Last week, thousands of Minnesotans turned out at caucuses in school cafeterias, public libraries and even police stations across the state.

The political activists, about 70,000 strong, make up only a small fraction of the nearly 3 million voters who will go to the polls in November. But they represent the most inspired of the parties and have the strength and political experience to make their voices heard. Here are some of the things they said:

• DFL activists gave the caucuses a "meh." Only about 25,000 of them turned out, compared with a record 210,000 four years ago when Barack Obama battled Hillary Rodham Clinton for the presidential nomination. Except in the northern Eighth Congressional District, which held a straw poll for congressional candidates, DFLers had no real contest about which to opine.

• Republican activists are not as enthusiastic as they were four years ago. About 49,000 Republicans voted in the presidential straw poll this year. That compares with about 63,000 in 2008. This year, Minnesota got more attention from the candidates themselves before the caucuses, but voters were not as willing to pay attention.

• The lack of high turnout, and financial struggles in both Minnesota parties, could hurt volunteer recruiting and base-pumping efforts down the line.

• Former Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a disconnect with the most inspired Republican voters. People who turn out for caucuses, and vote in straw polls, tend to be the most conservative and involved of the lot. And those people tend not to vote for Pawlenty or his picks. Pawlenty lost the 2002 straw poll to gubernatorial rival Brian Sullivan. He lost the 2011 Ames Straw Poll to presidential rival Michele Bachmann. The bad vibes extend to the people he backs. In 2008, he backed John McCain in Minnesota's presidential straw poll, and McCain came in second. This year his choice, Mitt Romney, came in a poor third place despite a Pawlenty push for him.

• Rick Santorum's message resonates particularly well with rural Republican voters. While the former Pennsylvania senator had a clean sweep of all eight Minnesota congressional districts, he did particularly well with voters in the four outstate districts. He won more than 50 percent of the straw poll vote in the western Seventh Congressional District and the northern Eighth and topped 48 percent in the southern First District.

• Fewer people mean fewer complaints. Four years ago, when partisans showed up in record numbers, the day after was rife with suggestions that Minnesota switch to a primary. This year the primary-over-caucus cry was muted.

• If Romney wins the Republican nomination, he will have some wooing to do to among Minnesota activists. He won just 17 percent overall and nearly tanked in rural areas, taking barely more than 10 percent of the vote in the Seventh and Eighth districts. He did better in the suburban districts but just barely. The Republican voters who turned him away will not move toward Obama, but Romney will need to excite them a bit more for any hope of high turnout.

For the parties and all candidates, the messages the caucusgoers sent are worth heeding. After all, the people who care enough to join with their neighbors on a Tuesday night in February are the same ones who will volunteer to knock on doors, pound lawn signs and show up at conventions.