David Tomassoni

David Tomassoni was a native of Chisholm, Minnesota in the United States but played hockey for Italy at the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics. He played in college in the USA at the University of Denver, but then had a long professional career in Italy, playing from 1975-91 with various clubs. He also played for Italy at the World Championships in 1977, 1981, 1982, and 1983.

Tomassoni returned to the United States and went into politics, serving in the Minnesota Legislature from 1993-2022. A Democrat, he became President of the Minnesota Senate in 2020 with bipartisan support. He was also Senate majority whip from 2001-07.

Tomassoni chaired the Senate Economic Development Committee from 2007-10, chaired the Environment, Economic Development and Agriculture Finance Division, co-chaired the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), and chaired the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) four times. He was also vice-chair of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission.

Tomassoni was diagnosed in mid-2021 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (aka motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and died from the incurable disease just over a year later. After his death, one of his Senate colleagues noted, “Heaven just got a lot more fun.”