The district included portions of Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Nicollet, Sibley and Waseca counties in the south central part of the state.
After a difficult year, in which the DFL Party majority was seen to have been outmaneuvered by Republican governor Tim Pawlenty, Hottinger stepped down, turning power over to Senator Dean Johnson.
There were no witnesses in opposition to the reinstatement, and Hottinger's eleven character witnesses included local attorneys and colleagues from the political world, including DFL Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak, former DFL senate majority leader Roger Moe, former Republican U.S. senator David Durenberger and former Republican party chair Charles "Chuck" Slocum.
[7] After leaving the Senate, Hottinger worked for about four years as the chief consultant for some non-profit organizations funded by Minnesota-Washington philanthropist Ned Crosby: the Jefferson Center for New Democratic Process and Promoting Health Democracy in Minnesota and, on a limited basis, Health Democracy Oregon in Portland, Oregon.
Hottinger has been active in non-profits, including serving on the executive committee and as chair of the Northstar (Minnesota) Chapter of the Sierra Club, a member of the board and executive committee of the Northeast Midwest Institute in Washington, D.C. and as a member of the board of the Somali Justice Center in Minneapolis.