A Hortman highway, a Hortman state park, a Hortman solar garden program and a Hortman office building are some of the proposals under consideration to honor former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman in perpetuity.
Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, is the chief sponsor of four Senate bills to honor his late friend and former colleague. Hoffman himself, along with his wife Yvette, were survivors of an attempted assassination the same night Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed.
Three bills propose that Hortman’s name appear on a community solar garden program, a state highway and a building with lawmaker offices.
Hortman chaired the House Energy Policy Committee in 2013 and shaped the state’s solar standards.
She was instrumental in securing funding for Highway 610 in the Twin Cities metro.
The State Office Building is home to the offices of the members of the House of Representatives, and Hortman was the longest-serving speaker of the Minnesota House. She helped line up the current renovation to the building that is greatly expanding the footprint.
The fourth bill would turn the Minnesota Capitol grounds into a park, which Hoffman said was a dream of Hortman’s and would be named for her.
Hoffman said Hortman used to talk with him about how to make the Capitol more accessible and attractive to the public. Designating the Capitol complex and surrounding blocks the Melissa and Mark Hortman Memorial State Park would open up park funding to add trees and beautify the grounds for visitors without having to dip into general legislative funds.
Hoffman said he’ll never forget when Hortman first suggested that to him. “I sat back and I went, oh, that’s brilliant. I mean, she really was thinking outside the box.”
Rep. Erin Koegel, DFL-Spring Lake Park, sponsors the House version of the bill that would designate Highway 610 as the Hortman Memorial Highway. Koegel said Monday at a committee hearing that renaming the highway is meant to honor both Hortmans and their beloved dog Gilbert, who was also killed in the attack.
Hortman helped get funding for the highway, now a major east-west freeway in the Twin Cities suburbs that runs by Hortman’s city of Brooklyn Park.
“I just really appreciate that I was able to carry this Memorial Highway legislation for Melissa and for the family, and selfishly for me, so that when I drive that highway, I get to see Melissa’s name there every single time,” Koegel said.
Some Republican lawmakers brought up concerns about whether the new highway signage should be paid for with state funds. Ultimately, the bill moved forward to another committee.
Hoffman said he anticipates bipartisan support for the bills.
