Two conflicting narratives of the inner workings of the Minnesota Senate DFL Caucus have emerged in recent media reports.

In the first article, published Monday in the Mesabi Daily News, Bill Hanna reported in Loyal DFL senators rally around Bakk that Roseville Democrat John Marty lost a vote challenging Tom Bakk for leadership of the caucus.

In the second article, published Wednesday in MinnPost, Briana Bierschbach reported in DFL senators divided over Bakk's leadership in wake of special session that the vote was never taken.

The first account purports to be taken from the lips of Majority Leader Bakk himself and Chisholm DFL Senator David Tomassoni, while the MinnPost article relies on senators who shared a range of assessments of the Majority Leader's conduct.

Monday: the Mesabi Daily News Version

In Loyal DFL senators rally around Bakk,readers find this version:

How successful of a job did Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk of Cook do for the Iron Range while also being a key player in making split government in Minnesota work? Well, some di[s]gruntled DFL liberal legislators from the Twin Cities area tried to unseat him in caucus as leader of the majority party in the Senate. [emphasis added] Their attempted DFL coup in the early morning hours of the Saturday finale of the 2015 legislative special session fizzled like a bad fuse on an unexploded firecracker. Bakk’s support within the caucus was unwavering. The Senate majority leader told the Mesabi Daily News Saturday afternoon that while he preferred not to comment directly about the caucus dust-up, he was pleased with the intra-Senate DFL backing he received and also his role in a session that relied for success on bipartisan partnerships with the GOP House majority.