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Children of Melissa and Mark Hortman pay musical tribute to slain parents • Minnesota Reformer [1]
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Date: 2025-08
Colin and Sophie Hortman on Wednesday paid tribute to their late parents on the alternative music station The Current, sharing memories of how the music-loving duo intertwined melodies into their lives alongside public service.
“We wanted to celebrate our parents’ memory, Mark and Melissa Hortman, through music,” Colin Hortman said on the morning show. “We’re trying to do things that put a smile on other peoples’ faces … because that’s how they lived their whole (lives).”
Melissa and Mark Hortman were killed on June 14 in a politically motivated assassination. Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, was among the most influential Minnesota elected officials of the past decade.
The Hortman children kicked off the musical tribute playlist with “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye. Sophie Hortman said when she was in high school, her dad came into her bedroom and said “I have to show you this cool song,” she recalled. It was “Somebody that I Used to Know,” which about a month later skyrocketed on the charts.
“He was ahead of the curve on that one, for sure,” Sophie Hortman said.
Mark Hortman loved Led Zeppelin — the playlist included the song “Rock and Roll” — while Melissa Hortman was an ABBA fan — “Dancing Queen.” The Hortman children remembered their mother often going on what she called “disco walks,” where she would walk around the block while listening to music.
The Hortman children said whenever they think of their dad, the band Soul Coughing comes to mind. Recollections of driving in the car while listening to Prince surface when they think of their mom, they said.
The final song in the tribute playlist was Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” Sophie and Colin Hortman said their parents loved to dance together.
“Across all their musical differences, they could always come together on Van Morrison and that was always something that they could listen to and dance together.”
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