFL candidates.