Highway 610 in Minnesota is being formally renamed the Hortman Memorial Highway on Thursday, 5 November, in recognition of the late state House speaker Melissa Hortman’s role in securing funding for the long-delayed route.
Governor Tim Walz is due to lead a dedication ceremony at 9am, attended by state lawmakers and members of the local community. The ceremony will mark the completion of a process approved by Minnesota’s legislature earlier this year.
Hortman Memorial Highway
The 12-mile road links Highway 10 in Coon Rapids with Interstate 94 in Maple Grove, forming a key east-west connection through the northern suburbs of Minneapolis.
Hortman had championed the project for years, helping to secure the money needed to complete it after decades of planning and prolonged construction. The final section opened in November 2025, but she did not live to see the corridor finished.
Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed at their home in Brooklyn Park in June 2025. She had served as Minnesota House speaker and later speaker emerita, representing a district that included parts of the north-western Minneapolis suburbs.
The legislation authorising the new name requires the Minnesota Department of Transportation to install signs identifying the route as the Hortman Memorial Highway. The state has allocated $750,000 for the signage and related work. ([house.mn.gov](https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/as/94/as129.pdf))
The dedication follows a wider series of efforts to commemorate Hortman’s public service, including funding for a memorial garden at the State Office Building site. ([house.mn.gov](https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/as/94/as129.pdf))
