By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

St. Paul Pioneer Press

After a heck of a time last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton began this week with some welcome news: His new grandson was born in the wee hours Tuesday.

“I am thrilled to announce that my second grandson, George, was born at 2:29 this morning. Cory, Eric, George, and big brother Hugo are all doing very well,” the governor said in a statement about his son Eric and daughter-in-law Cory.

Since his first grandson, Hugo, was born in 2013, the governor has frequently mentioned him in all sorts of circumstances as a devoted grandfather.

On Jan. 23, during his State of the State speech before he fainted, Dayton noted the presence of “my son, Eric; my grandson, Hugo; Hugo’s grandmother, Alida Messinger” (Dayton’s ex-wife) in the House Chamber for the speech.

The congratulations to the governor quickly flowed in on social media. Within minutes, Dayton’s Facebook post about the news had dozens of comments and hundreds of likes. Minnesota officials also offered their well wishes: