Rep. Sarah Anderson had been a staffer in the Minnesota House of Representatives for 10 years by 2006. That's when her predecessor in House District 43A, former Rep. Jeff Johnson, decided he'd leave the Legislature to make a run for the attorney general's office.

With his inauguration less than two weeks away, Gov.-elect Mark Dayton has announced two more state agency commissioners, and they are both familiar figures at the Capitol. Dave Frederickson will head the Department of Agriculture, and Ken Peterson has gotten the nod to lead the Department of Labor and Industry.

Sen. Steve Dille will probably not be bored when his 24 years at the Legislature officially come to an end next month. The first item on the 65-year-old Dassel Republican's post-Senate agenda is completing a biography of his grandfather.

As the election results began rolling in on Tuesday night, the mood was ebullient at Jax Café in Northeast Minneapolis. Even as torrential rains swamped Minneapolis, soggy, red-shirted supporters of House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher filed into the banquet room and bars of the renowned steakhouse. House Majority Leader Tony Sertich repeatedly took to the podium to offer updates on the Minnesota Twins' pounding of the Chicago White Sox, as if it ordained victory for the DFL-endorsed candidate.

Incendiary headline? You bet. Here's the story, which, not inconsequentially, was brought to my attention by both U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar fans and foes.