Local residents placed flowers beside a memorial candle set up during a vigil for state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in Marshall’s Memorial Park. Candlelight vigils for the Hortmans were planned in communities across Minnesota, as well as at the state Capitol, on Wednesday night.

MARSHALL — Area residents gathered at a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening for state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband. People taking part in the vigil said the deaths of Melissa and Mark Hortman were a loss for Minnesota. At the same time, it was important for Minnesotans to keep working to make the world a better place, they said.

“This is not a protest demonstration. But it is a demonstration of of how people like Representative Hortman, how we can lift others up,” said Darwin Dyce, as he welcomed people to the vigil.

A candlelight vigil for the Hortmans was planned on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol on Wednesday night. Members of the Lyon County DFL said about a dozen localized vigils were also held in communities across western Minnesota, including in Marshall.

The Hortmans were killed, and state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were wounded, in shootings early Saturday.

“It’s terrible,” said Dana Bartz, who attended the Marshall vigil. As a state legislator, Hortman was someone who always tried to work across the aisle, Bartz said.

“She tried to find the commonness of people, and things they could agree on,” said Al Kruse. In the wake of Hortman’s death, Kruse said, “I think people are getting together, and sharing hope that we can move forward and stop the violence.”

At the Marshall vigil, a group of around 35 to 40 people stood in a circle at Memorial Park, holding lit candles. Speakers read U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s speech honoring Melissa Hortman, as well as a statement released by the Hortmans’ children Sophie and Colin.

In her speech, Klobuchar said Hortman “left a lasting impact” during her 20 years in the Minnesota House. Klobuchar also said the entire Minnesota Congressional delegation came together to condemn the violence of the attack on the Hortmans and the Hoffmans.

“Violence has absolutely no place in our democracy,” Klobuchar said in her remarks.

Sophie and Colin Hortman’s statement called on people to come together after the tragedy. “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 statement said.

The Marshall vigil ended with the group singing a spiritual, “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning.” Some of the people in attendance also dropped small flowers into the Redwood River from the footbridge at Memorial Park.