ST. PAUL – Rural legislators must get on board if a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium has a chance, a legislative leader says.

“Rural members are going to have to do some very heavy lifting,” Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, said Tuesday as Senate Local Government and Taxes committee members discussed a possible new stadium.

“I don’t know of any senator from Minneapolis who will vote for this,” Bakk told Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, who presented a proposal to build a new stadium in his city’s downtown.

The top senator on stadium issues, Republican Julie Rosen of Fairmont, said that if lawmakers pass a stadium bill, rural legislators likely will provide many of the votes, as they have in the past.

Rural lawmakers were leaders in passing University of Minnesota football and Minnesota Twins baseball facility bills in recent years.

Rosen’s House counterpart also is from outside the Twin Cities; Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, attended part of Tuesday’s hearing.

Tuesday’s meeting was to center on where a stadium would be built: the northern Twin Cities’ Arden Hills or downtown Minneapolis.

No bill has been prepared for new stadium construction, and the Vikings themselves strongly prefer Arden Hills. However, Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley caved to pressure from top senators to meet with Minneapolis officials about the possibility of a stadium there.

A meeting next Tuesday is to center on financing what could be a $1.1 billion stadium. The committees can make no decisions since the Legislature is not in session.

“Let’s chew on it and see what we come up with,” Sen. Doug Magnus, R-Slayton, said.

One question that went unanswered Tuesday was what the Vikings will do if lawmakers do not agree to a new stadium deal soon; the Vikings Metrodome lease runs out after this season.

Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, asked Bagley if the team is saying the Vikings would leave Minnesota if stadium talks fail.

“Not at all,” Bagley said. “What we are just saying is that we won’t have a lease.”

Gov. Mark Dayton often has said that he fears the team will move to Los Angeles or elsewhere without a stadium deal. When asked about those statements on Tuesday, he told reporters that he has no inside knowledge of a Vikings plan to leave, but National Football League officials have suggested that as a possibility.

“We are doing everything we can to resolve this issue,” Bagley said. “The Vikings belong in Minnesota.”

Don Davis reports for Forum Communications Co

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The injuries just continue to pile up for the Minnesota Vikings.

In response to the various injuries they’ve suffered during the last couple of weeks, starters Husain Abdullah(notes), Tyrell Johnson(notes), Michael Jenkins(notes) and Cullen Loeffler(notes) have all been placed on the Injured Reserve list.

Abdullah fell victim to a concussion against the Green Bay Packers a couple weeks ago. After missing the last two games, it was expected that Abdullah would be able to contribute this upcoming weekend when the Vikings host the Denver Broncos. With his placement on IR, any hopes of him returning to the lineup in 2011 are dispelled.

Johnson, who was starting in place of Abdullah at the free safety spot, went down with a hamstring injury against the Falcons this past Sunday. It was dubbed “significant” by Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier and has effectively brought his 2011 season to an end.

Jenkins is being slowed by an unspecified knee injury that was expected to keep him out this week against the Broncos. However, it appears that the Vikings thought the injury was bad enough to drop the curtain on his season.

Loeffler has a broken bone in his back after being blindsided by Falcons’ Kerry Meier(notes) during Sunday’s game. Frazier said that the injury would take two to six weeks to heal, which meant that the IR was the only reasonable destination for Loeffler. In response to his injury, Matt Katula(notes) was signed to take over the long snapping duties.

In hopes of alleviating the pains that the defensive secondary are ailing from, the Vikings have signed safeties Jarrad Page(notes) and Andrew Sendejo(notes) to the active roster. Page is a sixth-year NFL veteran who was last seen as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Sendejo, a second-year player out of Rice, is inexperienced but showed potential during his short stint with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

Along with the two additions at safety, the Vikings also signed rookie wide receiver Stephen Burton(notes) back to the active roster. The team initially waived him in order to make space on the active roster for tight end Allen Reisner(notes). The Vikings were hoping he would clear waivers and now have their seventh-round pick back on the team.

If things continue to get exponentially worse for the Vikings as these final five weeks count down, don’t expect them to notch another win before their 2011 season expires. At least 2-14 equals a high draft pick.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a life-long follower of the Minnesota Vikings and the founder of TheVikingDen.com. For more Vikings/NFL coverage, follow him on Twitter or “like” The Viking Den on Facebook.

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Read More: Michael Jenkins (WR – MIN), Cullen Loeffler (LS – MIN), Husain Abdullah (S – MIN), Tyrell Johnson (S – MIN), Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos

The Minnesota Vikings enter Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos with an injury-riddled team that sent four players to Injured Reserve on Tuesday afternoon. Wide receiver Michael Jenkins, safeties Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson, and long snapper Cullen Loeffler all had their seasons ended due to injury, reports Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN Twin Cities.

Jenkins suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons and had just two catches for 25 yards. For the season, Jenkins has 41 catches for 505 yards and two touchdowns. Abdullah had a concussion two weeks ago and apparently is still suffer the effects of it. Johnson hurt his hamstring on Sunday and left the game in the second quarter. Loeffler’s lower back was fractured on Sunday.

For more on this game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Vikings blog the Daily Norseman. For news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

By Scott Schroeder

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Nov 29, 2011 – The Minnesota Vikings made quite a few roster moves on Tuesday as they looked to fill out their roster following a rash of injuries over the past few weeks. Running back Adrian Peterson wasn’t included in the moves, but there will be quite a few faces on the sidelines the next time the Vikings take the field.

The Vikings announced on Tuesday that safeties Husain Abdullah and Tyrell Johnson, along with wide receiver Michael Jenkins and long snapper Cullen Loeffler, were all placed on the injured reserve. Jenkins, Johnson and Loeffler were all injured in the Vikings loss to the Atlanta Falcons while Abdullah has been suffeering from the effects of a concusssion for the past couple of weeks.

To replace those four players, the Vikings signed wide receiver Stephen Burton, long snapper Matt Katula and safeties Jarrad Page and Andrew Sendejo. The team also signed tight end Mickey Shuler to the practice squad after promoting Allen Reisner to the active roster last Saturday.

Read More: Michael Jenkins (WR – MIN), Matt Katula (LS – MIN), Jarrad Page (SS – MIN), Cullen Loeffler (LS – MIN), Husain Abdullah (S – MIN), Tyrell Johnson (S – MIN), Mickey Shuler (TE – MIA), Andrew Sendejo (S – MIN), Stephen Burton (WR – MIN), Allen Reisner (TE – MIN), Minnesota Vikings

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Read More: Adrian Peterson (RB – MIN), Toby Gerhart (RB – MIN), Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos will need to wait just like everyone else to find out the availability of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson for this Sunday’s game. The first official injury report won’t come out until Thursday, but he is supposedly “making progress,” according to Tom Pelissero of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities. Peterson missed last weekend’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons with an injured ankle.

Peterson had a high ankle sprain against the Oakland Raiders on Nov. 20, which caused him to leave the game in the first quarter. He didn’t return to the field, but he was on the sidelines for the remainder of the contest. He then wore a walking boot until Friday, but was in no shape to play this past Sunday.

Peterson was replaced by Toby Gerhart in the lineup and he provided just 44 rushing yards against the Falcons. The Vikings will need Peterson back if they hope to defeat a Broncos defense that has turned into the team’s strength over the last six weeks.

For more on this game, visit Broncos blog Mile High Report and Vikings blog the Daily Norseman. For news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.