House, Senate Open 2026 Session in Grief, Honor Melissa and Mark Hortman in Historic Joint Tribute

ST. PAUL, MN 

The 2026 Minnesota legislative session convened on February 17 under a silence rarely heard beneath the marble dome of the State Capitol. There were no triumphant gavels, no immediate rush into partisan positioning. Instead, members of the House and Senate stood together in collective mourning for Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark Hortman, and their golden retriever, Gilbert — all killed in a targeted political attack on June 14, 2025.

It was the first time the full Legislature had convened since the assassinations. The absence was palpable.

A Capitol Transformed Into a Memorial

In the House chamber, Hortman’s desk sat empty, draped in dozens of roses. Lawmakers from both parties wore green, her favorite color. A separate bouquet rested in the gallery at the precise seat where Mark Hortman had sat in 2019 when his wife was first sworn in as Speaker.

Members of the House and Senate jointly read a resolution honoring the couple’s lives and service. The language recognized not only legislative milestones but the family’s warmth, humor, and love of the outdoors. Outside formal remarks, legislators approached the empty desk one by one, placing roses in a quiet ritual of respect.

Governor Tim Walz delivered the most personal tribute of the morning.

“I miss my friend every day,” Walz said, his voice unsteady at times. He described Hortman as his “security blanket” at the Capitol and “the heart and soul” of the institution. Holding up a copy of Getting to Yes, the negotiation classic she once gifted to him and Republican leaders, Walz recalled her insistence that governing required persistence, compromise, and human decency.

“I just hope the work we do here makes her proud,” he said. “Because she cared so deeply about this institution.”

The Attack That Shook Minnesota

The ceremony followed what investigators have called the most significant act of political violence in Minnesota history.

According to federal and state authorities, in the early hours of June 14, 2025, Vance Luther Boelter, 57, allegedly carried out a targeted shooting spree.

Authorities say Boelter first went to Champlin, where he shot State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, multiple times. Both survived.

He then traveled to the Hortman home in Brooklyn Park. Investigators allege he wore a police-style uniform and silicone mask and claimed to be conducting a welfare check. Mark Hortman was shot at the doorway. Melissa Hortman was killed inside the home while attempting to flee to the second floor. Gilbert, the family dog, was also shot and later euthanized due to his injuries.

Authorities later reported discovering a list of additional elected officials in the suspect’s vehicle. After a two-day manhunt, Boelter was apprehended and charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. The case remains ongoing.

The violence forced a reckoning within the Capitol. Lawmakers who had long debated security policy suddenly confronted their own vulnerability.

A Career That Reshaped the House

Hortman, first elected in 2004, served 20 years in the Minnesota House. In 2019, she became the 61st Speaker of the House and went on to become the longest-serving woman Speaker in state history.

Her tenure spanned divided government and ideological tension. After the 2024 election produced a 67–67 split, she negotiated a rare power-sharing agreement with Republican Leader Lisa Demuth, a move that many credited with preventing legislative paralysis.

Policy-wise, Hortman was known as a principal architect of Minnesota’s solar energy standards and a forceful advocate for reproductive rights and gun violence prevention measures. Colleagues across the aisle often described her as tough in negotiation yet disciplined in separating political disagreement from personal animosity.

She was also known internally as a mentor. Younger legislators frequently referred to her as the institutional memory of the House, a leader who trained members not just in policy but in parliamentary mechanics and political survival.

Her legislative seat is now held by Representative Xp Lee.

“Plant a Tree. Pet a Dog.”

During the joint tribute, members recalled words shared publicly by the Hortmans’ children, Sophie and Colin, in the days after the attack:

“Plant a tree. Pet a dog. Tell a cheesy joke. Stand up for what you believe in.”

The advice, at once ordinary and defiant, has circulated through the Capitol in the months since.

A New Security Reality

The 2026 session also opened under permanent new security measures. Weapon scanners now stand at all public entrances to the Capitol complex, a direct response to vulnerabilities exposed by last year’s violence. Legislative leaders from both parties supported the upgrades, framing them not as symbols of fear but as necessary adaptations to a changed reality.

Yet on opening day, the dominant emotion was not fear. It was grief layered with resolve.

The Legislature is expected to confront major fiscal and policy debates in the weeks ahead. But before any of that could begin, lawmakers paused to acknowledge that the institution itself had been wounded.

Under the Capitol dome, the roses at an empty desk served as reminder and charge: that public service carries risk, that democracy depends on human beings willing to stand in it, and that the work continues.

For one morning at least, politics yielded to memory.

MinneapoliMedia