Minnesota governor faints during State of the State address


As he delivered his State of the State speech Monday night in St. Paul, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton (D) collapsed, hitting his forehead on the lectern.
Immediately, people rushed to help the 69-year-old, including Sen. Dan Schoen, a paramedic, CBS News reports. Schoen said within 20 minutes of the collapse, Dayton was acting normally and poking fun at himself. Dayton was about 40 minutes into his speech when his words slurred, he began to tremble, and he fell forward, witnesses said. The Legislature adjourned following his collapse.
Dayton's chief of staff, Jaime Tincher, released a statement saying Dayton "quickly recovered, walked out of the Capitol, and returned home. EMTs joined the governor there, and performed a routine check. He is now spending time with his son and grandson." Tincher said Dayton still plans on presenting his 2017 budget on Tuesday morning, and thanks "the people of Minnesota for their outpouring of support and concern."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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