lunch take | Chamber Predicts Slower-Than-Average Economic Growth for Minnesota
5.13.25
Live updates and the latest evacuation orders for the fires up north, UPDATES: https://fluence-media.co/3F6OMaw
Recent polls show more than half of Americans think the country’s on the wrong track. RCP: https://fluence-media.co/4jVNxdw
An area of the state that hit 100 degrees Sunday could see snow this weekend. FORECAST: https://fluence-media.co/4j1ZQUs
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/42VxQwV
GOP Senate Leader Mark Johnson and DFL Sen. Judy Seeberger were on Sunday Take to discuss the final days of the 2025 legislative session. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/42RrXkj
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
All Fluence Media tip sheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
RESPONSIBLEGAMING: Legal sports betting platforms offer responsible game tools that offshore and illegal sports betting don’t offer. In fact, age verification is not required with most offshore providers. Learn more about why legalized sports betting is more responsible. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kgJoS4 (SPONSORED: Sports Betting Alliance)
TODAY: Governor Walz along with DNR, DPS, and National Guard officials will provide an update on the wildfire response at 12:30.
TODAY: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “A handful of special elections are being held on Tuesday, May 13. MPR News reached out to candidates, providing a three-question survey for them to fill out and inform voters about who they are and their priorities if elected. Our team also collected referendum questions — exactly how they are phrased on the ballot.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4klF96Z
ENDORSEMENT: From Sen. Elizabeth Warren via X, VERBATIM: “We need Democrats in the Senate who are ready to fight with everything they’ve got for working families. That’s why I’m endorsing @PeggyFlanagan to be the next U.S. senator from Minnesota.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3H7fMqX
REPORT: The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce this morning released a report that predicts it will take the state 52 years to double the size of its economy – 23 years longer than the nation as a whole.
QUOTE: “The people part of this equation has posed challenges for Minnesota in recent years. The state’s long-term demographic trajectory has left Minnesota with fewer new workers entering the workforce and more people retiring – leading to structurally low labor force and job growth. Projections show that this dynamic is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. But while Minnesota needs strategies to grow its workforce, the state’s historic strengths relate more to its innovative businesses and highly skilled workforce than to a booming population.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ddCB8q
IG: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “On Thursday Sens. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, and Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, trumpeted that a bill to create an inspector general for the state of Minnesota cleared the Senate on a convincing 60-7 vote . . . But the bill will probably not become law despite the strong Senate support. The divided House has not made an IG a priority. ‘I don’t think there’s a lot of interest in that one,’ Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said in an interview Monday before she met with lawmakers on crafting a state budget with just a week left in the scheduled legislative session. And Gov. Tim Walz has signaled that an IG office may not be the best use of state money.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4meFzgY
ICE: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “A University of Minnesota business student who has been in ICE custody since March — despite an immigration court judge ruling he cannot be deported — brought his case to a federal judge Monday. Doğukan Günaydın is one of at least three Minnesota international students in recent months who remained in ICE custody after an immigration judge ordered their release, because DHS invoked a little-used stay to override the immigration judge’s decision. Hannah Brown, an attorney for Günaydın, argued in federal court in St. Paul that her client has not received due process.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44GMOs1
ROCHESTER: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Locals gathered in Rochester for a ‘Love Not Hate’ bridge brigade rally on Monday in response to the viral video of Shiloh Hendrix reportedly spouting racial slurs at a 5-year-old with autism at a Rochester park on April 28. Indivisible 507 and nearly 40 community members displayed visual messages from the pedestrian bridge on Hwy 52 with a message of ‘no room for hate’ in Rochester. Attendees hoped to end racism and bigotry in the community.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4dgO6w2
MN STOCKS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Most of the Minnesota Fortune 500 public companies that took the biggest hit on the stock market after President Trump's April 2 tariff announcement have rebounded beyond pre-‘Liberation Day’ levels. Why it matters: Trump's tariffs on China — which on Monday he rolled back from 145% to 30% for 90 days — had raised fears of supply shortages, layoffs and higher prices, including at Minnesota's largest companies. Target's Brian Cornell was among the retail CEOs who warned Trump of empty shelves if the tariffs remained in place.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/43cbIgt
MORE: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Without certainty about what comes next, John Nephew, president of Proctor, Minn.-based Atlas Games, said the company will bring the entire print run of its Catstronauts board game on the next available ship. The game might end up costing more, perhaps a third more. ‘That’s painful but not a total deal-stopper the way 145 percent is,’ Nephew said. He’s also working to get other games printed and shipped during the 90-day window, but the continued uncertainty surrounding tariffs continues to force him to think short term.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dhtdAX
3M: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “3M will pay the state of New Jersey up to $450 million through the next 25 years to settle claims of PFAS contamination. The Maplewood-based manufacturer sold the ‘forever chemicals’ to the DuPont Chambers Works facility in the Garden State for many years. Chemours, a spinoff of chemical company DuPont, now owns the site. New Jersey sued the companies in 2019 for a range of contaminants, including PFAS.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jVTGXb
ELECTRIC: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Lawmakers in St. Paul and Washington D.C. have worked to juice sales in recent years by offering purchase and lease incentives for electric vehicle purchases — reaching into the thousands. But this year, they might be throwing things into neutral or reverse by slimming funds for charging infrastructure in the case of the federal government and tacking on surcharges at the state level. Legislation that passed in the Minnesota House and Senate — and is being merged into a single transportation bill in the final week — would assess a $200 per year surcharge for all-electric models and $100 for hybrids. Depending on the final wording, the surcharge could be automatically boosted in years to come.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jScQgn
TRIBAL COLLEGES: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “With the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, Tribal colleges in the viewing area, such as Leech Lake Tribal College, have been left wondering how to best serve their students as funding towards those schools remains frozen with no date set on when they will become unfrozen. Instead of receiving state subsidies, Tribal colleges often rely on federal funding sources like the Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Education, both of which have been targets of the Trump administration for reform or dismantlement. This came as a surprise to some of the staff at Leech Lake Tribal College.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jPRbFF
DULUTH: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “High school students in Duluth have long been able to earn college credits by taking post-secondary classes or gain experience through internships or apprenticeships before they graduate. Local civic, business and educational leaders are putting those efforts ‘on steroids,’ as one school official put it, to create a streamlined educational experience they hope will ease students’ ability to find the education they need and encourage them to stay once their studies are complete.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42ZEzWM
PRODUCING THE FUELS THAT HELP KEEP MINNESOTA MOVING: Flint Hills Resources, one of the Midwest’s leading producers of transportation fuels is hiring! With openings in IT, accounting, engineering, operations, procurement and asset management, Flint Hills Resources’ goal is to match talented individuals with their passions and interests to truly shine. APPLY TODAY: Flint Hills jobs (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
FARM AID: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Farm Aid, the music and food festival launched by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp, will be held in Minneapolis for the first time in its 40-year history. It was confirmed on Tuesday that the 40th anniversary of Farm Aid will take place at the home of the Gophers, Huntington Bank Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 20.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YHehpw
MORE: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Details from Co-Executive Director Jennifer Fahy, who joined Vineeta on The WCCO Morning News.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3S2o5a4
MOVE: Via Adweek, VERBATIM: “Wren Clair will join Minneapolis, Minnesota NBC affiliate KARE on May 19. Clair left Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP suddenly in February after nearly seven years there. At the time, news director Kirk Varner confirmed she left the station, but gave no further details.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dfCDwt
HELICOPTER: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s only law enforcement agency with air support is now stronger. And lawmakers got a chance to see it for themselves on Monday, when Lieutenant Craig Benz, the State Patrol’s chief pilot, landed the new twin-engine helicopter just outside the front door of the capitol building.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/43sEw5K
REGIS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Regis Corp. (RGS) on Tuesday reported net income of $250,000 in its fiscal third quarter. On a per-share basis, the Minneapolis-based company said it had profit of 8 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 43 cents per share. The owner of hair salon chains Supercuts and MasterCuts posted revenue of $57 million in the period.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4dlGdWg
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)
BALLOONS: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “There may be nothing better than balloons to add a celebratory touch and burst of color to a special occasion. And with graduation season upon us, a Maple Grove balloon business is as busy as ever. Kristin Traynor, owner of The Corner Balloon Shoppe, says graduation season is the busiest time of year for her store.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43dKAxU
RETAIL: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Twin Cities shoppers looking for savings and sustainability have lots of options thanks to the metro's thriving thrift store scene. Why it matters: Buying second hand is an easy way to reduce shopping sticker shock without sacrificing quality or style. State of the racks: Cost concerns related to inflation, President Trump's shifting tariff targets, supply chain issues and broader economic uncertainty are driving an uptick in business at thrift and consignment stores across the country.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44U4GQj
ACQUISITION: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Fortra, the Eden Prairie-based cyber defense firm formerly known as HelpSystems, on Monday announced it has acquired the cloud security business of Boston-based Lookout Inc.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jXwk3m
ARCTIC WOLF: Via news release from Eden Prairie-based Arctic Wolf, VERBATIM: “Arctic Wolf, a global leader in security operations, today announced the promotion of two senior leaders to key executive roles to drive the continued expansion and innovation of the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform and enhance the company’s AI-powered Security Operations Center (SOC). Chris Kraft has been promoted to Chief Product Officer, where he will lead the strategic direction of Arctic Wolf’s product portfolio and roadmap . . . Jeff Green has been appointed Chief Development Officer and will lead Arctic Wolf’s global Research and Engineering organizations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/455xHIE
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
PEACE: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “From his long-running Mpls.St.Paul Magazine column to his table at the Minneapolis Club where he entertained a steady stream of business leaders, politicians, and community advocates, Burt Cohen possessed the gift of comedic timing—right up until the end, when he penned his own obituary, blaming his ‘lifelong habit of procrastination’ for the lack of fact checking. Cohen, the founding publisher of Mpls.St.Paul and Twin Cities Business, died Saturday. He was 94—and a half.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3S2lxIU
BDAYS: radio guy Brian Oake, attorney Jeffrey O’Brien, Minneapolis’ leader Don Samuels
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