Speaker Lisa DeMuth urges continued bipartisanship as she closes 90th session

Speaker Lisa DeMuth addressed the Minnesota House, reflecting on the 90th legislative session and urging continued bipartisan cooperation.

"Members in this chamber, we are all part of history," DeMuth said, calling the completed two-year session "absolute history" and noting that completing two full years required lawmakers to negotiate across party lines. "Everything that was passed out of this chamber and signed into law had to be bipartisan," she said.

DeMuth said the chamber learned to negotiate "from day one in committees," and expressed hope that incoming representatives will carry forward that ability to work together. She praised small, behind-the-scenes negotiations, thanking named colleagues who served as witnesses to compromise and leadership during tough deliberations.

She thanked her family and staff for their support. DeMuth named her husband, Nick, recalled presiding and then leaving for a grandchild's birth, and described the personal sacrifices of service: "I didn't make all the track meets for my grandkids. I didn't make all the lacrosse games," she said, adding that she relied on FaceTime at times.

DeMuth also acknowledged both partisan and nonpartisan staff for research, human resources and accounting assistance, and described emotional moments in public life as expressions of gratitude. She urged members to "leave any place that you touch better than you found it," cited faith as a source of strength and closed by saying, "It has been my honor to serve the people of District 13. It has been my honor to serve in this chamber and it has been my honor to serve as speaker of the Minnesota House."

The remarks served as an opening reflection and valedictory tone rather than a formal motion or legislative action; no votes or formal directives were recorded during this segment.