With all the drama that a one-page order posted online can summon, the long-running case of Michael Brodkorb vs. the Minnesota Senate is dismissed.
The one-sentence order, filed Tuesday, sheds no new light on the Brodkorb lawsuit, which was settled last month. It says simply that the case was settled and "is hereby dismissed."
Brodkorb is a former Senate employee who was fired in late 2011 after he had an affair with then-Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, a Buffalo Republican. After she stepped down, he was dismissed.
A few months later, longtime Republican operative Brodkorb sued the Senate, then under GOP control, for gender discrimination. He claimed he was treated differently because female legislative employees in similar situations had been allowed to keep their jobs.
But after a bruising legal battle that cost the Senate more than $300,000 in legal fees, Brodkorb admitted the facts did not support his case.
Last month, he and the Senate settled the case for $30,000 — far less than the $500,000 he originally had sought.
Now, Brodkorb and Koch, who are no longer involved, have moved on.
Earlier this month, Koch hosted and participated in a lighthearted debate with Rep. Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, about the minimum wage. The event was held at the Maple Lake bowling alley that Koch bought after leaving the Senate.
Brodkorb has resumed blogging about politics, a role he once held as the founder of the late "Minnesota Democrats Exposed."
Rachel E. Stassen-Berger • Twitter: @RachelSB
