The Daily Digest (Extreme Cold Edition)

Good morning and welcome back after our holiday break. It's really cold out there so stay warm.

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In Minnesota

Mark Dayton faces obstacles in campaign for second term. (Pioneer Press)

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Family members say former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak is in good spirits after suffering a heart attack Saturday. (MPR News)

Enrollment in health care policies sold on Minnesota 's online health insurance marketplace surged in the final days of 2013. Nearly 68,000 people had picked a plan and were in the process of paying for it by Dec. 31, MNsure officials said. (MPR News)

A 40-year-old state law limits how much of a mining byproduct called "sulfate" can be discharged into wild rice producing waters. Prompted by mining industry concerns that the standard is too stringent, the state has been giving it another look and will release results of its two-year study Monday. (MPR News)

State Sen. Scott Dibble has written to the Minnesota Vikings owner, urging him to thoroughly review accusations by former punter Chris Kluwe that a special teams coordinator made anti-gay comments. (AP via MPR News)

Longtime Minnesota state representative and one-time speaker of the House Rod Searle has died at his Alton Township home near Waseca. He was 93. (MPR News)

In Washington/National Politics

House-Senate negotiators are slated to meet Monday in hopes of narrowing their last differences over a $1 trillion-plus omnibus spending bill that attempts to fill in the blanks after December’s budget deal and avoid another shutdown next week. (Politico)

Did Al Franken really cast the '60th vote' for Obamacare? (Star Tribune)

The political network spearheaded by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch has expanded into a far-reaching operation of unrivaled complexity, built around a maze of groups that cloaks its donors, according to an analysis of new tax returns and other documents. (Washington Post)

Liz Cheney announced early Monday morning that she is withdrawing from the Wyoming Republican Senate primary, bringing an abrupt end to her unsteady challenge to the incumbent, Michael B. Enzi. (New York Times)

The race to replace retiring Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in the 6th District got slightly less crowded Friday when state Sen. John Pederson, R-St. Cloud, announced that he is ending his campaign for the Republican nomination. (MPR News)