THURSDAY FEED
After five decades in broadcasting, including a dozen at WCCO-Radio, Al Schoch is retiring. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4fWtD2A
Naz Reid, Kayla McBride, Kyler Murray, Paige Bueckers, Koi Perich and Goldy Gopher are among those who’ll show up in Sports Take, which will be out this afternoon.
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
Fluence Advisory has released its Insights memo on “The Next Legislature”. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aNNSMV
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
Follow the 2026 Minnesota election’s up close with the Fluence ElectionTracker. FluenceElectionTracker.com
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4cnD4Wr
Sunday Take featured a deep dive into the August primaries, the highs and lows of each candidate and more. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4gm1n9B
Follow the 2026 Minnesota elections up close with the Fluence Election Tracker.
https://fluence-media.co/electiontracker
SPONSOR: Sponsorships are available to reach over 30,000 readers per day on Fluence’s tip sheets and website, TheDailyAgenda.com – email BloisOlson@gmail.com.
BEER, WATER & STARS
BEER: An analysis of search data ranks Minnesota 17th among beer enthusiasts. Hamm’s is the favorite here. We’re surrounded by drinkers of Coors Light, Keystone Light, Busch Light, and Miller Lite. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4zl5476
DROUGHT: The new Drought Monitor out this morning shows 75% of the state in formal drought status, up from 70% a week earlier. 45% is in severe drought, up from 34%. MAP: https://fluence-media.co/3zN8TDo
LAKES: Via Mille Lacs Messenger, VERBATIM: “Much of north-central Minnesota is experiencing storage drought. In years of significant drought, long-term water storage is depleted in lakes, soil and groundwater to a degree that typically takes years to reverse.” QUOTE: “A few heavy rain events aren’t enough to pull an area out of storage drought,” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources State Climatologist Luigi Romolo said. “Over the past four years, north-central Minnesota has received 12 to 16 inches below normal precipitation. So, it would take months of precipitation far above normal amounts to bring lake levels and soil moisture back to typical levels.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xBAVi7
LOOK UP: Wednesday brought a pair of spectacular shows in the sky – a total eclipse in Europe and a meteor shower visible around the world. PHOTOS: ECLIPSE | METEOR SHOWER
ASTROTOURISM: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “In 2020, with the world mired in pandemic quarantine, the Dark Sky International organization bestowed two titles on Minnesota destinations. Voyageurs National Park was certified a Dark Sky Park, while the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was recognized as a Dark Sky Sanctuary, a title reserved for remote and fragile areas. Those designations began a quiet revolution in how people in the state relate to the night sky. They also opened the door to astrotourism, one of the fastest-growing sectors of outdoor recreation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SwV21Z
BRIDGE: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Renderings of the reconstructed Blatnik Bridge were unveiled by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation during a public meeting Wednesday night in Superior. The redesigned bridge will look similar to the original but will include several new features, including a shared pathway with rest alcoves for both pedestrians and bikers.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4xHClI3
ANTENNAS: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “The remnants of Charlie Ergen‘s soured $46 billion bet on 5G can be found on the roof of a church in suburban Boston, atop a university water tower outside Minneapolis and on buildings in Manhattan and Knoxville, Tennessee. The EchoStar Corp. chairman’s plan to turn Dish Wireless into a major US telecom provider got an assist from these and more than 3,000 other small property owners around the country, including more than 80 churches that agreed to install antennas on their rooftops to generate extra income. But Dish stopped paying rent last year after regulators began scrutinizing its 5G plans . . . Dish hardware has been left atop New York City apartment buildings, a water tower in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, an office tower in Oakland, California, and an Associated Bank building in Greenfield, Wisconsin.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ssf7Xg
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)
THE PRIMARIES
METRO DOMINANCE: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Big vote totals in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs fueled Lisa Demuth and Peggy Flanagan‘s landslide wins in their respective GOP gubernatorial and DFL U.S. Senate primaries. Why it matters: Minnesotans living in the vote-heavy metro will play a pivotal role in picking the winners of the high-stakes races for governor and U.S. senator this fall. How voters break in suburban swing districts will also determine control of the narrowly divided state Legislature.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hxLVII
FLANAGAN’S EDGE: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Larry Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political science professor, said the ‘No. 1 reason’ Flanagan trounced Craig was that ‘Donald Trump has radicalized Dems.’ ‘Half of Americans ‘very strongly’ disapprove of his performance as president and very strongly dislike him,’ Jacobs said. ‘Off the charts’ . . . Jacobs said it wasn’t just the controversial vote [for the Laken Riley Act] — in which Craig was among about 60 Democrats to cross party lines — that spelled trouble for the lawmaker.” QUOTE: “Angie’s problem wasn’t the vote for Laken alone; it was her apparent collaboration with Trump,” Jacobs said. “Flanagan ran on a full on ‘Fight Trump’ campaign.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45pQD3Y
HISTORY: The 19th notes that Flanagan would be the first Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate and points to races in New Mexico and Alaska that would also be firsts. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3UbwE6v
RAMSEY CTY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “State Rep. María Isa Pérez Vega and St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker will advance to the November general election for a seat on the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners. The two received the most votes in Tuesday’s primary, which included a third candidate, Charles Barklind. The winner will replace Commissioner Rafael Ortega, who has held office since 1994. … Whoever wins in November, the election will also set up a special election for either Noecker’s downtown city council ward and a council leadership shake-up, or Pérez-Vega’s safely DFL state House seat.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wlkmpx
ST PAUL: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Eager to avoid future surprises involving citywide contracts and garbage collection, the St. Paul City Council recently gave itself new powers over trash collection. A new amendment to the city’s administrative code gives the council final approval over ‘mixed municipal solid waste contracts’ before they’re adopted. … [Also], the St. Paul City Council voted Wednesday to approve a $360,000 settlement agreement that puts to bed a defamation suit filed by Jon Berry, former legislative aide to Council Member Anika Bowie.” DETAILS: TRASH | SETTLEMENT
ROCHESTER: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “With primary election results from all 80 of Rochester’s precincts reporting, local restaurateur Joe Powers and clinical psychologist Jess Garcia are the two top vote-getters in the eight-person race to be the city’s next mayor. … The [primary] narrowed the number of candidates to two for the Nov. 3 general election. … Powers had received 48.9% of the counted votes, followed by Garcia with 24.5% in early and unofficial results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wXUiBW
ST LOUIS CTY: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “The District 1 Commissioner race has been narrowed to two candidates, with incumbent Annie Harala and challenger Kris Eilers moving forward to the general election. The two will face off Nov. 3 for a seat on the St. Louis County Board, representing the central Duluth district.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4zeuCmh
ANALYSIS:
DEMOCRATS: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “The contests in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota exposed demographic splits within the Democratic Party: Young voters are helping propel progressives. In Wisconsin, [Governor candidate Francesca] Hong had an 8-percentage-point lead over [David] Crowley on average across five counties with University of Wisconsin System campuses. In Michigan, [Abdul] El-Sayed won seven counties with college towns by an almost 22-percentage-point lead over centrist Rep. Haley Stevens. And in Minnesota, [Peggy] Flanagan had a more than 30-percentage-point lead over [Angie] Craig across six counties with college towns.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gaHJfx
REPUBLICANS: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty analyzes recent GOP primary results, including the defeat of Trump-endorsed Mike Lindell in the Minnesota governor’s race. Looking ahead to the general election, he emphasizes that voter concerns will shift from macroeconomic issues to household-level affordability, focusing on energy, healthcare, and groceries.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Uwbkst
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)
TWO WEEKS OUT
CHEESE CURDS: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “When the Great Minnesota Get-Together returns Aug. 27-Sept. 7, Mouth Trap Cheese Curds will once again be frying nonstop inside the Food Building. For more than two decades, owner Dave Cavallaro has built a following by keeping things remarkably simple: fresh cheese curds, hand-battered and fried until golden, served hot and fast . . . For our July/Aug cover story feature, we caught up with Cavallaro about what makes the perfect curd, the staggering numbers behind 12 days at the fair, and why he has no plans to mess with a good thing.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gukoGX
TILT-A-WHIRL: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Faribault in the 1920s must have been a uniquely amusing place. Inventor Herbert Sellner was running around the southern Minnesota town, using the family home, the yards of friends and neighbors, the fairgrounds and the lakes around Rice County as staging grounds to experiment with his contraptions . . . In January 1926, Sellner started sketching drawings for this new ride, calling it the Tilt-ulator. On April 24, he filed a patent in Minneapolis, and a month later, according to Sellner’s notes, he had made a significant change: The new ride — with nine cars, as one advertisement put it, ‘tilting, sweeping, spinning, swooping, swaying, speeding, sliding, skidding, rounding, rotating, rising, revolving, hesitating, flying, falling, curving and circling’ — would be called the Tilt-A-Whirl.” READ/PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/4bPsUxH
COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS: Flint Hills Resources is celebrating summer with thousands of Minnesotans at local festivals and parades. Look for Flint Hills employees – along with their families and friends – as they show their hometown pride at many local celebrations, including Rosemount Leprechaun Days, Hastings Rivertown Days, Inver Grove Heights Days and Saint Paul’s Lowertown Sounds. For decades, Flint Hills Resources has supported programs, organizations and events that improve our quality of life in our communities. LEARN MORE: Community Partnerships (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
COMMERCE
BLAINE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The American Association of Professional Baseball is adding an expansion team to Blaine at its new Farm sports and entertainment district. The Farm is a $750 million development that will feature a 5,000-seat baseball and event stadium and a Scheels store with a Ferris wheel, candy shop and 16,000-gallon saltwater aquarium containing more than 600 fish. It’s an ‘entertainment-based district’ worth $1 billion and one of the largest projects currently under construction in the state, according to Blaine Mayor Tim Sanders.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wuTBiy
VOLLEYBALL: Via Minneapolis-based OTTO SPORT AI, VERBATIM: “Fresh off its landmark partnership with Junior Volleyball Association (JVA), OTTO SPORT AI today announced another major expansion of its tournament management platform, SportWrench, as veteran volleyball event operators Kathy Lietzke, Ryan Bozell, and Scott McQueen have selected the platform to power 35 premier volleyball tournaments beginning with the 2026–27 season.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wTOo4V
MEDIA: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “The movie industry has long cashed in on films inspired by true stories, but Netflix is receiving criticism over a Minnesota-based hockey series due to be released in 2027. The show, called ‘The Sticks,’ is about a small-town Minnesota hockey team, the South Dorothy Grizzlies, that has to overcome tragedy. What kind of tragedy? Based on what Netflix allegedly told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2025, it features a bus crash that shatters the local hockey community.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wYMZtK
MPLS BIZ: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “It wasn’t the free professional workshops, networking mixers, resource fairs, and public street markets at Minneapolis Black Business Week that meant the most to attendee Jakesa Thompson. For Thompson, it was confirmation that she’s on the right track with her new business, Happy Plate, which she launched a month ago.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4wmmqhf
TARGET + AI: Via CNBC, VERBATIM: “Target announced it has appointed its first ever chief artificial intelligence officer on Tuesday in the retailer’s latest bet to capitalize on the AI boom. The company named Chandhu Nair as its chief AI officer and senior vice president and also announced Purvi Shah as the company’s senior vice president of user experience.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45rd4pi
ACQUISITION: St. Paul-based H.B. Fuller, yesterday acknowledged an acquisition attempt reported in that morning’s lunch take, VERBATIM: “H.B. Fuller Company (NYSE: FUL), the world’s largest pureplay adhesives company, confirmed receipt of an unsolicited proposal today from Ancora Holdings Group to acquire its Building Adhesives Solutions business for between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion in cash. Although Ancora previously expressed a passing verbal interest in BAS, the letter received today, simultaneous to the news being made public, represents the first offer that Ancora has made for this business.” READ: H.B. FULLER RELEASE | WED LUNCH TAKE
STRATASYS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Stratasys Ltd. (SSYS) on Thursday reported a loss of $16.9 million in its second quarter. The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company said it had a loss of 19 cents per share . . . The results exceeded Wall Street expectations . . . The maker of 3D printers posted revenue of $137.6 million in the period, missing Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qfWIcM
PARK: Via news release from Park Dental, VERBATIM: “Revenue increased 5.1% to $66.2 million for the second quarter of 2026, compared to $63.0 million in the prior-year period. For the first six months of 2026, revenue increased 5.6% to $128.9 million, compared to $122.0 million in the prior-year period. The increases were primarily driven by acquisitions completed since the comparable prior-year periods, favorable reimbursement trends, and growth in clinical hours.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hyE0e3
WHAT’S NEXT?
NEXT MONTH: Via Rural Voice, VERBATIM: “The Rural Voice town hall series, designed to elevate conversations from across Greater Minnesota, returns for its fifth season this September. Moderated by Minnesota Public Radio‘s Kerri Miller, the 2026 series features a new lineup of free, in-person discussions exploring some of the biggest opportunities and challenges shaping the future of rural Minnesota—from workforce housing and retaining local talent to strengthening community belonging, revitalizing Main Streets and understanding the impacts of data centers.” SCHEDULE: https://fluence-media.co/4xFBibv
NEXT YEAR: U.S. Bank Stadium this morning announced Luke Combs will perform there in April. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4bM7LV0
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
PEACE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Federal wildland fire officials have identified the crew member who died this week while working to contain the wildfires that have burned in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for over a month. Leslie R. Washington, 41, of Noorvik, Alaska, died Tuesday morning while responding to the Bear Trap Fire, which has burned about 30,000 acres in the Boundary Waters north of Ely, between the Echo Trail and the Canadian border.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xEXjao
BDAYS: Burnsville City Mgr. Gregg Lindberg, Essentia’s Carly Melin
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