Executive Session

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, I rise today to honor Grand Forks Police Officer Cody Holte, who died in the line of duty last Wednesday. Both Senator Cramer and myself are here. We attended the funeral. It was truly a moving event. Today, we are here to honor him on the Senate floor as well and honor his service and honor his life.

Officer Holte is a Hendrum, MN, native, a 2010 graduate of Norman County West High School, and a 2015 graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, with a degree in criminal justice and minors in Sociology and military science.

Officer Holte led a life of service, dedicating himself to serving his community, State, and nation by always putting the people he served first. Not only was Officer Holte an exceptional police officer, he also served as a first lieutenant in the North Dakota Army National Guard. For 10 years, I was Governor in North Dakota, and I can't tell you how much we relied then and, of course, how much we rely now on our National Guard. As you can see, Cody was a first lieutenant in the National Guard, and he did a fabulous job. Here he is in his guard uniform and, of course, his incredible service as a police officer in Grand Forks.

Lieutenant Holte enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2010, and in 2015 he was commissioned into the North Dakota Army National Guard. He was last assigned to the 815th Engineer Company out of Lisbon, ND, where he served as a detachment commander, preparing his unit for upcoming missions.

As an officer in Grand Forks and a first lieutenant in the North Dakota National Guard, Officer Holte served our Nation on multiple fronts. Through his leadership, courage, and work ethic, he displayed the very best the State of North Dakota has to offer while also helping to ensure our safety and security.

You realize how important it is today not only here at home but abroad. Here is somebody who served in both capacities. What a life of service.

My wife Mikey and I extend our deepest condolences to the Holte family--especially his wife Amanda, his son Gunnar, his parents Bret and Tracy, sister Alexis, and twin brother Brady, who is also a police officer and also served in the military. He served with the regular Army--Cody's brother Brady--and now Brady serves with the Fargo PD. Here you have these twin brothers, both serving in the military, both serving as police officers, one in Grand Forks and one in Fargo. They were very close, as you can imagine.

Last Wednesday, North Dakota lost one of its finest. Because of this, we must always honor his memory, in part, by supporting those who continue to serve as he did and never forgetting the burden his loved ones bear on our behalf. They sacrifice too.

With that, I want to yield the floor to Senator Cramer, who had the good fortune to know the family personally and had a long relationship with the family. I welcome and look forward to his remarks about Cody Holte, somebody who is truly an exceptional person and whose life epitomized service. And we pray for God's blessing on him and on his entire family.

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