When the news broke nearly simultaneously last December that Sen. Amy Koch was stepping down from her GOP leadership position due to an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer and that Senate staffer Michael Brodkorb was being fired, it was hard not to speculate that there might be some connection. Wednesday night, the connection became clear as lawyers for Brodkorb confirmed that the former Senate majority caucus communications director was the staffer involved inappropriately with Koch.

The story took on bigger implications for the state today when during a press conference Brodkorb’s attorneys indicated that he would be seeking compensation from the Senate for wrongful termination and intends to depose female staffers and legislators who were involved in affairs together. Minnesota Twitter and Facebook accounts were soon abuzz, first summarizing Brodkorb’s claims, but before long speculating about the impact these developments would have on the GOP, the DFL and the state of Minnesota.

We’ve summarized the progression of the story on social networks in the Storify below. MinnPost will be back tomorrow with a more detailed analysis of the implications of this story for the GOP and the state by Cyndy Brucato.