Minnesota House hears retirement speeches, adjourns sine die after voice vote

Saint Paul, Minn. — Members of the Minnesota House of Representatives spent the final floor day before adjournment delivering retirement speeches that mixed personal reflections, policy highlights and appeals for continued public service, then approved a motion to adjourn sine die.

The House opened with a prayer by Pastor Pepe Demarest of the Recovery Church in Saint Paul and a brief ceremonial order of business before Speaker Lisa Damoth called the retirement speeches. Dozens of departing members took the floor to thank staff and constituents, describe legislative accomplishments and urge continued attention to key issues.

Representative Perryman, speaking first among those offering remarks, announced plans to run for the Minnesota Senate, saying, "I have chosen to run for senate and look forward to having an opportunity with humility and determination to continue this work in the Minnesota legislature." Several speakers framed their service in terms of relationships and institutional duty: Representative Mike Weiner urged civility and public service over partisan rancor, and Representative Keeler emphasized the importance of representation and continued supports for homelessness work, citing the Pathway Home Act as recent policy work.

Speakers also highlighted concrete policy changes. Representative Wolgamott credited passage of a long-sought change to special education funding, noting the state share rose dramatically in recent years — "from 5 percent to 55%" — and stressed reforms to teacher pensions and local bonding projects as lasting local investments. Representative Schumacher described work to overhaul long-term care financing and bring value-based reimbursement to nursing homes.

Speaker Lisa Damoth framed the session's close as a test of cross-party cooperation in an evenly divided House, saying the tied chamber made bipartisan negotiation a practical necessity this session. A visiting delegation, introduced earlier by Representative Momani Hildesley, included Joshua Aduma Awore, a member of Kenya's parliament; members welcomed the international guests to the chamber.

The day's formal business concluded with a motion instructing the chief clerk to inform the Senate and the governor that the House would adjourn sine die. The motion, recorded in the transcript as moved by Representative Niska, "prevailed" on a voice vote and the presiding officer declared: "The House stands adjourned, sine die."

Next steps: with the House adjourned sine die the 2026 session is concluded; any bills not enacted or otherwise resolved will follow statutory carryover or veto timelines. This day marked a ceremonial close to the session and a public farewell for a large cohort of departing members.