Minnesota has sold more fishing licenses so far this spring than were sold last year at this time. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/44R9NjX
MplsStPaul has a get it / skip it guide to the new foods at Target Field. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/438p2Up
President Trump signed an executive order to end federal funding for PBS and NPR. READ: https://fluence-media.co/44k4For
He also says he’s planning to rename Veterans Day as “Victory Day for World War I” and establish one for World War II as well. MILITARY TIMES: https://fluence-media.co/4k010R2
Tomorrow’s Fluence Brief…the State of MN Media. Subscribe to receive.
Did you receive this week’s Sports Take? No? Read it at TheDailyAgenda and sign up to get it next week. https://fluence-media.co/sportstake
KSTP’s Tom Hauser was on Sunday Take to discuss how Minnesota politics and media have changed since morning take began 15 years ago. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jvVJRy
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)
MNLEG: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota legislators are debating whether to roll back or revise some signature laws passed by Democrats two years ago as they race to reach a budget deal in the final weeks of their session. The proposed policy pullbacks have opened a glaring partisan divide in the tied Minnesota House, imperiling budget negotiations. Republicans are pushing to repeal laws that provide summer unemployment insurance to hourly school workers and health care to undocumented immigrants, among other changes, while Democrats are defending the programs they created when the state had a massive budget surplus in 2023.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d3hGVC
TIMBERWOLVES: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Allow me to channel the thoughts of a Minnesota Timberwolves fan: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA. Also: HA! You know what? I don’t blame Wolves fans for feeling this way. Not one bit. Heading into Minnesota’s opening round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers, it felt as if Minnesota was the side dish. They were, at best, the under-wolf, a B story, a speed bump, presumed easy prey.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ETfumX
SUN COUNTRY: Via Investing, VERBATIM: “Sun Country Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: SNCY) reported first quarter EPS of $0.72, better than the analyst estimate of $0.71. Revenue for the quarter came in at $326.65M versus the consensus estimate of $330.02M.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Yu7LT3
MORE: A summary of Sun Country’s earnings call lists “risks and challenges.”
Supply chain dependencies affecting cargo aircraft induction.
Regional demand variability, particularly in the Northeast and California.
Industry-wide capacity rationalization impacting growth prospects.
Potential pilot productivity and upgrade constraints.
Macroeconomic pressures and competitive market dynamics.
READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RL7xDb
PIPER: Via Guru Focus, VERBATIM: “Piper Sandler Cos (PIPR, Financial) released its 8-K filing on May 2, 2025, detailing its financial performance for the first quarter of 2025. The investment bank, known for its comprehensive financial services, reported net revenues of $357 million, falling short of the analyst estimate of $367.73 million. However, the company highlighted a strong performance in its advisory services, which achieved record first-quarter revenues.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42YceP0
PROTO LABS: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Proto Labs Inc. (PRLB) on Friday reported profit of $3.6 million in its first quarter. The Maple Plain, Minnesota-based company said it had profit of 15 cents per share.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iUv2VG
IMMIGRATION: Via Sahan Journal, VERBAATIM: “An immigration judge on Thursday denied a lawyer’s request to terminate the immigration case against her client, but gave her more time to file new arguments for why the former international student should remain in the United States. Attorney Sarah Gad, who is representing Aditya Harsono, argued in immigration court that his arrest and visa revocation were ‘unlawful,’ and asked immigration Judge Sarah Mazzie to review the legality of his case and terminate it. Mazzie said she does not have legal authority to review the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to revoke his visa, and denied the request.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k1GijY
MORE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The Department of Homeland Security want to deport Harsono for allegedly overstaying his F-1 student visa that was revoked without his knowledge. It was revoked based on a criminal background check revealing a misdemeanor conviction for property damage and a dismissed citation from protesting the 2021 police killing of Daunte Wright.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cZ7XPW
WOODBURY: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Award-winning singer-songwriter Jill Sobule died in a house fire early Thursday morning in Woodbury, Minnesota, her publicist has confirmed. Sobble's publicist, David Elkin, confirmed she had died in the fire in an email Thursday afternoon. The performer, who was born in Colorado, was 66.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4cZ2gS4
MORE: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “On her 1995 self-titled album, Ms. Sobule, who was bisexual, featured ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ which tells the story of a woman kissing her female friend. The song came out when it was ‘dicey’ to be a queer musician, Ms. Sobule recalled. But it broke into the mainstream, making its way onto the Billboard charts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GCUmSz
MORE: Via Times of Israel, VERBATIM: “The same year, her song ‘Supermodel,’ satirizing teen culture, found success after it was included in the hit movie ‘Clueless.’ She performed in a revue of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ songs at a Jewish music festival in New York in 2007 alongside the Klezmatics and Theodore Bikel, who played the lead character Tevye. And in 2016, she made headlines by composing the music for a new staging of ‘Yentl,’ the Isaac Bashevis Singer story about a gender-bending yeshiva student propelled into the popular consciousness by the 1986 movie of the same name starring Barbra Streisand.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jXvy5V
MAY DAY: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Hundreds gathered at the Minnesota State Capitol for International Workers’ Day. The annual May Day rally brought together immigrant rights advocates, union leaders and community members to demand better protections for workers and immigrants.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YXEUXi
MORE: Lakeland PBS reported on a demonstration in Brainerd. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3GE3t5y
ROCHESTER: Via Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “The woman who allegedly directed a racial slur toward a child in a viral TikTok video has raised more than $250,000 for herself and her two children, according to a campaign on GiveSendGo . . . The video depicted a man confronting the woman for calling a Black child a racial slur.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cUo8y0
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)
OSSEO: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Enrollment at Crest View Elementary in Brooklyn Park has been down in recent years. A plan by Osseo Area Schools to repurpose the building has now shifted to construct a new building. CCX previously reported on the district’s decision to repurpose last June. At the time, Brian Siverson-Hall, Osseo’s director of community engagement, said the decision was based on many years of research, as well as declining enrollment at the elementary school. However, when the decades-old school was being assessed for repurposing, it was found that it has structural issues that brought the cost of repurposing the existing building up.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/44feVya
BEANIES: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Three years after Minneapolis-based Love Your Melon was acquired, its New York-based owners are shutting down the beloved hat brand—at least for now . . . Love Your Melon started in 2012 as a class project for two University of St. Thomas entrepreneurship undegrads, Zachary Quinn and Brian Keller. They made beanies and for every item sold, they donated another knit hat to a child battling cancer. Through the years, more the company reports that it donated more than $10 million to fight childhood cancer, in addition to giving away thousands of beanies.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lSih0h
NOTE: Love Your Melon is just one of many examples of the people, organizations, and businesses doing good in Minnesota. To see more, read MN Good at TheDailyAgenda and sign up to get it in your inbox twice a week. MN GOOD: https://fluence-media.co/43G34c2
FLORIDA: From Jason DeRusha via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Another Minnesota guy goes to Naples: What a shocker! When I interviewed him for my DeRusha Eats podcast a couple weeks ago, Chef Gavin Kaysen teased that some big things were coming, and today the first announcement dropped. Kaysen is the chef partner of the new Four Seasons Resort in southeastern Florida, the Naples Beach Club.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YUqirK
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)
DEEPFAKES: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A Minnesota woman's horrific experience with deepfake pornography is behind a new bill passed by Congress. The bipartisan ‘Take it Down Act’ criminalizes the publication of non-consensual intimate imagery, including those generated by artificial intelligence. The measure was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and later gained the support of First Lady Melania Trump.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/42Ez7Ix
TUITION: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “State colleges and universities across Minnesota are bracing for tuition hikes for the 2026-27 school year. Both North Hennepin Community College and Hennepin Technical College will be affected by those changes. The hikes are the result of Minnesota budget shortfalls, impacting how much the state can pay to help schools, officials said. In response to the state Board of Trustees’ plan to balance Minnesota’s budget, tuition is set to go up across the Minnesota State system.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/44Toino
CLEAN SLATE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “After spending weeks applying to dozens of jobs, Ruby Coty felt hopeless. She’s used to nailing interviews, mostly for $15 to $18 an hour service jobs. But she’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop — her background check coming back red . . . Coty is one of the 500,000 in Minnesota who are waiting for their records to be sealed. Under the law, certain petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and felonies are eligible for automatic expungement. The case must have been resolved at least two to five years ago, depending on the crime. Most violent convictions are not eligible for sealing. The law went into effect on Jan. 1 but has been delayed because of technical issues with processing millions of records dating back almost 100 years.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4juLRaC
STATE PARKS: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “It’s about to get easier for people to get around Northeast Minnesota state parks. In 2023, we reported on the DNR providing the all-terrain track chair program to Split Rock Lighthouse State Park.
The electric machines help those who typically get around in a wheelchair explore trails and other areas that aren’t easily accessible. Now, the adaptive equipment is being introduced to three more state parks in our area.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3YXNjtO
MORE: Via DNR, a news release about the program expansion and a list of the ten parks added. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4jzzY33
TOMORROW: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Parents who want to help their kids develop a love of reading will have an opportunity to do so this weekend, and it won’t cost them a cent. This Saturday is the annual celebration known as Free Comic Book Day.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jDrfgA
THIS WEEKEND: Bank of America is offering free admission for cardholders to some Minnesota museums and attractions, including Split Rock Lighthouse which will soon temporarily close for construction. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3SjKtLW
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
VACCINE CLINICS: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “The Brian Coyle Neighborhood Center was home to a handful of free pop-up vaccine clinics held by the Minneapolis Health Department last year . . . Last year, the Minneapolis Health Department held 87 vaccine clinics in underserved areas around the city, targeting communities with lower immunization rates and higher barriers to accessing health care. Despite plans by city health officials to continue their work through this year, including five more pop-up clinics that had been scheduled for this month, the program was cut following the Trump administration’s revocation of remaining funds – about half of the initial $3 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GyhuBw
REGENERATIVE: Via Mayo Clinic, VERBATIM: “Regenerative Medicine Minnesota has awarded funding to three projects aimed at strengthening Minnesota's capabilities for developing and delivering therapies that replace, restore, rejuvenate or regenerate damaged cells, tissues or organs. Co-led by the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, Regenerative Medicine Minnesota brings together the state's leading research institutions to accelerate breakthroughs and bring new therapies to patients across the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iIcNlU
NAMI: Via National Alliance on Mental Illness, VERBATIM: “After nearly a quarter century of visionary leadership, Sue Abderholden announced today that she will retire as Executive Director of NAMI Minnesota effective October 15, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4374FXH
DULUTH: Via news release from Life Link III, VERBATIM: “Life Link III is proud to announce that the Duluth Airport Authority Board (DAA) has unanimously approved a proposed Development Agreement and lease terms for a new base location at the Duluth International Airport. This milestone marks a significant investment in the Arrowhead region and surrounding communities, strengthening Life Link III’s ability to deliver high-quality air medical transport services.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GvuBTZ
Subscribe to other Fluence newsletters: https://fluence-media.co/TheDailyAgenda
NEXT WEEK: Via Minne Inno, VERBATIM: “Angel Fest, a regional conference for early-stage investors presented by Groove Investment Group, will begin in Minneapolis next week.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4d4b9dk
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
SUMMER: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “It's May in Minnesota, which is the unofficial beginning of five months of weekend festivals, concerts and other entertainment, much of it outdoors. Why it matters: We have to cram a lot into our short summers. Let's not find ourselves full of regret this winter that we missed out.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/42F81kB
BDAYS: State Auditor Julie Blaha. SAT: lobbyist Rochelle Westlund, Citizens League leader Jake Loesch, DFL operative Charlene Briner. SUN: Minneapolis advocate David Brauer
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