A year without Melissa Hortman

Good morning, Reformers. 

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the assassinations of former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, one of Minnesota’s most consequential legislative leaders, and her husband, Mark. 

A year ago Sunday, Vance Boelter murdered the Hortmans and shot state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife.

This week, Michelle Griffith wrote about Minnesota lawmakers’ vows to do better and refrain from spreading dehumanizing language in the aftermath of shootings last year, in hopes of preventing future political violence. Lawmakers on both sides told Michelle that it’s been a struggle. 

In April, Colin Hortman, the Hortmans’ son, met with lawmakers privately to again urge them to treat each other with kindness and respect.

Reformer editor J. Patrick Coolican shared some of his last conversation with Melissa Hortman, a candid off-the-record talk about the 2025 legislative session which her family gave permission to share. He also reflected on his reporter-source relationship with Hortman. 

Boelter pled guilty on Thursday to his crimes, Max Nesterak reported from the courtroom.

Federal prosecutors dropped charges against Juan Carlos Rodriguez Romero, a St. Paul man who immigration enforcement agents shot at on Dec. 21, Madi McVan reported. The agents on the scene and the Department of Homeland Security accused Rodriguez Romero of ramming agents with his car, though agents’ stories contained contradictions; prosecutors cited insufficient evidence when filing to drop the charges. 

The Minnesota Department of Human Services resumed payments to most of the thousands of care providers that it had cut off from Medicaid funding in May in a rush to meet a federal deadline, I reported. Legitimate providers of 13 Medicaid services deemed vulnerable to fraud have been caught in the political back-and-forth between the Walz administration and the Trump administration, which has repeatedly threatened to cut billions in Medicaid funding purportedly to incentivize the state to address fraud. 

The vast majority of Minnesota’s early autism service providers have applied for provisional licenses under a new law aimed at bringing greater oversight to a Medicaid-funded program that in recent years has seen credible fraud allegations, Max reported. 

Moments after her reelection Sunday, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler made an ambitious pledge to unionize at least 2 million workers over the next 5 years, Max reported from the AFL-CIO national convention in Minneapolis. 

Also at the AFL-CIO national convention, legendary labor leader Dolores Huerta, 96, was honored as the first recipient of the AFL-CIO Si Se Puede Award, named in her honor of the union rallying cry she created, Max reported. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar committed to putting Minnesota “on a path to build” at least 100,000 new homes if she’s elected governor in November, among other housing policies such as a new fund to bolster rural housing development, I reported. On a more contentious issue, she did not say she would force local governments to allow more housing development through statewide zoning mandates. 

The union representing over 500 Target Field concessions workers called a one-day strike on June 22, when the Minnesota Twins are scheduled to play the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and are asking fans to bring their own food and drinks, Max reported. Negotiations between the workers’ union and their employer, Delaware North, have stalled over pay and health care.

Justin Stofferahn, the antimonopoly director at the Minnesota Farmers Union, urged Attorney General Keith Ellison to use powerful regulatory tools that lawmakers passed in 2023 to push back against the monopolization of Minnesota’s healthcare system, and specifically two pending mergers. 

Jeff Stark, the business manager of finishing trades union IUPAT, sung the praises of unions and reminded us that the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay and weekends come from unions, not corporate generosity. 

Trisha Zachman, who owns Feathered Acres Learning Farm + Inn with her family, wrote in opposition to the Save Our Bacon Act that’s included in the House Farm Bill. It would preempt state and local food safety and animal welfare laws across the country, hurting farmers who have invested to meet higher standards. The Senate still hasn’t taken up the Farm Bill.

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