From the wooden dais in the Minnesota House, then-Speaker Melissa Hortman presided two years ago over what many called the most consequential legislative session in recent history. She helped orchestrate the passage of long-held Democratic goals: increased education spending,

Friends and colleagues mourning Melissa Hortman hailed the longtime Democratic legislator as a dedicated public servant, a straight-talking and savvy political operator and a kind and committed colleague,

Sophie and Colin Hortman are responding to the fatal shooting of their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman.

"The best way to honor our parents' memory is to do something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.”

The children of Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark Hortman are speaking out on their parents' murders. “They were the bright lights at the center of our lives, and we can’t believe they are gone," Sophie and Colin Hortman wrote in a statement obtained by PEOPLE Monday.

The Hortman children released a statement on behalf of their family Monday night following the deaths of their parents, Melissa and Mark Hortman.

Fighting for a wide range of people with a skill for compromise, is how Rep. Melissa Hortman, D-Brooklyn Park, is being remembered for following her assassination Saturday. A civic engagement group said she was a shining example of a woman in politics.