MINNEAPOLIS — Hours after politically-motivated shootings on Saturday left one Minnesota state lawmaker and her spouse dead and another and his wife injured, the Minnesota Lynx took the court for a home game against the Los Angeles Sparks that coach Cheryl Reeve said “feels pretty meaningless.”
The Lynx held a moment of silence before the game at the Target Center, located roughly 11 miles away from Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. It was there where Melissa Hortman, the top Democrat in the Minnesota State House who served as speaker from 2019 to 2025, and her husband, Mark, were assassinated in what law enforcement officials called “an act of targeted political violence.”
Also on Saturday, Senator John Hoffman, who has served in the House since 2012, and his wife, Yvette, were shot by the same assailant multiple times in their home in Champlin, a suburb north of Brooklyn Park.
A visibly shaken Reeve was asked before the game about preparing to play on a day when the city had been convulsed by violence.
“Hitting this close to home, obviously we know it’s a really difficult time — not just in our country — but in the world,” said Reeves, who has been outspoken on a variety of social issues over the years and has led an organization that has not shied…
