Minnesota Lawmakers' Zoom Call Took Quite a Turn

State Sen. Calvin Barh is part of Minnesota's bipartisan Legislative Audit Commission, and he showed up this week via Zoom to cast his vote during what should've been a routine meeting. It was Bahr's appearance, however, that made the session anything but routine, and spurred a flurry of gasps, jokes, and memes. When it came time for Bahr to cast his "yea" or "nay" on Monday, the Republican lawmaker's voice appeared to activate his camera, which then showed him lying sans shirt on his bed, with a still image from the "I'm Just a Bill" episode of the cartoon series "Schoolhouse Rock" seen in the background.

Bahr offered an emphatic "Yes!" when his name was called, propping himself up to speak. The screen showing him then quickly turned to black, with the words "Sen. Cal Bahr" written in white (see the short clip here). Some of the other participants visible in the Zoom call could be seen laughing after the brief incident, as the vote continued. A spokesperson for the state's GOP Senate said afterward that Bahr had been at his truck driver job until nearly 5am that morning, and that there'd be no further comment about the video, per the Star Tribune.

There was definitely further comment about Bahr online, however. CBS News notes one tweet that showed the meeting earned quite a lot of views (more than 3 million, as of Tuesday morning), while the meme machine also went into overdrive. One person wished they could unsee what had happened; another wrote that Bahr's shirtless turn gave off creepy vibes. Most viewers simply giggled. "And this is why they're making everyone go back to the office," one wry observer noted. (More strange stuff stories.)