After two terrible crimes in Minneapolis in two weeks, you knew it wouldn't be long before the politicians started blaming each other.

First Michael Zebuhr was shot and killed by a robber in Uptown then Alan Reitter was killed in a random shooting downtown Friday night. Now Gov. Tim Pawlenty has weighed in, as reported by MPR's Art Hughes:

The senselessness of the crimes has rattled elected leaders who want to combat the image of Minneapolis as an increasingly violent city. But tough talk from police and elected officials at the press conference couldn't stop Gov. Tim Pawlenty from making a swipe at spending priorities in the state's largest city.

"From my vantage point, when you've got people shooting each other in the streets and you've got all that money sitting in Neighborhood Revitalization Program and some of the other things they do that aren't as high a priority, those resources should be re-deployed in my view, in the near and intermediate term, on cracking down on this violence in Minneapolis," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty says he's considering further state intervention to quell the violence.

Mayor R.T. Rybak says he welcomes the governor's input, especially if it comes in the form of restoring some $37 million in local aid cuts over two years that resulted in a trimmer police and fire department.

Get ready to hear a lot more of this as the election approaches.

Speaking of the election, at least for now there will not be a constituional amendment defining marriage on the ballot. The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the amendment Tuesday as MPR's Tom Scheck reports:

The committee disregarded the concerns of those who support the amendment and defeated the proposal. Before doing so, the committee voted to change the original amendment to only allow the Legislature, not the courts, to change the definition of marriage.

The biggest election issue of course will be the war in Iraq. And as MPR's Mark Zdechlik found, members of Minnesota's Congressional delegation from one party want to talk about it much more than memebers from the other party:

Republicans generally bristled at the inquiry. They conceded the administration has made mistakes, but they insisted progress is being made.

Democrats blamed the GOP: their war, their fault.

Voters in 32 Wisconsin cities actually weighed in directly on the war Tuesday. The Associated Press had the results:

Voters in Madison, the northern city of Ladysmith and the Milwaukee suburbs of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay are among those who passed referendums calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Early returns show voters in 12 other spots also approved similar referendums. They were voted down in six spots - Forestville, Sister Bay, Egg Harbor, Newport, Watertown and Hayward.

The results are non-binding.

And finally, if you were worried about Katie Couric you can breathe easier. The AP says her new job will pay between $13 million and $15 million a year:

On her 15th anniversary on "Today," Katie Couric told viewers Wednesday she's leaving to join CBS and become the first woman to solely anchor a network evening newscast.

"I wanted to tell all of you out there ... that after listening to my heart and my gut ... I've decided I'll be leaving 'Today' at the end of May," she said. "I really feel as if we've become friends through the years."

The 49-year-old Couric, the longest-serving anchor in "Today" show history, is expected to replace Bob Schieffer on the third-rated CBS broadcast in September.

My heart and gut have been telling me that I too need a job that pays $15 million a year. I just wish somebody else's heart or gut would agree.