| Melissa Hortman will be the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol if her family chooses. Gov. Tim Walz told MPR News Monday that he is having his Department of Administration prepare for those honors. “There will be very, very large numbers of folks who will come out,” he said. “I’ll leave it to the family.” Hortman would be one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans to have lain in state since this Capitol building opened in 1905, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. There have been only four who were solely state legislators and didn’t serve in statewide office, such as governor or Supreme Court justice. No legislator with exclusively Minnesota House service has been given the tribute. The last legislator so honored was former Senate Majority Leader Nick Coleman.
The daughter and son of the Hortmans, Sophie and Colin, issued a statement on behalf of the family and that honors the memory of their parents. They described themselves as “devastated and heartbroken” by the sudden loss. “They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone,” Monday night’s statement read. “Their love for us was boundless. We will miss them so much.” It goes on to ask for privacy, but offered gestures of support people could make to honor the memory of Melissa and Mark Hortman. They range from planting a tree to petting a dog — “a golden retriever is ideal, but any will do.” Other suggestions are to bake bread as Mark would like, or a cake as Melissa would. But there was also the serious. “The best way to honor our parents’ memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community a little better for someone else,” the statement concludes.
During my interview with the governor Monday, he recounted walking into the Capitol on Monday and feeling a sense of emptiness. “I've never worked in this building without my closest ally, Melissa,” Walz said. “I don’t think sadness sums it up. It feels a little despondent.” He indicated it’s time for a serious conversation about Capitol and lawmaker security and a clarion call to “ratchet down the situation” of political vitriol. Walz said: “We always had the ‘if they go low, we go high, type of thing.’ And I kind of made the case, well, I'm going to go with them a bit here because, you know, pushing back. I think to be thoughtful about that.” Listen to it here. Walz has yet to hear from President Donald Trump, but did speak with Vice President JD Vance, former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
The memorials to Melissa and Mark Hortman inside the Capitol and outside of it are growing. After the interview with Walz, he and first lady Gwen Walz put a bouquet on a table with photos, notes, signs and other remembrances. Both had tears in their eyes and aides to him stood off to the side with their emotions also showing. House staff and colleagues have stopped by, along with members of the public. In an alcove outside the main doors to the House chamber, there is a bronze bust to former Chief Clerk Ed Burdick on a granite stone pedestal. The mirroring alcove is empty, but you could easily see that changing. Former Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher described to All Things Considered host Catharine Richert how Hortman apologized to her for breaking her record for being the longest-serving woman in the speaker’s chair. To which Anderson Kelliher responded: “And I said, ‘I am not sorry you broke my record.’ It's just such an accomplishment.”
Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth also spoke to reporters Monday about the unsettling events of the past few days. Clay Masters was among those to interview Demuth , who called Hortman a mentor despite their political party differences. Hortman’s death leaves the House at 67 Republicans and 66 DFLers until a yet-to-be-scheduled special election to fill the seat. Demuth told Clay that politics should be put aside for now. "This is not a time for partisanship at all. I don't see that,” she said. There had been talk that the Legislature might need another special session this year to fix the state budget if federal spending cuts poke a hole in Minnesota’s finances. “If there is need for a special session or going forward, I would say that anyone on either side of the aisle needs to respond with compassion and kindness,” Demuth said. She says her working relationship with Hortman — where they could disagree on issues but not be cruel — should be an example for other lawmakers.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan spoke to Minnesota Now host Nina Moini. Flanagan held Hortman up as a trusted colleague, sounding board, role model and friend. She said the former House speaker led with tenacity and achieved results. “The opportunities that Melissa gave me created this life that I have. So many former staff members and people, including myself, she saw something in and gave them an opportunity. Even if you didn’t know that you had it in you. That’s just how she led.” Flanagan leads a task force that helps chart Capitol security. She said a meeting of that group will be held soon.
Four legislative members of that panel — two Republicans and two Democrats — issued a joint statement. It said the lawmaker shootings are a “horrific act of political violence” and said it “highlights the vital importance of our continued diligence to ensure that members of the Legislature, staff, those that work in state government and the public are safe within the walls of the state Capitol and around the Capitol complex.” The lawmakers are not doing interviews at this time. There have been some tangible changes already to protect lawmakers. Home addresses have been removed from official web pages and the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board has also taken those details off its public-facing pages at the request of members of the House and Senate. “Given the circumstances I agreed to the request, and the street address for candidates, treasurers and chairs of committees and party units came down Saturday afternoon,” said executive director Jeff Sigurdson.
The burglary trial of state Sen. Nicole Mitchell is postponed indefinitely. A Becker County judge called off the start of a trial, which had already been delayed by six months due to the legislative session. The postponement is directly related to the shooting for two state lawmakers over the weekend. Other lawmakers were on the alleged shooter’s target list. Mathew Holding Eagle III and David Schaper report on the delay granted by the judge in response to a defense motion. “Given the recency of this tragedy and unique circumstances of this case, I do not find a credible argument supporting moving forward with this trial,” Judge Michael Fritz said. The prosecutor did not oppose the motion to delay the trial, given the “unprecedented circumstance” of the shootings. In addition to citing safety and security concerns, Fritz also indicated that news coverage of the shootings could “negatively impact the possibility of a fair trial.” Mitchell, a Woodbury DFLer, faces two felony charges and has pleaded not guilty.
One Minnesota-connected trial did conclude Monday in a federal courtroom in Colorado. A jury found that MyPillow founder Mike Lindell made defamatory remarks related to the 2020 presidential election by casting aspersions on a voting equipment manufacturer. Lindell got involved in state politics and later became a big booster of Donald Trump. An employee at Dominion Voting Systems sued Lindell for allegations Lindell lobbed at him that were false. It’s the latest legal setback for Lindell, who is now deep in debt and whose reputation has deteriorated over his insistence that the 2020 election was rigged — an assertion that has been debunked repeatedly.
Finally, amid all that’s happening, I didn’t want to neglect to mark the passing of a prior Capitol staffer who was as dedicated and nice as they come. Sara Amaden died a little more than a week ago, according to an obituary. She worked for then-state Sen. Dick Day of Owatonna and the Senate GOP. She always had a smile and words of encouragement to anyone she came across. Sara was devoted to politics but also counted reading, piano and bridge among her favorite things. | 
