Reporter’s notebook: Candlelight vigil for Melissa and Mark Hortman

As soon as I got the assignment to cover Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark s vigil adrenaline began to class through my veins In the second week of my first internship I was tasked with capturing a city in mourning It hadn t truly set in when I first got to the Capitol Yes I was shaking as I was taking photos of people hugging and crying but I didn t yet understand the depth of the pain It still somehow felt distant Gov Tim Walz comforts a woman at the Minnesota state Capitol during a vigil to mourn state Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on Wednesday June Credit MinnPost photo by Kabedi Mutamba Until I saw Gov Tim Walz It wasn t the fact that a high-ranking authorities official was there that made me realize just how big of a deal Rep Hortman s death was It was the fact that Gov Walz was there and he didn t speak He didn t address the crowd He comforted a few people He stood He cried He mourned A crowd of thousands gathered at the Minnesota state Capitol to mourn state Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on Wednesday June Credit MinnPost photo by Kabedi Mutamba He was the personification of a state in mourning And it was after that when I really began to hear the orchestra playing smell the candles burning and see people crying A crowd of thousands gathered at the state Capitol to mourn state Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on Wednesday June Credit MinnPost photo by Kabedi Mutamba It was after that that I also saw fellow photojournalists descend like hawks onto the memorial and claw for their photo of Gov Walz in mourning I was perturbed for a moment and yearned to stop taking photos until I remembered why I was there It wasn t for a photo-op A mourner at the state Capitol during a vigil for state Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark listened to news updates on Wednesday June Credit MinnPost photo by Kabedi Mutamba I demanded people like me outside the state who had no idea who Rep Hortman was before she was killed to understand what her death meant to the group to understand what kind of impact she had A crowd of thousands gathered at the Minnesota state Capitol to mourn state Rep Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark on Wednesday June Credit MinnPost photo by Kabedi Mutamba I had the chance to speak with former Minnesota House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler who seemed like he had everything to say but couldn t find the words to describe what was happening or even believe that it was real Everyone I ve talked to feels like their heart s been pulled out Winkler disclosed As I was interviewing him someone walked up to check in see how he was doing and what he knew of Rep Hortman Winkler responded that he felt she was willing herself to do the job that she didn t want to do because she felt like she had to do it The post Reporter s notebook Candlelight vigil for Melissa and Mark Hortman appeared first on MinnPost