Good morning, and welcome to Thursday.

Paula Overby, the Legal Marijuana Now candidate for Congress in Minnesota's 2nd District, died Wednesday. Overby’s son Tyler told MPR News she had a heart valve problem and had been hospitalized for the past two weeks, but that he had expected her to recover. Overby has run for the seat before as a third party candidate. In 2016 she got nearly 8 percent of the vote in the district. Overby was 68. The 2nd District race between incumbent DFLer Angie Craig and Republican Tyler Kistner is seen as one of the most competitive House races in the country. By coincidence, a marijuana party candidate running for the 2nd District seat two years ago, Adam Weeks, also died shortly before the election. State law called for a special election in February, but that law was superseded by federal election laws, which said no special election was needed. The secretary of state’s office says this year’s ballot will not be changed and the November election will decide the race. 

Email notices alerting more than one million people of their pandemic frontline worker bonuses prominently feature DFL Gov. Tim Walz’s name and role in authorizing them.MPR’s Brian Bakst reports the notices sent Wednesday begin with “A MESSAGE FROM GOVERNOR TIM WALZ” in bolded letters and offer a personal thank you. The notes go on to say that he “was honored to sign a bill to recognize workers like you for being on the front lines of the pandemic” and how he is “inspired by your work.” There won’t be paper checks delivering the $500 million in frontline bonuses, so no state official’s signature will accompany them. The money will come in the form of direct deposits and debit cards, matching the preference of applicants. The timing of the $487.45 payments is already a sore point for Walz’s Republican opponent, Scott Jensen. He posted a video on social media this week questioning the process. “I hope that you understand what Tim Walz and his administration are doing here,” Jensen said. “They're desperately wanting to do something for the voters of Minnesota a month shy of the election. They want to give you some kind of gift from Santa Claus.” 

And Brian has noticed another trend: Neither candidate for governor releases a full schedule of their campaign events:   As time ticks down in their contest, both camps are increasingly wary of unscripted moments. The candidates risk a confrontation, a flub or a maybe remark that goes sideways on them. Walz had to backtrack a couple of weeks ago when he seemed to suggest a judge presiding over a food-fraud case should be investigated for his rulings. He was pressed by reporters at an event on another topic. It led to days of follow-up questions and loads of criticism from the governor’s political opponents. Likewise, footage surfaced of Jensen talking recently about kitty litter boxes in Minnesota schools for children to use, which is an internet hoax.  Jensen was speaking to a rally in Hutchinson. It was advertised in advance and a DFL operative was there to catch it on tape and get it out into the news cycle. Jensen hasn’t commented on the episode since, but Democrats have used it to question his credibility. One off-message moment can knock a campaign off kilter for days. That’s why campaigns work overtime to connect with supporters or potential voters in pre-recorded messages or controlled events. 

A new KSTP/SurveyUSA Poll shows Walz at 50 percent and Jensen at 40 percent.  

One is a former professional football player, the other a Native American woman who served two terms in the state House. The Star Tribune has a look at Matt Birk and Peggy Flanagan, the running mates in the governor’s race: Both candidates say they want what's best for Minnesotans. But their paths to this point and their visions of the future couldn't be more different — and that's intentional, said Steven Schier, an author and retired Carleton College professor. "They both represent the activist core of their parties and that's, by the way, why they were chosen," Schier said. "There's a big difference between Jensen and Walz but there's a bigger difference between Flanagan and Birk." 

Attorney General Keith Ellison said Wednesday that the state has filed a civil lawsuit against retailer Fleet Farm, alleging that Minnesota stores missed red flags and negligently sold firearms to people who intended to resell them illegally.MPR’s Dana Ferguson reports: In its complaint the state alleges that four Fleet Farm retailers in Minnesota sold a total of 37 firearms to two people within a 16-month window. And those weapons were later involved in crimes around the Twin Cities, including a fatal mass shooting at Seventh Street Truck Park in St. Paul, according to federal court filings. State and federal laws require retailers that sell firearms conduct background checks before a purchase and certify that buyers are purchasing guns on their own behalf.  The state alleges that the company knew it was selling to straw purchasers or should have known because buyers exhibited red flags such as buying many handguns at once, making multiple purchases in short periods of time and purchasing at multiple Fleet Farms stores to evade reporting requirements.