Minnesota Gov. Dayton Set to End Long Hospital Stay

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he expects to be home before Thanksgiving after complications from back surgery required more than a month of hospitalization.

The 71-year-old Democrat tells reporters his two back surgeries at Mayo Clinic were successful and he feels much better thanks to physical therapy. Dayton said last week that post-surgery complications had damaged his lungs.

Dayton hasn't been seen publicly since before his first surgery on Oct. 12. The procedures were to fuse vertebrae to improve stability of his back and legs, and followed three similar back surgeries earlier. Dayton also had surgery last year for prostate cancer and is in remission.

He did not seek a third term. He'll be succeeded in January by Democrat Tim Walz .