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• Johnson, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced March 26 that he would not seek re-election in 2014, partly because the effects of a life-threatening brain hemorrhage in 2006 had made speech and mobility difficult.
• In 2005 and 2006, Johnson said he did not support gay marriage but also that he did not support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution introducing a specific ban. He also noted in January 2005 that he had voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act protecting state laws on marriage.
• Former state Rep. Roger Hunt of Brandon, a Republican who was involved in state legislative efforts to ban gay marriage, said Johnson's support of a federal law legalizing gay marriage runs counter to the constitution's guarantee of states' rights.
• "I think families are so important, a family between a man and a woman is so important," Hunt said.
• Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin issued a statement Monday praising Johnson's decision.
• "Sen. Johnson has affirmed what a majority of Americans across the country believe -- that committed and loving gay and lesbian couples deserve the right to marry," Griffin said.
• Two Republican senators, Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rob Portman of Ohio, have announced their support for gay marriage.
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Caribou Coffee to close 80 underperforming stores
The Associated Press
• Caribou Coffee lovers may need to look a bit further for their caffeine fix.
• The Minneapolis-based coffee company said Monday that it is closing 80 underperforming stores and converting another 88 stores to Peet's Coffee & Tea sites.
• Caribou said it is making the changes to better position the coffee company for long-term growth. It said the stores will be closed in April but did not say where the closures would occur.
• The conversions will occur over the next 12 to 18 months in Washington D.C. and eight states: Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois and Wisconsin.
• Going forward, Caribou Coffee will be made up of 468 locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Western Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Colorado and 10 international markets.
• Caribou was taken private last year by German investment firm Joh. A Benckiser Group GmbH, which also holds a majority stake in Peet's.
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