The MOB rules at Keegan's

During last night's ideal summer-like evening at Keegan's Irish Pub in near Northeast Minneapolis, the trivia questions were especially obscure, but the Minnesota Organization of Bloggers emerged from behind their screens and keyboards to christen Keegan's new, improved deck out back with $2.75 pints of the refreshing Sam Adams Summer Ale, bar food, a few cigars, the Yankees-Twins game on a shiny new TV, and the standard, lively banter that one has come to expect at a MOB gathering, even with some of the stars of the MOB galaxy missing in action.

The conversations at my table, between trivia questions, centered around the various state campaigns. The gubernatorial endorsement battle between former state Rep. Marty Seifert (R-Marshall) and the eventual endorsee Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Delnao) reportedly got too heated for Seifert's comfort, even with his campaign slinging most of the arrows. The consensus on DFL gubernatorial hopeful Matt Entenza's pick for lieutenant governor, Robyne Robinson, is that it's a primary election play against Mark Dayton's money and the Margaret Anderson Kelliher-John Gunyou ticket. The new WIN Minnesota PAC will apply some big money to try to put a Democrat in the governor's office.

There was optimism that Secretary of State candidate Dan Severson can defeat incumbent Mark Ritchie with an urgent call for voter ID and election integrity, although the liberal 527 Secretary of State Project will be a force to be reckoned with. And yes, SD43 state Sen. Terri Bonoff (DFL-Minnetonka) is "beatable" in this November's election, even with her incumbency, union endorsements, and "Republican lite" persona facing the center-right leaning district. Several MOBsters present said they have been impressed by Bonoff's Republican-endorsed challenger, Norann Dillon, tirelessly working the district for months already, meeting, greeting, listening, and refining her message.

Blogger and Northeast Minneapolis resident Barry Hickethier told us that he will appeal to disaffected independents, DFLers and Republicans in his bid to unseat SD59 Sen. Larry Pogemiller (DFL-Minneapolis).

The affable Mitch Berg of Shot in the Dark and AM 1280 The Patriot, sporting a sharp-looking black Shot in the Dark t-shirt, received props for his recent blog post on the mythical relationship between local government aid and property taxes. Berg anticipates the next MOB gathering for late summer after primary election day on August 10, and before the State Fair.