OUTDOORS: From UCare via Facebook, VERBATIM: “There's still plenty of outdoor excursions and trips to the lake ahead. UCare's Dr. Bruce Cantor wants you to be safe in the water and protect yourself from insect bites.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3UtDYr7 (SPONSORED: UCare)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
POLL: Via Gallup, VERBATIM: “The percentage of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol has fallen to 54%, the lowest by one percentage point in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend. This coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time.”
“The consecutive declines in Americans’ reported drinking the past few years are unmatched in Gallup’s trend and coincide with recent research indicating that any level of alcohol consumption may negatively affect health. This has been a sharp reversal from previous recommendations that moderate drinking could offer some protective benefits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oHtToy
MORE: Via Scripps, VERBATIM: “According to the survey, there is a political divide when it comes to drinking. Over the past two years, Republicans reporting they drink fell 19 percentage points from 65% in 2023 to 46% today. Democrats, meanwhile, also saw a decrease in those claiming to drink — though much smaller — from 64% two years ago to just over 60% in 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lwuh6i
SOCIAL MEDIA: Via SBS Australia, VERBATIM: “Experts are increasingly cautioning about the dangers of unqualified influencers offering health advice or warning people off certain medical devices and treatments. For children and young women, there are fresh warnings to be alert to misinformation. New research by The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne has found two two-thirds of teens are getting health information from social media, with many trying trends they see online. The leading topics they follow are fitness, skincare and diet. The National Child Health Poll surveyed more than 1,400 Australian parents and one of their children aged between 12 and 17 years old.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45ixjGr
Check out all the episodes of Sunday Take on 830 WCCO. CLICK: https://fluence-media.co/3KsuDrZ
FOOD SAFETY: Via House Agriculture Committee, from Ranking Member Angie Craig, CRAIG: “President Trump must end his war on workers. Using national security concerns as an excuse to cancel union contacts for thousands of workers at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Food Safety and Inspection Service is textbook union-busting and is another step toward hollowing out the highly skilled USDA workforce. American consumers rely on experienced food safety inspectors to ensure the food we eat is safe, and that food-borne illnesses are prevented before they can create public health crises. The administration has already forced 555 workers from FSIS to leave through other means, leading to a reduced work force, increased pressure on remaining employees and a higher risk of an outbreak due to understaffing.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fMY8Gn
HEALTH CARE: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A new analysis from the Minnesota Department of Human Services shows as many as 140,000 residents will lose their health coverage due to federal Medicaid cuts. In this month's ‘A Closer Look,’ WCCO's Laura Oakes examines not only how the state's rural hospitals already facing a physician shortage will be particularly hard hit, but also why some rural medical leaders are optimistic.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4oCBhRT
HIBBING: Via Mesabi Tribune, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Health recently designated Fairview Range Medical Center as a Level IV Trauma Hospital, according to a news release. Fairview Range and staff voluntarily participated in the intense designation process to become part of Minnesota’s statewide trauma system.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45AQn1w
MEDS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “President Trump on Wednesday ordered his health officials to secure a six-month supply of advanced pharmaceutical ingredients for drugs the administration determines are critical for national health and security. Why it matters: The move continues efforts started during the Biden administration to reshore the medical supply chain and reduce the reliance on overseas manufacturers, especially China.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Jj4aSS
LOBBYING: Via Stat, VERBATIM: “A handful of drug companies have formed a group to present lawmakers with research on what the industry sees as the negative impacts of Medicare drug price negotiations, according to lobbying records. The group is called the IRA Watchdog after the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed Medicare to negotiate the prices for some drugs. Its members are Merck, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb Company, and Eli Lilly, according to lobbying disclosure records. The group describes itself as a ‘coalition analyzing the impact of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation on patients.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JhpBDV
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)
WEIGHT LOSS: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal talked with Alexis Walsko, founder of PR firm Lola Red, about the success she’s had losing weight with the help of GLP-1 medication. She also has some thoughts about how restaurants could better cater to GLP-1 users. READ: https://fluence-media.co/47fLPQT
MAHA: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Whether the new wave of interest in healthier food, fewer additives and nutrition supplements actually make America healthy again remains to be seen, but one thing is becoming clear: It can sure help sales. The Steak ’n Shake restaurant chain in February very publicly switched from the seed oils it used to cook its fries to the beef tallow preferred by the nation’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., drawing new customers to a struggling brand. The mail-order organic frozen food company Daily Harvest asked Dr. Means to curate its ‘metabolic health collection.’ Food companies monitor social media influencers like the MAHA Girls, who walk the grocery store aisles telling followers what — and what not — to eat. This isn’t the first time the food industry has responded to consumer demand for healthier foods.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JhPB2c
SCHOOL LUNCH: Via The Hill, VERBATIM: “The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement is taking aim at school lunches in a move advocates say is unrealistic without devoting more federal resources to K-12 students. While some schools can only afford to buy frozen meals that are heated up and served, the Trump administration is looking for freshly cooked meals that will take more employees and ingredients to put together.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41tmxen
PESTICIDES: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump should block the U.S. House from limiting the regulation of pesticides and ‘forever chemicals’ in its environmental appropriations bill or risk losing Republican support, more than 200 activists aligned with the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement said in a letter to Trump. The letter, which also opposes liability shields for pesticide companies, is the latest sign of tension between MAHA backers, who elevated Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and warn of health risks from pesticides, and the Trump administration, which has worked to appease farm interests concerned about a crackdown on agrochemicals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mNu67P
BREASTFEEDING: Via MDH, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is seeing an increase in the number of WIC families starting right away with breastfeeding, which includes any infant being fed human milk via breast- whether directly from the breast or chest or expressed milk via a pump. The percentage of Minnesota WIC infants exclusively breastfed during the hospital stay (first two days of life) is up to 47.3% in 2024, a 5.5% increase from 2020.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3V7IYln
IMMIGRATION: Via KFF, VERBATIM: “Jacob Sweidan has seen his patients through the federal immigration raids of the 1990s, a sitting governor’s call to abolish birthright citizenship, and the highly publicized workplace crackdowns and family separation policies of President Donald Trump’s first term. But in his 40 years as a pediatrician in Southern California serving those too poor to afford care, including many immigrant families, Sweidan said he’s never seen a drop-off in patient visits like this.” QUOTE: “They are scared to come to the offices. They’re getting sicker and sicker,” said Sweidan, who specializes in neonatology and runs five clinics in Los Angeles and Orange counties. “And when they are near collapsing, they go to the ER because they have no choice.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ma3cHc
DISPARITIES: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “The federal government has for decades invested vigorously in research aimed at narrowing the health gaps between racial and socioeconomic groups, pouring billions of dollars into understanding why minority and low-income Americans have shorter lives and suffer higher rates of illnesses like cancer and heart disease. Spending on so-called health disparities rose even during the Trump administration’s first term. But in its second, much of the funding has come to a sudden halt.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3JeKlfE
ESSENTIA HEALTH INVESTS IN TWIN PORTS NURSES: Total payroll for Essentia Health Duluth-Superior nurses is $164 million, with $53 million paid in salary increases over the past 3 years. Essentia Health has also increased clinical support staff by 10% over the past 3 years, providing additional support for those nurses. Over half of Duluth area nurses have been with us for over 5 years and enjoy exceptional work-life balance. To join our team at Essentia Health, search for openings HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3FzLe0i (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
IMMUNITY: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “The immune system is meant to protect the body from infection and disease. But with age, it can become less capable of doing so. However, Mayo Clinic researchers have found that some older people maintain ‘immune youth’ – a new term coined by Mayo researchers to explain a young immune system in someone over age 60. ‘We are studying why some individuals have a 'fountain of youth' in their immune systems. We want to learn from them,’ says Cornelia Weyand, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist and clinician-scientist.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mbtWHn
SKIN: From Linköping University via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Scientists in Sweden have developed a groundbreaking ‘skin in a syringe’ — a gel packed with live cells that can be applied directly to wounds or even 3D-printed into skin grafts. Designed to help the body build functional dermis rather than scar tissue, the innovation combines fibroblast cells on gelatin beads with a hyaluronic acid gel, held together using click chemistry.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mJTGKR
COVID: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Twelve states are seeing higher positivity rates for COVID-19 tests compared to the rest of the country, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Why it matters: Positivity rates are popping off as the ‘stratus’ COVID variant surges throughout the country. Summer outbreaks of COVID aren't surprising, especially as many children head back to school. But this recent COVID-19 wave comes as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unilaterally changed federal COVID vaccine recommendations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41Kw4NZ
VACCINES: Via CBS News, VERBATIM: “If you think last week's decision by the federal government to halt $500 million in funding for vaccine development projects that use mRNA technology will only affect COVID vaccines, think again. These types of vaccines use messenger RNA, or mRNA, to prompt the body to make proteins that induce an antibody response to protect against a pathogen. The science behind it is also being studied for a wide range of other uses, from fighting cancer to treating autoimmune conditions and more. Health experts have criticized the move to defund this research, pointing to the impact it will have on America's ability to develop breakthroughs against deadly or debilitating diseases.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46Xa1Hn
PRASAD: Via Politico, VERBATIM: “White House chief of staff Susie Wiles was behind President Donald Trump’s highly unusual decision last week to rehire a vaccine regulator he’d just fired at the urging of MAGA influencer Laura Loomer. Wiles’ intervention in getting Vinay Prasad’s job back, as described by two senior administration officials granted anonymity to discuss sensitive details, followed pleas from both Prasad’s boss, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They insisted that Prasad is part of Kennedy’s broader Make America Healthy Again movement and integral to the Trump coalition.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45gSA3m
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)
OPIOIDS: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Plymouth-based medical benefits organization Fulcrum Health is launching a mobile clinic to deliver non-pharmacological treatments like acupuncture, massage and physical therapy to underserved communities in Anoka, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties with the goal of reducing the use of opioids. The new service, slated to launch in October, is made possible with a $318,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ltuYNM
BELTRAMI CTY: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “In early June, the Beltrami County Board approved having the Opioid Steering Committee release just over $70,000 in state opioid settlement funds to five county and community partners. Those groups recently met to discuss the impact these funds have on programs that are meant to mitigate the effects of the opioid epidemic.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Uv01Oi
HPV: Via UofM CIDRAP, VERBATIM: “Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has nearly eliminated infection with the high-risk HPV strains 16/18, which cause over 70% of cervical cancer, in Danish women immunized as adolescents, suggests a study published in Eurosurveillance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lzm69n
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
CATS: From University of Edinburgh via Science Daily, VERBATIM: “Cats can naturally develop dementia with brain changes strikingly similar to Alzheimer’s disease in humans, including toxic amyloid-beta buildup and loss of synapses. A new study shows these similarities could make cats valuable natural models for research, potentially leading to treatments that benefit both species.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41tjG59
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