Checking in on our community

Dear neighbors,

This weekend, we lost a giant. 

My friend and former colleague House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were killed in a horrific act of targeted political violence. There are no words to describe the devastation and loss that we are feeling. My thoughts are with her family – her children, her parents, and all her loved ones who are grieving this unthinkable tragedy. 

Melissa was truly the best of us — an extraordinary public servant, a brilliant leader, and a generous friend. She was a mentor to me, as she was to so many. Ever since I first ran for office, I have been inspired by her strong and supportive leadership.

We served together in the Minnesota state legislature for six years, and I saw firsthand what made her so beloved by her colleagues and her constituents. She led us through one of the most consequential legislative sessions in Minnesota history: passing everything from the state’s largest tax cut to middle class families, to paid family and medical leave, to protecting reproductive rights, to strengthening voting rights. 

She was relentless in her love for Minnesota. She knocked doors every summer. She brought people together. She made sure lawmakers stayed connected to their communities. She showed us what it meant to be a servant leader. She was the kind of public servant, and human being, we should all aspire to be.

This is a dark and devastating moment for our country. Our community is grieving. These egregious acts of violence have no place in our democracy and in our communities. We cannot tolerate this hatred. 

I grew up in a family with Republicans and Democrats. We didn’t always agree, but we loved each other, we respected each other, and we even learned from each other. That is what we need more of. We need to remember that most people are just trying to get by, doing their best to care for their families and their communities. We need to lead with kindness and empathy. 

That’s the only way forward.

I am so immensely grateful to our state, local, and federal law enforcement who worked around the clock this weekend to keep our community safe and bring the assailant to justice.

I am also holding the Hoffman family in my thoughts and prayers as they recover from this violent attack.

Please keep the Hortman and Hoffman families, and everyone impacted by this tragedy in your prayers. And let’s continue to show up for each other, to care for each other, and keep working to build the country we believe in.

With a heavy heart,

Kelly Morrison
Member of Congress