Minnesota lawmakers opened the new session by honoring former Speaker Melissa Hortman before turning to a sharply divided political agenda. Meanwhile, a major winter storm is set to bring blizzard conditions along the North Shore.
Transcript
With today’s headlines, I’m Xan Holston. Minnesota lawmakers started Day One of the legislative session with one order of business — honoring former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and dog Gilbert — all killed in a political assassination last June.
--HORTMAN MEMORIAL--
[LIZ OLSON: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.]
[DROP BENEATH NARRATION]
Former Duluth State Representative Liz Olson stood in as chaplain. She started the session with the Prayer of St. Francis — the one Hortman always carried in her purse.
[FADE BACK UP]
[LIZ OLSON: Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as console.]
State Senator John Hoffman returned yesterday as well — for the first time since he and his wife Yvette survived being shot multiple times the same morning as Hortman and her husband. Police say the same man shot them all.
[MUSIC OR ANOTHER SENTENCE OF THE PRAYER]
Colleagues, family members and Tribal leaders filled the House chamber.
Lawmakers from both parties spoke about Hortman’s leadership style, describing a speaker who focused on results rather than rhetoric.
Republican House Leader Lisa Demuth remembered her as a leader who brought people together:
[LISA DEMUTH: She paved the way for a relationship where we never stopped listening to each other, even when we fundamentally disagreed.]
Governor Tim Walz called her a partner in governing — and shared a note she wrote him about working across divides, especially in a split House.
[TIM WALZ: We need to find win-wins together — and the humanity in each other.]
Hortman served in the House for two decades and helped pass major laws on paid family leave, school meals and reproductive rights.
--HOFFMAN RETURNS--
Senator Hoffman paid tribute to his colleague and said the experience changed him.
[JOHN HOFFMAN: When you survive an attempted assassination, you look at the world differently. The noise fades and that posturing fades. The chatter becomes irrelevant.]
Hoffman thanked colleagues from both parties for supporting his family as they recovered — and urged lawmakers to move into the legislative session with that same attitude.
[JOHN HOFFMAN: […] To work in good faith, to protect the most vulnerable among us, to pursue truth and fairness and to remember every single day we serve here. This work is not about us — it's about the people of Minnesota.]
--LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS--
While Hortman’s memorial and Hoffman’s return brought calls for Republicans and Democrats to work together, the Minnesota Legislature is entering the session narrowly split and politically tense.
The House is perfectly divided at 67 seats each. Democrats have a one-seat advantage in the Senate — 34 to 33.
On Monday morning, House leaders from both parties laid out their agendas.
The big issue for House Republicans this session: stopping fraud and increasing oversight.
House Majority Leader Harry Niska says his party wants to create an independent inspector general to investigate fraud.
[HARRY NISKA: The departments that enabled the fraud cannot be trusted to fix the problem themselves.]
[HARRY NISKA: We're also introducing the Fraud Isn’t Free Act, which creates consequences for agencies and commissioners who allow fraud to occur unchecked.]
His other key points are tax relief, tougher crime sentencing, education policy and more support for business and mining.
Democrats are focusing on responding to recent federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota — and developing safeguards to protect against fraud.
They’re pushing bills to ban masked officers, require marked vehicles and expand investigations into law enforcement shootings — raising questions about states’ rights and constitutional protections.
DFL House Leader Zack Stephenson says the scope of recent events calls for broad action.
[ZACK STEPHENSON: The scale of the tragedy here requires that more comprehensive response.]
He acknowledged the proposals may struggle for Republican support — but says lawmakers should move forward.
[ZACK STEPHENSON: You know, we're realistic about the prospects. Legislatively, we know that whatever we do is going to be challenged in court, but some things are worth fighting for, and if we're not going to fight for this, what are we doing?]
--BLIZZARD WARNING--
And finally… for Northern Minnesota, the spring fling is over.
A powerful winter storm is expected to slam the region today, with blizzard warnings along the North Shore and snowfall totals that could reach one to two feet in some areas.
Meteorologist Kevin Huyck tells AMPERS member station WTIP in Grand Marais the storm could feel like a return to midwinter.
[KEVIN HUYCK: Warm up the snow blower, polish off the snow shovel. It's been quite a while since we've had a significant storm come through the area.]
He says recent warm temperatures may make the snow heavier and more damaging — increasing the risk of falling branches and scattered power outages.
[KEVIN HUYCK: It's going to be that heavy, wet snow that likes to stick to things.]
Schools in Cook County are closed, along with several local community schools, as officials warn travel could become dangerous.
People in the region should check with their school district or county emergency management office for the latest closures and safety updates.
For North Star Stories, I’m Xan Holston.