ST. PAUL (AP) - Those campaign-style TV commercials clogging Minnesota's airwaves are brought to you by the budget stalemate at the state Capitol.

It used to be that political ads were mostly confined to election years. But the simmering dispute over taxes and spending between Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders have inspired interest groups on both sides to take to the airwaves anew.

The left-leaning Alliance for a Better Minnesota says it's spending about $700,000 to back Dayton's desire to raise $1.8 billion mostly in taxes on higher earners. But GOP legislative leaders will likely get a similar boost next week when a coalition of business groups announces their own TV campaign.

Other groups including state worker unions and the fiscally conservative Taxpayers League are also getting in on the action.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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