There's a changing of the guard underway at the Minnesota Senate — and the outcome could impact policy and politics for years to come.

What's happening: Senate Republicans picked Jeremy Miller of Winona as the next caucus head in a private meeting last week, after Sen. Paul Gazelka stepped down to run for governor.

• Senate Democrats, meanwhile, meet today to select a successor to Minority Leader Susan Kent, following her decision to retire from the Legislature at the end of her term. Sens. Melissa Lopez Franzen of Edina, Nick Frentz of Mankato and John Marty of Roseville are contenders.

Why it matters: Leaders serve as the face of the caucus, helping set their party's messaging strategy and legislative agenda.

• As majority leader, Miller will be at the negotiating table with Gov. Tim Walz and House Speaker Melissa Hortman to broker deals in the politically divided Legislature.

Plus: Control of the Senate is up for grabs with all 67 seats on the ballot in November 2022.

• Wins in key districts after redistricting could set the tone and trajectory for the next decade.

The intrigue: Miller, who was elected in 2010 and became the Senate's president in 2019, has played mostly as a behind-the-scenes role in the past. He was among the senators who helped launch the bipartisan "purple caucus." Insiders are watching closely to see if and how his leadership style and policy positions differ from Gazelka's.

• Now, as leader, he's representing a GOP delegation that includes vulnerable incumbents and some more conservative members who prefer to take a hard line against Democrats.

Between the lines: Despite their ideological differences, Gazelka and Hortman developed a constructive working relationship that paved the way for breakthroughs on issues ranging from insulin affordability to police reform.

• Miller said Thursday that he, too, gets along with his DFL counterpart — she texted him congratulations the morning after the vote.

What to watch: The first big test of the new leadership dynamics will come soon, as leaders and Walz hash out terms for an expected special session on frontline worker bonus pay and, potentially, drought relief.

• Walz has said he won't call lawmakers back unless Republicans give their word that they won't fire state health commissioner Jan Malcolm or other key appointees.
• Miller said last week that he wasn't ready to make that commitment.

State tax refunds for Minnesotans who received enhanced unemployment benefits or Paycheck Protection Program loans during the pandemic should start hitting bank accounts as soon as this week.

The backdrop: The Minnesota Legislature struck a deal this summer to exempt income residents made from the two relief programs from state taxes.

• But lawmakers passed the change after the tax filing deadline, so the Department of Revenue had to come up with a system to process the returns.

What to expect: Some refunds for those who reported receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans returns have already been processed. But many taxpayers could still be waiting a while.

• There are about 540,000 impacted returns, but Revenue will only be able to manually process 1,000 a week to start. Officials hope to increase the pace to 50,000 a week by late October.

About 1.4 million Minnesota workers at private businesses would fall under President Biden's new vaccination mandate.

Driving the news: Biden announced on Thursday that private employers with 100 or more workers would need to require their workers to be vaccinated, or test them once a week.

Separately, Biden and Gov. Tim Walz issued orders requiring many federal and state workers to get vaccinated.

Zoom in: Minnesota has about 4,800 private businesses that would qualify under Biden's vaccine mandate, representing 1.4 million workers, state Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Steve Grove told Nick.

What they're saying: "It could have a serious impact on businesses meeting the needs of their customers in terms of supply chains, products, and services," Minnesota Chamber of Commerce president Doug Loon told KARE 11. "We're very concerned about that. Without a workforce, we don't have the economic engine that we need here in Minnesota to fully recover."

Of note: Given Minnesota's high vaccination rate, the number of employees opting for testing instead of a shot could be fairly small at many workplaces.

• At the state level, about 1,400 of the 40,000 government employees subject to the new requirement are expected to participate in a testing alternative in the metro, per MPR News' Brian Bakst.

🚨 Minneapolis is on pace for the most violent two-year stretch in a generation. (Star Tribune)

🏈 Mick Tingelhoff, the Hall of Famer and former Vikings center, died at age 81. (KARE 11)

🏗 The new owner of Burnsville Center wants to start selling off portions of the property and the mall's parking lot for restaurants and apartments. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)

The Vikings couldn't overcome 12 penalties — most of them boneheaded — and lost the season opener in an overtime upset to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24.

Up next: Cardinals at Arizona, 3:05pm Sunday.

Dragging this Monday morning? State Auditor Julie Blaha has a coffee recipe sure to turbo-charge your day.

• The energetic state official sometimes starts her routine with a "Blahauditor" — coffee spiked with Mountain Dew.

The backstory: Blaha stumbled upon the combo when she accidentally poured coffee into a glass of the neon pop.

• "I tasted it, and I was like this is amazing!" she told Torey, noting that citrus is known to enhance coffee's flavor.

What they're saying: Reactions have been stronger than the concoction's caffeine levels. Someone once joked to her that elected officials "have been primaried for less."

• But Blaha isn't shaken by the detractors: "As your auditor ... my job is to look at results and not be swayed by preconceived notions," she quipped.