She lives on a farm near Marine on St. Croix with her husband, Shawn Lawrence Otto, a screenwriter, novelist, and science advocate.

The seat then became vacant after Governor Tim Pawlenty appointed Holsten as Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Otto said the charges, derived from a complaint filed by Republican House Speaker Steve Sviggum, were politically motivated and baseless.

[3] Her supporters included former Republican Governor Arne Carlson, who signed a letter criticizing the indictment as politically motivated and raised money for her defense.

After discovering hundreds of millions of dollars in errors made by Anderson,[4] Otto won the 2006 general election by the largest margin of victory over an incumbent in 112 years.