Though local activists were busy setting resolutions at precinct caucuses Wednesday, others were getting ready for campaign season.

Local Republican Dennis Schminke confirmed Wednesday morning he was exploring whether to run for state representative seat 27B and spent much of the precinct caucus speaking with conservatives about that. If he formally announces his candidacy, he’ll likely run against State Rep. Jeanne Poppe, DFL-Austin, for the seat.

Mower County GOP precinct members discussed several resolutions, including potential changes to the state’s conceal and carry laws, while on the DFL side, Democrats were getting ready for a busy legislative season.

“It was an interesting caucus,” said Wanda Lunning, co-chair of the Mower County DFL. Members of both parties said Wednesday morning caucus attendance was down due to the weather and the off-presidential election season, but precincts that were represented at the caucus passed several resolutions.

Lunning’s precinct passed about eight resolutions, including a desire to see minimum wage set to $10.10 to match a proposal put forth by President Barack Obama, a proposal to increase transportation funding and give the Environmental Protection Agency more tools to enforce penalties on companies that improperly ship crude oil and other hazardous substances, and more.

Local Democrats will also make efforts to include more agricultural voices at upcoming caucuses, and Lunning said more residents from the area’s Sudanese and Latino community showed up to the caucus.

“We’re starting to get more of an interest from the underrepresented interests in our county,” she said. “That’s one of our goals.”

On the GOP side, there were

Committees for both the DFL and GOP will determine which resolutions move forward to their respective caucuses, scheduled later in February.