StarTribune: Gov. Mark Dayton slurred his words and fainted briefly near the end of a 45-minute State of the State speech Monday night at the Capitol.

Several people nearby, including Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, caught him as he lurched forward, struck his forehead on the lectern and then sank toward the floor in the House chambers in St. Paul.

Legislators immediately adjourned the gathering, and Dayton appeared to be seated upright and aware shortly after the incident, and he was escorted out of the room. The governor, who turns 70 on Thursday, was not taken to a hospital, a spokesman said.

Dayton’s son Eric in a tweet said his father was “doing great” and thanked people for their support. The governor’s office later said Dayton was at home after a routine check and planned to present his budget as scheduled on Tuesday morning.

“He quickly recovered, walked out of the Capitol, and returned home,” Dayton’s chief of staff, Jaime Tincher, said in a statement.

House Speaker Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, and Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-Nisswa, expressed their well wishes for the governor, adding that they would hold off responding to his speech until Tuesday at the earliest.

“Governor Dayton is in my thoughts and prayers tonight,” Daudt said in a statement. “I was encouraged to see him walk from the House Chamber on his own, and I join Minnesotans in wishing him a speedy recovery.”

Last January, Dayton fainted at a political event and was hospitalized overnight for observation.

Tincher said in a statement at the time that the event was hot and crowded, and Dayton fainted after feeling increasing pressure in his lower back.

Before the incident, Dayton gave most of his penultimate State of the State address, unveiling a broad vision for his final two years in office that calls for targeted “public investments” that include $371 million in additional funding for schools and the creation of a public health-insurance option.