Today marks one year since the violent politically motivated attack that took the lives of Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark and threatened the lives of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette.
It’s hard to comprehend that it’s been a year without Melissa and Mark. Today, I’m thinking of their children, their loved ones and the Hoffman family as they navigate this devastating milestone.
Melissa was a force – she was fiercely devoted to improving the lives of Minnesotans. We’ve had a hard year as a state. It's impossible to not feel her absence.
If we are going to truly honor Melissa and Mark’s memory, we must turn down the temperature on our politics, put our differences aside and treat one another with dignity, respect and humanity. It's how we move forward, how we heal and above all – it's how we honor their legacy.