1. ^Territorial governor appointed by President Zachary Taylor.
2. ^Territorial governor appointed by President Franklin Pierce.
3. ^Territorial governor appointed by President James Buchanan.
4. ^¹ Although legislators were elected, it was determined that an 1858-59 session was unnecessary due to the protracted length of the 1857-58 session; hence, these legislators never convened and were never sworn in.
5. ^^1 2 3 4 Resigned to become U.S. Senator.
6. ^^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11} Resigned.
7. ^^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10} Succeeded to office following death or resignation of previous officeholder.
8. ^Resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
9. ^Resigned following impeachment but before trial by Minnesota Senate.
10. ^{{cite book|last1=Nordby|first1=Mary Jane Morrison. Foreword by Jack|title=The Minnesota state constitution : a reference guide|date=2002|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn. [u.a.]|isbn=0-313-28411-3|pages=10}}
11. ^Due to a constitutional amendment, effective with the election of 1878, terms for senators became four years.
12. ^Due to a constitutional amendment, effective with the election of 1878, terms for representatives became two years.
13. ^Elected a Republican President Pro Tempore, John B. Sanborn, and organized the chamber.
14. ^A coalition of Democrats and members of the Farmers' Alliance organized the chamber and elected an Alliance Speaker, Ezra T. Champlin.  
15. ^^1 2 3 4 Succeeded to office following death or resignation of previous officeholder. Later elected to office in his or her own right.
16. ^Had also been endorsed by the Populists and Silver Republicans.
17. ^^1 2 Resigned following appointment to Minnesota Supreme Court.
18. ^After a constitutional amendment in 1912, the Minnesota Legislature was nonpartisan until 1973. It went into effect in 1915 Legislators caucused as "conservatives" and "liberals," roughly equivalent to Republicans and Democrats/Farmer Laborites.
19. ^^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13} Died in office.
20. ^Served as acting lieutenant governor; never took the oath of office.
21. ^¹ Resigned to become Vice President of the United States.
22. ^^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16} Appointed by governor to fill vacancy.
23. ^^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8} Appointed by governor to fill vacancy. Later elected to office in his or her own right.
24. ^Resigned to become administrator of the Rural Electrification Administration.
25. ^¹ A recount and subsequent litigation lasting 139 days delayed Karl Rolvaag's inauguration as governor.
26. ^ 
27. ^ 
28. ^¹ A special election led to the composition in the 1978 session
29. ^A series of special elections and party switches led to the composition in the 1978 session.  
30. ^With the split chamber, a power-sharing agreement was negotiated. A Republican Speaker, Rod Searle, was elected, but Democrats received control of most committees. The tie was broken when a Republican, Robert Pavlak, was expelled from the chamber on May 19, 1979 on a party-line vote due to a legal and ethical violations. The agreement of shared-power held through the end of the year's session two days later, despite the Democrats' 67-66 majority. p. 24  
31. ^Appointed by governor to fill vacancy, having already been elected to next full term.
32. ^Two special elections led to the composition in the 1980 session
33. ^A special election was held for Pavlak's seat in District 67A. A Democrat, Frank J. Rodriguez, Jr., was elected, giving the Democrats a constitutional majority. With that, they reorganized the chamber under their control in the 1980 session.    
34. ^A special election led to the composition in the 1984 session
35. ^A party switch from Republican to Independent by Charles Berg led to the composition in the 1985 session.  
36. ^A party switch from Independent to DFL by Charles Berg led to the composition in the 1986 session.  
37. ^A special election led to the composition in the 1988 session
38. ^A special election led to the composition in the 1988 session
39. ^Two special elections led to the composition in the 1989 session
40. ^A special election led to the composition in the 1990 session
41. ^Two special elections led to the composition in the 1992 session
42. ^Two special election led to the composition in the 1996 session
43. ^Dutcher switched parties in 2000
44. ^A series of special elections and party switches led to the composition in the 2000 session.  
45. ^A party switch from Republican to Independent by Doug Reuter led to the composition in the 2000 session.  
46. ^Two special elections led to the composition in the 2002 session
47. ^Two special elections led to the composition in the 2002 session
48. ^In December 2007, Republican Tom Neuville resigned to accept a District Court appointment.
49. ^In January 2008, Democrat Kevin Dahle was elected in a special election to succeed Republican Tom Neuville.
50. ^In July 2008, Republican incumbent Ron Erhardt became an independent.
51. ^A special election led to the composition in the 2009 session
52. ^A special election led to the composition in the 2016 session
53. ^A seat flipped from Democratic to Republican in February through a special election.