ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Spinal surgery is sidelining Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton for the rest of the year.
Dayton was headed Thursday to Rochester's Mayo Clinic for an operation he hopes will relieve a constriction in his lower back. The procedure will involve fusing a vertebrae in the same area that is shifting out of alignment.
According to Mayo Clinic descriptions, the spinal stenosis that afflicts Dayton is usually caused by normal wear-and-tear on the spine due to aging.
Dayton turns 66 in a few weeks.
He is scheduled to be released from the hospital by Monday and will return to St. Paul then. He plans to work from the Governor's Residence during a recuperation period.
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