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POLLING
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Via YouGov, VERBATIM: “A new YouGov poll on Donald Trump’s health and age finds that about half of Americans believe the 79-year-old is too old to be president, while 36% say he isn’t. The poll also found that about half of Americans think Trump is suffering cognitive decline and about three-quarters think there should be a maximum age limit for the presidency.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r1PWGR
SOCIAL MEDIA: Via Wisconsin Watch, VERBATIM: “In two recent polls, a majority of U.S. adults said they use social media to get health information.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bBHrh1
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
HEALTH PERSONNEL
STRIKE: SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa this morning announced 99% of its 2,000 HealthPartners workers voted in favor of a seven-day strike should no agreement be reached by the time the current contract expires at the end of the month. Via Facebook, WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3LK2jrU
MOVE: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Dr. Jakub Tolar, the University of Minnesota’s Medical School dean since 2017, will leave that important post for a position at Baylor College of Medicine . . . The most revealing part of that letter was when Tolar said he thought Rebecca Cunningham, current U of M president and a physician, wanted to bring in her own person to lead the medical school.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49p5BKn
JAN 29: UofM infectious disease specialist Dr. Michael Osterholm will speak at a Westminster Town Hall Forum in a presentation titled “Ethics & Medicine: Does My Neighbor Matter?” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/45Xk8KT
DC + MN
IMMIGRATION: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A family is fighting the detention of a Libyan who came to Minnesota for treatment of a rare skin disease, saying being in federal custody will worsen his medically vulnerable condition. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Hani Duglof, 32, last weekend and bound his legs in metal cuffs, even though he has a condition called epidermolysis bullosa (EB) that makes his skin and even his throat as fragile as paper, according to his brother. The friction from rubbing exacerbates the redness and wounds on his legs. He’s since been moved in shackles to a hospital.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49ulCNC
FUNDING CUTS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Less than 24 hours after the Trump administration informed more than 2,000 addiction and mental health programs nationwide that it was immediately terminating almost $2 billion of their funding, the administration reversed course and reinstated the money. An administration official confirmed Wednesday night that the money was being restored, but declined to say why. The decision followed furious lobbying by lawmakers from both parties to restore the cuts and a letter to the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with signatures from 100 House members.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sITkb8
PCA: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Local personal care assistance services say the federal audit on Medicaid claims is impacting them in a disproportionate way. Personal care assistants help vulnerable Minnesotans live independently — but now some say they’re being forced to show up for shifts and not receive pay now that Medicaid claims that fund their paychecks are being withheld for inspection.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49uk8mw
MED TRANSPORT: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A transportation service that pays for people’s rides to medical appointments is among the Medicaid-funded programs facing new scrutiny for its vulnerability to fraud, with some in the industry saying they have been raising red flags for years. The program, known as nonemergency medical transportation, provides tens of thousands of rides per year across the state and has, over the years, prompted scrutiny from legislative auditors and was a focus of a massive Medicaid fraud investigation. Now it’s the topic of a new video released Jan. 14 from conservative influencer Nick Shirley, whose previous video alleging widespread fraud at Somali-owned Minnesota child care centers went viral.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bAtKyS
HEALTH IN MN
SALMONELLA: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “A ‘super greens’ dietary supplement recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday has been linked to at least 45 salmonella cases across 21 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Illnesses linked to the New York-based Live it Up Super Greens brand powder were reported from Aug. 22, 2025, to Dec. 30, 2025, in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, the CDC said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49VLvaG
FLU: This morning’s update from MDH shows 3,583 flu-related hospitalizations, 176 school outbreaks, 57 long-term care outbreaks, and 48 deaths. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3Y10bib
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
NATIONAL ISSUES
MILK: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Whole milk is heading back to school cafeterias across the country after President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday overturning Obama-era limits on higher-fat milk options. Nondairy drinks such as fortified soy milk may also be on the menu in the coming months following adoption of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which cleared Congress in the fall.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qNK4AO
MAHA: Via KFF Health News, VERBATIM: “When a ‘Make America Healthy Again’ summit was held at the posh Waldorf Astoria in Washington, the line of attendees stretched down the block . . . The summit underscored just how closely Republicans have hitched themselves to the MAHA campaign, banking on its popularity to give them an electoral bounce in the midterms. But the strategy carries risks, because support for Kennedy is cratering and polls show voters care more about reducing health care costs than MAHA priorities such as ending vaccine mandates and promoting raw milk.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45J9cjY
NIH: Via Epilepsy Foundation, VERBATIM: “The 113 undersigned organizations, representing people living with epilepsy; caregivers and loved ones; physicians, health care providers; epilepsy centers; epilepsy researchers, and others, unite to voice significant concerns regarding the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s denial of Dr. Walter Koroshetz‘s reappointment as Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Koroshetz is widely regarded throughout the neuroscience community as an effective NINDS leader who has demonstrated success in turning scientific discoveries into new treatments and technologies that help people with neurological diseases improve their quality of life.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qpCFrG
ABORTION: Via ABC News, VERBATIM: “The Senate’s health committee convened its first hearing of the year on the efficacy of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, which requires a prescription, amid a growing push from conservatives to restrict abortion access across the country . . . The two-hour committee hearing on Wednesday centered around measures to outlaw telehealth practices for women seeking abortions. Republican lawmakers on the committee decried the use of the drug as Democrats accused them of attempting to control women’s bodies.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qQjRl2
ORGAN DONATIONS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Organ donations from the recently deceased dropped last year for the first time in over a decade, resulting in fewer kidney transplants, according to an analysis issued Wednesday that pointed to signs of public mistrust in the lifesaving system. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are on the list for an organ transplant. The vast majority of them need a kidney, and thousands die waiting every year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bzPwmg
FRESH15: The latest season of Fresh15 includes interviews with new Minnesota House members. So far, five new members have shared their goals, background and fun facts before they take office in a historic session this January.
Rep. Kari Rehrauer
Rep. Wayne Johnson
Rep. Julie Greene
Rep. Keith Allen
Rep. Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
VACCINATION: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “A majority of counties across the U.S. are seeing a steady rise in vaccine exemptions for religious or personal beliefs among children entering kindergarten, a trend that has accelerated since the pandemic, according to a new study . . . In 2010-2011, the median rate for families opting out of vaccination for religious or personal beliefs nationwide was a scant 0.6%. That number rose to 3.1% by the 2023-2024 school year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pH8Npy
OVERDOSES: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The number of drug overdose deaths continued to fall in 2025, albeit at a slower pace than the year prior, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows. The data, released Wednesday, projects that nearly 73,000 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending August 2025, a decline of roughly 21 percent relative to the year ending August 2024.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NoWvVc
AI: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Artificial intelligence (AI) applied to abdominal imaging can help predict adults at higher risk of falling as early as middle age, a new Mayo Clinic study shows. The research, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health, highlights the importance of abdominal muscle quality, a component of core strength, as a key predictor of fall risk in adults aged 45 years and older. Falls are a leading cause of injury, especially among older adults. Mayo Clinic researchers found that early markers of fall risk may be detectable in CT scans that many patients have for other reasons.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sGJGG3
CANCER: From Northwestern via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Pancreatic cancer uses a sugar-coated disguise to evade the immune system, helping explain why it’s so hard to treat. Northwestern scientists discovered this hidden mechanism and created an antibody that strips away the tumor’s protective signal. In animal tests, immune cells sprang back into action and tumors grew much more slowly. The team is now refining the therapy for future human trials.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pD2005
COOKBOOK: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Dan Buettner likes to solve a mystery. The science writer, researcher, and National Geographic Explorer shared that detail about himself in the four-part Netflix series ‘Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,’ which he hosts and co-produced . . . With food choices at the center of the findings, Buettner has developed a line of Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals and written three cookbooks, the latest of which, ‘The Blue Zones Kitchen One Pot Meals,’ released in September 2025, aims to make it even easier for people to make meals that align with the blue zones residents with a ramped up emphasis on taste to hopefully help you keep up your healthy eating goals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pFHnjA
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
ICE IN MN
BLOOD DONATIONS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A Twin Cities blood donation agency is concerned that aggressive immigration enforcement could discourage donors and make it more difficult to replenish hospital blood supplies after a holiday lull. Memorial Blood Centers gathered its leaders along with St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and others Jan. 14 to urge donations, which have fallen 40% below the rate at which hospitals are using blood supplies for surgeries and treatments.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45UKDR4
TALKING WITH KIDS: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “When immigration enforcement feels more visible, through raids, detentions, workplace visits, or heavy community talk, children often sense danger before they understand what’s happening. This stress can affect kids who are undocumented, kids in mixed-status families, and kids who simply live in a community where enforcement feels close. The nervous system first reads the environment. Words come later.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/45Tc0uQ
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