Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark and their golden retriever Gilbert will lie in state on Friday at the Capitol. Rep. Hortman and her husband were killed on June 14 in a “politically motivated assassination.”
Hortman will be the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol. The public may pay their respects from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, the office of Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday.
A private funeral will be held on Saturday, but it will be livestreamed.
Melissa Hortman served in the Minnesota Legislature for two decades. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislator was beloved around the Capitol and is known for scoring major legislative victories including free school lunch for K-12 students, a new paid leave program and a mandate that Minnesota utilities use 100% carbon-free energy sources by 2040.
Sophie and Colin Hortman, the children of Melissa and Mark Hortman, issued a statement calling on people to honor their parents’ legacy by doing “something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.”
“Our parents touched so many lives, and they leave behind an incredible legacy of dedication to their community that will live on in us, their friends, their colleagues and co-workers, and every single person who knew and loved them,” the Hortman children said.
Hortman enters a distinguished group of fewer than 20 Minnesotans to lie in state at the Capitol; the ceremony is a high honor for Minnesotans who have dedicated their lives to public service.