Congress has unanimously passed a resolution honoring the lives of Minnesota state House DFL Leader Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and condemning political violence.

The resolution, as introduced by Minnesota’s congressional delegation, honors Rep. Hortman for her “devotion to public service” and extends wishes to Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, for their full recovery. The Hortmans were assassinated at their suburban Minneapolis home on June 14. The Hoffmans were shot in a related attack and continue to recover. A suspect was arrested the next day and charged with murder by federal and state prosecutors.

The resolution calls on community leaders and elected officials to publicly and “unequivocally denounce acts of political violence and for citizens to “reaffirm the commitment … to a safe, civil and peaceful democracy in which violent rhetoric and acts are not tolerated.”

The resolution was unanimously approved by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday.

It was introduced by Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats; Minnesota Reps. Kelly Morrison, D, Betty McCollum, D, Tom Emmer, R, Pete Stauber, R, Angie Craig, D, Ilhan Omar, D, Michelle Fischbach, R, and Brad Finstad, R; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Morrison spoke on the House floor Wednesday morning ahead of the vote, saying the shootings should become a “watershed moment” for the country.

“As elected representatives for the people of the United States of America, we have to take responsibility for our roles in this moment,” Morrison said. “As elected leaders, we play a prominent role in setting the tone. … In creating the atmosphere. … In shaping the narrative. … In determining what becomes normalized. And this cannot be normalized.”

The Hortmans and their dog Gilbert, who also died as a result of the shootings, will lie in state at the Minnesota Capitol from noon to 5 p.m. Friday ahead of a private funeral on Saturday.

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The Timberwolves liked what they found so much in Round 1 of the NBA draft on Wednesday, they decided to do it again a day later.

Another round, another 18-year-old, 7-footer.

After multiple trade downs, Minnesota selected Australian center Rocco Zikarsky with the 45th overall selection of the second round of the NBA draft.

Zikarsky is a 7-foot-3 big man with the potential to expand his shooting range. He has a swimming background and has trained locally here in the Twin Cities in recent weeks. While Timberwolves basketball boss Tim Connelly admitted Zikarsky is “a long-term play,” he also added the team was “fired up” to get him.

“He has an appreciation for Minnesota and enjoys being around here. We had a great workout with him,” Connelly said. “We had him much higher on the board. It’s fun to add young players with energy.”

Minnesota opened the day with the first pick of the second round, No. 31 overall. That left many fans hoping the Timberwolves would select St. Joseph’s big, physical wing Rasheer Fleming, who can hit the 3-point shot at a high rate.

But those hopes vanquished when Minnesota traded with Phoenix, swapping No. 31 for No. 36, picking up a pair of future second rounders in the process. During the draft, Minnesota moved back from No. 36 to No. 45, picking up cash from the Lakers before finally picking Zikarsky, who is likely to land with the Wolves this season on a two-way contract that will allow him to develop in Iowa for much of the season with the G-League club.

Connelly called having the No. 31 pick in the second season of the NBA’s new two-night draft setup “fascinating.” He called it “curious” how agent-driven the draft was at that point. The Wolves were calling players throughout the day, and Connelly fould “there were 20 deals done” before the round began.

“You know, 31 is fun,” he said, “but it’s probably not as fun as we thought was gonna be.”

Connelly said Thursday’s draft board movement was done largely with the team’s current roster in mind.

Minnesota is pressed against the salary cap and hopes to retain at least Naz Reid and Julius Randle, if not also Nickeil Alexander-Walker while dodging the second apron. That means ducking unnecessary salaries while also accruing future assets.

“There were players that we really liked,” Connelly said. “But you can’t just add, add, add, add. When we looked at the board and we were aware of what the offseason might look like … we thought moving down and adding assets, and assets that are down the line that hopefully we can utilize with a pick or with a trade.”

Connelly noted Minnesota has dealt a number of future picks. So, the more it can recoup, the better off it is. Minnesota now has two additional second-rounders.

“Draft night is so much fun, but sometimes it’s like buying a car,” Connelly said. “The minute you drive off the lot, it loses half its value. So, we wanted to keep as many balls in play. … I think you just want to be as flexible and nimble as possible. And we were lucky. We walked away with a couple of future assets. We walked away with roster flexibility.”

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Less than 24 hours after Joe Ryan put together a pitching gem to help the Twins snap their losing streak, Simeon Woods Richardson followed suit on Thursday afternoon at Target Field.

It was an extremely effective outing for Woods Richardson as he tossed five scoreless innings and struck out six batters, buoying the Twins until the bats eventually exploded in a 10-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

A lengthy rain delay before the game, which lasted 4 hours, 22 minutes, proved to be the only thing capable of slowing down Woods Richardson and his teammates.

As impressive as Woods Richardson was with his arm, however, his most impressive play of game came via his glove.

After a line drive left the bat of Julio Rodriguez with an exit velocity of 106.2 mph, Woods Richardson instinctively stuck out his glove and somehow snared the ball out of midair. As soon as he realized he actually caught it, Woods Richardson showed proof to Rodriguez, then flashed a smile as he walked back to the mound.

The run support for Woods Richardson started in the bottom of the fifth inning when Trevor Larnach locked in on a changeup over the plate and launched it into outer space for a two-run home run that made it 2-0.

The floodgates opened in the bottom of the sixth inning as Brooks Lee belted a solo home run, Byron Buxton drove in a run, and Kody Clemens scored on an error to make it 5-0.

It got out of hand from there as Willi Castro drove in a run, Carlos Correa drove in a pair of runs, and Matt Wallner crushed two-run home run to provide an exclamation point as the lead quickly ballooned to 10-0.

With the Twins in complete control down the stretch, the Mariners finished the game with a position player on the mound.

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