‘Melissa Hortman State Office Building’ gets overwhelming committee approval

When House members and staff return to the renovated and expanded State Office Building, one well-loved legislator will not be there but her name could be.

Amid some watery eyes and with a tinge of mournfulness permeating the room, a bill to call the structure the “Melissa Hortman State Office Building” breezed through the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee Thursday.

Rep. Ginny Klevorn wipes away tears during emotional presentation of a bill that would rename the State Office Building after late Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. (Photo by Andrew VonBank)

Sponsored by Rep. Ginny Klevorn (DFL-Plymouth), HF3455, as amended, next heads to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Hortman, a speaker emerita, was assassinated last June 14, a tragedy that also claimed the lives of her husband, Mark, and dog, Gilbert.

“Melissa Hortman was my friend. But today is not about Melissa Hortman as my friend, today is about Melissa Hortman as a leader in our state and as someone who personified diplomacy and statesmanship,” Klevorn said before listing many accolades of Hortman, including a passion to pass policy to make Minnesota a better place for all.

“The bill was brought to us by community, and the bill was brought to us by all the staff who work in the Capitol Complex,” Klevorn added.

“I often feel her standing over my shoulders,” added Rep. Kristin Bahner (DFL-Maple Grove). “… No matter what you may have thought of her politics, she kept her word. She lifted people up. But moreover she loved this institution.”

Jodi Anderson-Wolhaupter, a Hortman constituent, helped begin a petition in July 2025 encouraging the honor. More than 2,200 signatures have been gathered so far, representing 38 states, Washington D.C. and six other countries.

“This petition illustrates the power of one person to transform countless lives,” she said.

Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) said he and Hortman “may have agreed on maybe 11 or 12 things,” but they also had some fun together.

He smiled recalling when he and Hortman jointly offered an amendment for a unicameral Legislature by eliminating the Senate. Offered at a moment when things were tense, Nash said he tried to withdraw the amendment but was called to the speaker’s rostrum.

“She used some words that I can’t use here in committee, but she said, ‘You will do that amendment, and said bring me the copy and she signed on,’” he recalled. “…  She had a very good knack of knowing when to enter levity into a situation and when to be respectful of the situation.”