Memorial for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman will remain at her desk during legislative session

Eight months passed. Seasons changed. 

But no matter the weather or time, a fresh bouquet of roses sits on the desk of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman alongside her photo and a gavel, a memorial always in bloom. 

"The flowers just have a way of making you smile and bring back memories of my friend Melissa, who smiled a lot," said Patrick Duffy Murphy, chief clerk of the Minnesota House.

He set it up in the immediate hours after he heard the news on June 14, 2025, that Hortman and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed in their home in a stunning act of political violence that rocked the state and nation.

Devastated and in disbelief, he felt compelled to act. 

"This is what I'm going to do. This is my voice. I am showing people what Melissa Hortman meant to us as an institution and to the state. I think it's become a powerful statement," Murphy said in a recent interview. 

When all 201 members of the Minnesota Legislature return to the Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday to start the 2026 session, the touching tribute will remain for the rest of the year. Murphy suggested it, and the move received bipartisan backing from House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson and GOP House Speaker Lisa Demuth. 

It's just one way lawmakers will remember Hortman's life and legacy. Their first day back will focus solely on honoring her with planned speeches from Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders, a joint resolution commemorating Melissa and Mark Hortman's contributions to the state and a reception featuring some of their favorite treats they liked to bake — cake and bread. 

There will be therapy dogs, too.

"A physical reminder" of Hortman's legacy, tragedy of June 14

Murphy replaces the flowers every eight days or so. 

The florist in St. Paul "knows what he's up to" by now, dozens of bouquets later. Keeping them fresh is a cathartic and positive way, he said, to deal with his grief about the tragedy. 

He hopes it will serve the same purpose for lawmakers, too, who have stopped to reflect and pay their respects there in the months since the shooting. 

"It's so powerful to me because I know what they're doing. They're thinking about, 'How could this happen?'" Murphy said. 

He spent countless hours with Hortman in his role as chief clerk of the House where his desk sits just below the speaker's. The chamber is a place he knows better than most, having worked there for nearly 50 years during Republican and DFL majorities alike, and now in a rare tie. 

"People may have disagreed with her, but I think they would all agree that she was selfless, she was smart, she was thoughtful, she was kind," Murphy said. "And most of all, authentic."

Few issues are as uniting as lawmakers' respect for Murphy. Demuth and Stephenson both agreed that her desk, which sits front and center upon entering the chamber, should remain a memorial. 

Stephenson, whose relationship with Hortman dates back years to when he was 17 and worked on her campaign, said Murphy's suggestion just made sense — not only because of her influence on the state during her more than two decades in the Legislature, but also because of the political moment. 

"Everyone's going to have to walk past that desk every day and understand the consequences when we let rhetoric and misinformation get out of control, and I think that's very important," Stephenson said.

The first day back without her at the Capitol will be difficult.

"When you lose someone, particularly in a violent fashion — in a sudden, dramatic, violent fashion — it leaves you with a wound that doesn't go away. That's the nature of grief," Stephenson told WCCO. "The other thing, though, is that grief is proof that the relationship you had with that person mattered."

Demuth described the photo, flowers and gavel as a "physical reminder" of who Hortman was and what she meant to the Legislature. 

"It shows the person that she was and the position she had in the chamber and her leadership over years, but yet, it's a signal to us that we can find a way forward and work together," Demuth said in an interview. 

Murphy believes there is only one way to heal what is broken in our politics.

And the memorial is a reminder of what it takes to fix it. 

"We're here to do the business of the people of Minnesota, and it does matter how we do that and how we treat one another. So that, to me, is the purpose of keeping the memorial up — to treat each other with respect, dignity and all, most of all, kindness," Murphy said.