EXPLAINER: Walz signs ALS bill by senator fighting disease

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz signed a $25 million bill to fund research into ALS that was authored by a veteran state senator from the Iron Range who is fighting the neurological disease.

Sen. David Tomassoni, 69, of Chisholm, took up the cause after disclosing last year that he had ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His case has progressed rapidly, forcing him to participate in most Senate business remotely this session.

Tomassoni said through a computerized speech synthesizer that the Democratic governor and legislative leaders from both parties told him after his diagnosis that they would support whatever he wanted for funding.

“Maybe I should have asked for more," Tomassoni quipped at an emotional signing ceremony. He later added, “This bill means hope.”

Here's a look at the bill, the disease and Tomassoni's fight against it.

THE DISEASE:

ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, though it's better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, after the New York Yankees baseball player who died of it in 1941. It's a progressive disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

There is no cure, there are few treatment options, and most patients die within three to five years of being diagnosed with it. It ultimately robs people of their ability to walk, talk, and eventually breathe. At any given time, roughly 450 Minnesotans are living with the disease.

Another prominent victim was celebrated British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in 2018 after living with ALS for a highly unusual 55 years.

THE SENATOR:

Tomassoni was a Democrat for most of his political career. He was elected to the House in 1992 and the Senate in 2000. The Chisholm native also spent 16 years playing professional hockey in Italy and was on Italy's national team for the 1984...