Finding Light in Dark Times

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Tragedy struck Minnesota when politically motivated violence left State Senator John Hoffman and his wife severely wounded, and former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog Gilbert dead. Yet amid this darkness, remarkable stories of compassion and resilience emerged.

The Hoffmans and Hortmans exemplified lives dedicated to service. John advocated tirelessly for families with disabled children and early childhood education, while Yvette brightened countless lives as a kindergarten paraprofessional. Melissa carried the Prayer of St. Francis in her wallet—"Where there is hatred, let me sow love"—words that guided her public service. The Hortmans volunteered training service dogs for people with disabilities and veterans with PTSD, showing their commitment to helping others extended far beyond political office.

Most profound was the response from the Hortman children, Sophie and Colin. Instead of anger, they honored their parents with suggestions that anyone could follow: plant trees, visit parks, pet dogs, share dad jokes, bake for others, or stand up for justice. Their words, "Hope and resilience are the enemy of fear," remind us that kindness persists even in our darkest moments. When tragedy makes us question humanity's goodness, these examples prove that compassion continues to work quietly every day, sometimes obscured but never extinguished by ugliness.

Want to support these families? Links to GoFundMe campaigns for both families and Helping Paws are here:

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, hello there and welcome.
You are listening to theKindness Matters podcast and I
am your host, mike Rathbun.
What is this podcast all about?
It's about kindness.
It's a pushback againsteverything negative that we see
in the news and on social mediatoday, and it's a way to

(00:20):
highlight people, organizations,that are simply striving to
make their little corner of theworld a little better place.
If you want to join in on theconversation, feel free, Go
ahead and follow us on all ofyour social media feeds.
We're on Facebook, instagram,tiktok.
We're even on LinkedIn underMike Rathbun.

(00:43):
Check us out.
We're even on LinkedIn underMike Rathbun.
Check us out and, in themeantime, so sit back, relax,
enjoy and we'll get into theKindness Matters podcast.
Hello and welcome to theKindness Matters podcast
everybody.

(01:03):
I am your host, mike Rathbun,and I want to personally thank

(01:23):
you, your family, your friends,your coworkers, your neighbors,
strangers on the street I lovesaying that it's just silly.
Make sure you follow us on oursocials, too.
We're on Facebook, instagram,tiktok, linkedin, youtube.
So, yeah, please support ourshow.

(01:46):
If you're listening in whateverpodcast platform you're
listening on, please make sureto subscribe and follow, or
whatever it is that we do thesedays.
I would really, truly, trulyappreciate it.
So the episode today obviouslyI'm guestless, but it's going to

(02:12):
be a conversation that I've hadin my head for a little bit now
.
In places it's a little bitheavy, but ultimately I like to
think it's hopeful.
I hope it illuminates a pathforward.
At least that's the plan, thegoal, the hope.

(02:35):
Here we go, ever since StateSenator John Hoffman and his
wife Yvette were seriouslywounded, and his wife Yvette
were seriously wounded.
Just to be clear, john, yvetteand their daughter Hope were
lined up in the entryway oftheir home, execution style,
when John and Yvette were shotand they managed to get the

(02:56):
shooter out the door.
Hope immediately called 911 andinformed them that her dad,
state Senator John Hoffman, andhis wife had been shot, and that
composure most likely savedtheir lives.
They took 17 bullets betweenthe two of them and somehow
survived.

(03:17):
John is still recovering in thehospital, yvette is home and
the former Speaker of theMinnesota House of
Representatives, melissa Hortman, along with her husband Mark
and their dog Gilbert werekilled in a politically
motivated shooting in the earlymorning hours of June 14th of
2025.

(03:38):
We've been having a lot ofconversations, given the current
political climate in the UnitedStates today.
Some of those conversationsrevolved around some frankly
disgusting memes anddisinformation that circulated
shortly after a suspect wasnamed.

(03:59):
Most of them were from theusual online bots and trolls,
but a few came from people whoshould have known better,
including state lawmakers andeven one sitting United States
senator.
So abhorrent were his twotweets that the junior US

(04:19):
senator from Minnesota, tinaSmith.
From Minnesota, tina Smith, andalso the senior US Senator from
Minnesota, amy Klobuchar,decided to just forego the
typical tweet response andlocate him and, in private,

(04:46):
berate his lack of tact.
And well, humanity, it musthave worked, because the tweets
were deleted the following dayWell, as deleted as any one of
us can get these days.
They live on in hundreds ofthousands of screenshots all
over the interwebs and any oneof us can access that with a
simple Google search.
These conversations were boundto happen, but, honestly,

(05:15):
they're not the ones thatinterest me.
Yes, they make me mad and theymake me angry and I feel like
lashing out, but the ones thatreally make me sit up and take
notice were the ones thatreaffirmed my faith in humanity.
Senator Hoffman has workedtirelessly for his community,

(05:35):
advocating for families ofchildren with disabilities,
early childhood education andthose who are aging.
His wife, yvette, is aparaprofessional supporting
kindergarten students andteachers.
Side note, I have followedYvette Hoffman's Instagram for a
few years now and if you'relooking for a social media page

(05:56):
that will brighten your day, youcan't go wrong following her.
I can't count the number ofmornings I have spit coffee out
of my nose stumbling across oneof her posts.
Just saying Now, I'm not goingto eulogize Melissa or Mark
Hortman, or Gilbert for thatmatter, although by all accounts

(06:20):
he was literally the goodestboy.
He was literally the goodestboy.
There are plenty of people whoknow them and whose lives they
touched and they can eulogizethem infinitely better than I

(06:40):
can.
But as I devoured every bit ofinformation because that's what
we do when we're traumatized,right, we seek out information.
And as I was looking forinformation, um and I and I
devoured every little tiny bit Icould get over the weekend, I
kept learning more and moreabout the kindness that exuded

(07:02):
from both of these families.
The Hortmans, interestingly,volunteered as trainers with an
organization called Helping PawsInc that's P-A-W-S, since this
is an audio podcast and they'rebased out of Eden Prairie,
minnesota.
They were founded in 1988, andthey breed, train and place

(07:27):
assistance dogs with people whohave physical disabilities, and
veterans and first responderswith PTSD, disabilities and
veterans and first responderswith PTSD.
Gilbert was supposed to be aservice dog but instead he
became a member of the Hortmanfamily and, as someone who loves
all animals, but especiallydogs, I can't imagine training

(07:50):
one for months on end and thenhaving to send it back, although
knowing that my trainingenabled someone with a physical
disability to lead a fuller life, or a vet or a first responder
with PTSD to remain and regaintheir independence and hope, it
might make it a little biteasier.

(08:11):
Gilbert's injuries that fatefulmorning were so severe that he
had to be put down.
Another pleasant surprisehappened when I was watching an
interview with Melissa's parentsand her brother.
First of all, my heart goes outto them, but especially her

(08:33):
parents.
No parent should have to bury achild, but especially one who
died in such a gruesome andviolent way.
In the interview, melissa's momrecounts recovering her wallet.
She got her purse and thewallet and she spoke about how

(08:54):
it was just a tiny little walletthat contained just her ID and
a credit card, but tucked insidewas a well-worn copy of the
Prayer of St Francis of Assisi.
Maybe you're familiar with it.
I first became aware of theprayer of St Francis when I was
a kid going to Mass in the 70s.

(09:16):
Yeah, I know.
During this time some Catholicchurches went through what I
call their hippy-dippy phase,and what I can only assume was
an effort to attract youngerworshipers and keep younger
butts in the pews.
Some churches began tointroduce a more hip musical
feature, primarily one mass eachweekend.

(09:39):
This program generally includedat least one acoustic guitar
and maybe some tambourines and,if the pastor of the church was
really groovy, a set of drums.
And it was during one such massthat I was introduced to the
prayer of St Francis in musicalform.

(10:00):
Now I will take pity on you andI will not attempt to sing that
song, but let me just read theprayer to you, and it goes like
this Lord, make me an instrumentof your peace.
Where there is hatred, let mesow love.
Where there is injury, pardonwhen there is doubt, faith when

(10:25):
there is despair, hope whenthere is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that Imay not so much seek to be
consoled as to console, to beunderstood as to understand, to
be loved as to love, for it isin giving that we receive.

(10:48):
It is in pardoning that we arepardoned.
It is in dying that we are bornto eternal life.
Amen.
I love that prayer Again.
I knew it from my childhood andI had forgotten about it until
Melissa Hortman's mom talkedabout it.

(11:09):
I loved it in song form and inspoken form.
I loved it in song formprobably because it was played
with an acoustic guitar, but Ireally hadn't thought much of it
until just recently.
What a lovely prayer.
I think I'm going to make it ahabit of mine to recite that

(11:34):
prayer each morning now as Iprepare for the day.
It brings me joy to know thatMelissa carried it with her in
her wallet and, by all accounts,looked at it often.
Finally, the one thing that hitme the hardest, brought such a
mix of grief and hope, was theletter from the Hortmans' two

(11:59):
adult children, sophie and Colin, pardon me.
It's a statement that no kidshould have to sit down and
write, and I cannot imagine howhard that must have been.
In the statement they expressedthe pain and heartache at

(12:25):
finding out they had lost boththeir parents.
They assured everyone who wasconcerned that they were safe
and with loved ones.
They expressed their gratitudefor the outpouring of love and
support they had received andappreciation for respecting
their privacy as they grieve,and thanked the many different

(12:48):
law enforcement agencies whoworked together to apprehend
their parents' killer, andespecially the officers that
were the first to respond totheir home and tried to rescue
them.
And then I can't describe it,so I'm just going to read it

(13:09):
verbatim Quote Our parentstouched so many lives and they
leave behind an incrediblelegacy of dedication to their
community that will live on inus their friends, their
colleagues and co-workers andevery single person who knew and

(13:29):
loved them.
If you would like to honor thememory of Mark and Melissa,
please consider the followingPlant a tree, visit a local park
and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail.
I love this one.
Pet a dog, a golden retrieveris ideal, but any will do.

(13:52):
Tell your loved ones a cheesydad joke and laugh about it.
Bake something bread for Markor a cake for Melissa and share
it with someone.
Try a new hobby and enjoylearning something.
Stand up for what you believein, especially if that thing is

(14:17):
justice and peace.
That's so.
I can't words, just don't haveany.
I've lost them, but I have ashow to do, right.
So here we go.
This was not theirs, but I'dlike to add it as something that
you can do To remember Mark andMelissa Donate blood.

(14:43):
According to multiple sources,so much blood was needed when
the Hoffmans were rushed to thehospital.
By donating blood, you canliterally make the difference
between life and death.
Anyhow, the children, sophieand Colin, ended their statement

(15:07):
with this Quote Hope andresilience are the enemy of fear
.
Our parents live their liveswith immense dedication to their
fellow humans.
This tragedy must become amoment for us to come together,

(15:28):
hold your loved ones a littlecloser, love your neighbors,
trust each other with kindnessand respect.
The best way to honor ourparents' memory is to do
something, whether big or small,to make our community just a

(15:50):
little bit better for someoneelse.
End quote.
What an incredible sentiment,you know.
Every so often I fear thatthere's no more kindness in the
world, that empathy, compassionand kindness are just horribly

(16:12):
outdated notions, that everyoneis just out for themselves, that
politics is an identity.
And then when I meet somebodyto have on this podcast who has
taken a tragedy or a difficultsituation or just notion and

(16:32):
turned it into an opportunity tohelp others, I am reminded that
we are not broken at all, thatkindness is truly alive in the
world and working every singleday.
It's just that sometimes, everynow and then, it's drowned out

(16:54):
or obscured by the ugly in theworld.
But as long as we keeppracticing kindness, keep
striving to make a positivedifference in the lives of
others, even if it's just asmile or a listening heart, we
will be okay.
We will.

(17:15):
There are currently GoFundMecampaigns for the Hoffmans, john
and Yvette, and also for theHortman children.
You can find the links for bothof those in the show notes, as
well as a link to helping PAWS.
If're in the mood or have thethe resources to to donate to

(17:37):
any of those, please feel freeto do that.
I want to thank you so much forfor taking the time to tune in
today.
If something in this episodespeaks to you, inspires you or
motivates you to be the changeyou wish to see in the world,
please, please, please, share itwith your family, friends,

(18:02):
acquaintances and coworkers.
I will be taking a summer breakfor the next two weeks, but I
will be back again in July tobring you more uplifting,
inspirational content and toremind you that kindness matters
.
I am your host, mike Rathbun,and you have been listening to

(18:22):
the kindness matters podcast.
Thanks, and have a great week.