While members of the House and Senate applauded politely when Gov. Mark Dayton mentioned Minnesotans in his 40-minute speech, the biggest applause lines (presumably coming mostly -- or entirely -- from DFLers).
Loud, sustained applause greeted Dayton early in his speech when he implored legislators not to allow a state government shutdown to occur later this year.
The response was equally loud when he restated his intention to increase the state's funding of elementary and secondary education during each of the next four years "with no excuses and no exceptions."
Finally, he received a sustained standing ovation after concluding with "God bless" the state.
