The Senate standoff -- which has left  Minnesota with just one senator for nearly two months -- hasn't hurt the state yet in Congress, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, that one senator, told Bill Hanna of the Mesabi Daily news.

That's only because there hasn’t been a Minnesota-specific issue that has required the influence of two senators from the state, she said.

“It’s obviously much better to have two senators. It’s always helpful to have the votes. But we haven’t had a solely Minnesota issue that has been affected,” Klobuchar said.

The biggest impact for her office has been the constituent caseload. 

“We inherited all of Norm’s cases. Our Minnesota workload ... case work, meetings and outreach ... has doubled,” Klobuchar said. “It’s been a double whammy. And my staff has done a tremendous job.”

And they help Democrats and Republicans alike.

“These are real people with real problems. And we are there to help them. Our offices have always worked well together on constituent issues,” she said.