lunch take | Challenges Ahead for New Target CEO + Strib's New Brand Campaign
February 2, 2026
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow – again. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3MlArKZ
Kudos to whoever chose this combination of archive photos for Saturday’s Strib sports section:
Protesters spelled out “SOS” on Friday. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4bqO7P4
RIP “Sanford and Son” actor Demond Wilson. AP: https://fluence-media.co/3NTcWt9
Follow the 2026 Minnesota election’s up close with the Fluence ElectionTracker. www.FluenceElectionTracker.com
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4td5UiZ
Sunday Take covered the impact of Alex Pretti’s killing and ICE activity in Greater Minnesota with Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar). LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3Zxvvpi
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
A BUSY MONDAY…
6A: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “Republican state Rep. Ben Davis of Mission Township has announced his re-election campaign for Minnesota House District 6A. Davis is entering the second year of his second term after winning re-election in November 2024 by a 32-point margin.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4arldgF
CAMPAIGN CASH: Morning Take shared 2025 campaign finance data for U.S. Senate and House candidates. A couple of updates:
CD2: The FEC has updated totals in the DFL primary for CD2. In 2025, Matt Klein raised $548,226 with $15,800 in transfers and $328,327 on hand; Matt Little raised $428,844 with $155,000 in loans and $390,955 on hand; and Kaela Berg raised $132,117 with $53,162 on hand. Berg did not enter the race until Q4, while Klein raised $179,212 and Little raised $125,932 in Q4.
CD7: DFL challenger Erik Osberg raised $160,412 in 2025 with $87,288 on hand.
ICYMI… read Morning Take HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3OhJE7z
FRAUD: Via HuffPost, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration justified its deadly immigration crackdown in Minnesota as necessary to combat fraud by Somali residents, some of whom are accused of defrauding the federal government through a food nonprofit. President Donald Trump even claimed Gov. Tim Walz (D) declined to run for reelection because he’d been ‘caught’ stealing billions with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and ‘others of his Somali friends.’ But in 2020, the first Trump administration was warned by the state that the nonprofit in question, Feeding Our Future, was likely engaged in fraud, and the administration declined to get involved.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qV3XGH
TARGET: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “As Michael Fiddelke prepared to step into his new job as chief executive of Target on Sunday, a crisis unfolded a mile from his office in Minneapolis. A week earlier, just south of Target’s downtown headquarters, federal immigration agents had killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was apparently filming them with his phone. Minnesota residents have been pushing Target, which is among the state’s biggest employers and one of its most prominent corporate citizens, to speak out against immigration officials. That’s the immediate issue for Mr. Fiddelke to deal with on his first day, but he has many more problems to manage beyond city limits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46jDEBx
BACKGROUND: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “Target’s sales boomed during the pandemic, when customers rushed to buy essentials, home goods and other products. But it’s fallen since then. Decades-high inflation squeezed customers’ budgets in 2022 and 2023, forcing them to cut back on discretionary purchases. Target got stuck with a glut of unsold pillows and laptops.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46cnBFC
PROTESTS: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Demonstrations have recently taken place at about two dozen Target stores in Minnesota, with additional protests in other cities, including Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia and New York. Pam Costain, 75, who works with the volunteer group Indivisible Twin Cities, organized about 50 people to protest at Target’s flagship store in downtown Minneapolis on Saturday. They sat in the store, singing, chanting, wearing inflatable frog costumes and holding a house-shaped poster that read: ‘Target Come Home To Your Values.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aaBdSW
CEO MESSAGE: Via Target, a message posted this morning from Fiddelke. READ: https://fluence-media.co/49WMqrC
MN REPUTATION: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Even before federal immigration raids began in mid-winter—which put the chaos in Minneapolis on national TV day after day for weeks—people were suggesting Minnesota was not viewed as a stable market for investment.” QUOTE: “We were one of the strongest apartment markets in the nation. We were stable, growing, a good place to invest.” That’s Stu Ackerberg. The development company he founded built much of modern Uptown. Today, his signature buildings are in foreclosure, the neighborhood he loves still struggling six years after the riots. ‘We went under the microscope: the City Council’s lack of interest in business and growth, an inability to deal with crime, rent control in St. Paul. Everyone knows [what’s happening] everyplace now.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46lqALR
BIZ AUDITS: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “Employment records of at least two Minneapolis-area businesses are being audited by the Department of Homeland Security, in what state and local officials describe as retaliation over the fallout from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Hennepin Healthcare, which operates the state’s largest safety-net hospital, and Mischief Toy Store, a small retailer in St. Paul, both got notices from DHS demanding records to verify their employees are authorized to work in the US.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rs2LdF
BROADBAND: Comcast is rewriting the broadband playbook in the Twin Cities. From neighborhood networks to next-gen tech, we’re delivering community-first internet connectivity with no contracts, no surprises. The new Xfinity package means unlimited data, blazing-fast, reliable speeds and a 5-year price guarantee, plus free mobile for a year. It’s not the old Comcast — it’s a bold new era of connection. Let’s power the future, together. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/Comcast2025-1 (SPONSORED: Comcast)
COMMERCE
MEDIA: Via Star Tribune news release, VERBATIM: “As global attention turns toward Minnesota, the Minnesota Star Tribune is launching a new brand campaign, ‘Because the world is watching,’ developed in partnership with its in-house, full-service agency Foundry North.”
“The campaign underscores the essential role of trusted local journalism when audiences across the world are seeking clarity, context, and credible information. It positions the Minnesota Star Tribune not just as a news source for Minnesotans, but as a critical window for the world to understand potential national and global implications of the current surge of immigration enforcement activities in the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3MfBLPz
BACKGROUND: Via AP, VERBATIM: “At a time when many regional newspapers have become hollowed-out shells due to the decline in journalism as a business, the Star Tribune has kept staffing relatively steady under billionaire Glen Taylor, who has owned it since 2014. It rebranded itself from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and committed itself to a digital transformation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qobIUw
ACQUISITION: Via Bloomington-based Donaldson, VERBATIM: “Donaldson Company, Inc. (NYSE: DCI) (Donaldson or the Company), a global leader in technology-led filtration products and solutions, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Filtration Group’s Facet Filtration business in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $820 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qwlMed
APPOINTMENTS: Via Minneapolis-based Livefront, VERBATIM: “Livefront, a digital consulting firm known for helping clients design and build standout intelligent products and platforms, today announced that it has expanded the company’s leadership team to support Livefront’s next chapter of growth following its strategic combination with Zeal IT Consultants, a leading software and AI consulting company purpose-built for Fortune 1000 companies.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aaz4GS
CLEAN | RELIABLE | AFFORDABLE: Via Xcel Energy, VERBATIM: “We’re powering the Upper Midwest with clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy. For more than 50 years, our Prairie Island Nuclear Plant, located near Red Wing, MN, has been a workhorse of reliable, carbon-free energy. With two pressurized water reactors producing about 1,100 megawatts, Prairie Island generates enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes across the Upper Midwest. Unlike sources that depend on weather, nuclear energy delivers 24/7 reliability—providing the power we need today while protecting the environment for tomorrow.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4oCHdK9 (SPONSORED: Xcel Energy)
IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
AIRPORT SECURITY: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “A payments director at the Minneapolis-based retail giant Target Corp. said her fast-track credentials for airport security were revoked following an interaction with a federal border patrol agent who claimed he had facial recognition and was recording with a ‘body cam.’ Nicole Cleland, a 56-year-old from suburban Minneapolis, said in a court declaration that she was participating with a neighborhood group on Jan. 10 that tracked federal agents with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, two agencies under the Department of Homeland Security that are carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46lpzU3
SCHOOLS: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The superintendent of Fridley schools says there is still fear among students and staff as Operation Metro Surge begins its third month in the Twin Cities. Dr. Brenda Lewis told the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar that safety precautions continue at all school buildings in the district, a similar story told at other metro school districts.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4qVx8cB
LINGERING EFFECTS: Via NPR, interviews with Minnesotans, some U.S. citizens, describing their arrests and the condition of their custody. VERBATIM: “In recent days, federal officials have signaled a willingness to reduce the large number of immigration agents in Minnesota, though they say any decrease will depend on state and local cooperation. Even if a drawdown occurs, they’ll leave behind a changed community, including many citizens questioned and detained by immigration officers in recent weeks.”
FRANCE: Via AP, VERBATIM: “French company Capgemini announced Sunday it is selling off its subsidiary that provides technology services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during global scrutiny of ICE agents’ tactics in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rvPpgw
GRAMMYS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Stars at the Grammys protested President Trump’s immigration policies in speeches and by wearing pins saying ‘ICE OUT’ at Sunday’s event in Los Angeles. The big picture: Bad Bunny received a standing ovation during his ‘ICE out’ acceptance speech, Billie Eilish and Kehlani both said ‘f**k ICE’ as they accepted their Grammys and Olivia Dean noted she’s the granddaughter of an immigrant as she clutched her award.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kdPl2j
SUBURBS
BLOOMINGTON: From the City of Bloomington via Facebook, posted on Friday, VERBATIM: “Bloomington joins nine other Twin Cities metro-area suburban communities in support of the lawsuit filed by the Minnesota Attorney General and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court to issue a temporary injunction against unlawful ICE activity that is impacting children from attending schools safely, local businesses from thriving economically, and reducing access to courts and public services due to the fear and apprehension caused by ICE tactics.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LPZ9Db
ICYMI… morning take shared news that a judge on Saturday denied a request for a temporary restraining order, but made no final determination on the merits of the claims. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3OhJE7z
MOUNDS VIEW: The City of Mounds View is considering an ordinance banning immigration officers from staging operations in the city. The mayor talked about it this morning on WCCO-Radio. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4qO9FKh
WASHINGTON CTY: The Washington County Board sent a letter to Senators Klobuchar and Smith as well as Representatives Craig, McCollum, and Stauber, expressing concern they’ve heard from residents about ICE operations and the potential for an ICE detention center in Woodbury. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LPUL7b
WILD ABOUT READING: Join more than 800 Minnesota classrooms and 30,000 students participating in the “Wild About Reading” program, a partnership with Flint Hills Resources which encourages students to read more using Minnesota Wild-branded posters, reading logs, and bookmarks. Teachers set weekly reading goals and give certificates to students who complete the four-week program. Fun program incentives include classroom visits from the Wild’s mascot, Nordy – and the team dog, Paulie; a pair of tickets to a Wild home game, player signed pucks and photos; and a pizza party for a classroom. LEARN MORE: Wild About Reading (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
AROUND MINNESOTA
TODAY: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The Brainerd School Board will be meeting Monday morning to start conducting interviews with semifinalists for superintendent of Brainerd Public Schools. Board members unanimously agreed on the five semifinalists out of 19 candidates during a special meeting earlier this week.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4a7ZdGd
THE COLDEST: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Each winter, the northern Minnesota towns of Tower and Embarrass grab headlines as the coldest spots in Minnesota. But the question of which town holds the title of coldest-ever remains kind of a hot potato. Thirty years ago Monday, Minnesota was locked in a frozen winter grip. The temperature in Tower plummeted to an incredible minus 60 degrees, breaking a record that stretched back to 1899.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3OhCqR2
UTILITIES: Via Minnesota House GOP, VERBATIM: “State Representative Ron Kresha (R–Little Falls) has legislation, ready to be introduced during the 2026 legislative session, to eliminate duplicative legal work in utility rate cases and reduce unnecessary costs that are ultimately passed on to Minnesota ratepayers. These utility rate cases largely apply to rate-regulated gas and electric utilities, as most Cooperatives and Municipal utilities set their own rates.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3O2dKfg
From Fluence Forum, The Future of Energy: Financing, Innovation, and Infrastructure. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/45M1buF
HELIUM: Via Mesabi Tribune, VERBATIM: “After striking the highest gas pressure yet, Pulsar Helium has begun drilling a sixth appraisal well at its project site near Babbitt . . . It’s another positive sign of a significant, rich helium deposit at the site. Pulsar Helium in 2024 struck helium in its first appraisal well at the site.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49V29Y8
WHAT’S NEXT?
WEDNESDAY: Via Minneapolis-based Bio-Techne, VERBATIM: “Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) today announced that management will host a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. CST to review its second quarter fiscal 2026 financial results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49FH2aQ
WEDNESDAY: Via Hopkins-based Digi, VERBATIM: “Digi International Inc. (NASDAQ: DGII) will release its financial results for the first fiscal quarter 2026 on Wednesday, February 4, after market close.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4b1fRcU
WEDNESDAY: Via Brooklyn Park-based Clearfield, VERBATIM: “Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD), the leader in community broadband fiber connectivity, today announced that it will release results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, ended December 31, 2025, on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, after the close of the market.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jYRuz4
THURSDAY: Via Xcel, VERBATIM: “On Thursday, February 5, 2026, Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) will host a conference call to review fourth quarter and year end 2025 financial results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45ljhDE
THURSDAY: Via Minneapolis-based Regis, VERBATIM: “Regis Corporation (NasdaqGM:RGS), a leader in the haircare industry, will issue financial results for the second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2025, before the market opens on February 5, 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45XtFBG
FRIDAY: Via Minneapolis-based Piper, VERBATIM: “Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank, will release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results prior to the opening of the market on Friday, February 6, 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZdbBQb
FRIDAY: Via Brooklyn Park-based Protolabs, VERBATIM: “Protolabs (NYSE: PRLB) announced today that it will issue its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results before the opening of the market on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pL74iZ
THIS SUMMER: Noah Kahan will play Target Field August 5th.
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
ACTIVITIES: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Are you getting stir-crazy? Have you binged enough shows and scrolled so much social media that it’s time to peel yourself off the couch? We have plans for you and your pals to break the spell. Spend a whole afternoon or weekend in one neighborhood, try a new class or experience, or, maybe, bring the whole gang (spouses too!) along for the ride and make new memories—the couch will still be there when you get home.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49V8dQp
BDAYS: Rep. Samantha Sencer-Mura, US Rep. Kelly Morrison, fmr. Sheriff Rich Stanek
Fluence Media curates, produces and distributes specialized media products to thought leadership audiences across the Midwest and about the region. Our publications cover, politics, public policy, health care, agriculture, business, real estate, sports and more. Visit www.fluence-media.com to learn more.
about morning take- Founded in 2010, morning take has grown to become the leading Minnesota morning newsletter on politics and news of the day. Published by Fluence Media since 2012 the mission is to "make you smarter" before breakfast.
Copyright © 2026 Lunch Take, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Golden Valley, MN 55427