Today was one of those days that put local TV newsrooms to the test. Aside from the expected coverage of protests across the country, there was an unexpected and horrific story emerging in the Twin Cities, where in the very early hours of this Saturday, a gunman, apparently dressed like a law enforcement officer, shot and killed State Representative Melissa Hortman, Speaker Emerita of the Minnesota House, along with her husband Mark, in their Brooklyn Park, MN home. The gunman also shot State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette multiple times in their nearby Champlin, MN home. The Hoffmans were both very seriously wounded, but are expected to survive.

All four local TV newsrooms were in continuing coverage for many hours today as neighborhoods were “sheltered in place,” a manhunt expanded to cover multiple states (it continues as I write this), and key details were agonizingly slow to emerge—as they often are in such situations.

As the first major local news event post my being in a newsroom for the past fifty years, as well as finding myself across the country on a trip visiting family, it was a bit odd to be on the proverbial “outside looking in.” But I quickly took comfort in seeing that many former colleagues and competitors were on the air, doing the vital work necessary to keep viewers informed of what was developing on the story in real time. From all the coverage I watched, I can tell you each station had its moments of strength, along with a few minor struggles along the way.

What I can also tell you is that as a critical viewer, I am grateful for the work done today by all the local journalists back home who worked on this particular Saturday in June. Yes, there will be more coverage to be done in the days and weeks to come. But I am confident they will continue to work all aspects of the story and keep the community informed.

-Kirk Varner