I spoke with Melissa Hortman 36 hours before she was killed. Here’s some of what she said.

By: J. Patrick Coolican

Outlets: Minnesota Reformer

Published: June 12, 2026

Words: 968

Last Updated: 1 month, 1 week ago

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Melissa Hortman often told me things she probably shouldn’t have.

One time when I was a Capitol reporter with the Star Tribune, she expressed displeasure with a profile I’d written about a Republican operative.

“The journalistic equivalent of a bl*wjob,” she told me with that grin of hers, which shone through her eyes.

The late speaker was a practicing Catholic who carried in her wallet a prayer of St. Francis — “Lord, …

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