After eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers from the postseason for the second straight year, the Denver Nuggets will have to do the same to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.

The Nuggets took down Minnesota in five game in last year’s first round. Now they meet in the second round after the T-Wolves put the finishing touches on a four-game sweep of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven series between Denver and Minnesota is set for Saturday at a to-be-determined time.

The Timberwolves’ sweep of the Suns marked the first time Minnesota has won a playoff series in 20 years. They will now meet the Nuggets in the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history.

Here’s the complete series schedule:

Series schedule

(Click here to see schedule on mobile)

* If necessary

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(FOX 9) – Minnesota has been ranked in the top five states for working moms in a recent study by WalletHub. 

The state has been ranked 5th overall for the best states for working moms. Minnesota has been ranked 4th in the country for child care, and 2nd for professional opportunities for moms in the state. Minnesota’s rank for work-life balance for moms is a lot lower, at 16th. 

According to the study, Minnesota has the third-lowest gender pay gap. 

Wisconsin is ranked 9th overall in the study, and is ranked 7th in child care. Wisconsin’s professional opportunities rank is lower at 25. The state is ranked 11th for work-life balance. 

The state with the highest overall ranking is Massachusetts, with the second-highest child care ranking. They are ranked 7th for professional opportunities and ranked number one for work-life balance. 

Alabama is ranked the worst overall state for working moms, with a child care and professional opportunities rank of 47th, and a work-life balance rank of 44th. 

The study ranked the states with three different dimensions: child care, professional opportunities, and work-life balance.

Child care was measured by quality, cost, pediatricians per capita, school quality, share of nationally accredited child care centers, and number of child care workers compared to number of children. 

Professional opportunities for moms were measured by the gender pay gap in each state and the ratio of female executives to male executives. This dimension was also measured by the share of working women living with economic security, the share of families in poverty, and female unemployment rate. 

The work-life balance for working moms was measured by parental leave policies by state, average length of a woman’s work week, and the average commute time for women. 

When I was 39,  I received a devastating diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer. My sons were ages 3 and 6. The diagnosis of breast cancer was heart wrenching. My breasts had nurtured my two sons, defined my femininity, and then they were gone. I felt like I had been stripped of my magic powers. 

How do you explain cancer to your young children while fighting the hardest physical battle you have ever faced? 

I searched for a book I could read to my children, but eventually found my own words to explain what was happening. I self-published our family’s story.  “Our Mama is a Beautiful Garden” is written in the voice of my two young sons, Louis and Maxwell.

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During my recovery, I read books with my sons about Wonder Woman, whom I had idolized as a TV character while growing up. To me, Wonder Woman is what a woman should be: confident, physically strong, and caring. I came to an understanding that chemo gave me a superpower to fight off getting cancer again.

Mothering while battling breast cancer made me more resilient — however, the first decade of survivorship was not easy. The fear of getting sick again did not go away. I was 10 years cancer-free on my 50th birthday, which felt like a rebirth. 

Not everybody gets a prognosis as good as I have. Not everybody gets to celebrate coming back from stage 3 cancer to full health. Survivor guilt is real.

I returned to the stage as a musician in 2022. My songwriting centers on honoring life’s stumbles and summits.

Today, my boys are ages 21 and nearly 18. My eldest started playing guitar during the pandemic; now we perform as an Americana/Blues mother-and-son duo, as well as with my band The Turnbuckles.

To celebrate the talents of Twin Cities mothers in music, I have organized a music festival that will use both stages at Hook & Ladder in Minneapolis on May 16, titled Mama Hellcats. It will lift up the importance of community and support networks, featuring  information and representatives from organizations dedicated to providing support and resources for survivors of domestic violence and housing instability. 

I have experienced times of abundance, when I donated furniture to Bridging, and moments of need, when I sought support from Sojourner to obtain a restraining order. 

This festival and these musicians — who represent a range of family structures — is my way to honor survival, connection, and how we can be here for each other. The line-up includes my band, Kashimana, Annie & the Bang Bang, Nikki Lemire, Samantha Grimes, and Haley E Rydell. 

[Editor’s note: Minnesota Women’s Press is a media partner for the event. Katy Tessman was a Changemaker in the magazine in 2013.]

Details: katytessman.com