The man who killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and shot state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder charges against him. In a court hearing, Vance Boelter, pleaded guilty to all counts in the indictment — two counts of stalking, two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and two federal firearm-shooting offenses. As part of the agreement, he’ll serve two consecutive life sentences in prison, plus 40 years, in exchange for prosecutors not seeking the death penalty against him. The U.S. Department of Justice said it is “the longest possible prison term allowable under law for his offenses.” Boelter, on the stand, admitted to shooting the Hortmans and the Hoffmans, adding some disturbing, previously unknown details about the crimes. Boelter admitted to planning the attacks for months. In a statement following the hearing, the Hoffman family said, in part, “There is no justice for Mark and Melissa Hortman and there is not justice when our family and our state will never truly heal.” The Hoffmans called on Americans to "treat people with respect, to stop de-humanizing each other, and to stop dividing our country with hate and rhetoric.”

Across the state and the country, several lawmakers commemorated the legacy of former Speaker Hortman in different ways. Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed June as “public service month” with a special focus on June 14. “Melissa and Mark believed deeply that public service could change lives and strengthen communities,” Walz said in a statement. “They remind us that service isn’t reserved for elected officials or public employees; it belongs to all of us. Public Service Month is an opportunity for Minnesotans to honor that legacy by finding ways to serve their neighbors, support their communities, and help build the state we want to leave to the next generation.” The proclamation also calls for opportunities for civic engagement in the state. Minnesota lawmakers included several bills to honor the Hortmans in their work this last session. The one of the best yields in terms of adorable photo opps so far is new funding for Helping Paws, an organization that trains guard dogs. Our colleagues from Minnesota Now spent time getting to know the first litter of puppies training under that new funding, called the “Guided by Gilbert” litter. Gilbert, the Hortman’s beloved Golden Retriever, trained with Helping Paws but ultimately flunked out, allowing the Hortman family to keep them as their pet. Both U.S. Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar spoke on the Senate floor Thursday to honor the Hortmans. “Melissa approached her work in this way by leading with compassion and respect, always staying in touch with our shared humanity, and of course, she was unafraid to demand the same respect in return, both for herself and for others,” Smith said. 

Some Minnesota GOP members of Congress are demanding Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison resign after a report on fraud from a Republican-led congressional committee. Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation —  U.S. Reps. Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, Michelle Fischbach and Brad Finstad — all called for Walz and Ellison to resign following the report on fraud in Minnesota from the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. That report, which came after a series of highly partisan hearings by the committee, concluded that Walz and Ellison could have taken action to stop fraud earlier, did not use the powers they had to shut down fraud when they knew about it and missed warning signs. Emmer said in a statement that if the allegations in the report are true, they both should resign. Both Walz and Ellison’s offices said the report is inaccurate and includes misrepresentations. Ellison’s office said the report is “an effort to politicize the issue of fraud, instead of actually helping Minnesotans protect tax dollars and go after fraudsters.”

The Board of Pardons denied the release of a man convicted in a 1995 triple homicide. Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson voted against Adrian Riley’s request for a commutation on his sentence, for which he’s served three decades in prison. Riley was convicted in 1996 of killing Troy Tholkes, Jimmy Walters and Treesa Woods in a farmhouse in Carver County. Lou Raguse with KARE 11 reports that Riley claimed innocence during the board hearing, saying he was not the person who pulled the trigger. Raguse reported that Riley told the three-person board he has worked throughout his prison time to change. "There are other places for innocence claims. This is not the place," Walz said. He’s eligible to apply again for commutation in five years. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is also a member of the pardons board, recused himself because he worked as a defense attorney with the Legal Rights Center on Riley’s case during the original trial, Raguse reported.

A canteen strike started at Rush City prison yesterday. More than 100 men serving time at Rush City are boycotting the canteen to protest conditions. At a press conference held by advocates yesterday, Hannah Spaid said her loved ones serving time at Rush City are often locked in their cells for more than 20 hours a day, they have limited access to medical care and rehabilitative programming and gangs monopolize prison phones. "How can we sit here and ask these men to come out and be better fathers or productive members of society, or create better lives for themselves and the people around them, when the opportunity to create those skills is lacking?" Spaid said. The Department of Corrections said in a statement that “Out-of-cell time may be limited due to whether a person has a job, the availability of staff, or the dynamic security considerations at the facility,” but that recreation time at Rush City had been recently expanded. The DOC also said eventually incarcerated men at Rush City will have access to personal tablets to contact loved ones, something other prisons have implemented, but it’s unclear when. “We encourage and expect incarcerated individuals to continue utilizing established channels for communicating concerns,” the statement read. Advocates and incarcerated men say their complaints haven’t led to change, necessitating a strike.

The Upper Midwest Law Center announced yesterday they are suing Minneapolis to ensure election judges will staff early voting locations. The lawsuit alleges Minneapolis is only hiring bipartisan election judges for Election Day, not for the 18 days of early voting. Diane Napper is a petitioner in the suit and has served as a Minneapolis election judge for years, but only on Election Day. Napper said at a press conference yesterday that judges should staff early voting locations too. "I do think it's important that voters know that if they choose to vote early, that there will be party balance at whatever site they choose to vote at." The petition is headed straight to the Minnesota Supreme Court and petitioners are asking for a decision before the general election.