Minnesota is one of four states with Democratic governors to send National Guard members to DC for America 250 events. NPR: https://fluence-media.co/4oMszkm
We’re also represented at the Great American State Fair. CNN: https://fluence-media.co/4xW06Nw
Via Axios, a guide to early voting. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3QLSaNZ
Via Insight News, a guide to the primary races and their potential impact on Minnesota’s Black community. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eANNwU
Should be smooth-sailing for drivers this weekend – unless you’re planning on taking Highway 62, I-35W, or I-94. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SlYDQe
What does the trade of Naz Reid to the Charlotte Hornets mean for the law firm on whose billboards he’s prominently featured? MSPBJ: https://fluence-media.co/4g8D2EM
What do employed people do all day? The Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted a survey. SURVEY: https://fluence-media.co/3Sue4pu
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Follow the 2026 Minnesota election’s up close with the Fluence ElectionTracker. FluenceElectionTracker.com
Sunday Take covered the status of third parties in Minnesota with Chip Tangen, Libertarian candidate for secretary of state, and Jay Reeves, Forward Independence candidate for state auditor. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4uICwRf
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FRIDAY FEED
NEW LAWS: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Several new Minnesota laws are set to take effect on July 1 that address school district safety, update decades-old government technology and provide funding for various projects across the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eQ9J7H
DULUTH: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “A downtown development strategy aimed at revitalizing the heart of Duluth was presented to city councilors Thursday night, outlining how the city and its partners plan to create more than 1,000 new housing units over five years. The plan, called the Downtown Development Strategy, is part of the Imagine Downtown initiative recently unveiled by the organization Downtown Duluth. Tricia Hobbs, executive director of the Duluth Economic Development Authority, told councilors that the time to take action is now.” HOBBS: “People don’t want another plan or study, they’re looking for action.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4w93G4O
AIRPORT BAR: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “My first drink in the new Portal Lounge at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was made by a robot bartender. My second drink was made by a human bartender — because the robot had broken down. Apparently, that’s not uncommon, according to the human — the only one of the two bartenders capable of conversation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vwk7Z3
FRAUD: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s provider review is still limiting care as thousands of Medicaid and Medicare providers remain out of the system. The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is rechecking providers that bill Medicaid and Medicare after federal concerns over fraud, spending and oversight. More than 3,400 providers were disenrolled due to issues with paperwork, background checks or site visits, and only 200 have since been approved to get back in.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4v35Fab
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)
BIG BUSINESS
SHAKOPEE: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Several dozen Amazon employees protested outside the company’s Shakopee location on Wednesday, June 24, in their first labor action at the facility since last September. The workers, organized by the Minneapolis-based Awood Center, were seeking higher pay and better working conditions.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R01r57
APOGEE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Apogee Enterprises Inc. (APOG) on Friday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $11.5 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Minneapolis-based company said it had net income of 54 cents per share . . . The glass products company posted revenue of $342.7 million in the period.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4esbGbm
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)
EVENTS AHEAD
TONIGHT: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The Twin Cities Pride Festival kicks off Friday night. ‘Pride is first and foremost a protest more than it is a celebration, but both of those things can coexist at the same time,’ said Kelsey Alto, director of programming for Twin Cities Pride.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4vxizhw
THIS WEEKEND: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “The 33rd annual Taste of Greece festival will return to Marshall School in Duluth this weekend, featuring Greek food, pastries, music and traditional folk dancing.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4oPZXqE
NEXT MONTH: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “In year three of Minnesota Yacht Club, C3 Presents is expanding its festival presence in St. Paul. It’ll debut Minnesota Country Club on July 10–11, a country, folk, and roots music-centered festival taking place one weekend before Minnesota Yacht Club. This week, the festival unveiled what’s on the menu for the inaugural installment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4f54J04
BEMIDJI: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The First City of Lights Foundation Christmas lighting ceremony, a Bemidji tradition, is reaching its 30th year. This year, it’s adding 3 new displays: North Star Diamond, Ultimate Present Spectacular, and Peace on Earth Globe. June 25th marks the halfway point to Christmas, and the First City of Lights Foundation invited the community to a preview of the long-standing spectacle this December.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4ahwPTe
HABITAT RESTORATION: Flint Hills Resources has earned Tandem Global WHC Gold Certification for habitat restoration at its Cottage Grove fuel terminal. The certification comes after two years of work in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River to implement a restoration and monitoring plan to re-establish the 6.5-acre site’s natural prairie and savannah. Flint Hills has held gold certification for its work done with community partners over the past 25 years to restore more than 200 acres of the Pine Bend Bluffs, a critical natural area along the Mississippi River that is adjacent to Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery. This makes two Flint Hills gold certified sites in Minnesota and the first two gold-certified sites ever in the Twin Cities. LEARN MORE: Environmental Stewardship (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
COMMERCE
BOATS: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “As a lifelong lake lover, Tom Jacob has made a living for the past 26 years with Bay to Bay Boat Club in Excelsior by renting his fleet of boats to others. ‘It’s the oldest or longest-running independently-owned boat club in the country,’ Jacob said. But now, his business competition includes anyone who owns a boat and wants to rent it to others on websites and apps like ‘Getmyboat.’ It works just like Airbnb, but for boats.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4f5102A
FOOD HALLS: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Let’s toss out that old adage about not grocery shopping when you’re hungry. (It wasn’t much fun, was it, anyway—how else do you end up with four different flavors of Doritos stocked in your pantry for snack-time emergencies?) These days, the new rule is: Grocery shop to your heart’s content, and then settle in for a piping-hot lunch or dinner without ever leaving the market.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3R4Jv9t
MEDIA: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Lavender Magazine, a free Twin Cities publication serving the LGBTQ+ community, has decided to end its run after three decades. Ahead of Twin Cities Pride weekend, the magazine published its final issue Thursday, with Lavender Media, Inc. President and CEO Stephen Rocheford saying in a note that gay rights have come a long way since its debut 31 years ago.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SOonVr
GLOBAL TRADE BOLSTERS AG ECONOMIES: Via Minnesota Corn, VERBATIM: “Each year, Minnesota’s exports of corn, ethanol, corn-fed meat, and dried distillers grains (DDGS) alone support over 11,500 jobs and add billions to the state’s economy. They also help ensure that consumers around the world have access to affordable protein and dairy products. In May, during World Trade Month, Minnesota Corn celebrates that important role trade plays in all our lives—in the U.S. and abroad. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dqEqB1 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn)
WHAT’S NEXT?
TOMORROW: Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3SMH3Vv
NEXT MONTH: The Aquatennial’s Sailboat Pond opens July 18th. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gBNzs8
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
CRAFTING: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Want to bedazzle a romance novel, ‘junk journal,’ try fiber arts or crochet side-by-side in silence? In the Twin Cities, there’s a space for that. The big picture: Craft nights are growing in popularity across the metro, particularly among Gen Z and millennials, as Minnesotans seek out new ways to meet people and evening activities that don’t involve alcohol.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oQ9LRv
BDAYS: lobbyist Vic Moore SAT: activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, Rep. Erica Schwartz. SUN: SPACC’s John Perlich, candidate for Governor Mike Lindell, attorney Jake Grassel
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