Gov. Mark Dayton needs a paycheck.

The department store heir, who donated his U.S. Senate salary when he was in congress, said Thursday that he would accept the governor's annual $120,303 salary in his new job.

"I am going to take the salary for the time being," Dayton said Thursday.

Asked why he said: "Out of the financial necessity to do so."

Dayton also said that he would let his lease on his rented Minneapolis townhome lapse at the end of this month when he moves into the St. Paul governor's residence.

He has spent millions on his own political campaigns during the past few decades, including at least $3 million on his race for governor.