Ken Martin

Just the grief in a state that's seen so much over just the course of this year, where we saw our Speaker of the House, one of my great friends, Melissa Hortman, assassinated a

on the heels of that just a couple of months after her funeral, the shooting at Annunciation.

And five years after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, the community really hasn't had a chance to heal.

And so we just can't catch a breath, so to speak.

People just need a break.

And now what we're seeing, of course, is a federal government

weaponizing the ICE force, terrorizing communities, ripping people apart and out of their homes, and unfortunately assassinating a woman in the streets.

It's painful to watch, and my heart breaks for sure.

I wish I was home, but I'm here.

Well, I think it's important for people who care about what's happening in this country and, you know, not just Democrats, but all people who realize this is

unfortunately, who we are as a country, but it's not who we need to be.

In moments like this, we need people to find a path forward who can bring people together and remind us of who we are and that this isn't acceptable, what we're seeing.

And that means to continue to stand up.

And when your neighbors are being harassed, to continue to stand up for them.

The thing I love about Minnesota, and I wish more people knew this, it's a very welcoming state.

It's one of the reasons we have some of the largest refugee communities who've come from all over the world.

It's not because we're a warm place from a temperature standpoint, right?

It's because we're a warm place in terms of being inviting people.

We care about our neighbors, our friends, people from all parts of the world.

So it's painful.