Netflix this morning adjusted its offer to acquire Warner Bros. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LQ8WZP
The Office of Cannabis Management set up a dashboard to track all things pot in Minnesota. For example, there were 65,927 plants growing as of the end of 2025. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3LAnuwD
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4r2o3Oz
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer shared thoughts on ICE, midterm elections and the state of Congress with Sunday Take. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4sLFN2v
In a must listen, Legislative Auditor Judy Randall joined Sunday Take to discuss fraud in state programs. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3YTziND
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
The latest insight from Fluence Advisory on the loss of institutional knowledge from the Minnesota Legislature. READ: https://fluence-advisory.com/insights/
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
REGISTER TODAY - Wednesday: The State of Energy – Fluence Forum
The State of Energy in Minnesota featuring Pete Wycoff (Deputy Commissioner of Energy Resources, Minnesota Department of Commerce),, Zac Ruzycki (Director of Resource Planning, Great River Energy) Moderated by Blois Olson of Fluence Advisory
The Future of Energy featuring Kari Groth Swan (Executive Director, MN Climate Innovation Finance Authority), PJ Martin (Vice President of Integrated Planning, Xcel Energy) Moderated by Drew Christensen
Policy Considerations for State Leaders featuring Xcel Energy, Derrick Moe (President and CEO, MN Rural Electric Association), and Lucas Franco (Research Manager of Great Lakes Regional Organizing Committee, LIUNA Minnesota and North Dakota) Moderated by John Berns
Legislative Panel featuring Senator Nick Frentz and Representative Chris Swedzinski
REGISTER: https://fluence-media.co/StateofEnergy
NEW THIS MORNING
AG RACE: This morning the Keith Ellison re-election campaign announced he’s staying in the AG race and not running for governor. ELLISON: “With my friend Tim deciding not to run for re-election, many have asked if I would consider running for that office. And I have. But as the federal government declares war on Minnesota, it is clear to me that I am best equipped to defend Minnesotans from the Office of the Attorney General. In October, I announced my campaign for a third term as Attorney General, and I intend to stay in this race.”
You can read Ellison’s full statement HERE: https://fluence-media.co/4jY63CY
SENATE: Via Craig campaign, VERBATIM: “Today, another round of local officials endorsed Angie Craig in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, joining a growing list of over 100 elected officials and leaders. Craig continues to build momentum and receive the support of leaders across the state who know she is best positioned to keep Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat blue.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/3LmgCD2
GOVERNOR: Via Qualls campaign, VERBATIM: “Army Veteran, business leader and Republican candidate for governor Kendall Qualls is reporting over $600,000 raised in his campaign for governor. Kendall reported donations from all 87 counties, indicating a true grassroots effort funded by people from every corner.”
AG: Via Schutz campaign, VERBATIM: “On Tuesday, acclaimed attorney Ron Schutz solidified his place as the only candidate to take on Keith Ellison, announcing his campaign has raised more than $250,000 in the race for Attorney General.”
CD6: Via Emmer campaign, VERBATIM: “Majority Whip Tom Emmer today announced another historic fundraising haul, raising nearly $30M in 2025 and $6M in Q4 of 2025. Emmer’s total fundraising of nearly $30M in 2025 shatters his previous yearly record of $23M in 2024.”
THE WEEK AHEAD
TMRW: Breakfast with the Mayors will include Minneapolis Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.
THURSDAY: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “It’s looking like Thursday could bring the visit of a high-ranking government official to the Twin Cities, with the FAA issuing ‘VIP Movement Notification.’ There’s no confirmation yet on who that will be, but the same notice was issued for Minneapolis on Sept. 3, 2025, when vice president JD Vance arrived in the Twin Cities to visit the site of the Annunciation School shooting.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r2nT9V
THURSDAY: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports outgoing Target CEO Brian Cornell will meet with a group of faith leaders to talk about the company’s response to ICE operations. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r1EpXM
Fmr. Sen. Hillary Clinton is scheduled to speak at Target Center Friday – will the event still be held?
THE FRAUD AND THE FALLOUT
BOCK INTERVIEW: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “The Trump administration has justified its ongoing immigration crackdown in Minnesota by citing a need to curb fraud and pointing to a widening scandal involving members of the Somali American community. Yet prosecutors say the mastermind of the state’s biggest fraud scheme to date was not Somali but a White woman — 45-year-old Aimee Bock. In an exclusive interview from her jail cell, Bock defended her conduct, admitted regrets and argued that state officials who she worked with should bear some of the blame.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NrkVO0
PENALTIES: Via Rep. Angie Craig, VERBATIM: “Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig reintroduced her legislation to crack down on fraud in federal programs. Rep. Craig’s Stop Fraud in Federal Programs Act would increase the penalty for Federal Programs Bribery to 20 years in prison and require sponsors to have third-party auditors. For example, this would ensure that sponsors, like Minnesota’s Feeding Our Future, whose leadership was involved in a more than $250 million pandemic-era fraud scheme, cannot self-certify that they have delivered meals, adding an extra layer of accountability.”
CITIZENSHIP: From Rep. Tom Emmer via Facebook, VERBATIM: “I’ve just introduced a bill to revoke the citizenship of anyone who came to this country and committed fraud against the American people. The ‘Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act’ (SCAM Act) will clarify by law what is already clear by common sense: Anyone who commits fraud against American taxpayers, affiliates with a terrorist organization, or commits an aggravated felony or espionage shortly after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen never met the requirements for naturalization in the first place.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r6utfV
FED FUNDING: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Billions of dollars in federal funding remain in limbo as Minnesota and the Trump administration tangle over fraud, immigration enforcement and other policies. Why it matters: A recent onslaught of proposed payment freezes threatens to disrupt crucial services for Minnesotans — and strain the state budget. The big picture: Since late November, Trump officials have issued dozens of letters and social posts outlining probes, data requests and funding pauses in response to concerns about widespread fraud in state programs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sONQeR
MORE: Management and Budget has a running total of disruptions of federal funding at state agencies. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/49JUtGz
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)
EARNINGS SEASON
3M: Via MarketWatch, VERBATIM: “Shares of 3M slipped in early Tuesday trading, as the Post-it Notes, Scotch tape and Command strips maker’s quarterly earnings beat and in-line profit outlook was overshadowed by a broad-market selloff . . . 3M reported fourth-quarter net income that fell 20.7% to $577 million. But adjusted earnings per share, which excludes nonrecurring items such as costs related to litigation and forever-chemicals products, rose to $1.83 from $1.68, and exceeded the average analyst EPS estimate compiled by FactSet of $1.80.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ns2x7C
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “The Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company forecast 2026 adjusted profit between $8.50 and $8.70 per share, with the midpoint a cent below estimates of $8.61, according to data compiled by LSEG. Weak demand in the United States, soft retail markets and discretionary spending pressures continued to weigh on the company’s consumer segment, home to products such as Scotch-tape and Post-it.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4t4xRd0
US BANK: Via Stock Story, VERBATIM: “Financial services giant U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q4 CY2025, with sales up 5.1% year on year to $7.37 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.26 per share was 6% above analysts’ consensus estimates.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZimUXs
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “A string of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve has lifted loan demand across the industry and boosted earnings at Wall Street’s top consumer banks. U.S. banks have also reduced deposit costs as benchmark rates decline, while also benefiting from the repricing of fixed-rate assets.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49PMjwJ
FASTENAL: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Fastenal Co. (FAST) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $294.1 million. On a per-share basis, the Winona, Minnesota-based company said it had net income of 26 cents. The results matched Wall Street expectations . . . The maker of industrial and construction fasteners posted revenue of $2.03 billion in the period, which also matched Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YOofoS
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)
ICE IN MN
WILLMAR: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Inside a packed Frieda’s on a recent weekday morning, Latino immigrants sat at tables next to working-class MAGA voters. Proximity makes things complicated in this west-central Minnesota town of 21,000. It’s not as easy to self-segregate based on politics in a small community. Here, they’re all neighbors: red next to blue, immigrants living in fear next to neighbors cheering ICE’s increased enforcement. All seemed tense, just not for the same reasons.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a4SH4k
VETERAN: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “A combat-wounded Army veteran says federal immigration agents detained him for about eight hours after he watched an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest from a public sidewalk in south Minneapolis. William Vermie said the encounter happened Jan. 13 near 34th Street and Park Avenue, not far from where Renee Good was shot and killed earlier this month during an ICE operation.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pRSW7n
ST PAUL: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Federal immigration agents forced open a door and detained a U.S. citizen in his Minnesota home at gunpoint without a warrant, then led him out onto the streets in his underwear in subfreezing conditions, according to his family and videos reviewed by The Associated Press. ChongLy ‘Scott’ Thao told the AP that his daughter-in-law woke him up from a nap Sunday afternoon and said that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were banging at the door of his residence in St. Paul. He told her not to open it. Masked agents then forced their way in and pointed guns at the family, yelling at them, Thao recalled.” QUOTE: “I was shaking,” he said. “They didn’t show any warrant; they just broke down the door.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sQ54IK
DETAINED: Via ABC News, VERBATIM: “Thousands of people have been arrested during ICE operations in Minneapolis over the past two weeks. Multiple attorneys allege that for some of those detained, including at least one U.S. citizen, the Department of Homeland Security is denying their constitutional right to see an attorney. Four attorneys told ABC News they have been denied access to their clients at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, where they are being held, which they say would violate 5th and 6th Amendment rights to due process and the right to consult with counsel.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bGYpuo
SURVEILLANCE: Via 404, VERBATIM: “A social media and phone surveillance system ICE bought access to is designed to monitor a city neighborhood or block for mobile phones, track the movements of those devices and their owners over time, and follow them from their places of work to home or other locations, according to material that describes how the system works obtained by 404 Media. Commercial location data, in this case acquired from hundreds of millions of phones via a company called Penlink, can be queried without a warrant, according to an internal ICE legal analysis shared with 404 Media.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Nvg9yX
MORE: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement steps up the use of digital surveillance to track immigrants and citizens alike, Minnesotans can use a new, little-known law to push back. The Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act — signed into law in 2024 — gives Minnesota residents the right to tell companies ‘no’ when it comes to selling their data or using it for profiling and targeted advertising. The problem is that even with the help of the legislation, the data market has become too vast and opaque for the average person to rein in their information.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qpRASB
CLOSED: Minnesota Monthly has a list of businesses that have closed or plan to close on specific dates in response to ICE operations. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/3ND5li9
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)
COMMERCE
BURNSVILLE: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Carba, a Minnesota company in the growing biochar industry, installed a one-of-a-kind reactor in its Burnsville facility in December that will help grow the state’s pioneering role in the industry. The company’s technology has taken an innovative approach that’s set it apart from the rest of the market. To talk about the technology, we first have to do a quick debrief about photosynthesis and salt.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r0ongK
EDINA: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports visits to Southdale Center were up in November and December – growth attributed, in part, to the mall’s renovation. READ: https://fluence-media.co/49GYdIX
ACQUISITION: Via Piper Sandler, VERBATIM: “Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of MENA Growth Partners, a merchant bank based in Abu Dhabi that will serve as its strategic investment banking hub in the GCC region.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rnqxaP
SMYTH: Via Eagan-based Smyth, VERBATIM: “Smyth Companies, a leading full–service provider of high–quality prime label and custom flexible packaging solutions backed by leading private equity firm Crestview Partners, today announced the appointment of Steve Wirrig as Chief Executive Officer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZncVA6
FORTÉ: Via Eden Prairie-based FORTÉ, VERBATIM: “FORTÉ today announced the promotion of four leaders, recognizing their exceptional contributions and impact across strategic partnerships, sales operations, procurement and logistics. The promotions reflect FORTÉ’s continued investment in leadership development and operational excellence as the company scales internationally.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49w0CHR
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)
OUT IN THE ELEMENTS
STUCK: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Fire crews and ski patrol rescued dozens of people who were stranded on a stalled chairlift at Lutsen Mountains in northern Minnesota on Saturday, as skiers and snowboarders were stuck on the lifts for hours in freezing weather.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LJg22e
BEARS: Via Mesabi Tribune, VERBATIM: “The Superior National Forest is extending an order that places stricter limits on food storage in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Officials say that since the temporary order was put in place last spring, toughening the rules, there’s been a sharp drop in conflicts between humans and bears.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4b4TIKN
BUFFERS: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “Crow Wing County commissioners have approved an ordinance regarding lakeside buffers. Environmental Services Manager Chris Pence initiated the conversation during a county meeting last month in an effort to have those seeking shoreline recreational use permits implement a buffer.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/461KL1c
WHAT’S NEXT?
TODAY: Via Minnesota Senate, VERBATIM: “At 11:30AM on Tuesday, January 20th, Minnesota physicians will hold a press conference to detail and condemn the obstructions to care, intimidation, violence being caused by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota health care settings. Senators and physicians Alice Mann and Matt Klein will be joined by health care providers from across the state.”
TODAY: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The Winter Olympics begin in less than three weeks, but if you can’t wait until then to get your curling fix, the Bemidji Curling Club might be able to help. Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 20, they’re hosting the USA Curling 2026 Mixed Doubles National Championship.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4r2KZ0i
NEXT MONTH: 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
NEXT MONTH: Via Burnsville-based Northern Tool, VERBATIM: “Northern Tool + Equipment is bringing the high-octane excitement of Monster Jam to the Twin Cities community. On Thursday, February 5, customers will have the chance to experience the thrill-seeking adrenaline firsthand as a legendary Monster Jam truck will be stationed outside of Northern Tool + Equipment, along with a Monster Jam crew member.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a4MLby
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
BDAYS: Sen. Karin Housley, Rep. Ethan Cha, fmr. Walz COS Chris Schmittter, fmr. Rep. Dean Phillips, KSTP’s sports guy Doogie Wolfson, JCRC’s Steve Hunegs, retired media guy Frank Steck
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