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Cheers to Gov. Tim Walz who had to confront a fast-moving crisis of a manhunt while taking in and grieving the horrific, unconscionable loss of his ally and friend, former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. By any standard, Walz got it all done, calmly and compassionately keeping a frightened public up to date on the terror of a manhunt for the Hortmans’ killer, who also shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, before heading out to hunt others on his long list. Not to be lost in the moment was the leadership of Walz appointees who stood beside him, including Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans and Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson. Evans and Jacobson may not be household names, but they’re both extraordinary public servants with exemplary careers in criminal justice who are informed, humane leaders. They and their teams deserve our gratitude today and every day.
Cheers, for many of the same reasons as Walz, to Hortman’s most trusted staffers who were by her side for years, largely out of the public view but well-known to reporters. They’ve coped with grief and loss while serving Hortman’s family and doing their day jobs. Hortman’s senior adviser, Ted Modrich, and communications director Matt Roznowski aren’t well-known to most but were indispensable to Hortman and all of us. They lost a towering figure and friend in an unspeakable fashion but immediately went to work in service to her family and the state.
Cheers to U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, who stood up for what felt like the entire state when she alone confronted U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, about the pain he had caused with an abominable social media post that sought to blame Walz for the murders. The quiet, respectful approach that Smith took with Lee hearkened to her old nickname, the “Velvet Hammer.” At a time when her colleagues go on TV talk shows with dialed up outrage and anger, Smith appealed one-on-one to Lee’s decency with the hope of enlightening him. By her account, it didn’t work. Lee didn’t apologize. He did, however, eventually remove his disgusting post. Smith’s resolve and dignity were a ray of decency and hope in a dark week. If standing up to bullies were easy, we’d see more of our leaders doing it. Now wouldn’t it be nice if Utah found a well-deserved successor for Lee, someone who comes closer to the humanity of retired U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney.
Cheers to Sibley County’s Wendy Thomas who, as she approached the law enforcement dragnet this week, spotted her fugitive neighbor and accused killer Vance Boelter in the tall grass and alerted authorities, “He’s right there!” The search ended soon after. Would the rest of us have done the same? It had to be scary in the moment, but this is how we should aspire to take care of each other, and Thomas should never need to buy her own lunch in this state again. We all know law enforcement’s exhortation, “If you see something, say something,” but we don’t know if we’d summon the courage in the moment until we’ve faced it. Thomas can answer that with a resounding yes.
Cheers to local law enforcement across the Twin Cities, but especially in Champlin, Brooklyn Park and New Hope. Watching the public news conferences, one couldn’t help but feel calmed by Brooklyn Park Chief Mark Bruley’s presence and confidence in his command staff, especially Sgt. Rielly Nordan. Bruley describe how Nordan, who had just ended his shift, instinctively told two officers, “‘Hey, just to be safe, why don’t you go up and just check on Hortman’s house?’” The officers went there and quickly scrambled to make sense of the deadly and dangerous scene. Without their courage and professionalism, the tragedy could have been compounded exponentially. To get an understanding of the horror of the moments, listen to the audio and be grateful for what they do. We are grateful for their work, skill and training that allowed them to return safely to their homes at the end of their shifts.
Cheers to the New Hope Police Department, whom DFL Sen. Ann Rest credits with keeping her alive. While performing a welfare check on Rest’s home, an unnamed female officer encountered Boelter parked in his car nearby on the senator’s street. After a brief, odd encounter, the officer moved along and when she circled by again, Boelter was gone. But the officer had secured a photo of the vehicle and was able to pass it along for confirmation to the Brooklyn Park police, said Rest. The senator said she sent pizza to all city staff with a note of gratitude that read, “Hope we can all feel safe together.” She also ordered roses for the Police Department with a card that read, “Thank you for saving my life.”
