Two birds tried to fly from MSP to Madison via Delta Airlines. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3SKsKxL
Blockbuster has returned to Minnesota… sort of. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/4kDCK7I
The Twin Cities’ biggest single-family residential real estate deal is tied to a former Wild player. MSPBJ: https://fluence-media.co/43hbgip
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Tom Hauser in for Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3HdLQK5
Sunday Take featured reflections on the 5th anniversary of George Floyd’s murder from activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and Star Tribune’s Andy Mannix. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4dwy7tH
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)
GEN MILLS: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “General Mills approved what it called a multi-year global transformation initiative that will aim to increase productivity by enhancing end-to-end business processes. The maker of Lucky Charms and Bisquick pancake mix said Tuesday that targeted organizational actions will enable the transformation, though it didn’t specify what actions would be taken. These actions are set to be substantially complete by the end of the company’s fiscal 2028, and are expected to result in total charges of approximately $130 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Sm41j1
MORE: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Layoffs appear to be on the horizon at General Mills, though how many is uncertain . . . Golden Valley-based General Mills said in the filing that its ‘multi-year global transformation initiative’ will include total charges of $130 million, though it’s not clear if the remaining $60 million in costs are severance related. The company declined to comment directly on any layoffs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HdzrWx
BACKLASH: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “Companies are warning investors about the risks of becoming the next target of angry customers. Corporate America is required to disclose risks to their businesses in their annual regulatory filings. This year, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Corona-parent Constellation Brands join an increasing number of companies advising investors about customer and legal backlash to their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. They’re also giving notice of the risks of rolling back these programs . . . Target said in its annual report in March that expectations from shareholders, customers and employees over whether it should offer certain products or pursue ESG and DEI goals are varied, and at times conflicting.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dFKO5C
UNITEDHEALTH: Via Fortune, VERBATIM: “Add two more lawsuits to the pile facing UnitedHealth Group. America’s largest insurer is facing two purported class-action suits from former employees alleging the company misused their 401(k) contributions. The latest suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Minnesota, claims that UnitedHealth Group held on to employees’ money after they left and used it to improperly lower its own costs, the plaintiffs argue.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SVWiIx
MN LEG: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Working groups at the state capitol are back to work Wednesday as they try and get the final pieces of the budget puzzle solved. At that point, Governor Walz would be able to call a special session and get the legislative work done. Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuth (Cold Spring) told Tom Hauser on the WCCO Morning News that ending undocumented immigrant adult access to state health insurance is still very much a part of the path moving forward.” QUOTE: "We have the votes in the House," Demuth says. "I can tell you we have the votes in the House to be able to pass that. Yes, we do." LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3SqOGxB
MEDICAID: Via Stateline, VERBATIM: “The tax and spending bill the U.S. House approved last week targets a strategy states have used to boost the Medicaid dollars they get from the federal government. The measure would cap or freeze the taxes states levy on medical providers, potentially leaving states with major holes in their Medicaid budgets. As a result, states would face the choice of either replacing the lost federal money with state dollars, scaling back services or providing coverage to fewer people . . . Forty-nine states — all but Alaska — use the strategy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dLuJvm
TRAILBLAZER: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Painter and politician Cy Thao was born in Laos in 1972. After the United States military left Vietnam, his family lived in a Thai refugee camp for five years, then immigrated to Minnesota in 1980. He was among the first generation of Hmong people to grow up in the state . . . For eight years, Thao also served St. Paul as a lawmaker in the Minnesota House of Representatives. His election in 2002 made him the second Hmong American lawmaker to serve in a state legislature anywhere in the country. Another Minnesota lawmaker, Sen. Mee Moua, DFL-St. Paul, was the first.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SrBAAa
BORDER: Via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “More than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to cross into the U.S. along a remote stretch of the Canadian border in a blizzard, two men face sentencing in Minnesota on Wednesday on human smuggling charges for their roles in what prosecutors call an international conspiracy. Federal prosecutors have recommended nearly 20 years in prison for the alleged ringleader, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, and nearly 11 years for the driver who was supposed to pick the family up, Steve Anthony Shand.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kCp4K5
TOMORROW: From Taking Back Pride via Instagram, VERBATIM: “Join Taking Back Pride organizers for a press conference next Thursday to hear from us about WHY we take back pride, and what our demands are for TC Pride. We say NO to cops & corporations at Pride- Pride is for the people, not for profits or police.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/43jqZh1
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)
LAKE STREET: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Civil unrest, and at points, riots, following the Floyd murder ended up causing more than $250 million worth of damage to more than 500 businesses along the Lake Street corridor in south Minneapolis, just blocks from where he was arrested at Cup Foods and eventually died. Lake Street Council business advisor Yusra Mohamud says those businesses were primarily owned by immigrants, and people who come from minority, indigenous, or people of color backgrounds ‘Lake Street is home to them so it's not just easy to pack up and leave and start somewhere else you,’ Mohamud says. ‘You have to start all over.’ Five years late Mohamud says most of those businesses have rebuilt and returned to their Lake Street roots.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/43usAiQ
TEACHERS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Crystal Johnson teaches regularly in her social studies classes about George Floyd’s murder and the protests that followed. She includes Floyd in her lessons on the Civil Rights movement. Her students want to talk about it . . . Johnson, though, remains an outlier when it comes to bringing Floyd’s killing into Minnesota classrooms. While Minneapolis stood at the epicenter of American history after Floyd’s killing, it’s rare to find it taught in the state’s schools. Many of Johnson’s peers around the state won’t touch the subject. Some educators and administrators say it’s too politically charged to tackle, and they fear a public backlash.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FcFudn
LRT: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A group called the DREAM Team is making its way through cities that the Blue Line extension is set to run through. Its leaders hope to engage the community and get new ideas. This week, Brooklyn Park is up. The title is an acronym: DREAM stands for Develop Recommendations, Empower Action and Mobilize. This group isn’t made up of government decision-makers, but helps connect the community with those people.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kdxpnE
DULUTH: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “The Duluth City Council is looking at an ordinance that seeks to provide notice to tenants about resources available to them when it comes to making needed repairs in their homes. The ordinance is co-sponsored by Councilors Nephew, Randorf, and President Tomanek and was read before the council for the time, Tuesday.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kDLkDs
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)
CEREAL: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Hannah Barnstable remembers browsing through the cereal aisle at her local grocery store as a child, feasting her eyes upon colorful boxes of breakfast staples like Cocoa Puffs, Trix and Cap’n Crunch. Decades later, when she was readying to open her own cereal company, she had a moment of déjà vu. ‘When we got started, I had this epiphany: How could the cereal aisle look exactly the same as it did when I was a kid?’ said the founder and CEO of Seven Sundays. Cereal brands like hers would end up irrevocably altering the industry, which has seen sugary standards fade while expensive-but-healthy options have surged.
One local breakfast industry player calls it a ‘renaissance.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dGzTsq
CUB: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Cub Foods is calling its new Burnsville store a ‘flagship,’ but the chain's newest supermarket reveals how little the brand has changed over the years. Why it matters: Sales have been falling at Cub Foods in recent years and the chain has lost market share. Its parent company, UNFI, promised to ‘resuscitate’ the brand two years ago, but major changes have not been visible.” READ/PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/3Z7vPvk
PHARMACY: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A beloved pharmacy with more than a century of history in St. Paul will close its doors for good at the end of June. A sign on the door of West Seventh Pharmacy, which has been serving locals since 1915, confirm that the business' last day will be Monday, June 30.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kDzpFx
AVEDA: Via news release from Minneapolis-based AVEDA, VERBATIM: “AVEDA, a purpose-driven pioneer of plant-powered, high-performance beauty announces its debut in the U.S. Amazon Premium Beauty store, bringing its assortment of vegan hair, skin, body and lifestyle products to new consumers across the country.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43z7jod
SHARPLINK: Via Coin Desk, VERBATIM: “Shares of sports marketing company SharpLink (SBET) rose 412% on Tuesday after it announced plans to create an Ethereum ETH treasury reserve strategy with involvement from the blockchain’s own co-founder, Joseph Lubin. The Minneapolis-based firm, founded in 1995, is currently trading at $34.45, up from $7 Friday, with a market cap now of $23 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3He1kh6
TOMORROW: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Struggling to keep track of what’s going on with federal immigration policy and immigrant communities in Minnesota? Join Sahan Journal for a live conversation about Temporary Protected Status and humanitarian parole.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4dLWV11
SATURDAY: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Totally Gross National Product, the label that gave us Lizzo, Poliça, and Marijuana Deathsquads, among many others, returns with its annual party this Saturday at Icehouse. After returning from an 8-year hiatus in 2023, TGNP label boss (and Poliça drummer) Drew Christopherson isn’t sure what anniversary his musical family will be celebrating this year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SqvYGn
SATURDAY: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Wild Mountain is ready for the summer season. The Taylors Falls park along the Wisconsin border has been open on select days this month, but the waterpark and all other Wild Mountain attractions will be open daily beginning on May 31.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FqNS9a
NEXT WEEK: Via Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, VERBATIM: “Unemployment insurance (UI) helps laid-off workers stay afloat when they are looking for a job. How do economists think about UI and its effects on the labor market? What factors help shape workers’ access to UI? And why are researchers at the Fed interested in all this? Ayushi Narayan and Ryan Nunn, economists in Community Development and Engagement, will bring research to bear on questions like these during a virtual event on Wednesday, June 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. CT.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mGqghE
JORDAN: Via Hometown Source, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be starting construction of a roundabout in Hill City at the intersection of Highway 169 and Highway 200 on June 2. Motorists can expect lane shifts, temporary lane closures, and flagging operations during work hours.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mAgUDX
ELECTROMED: Via New Prague-based Electromed, VERBATIM: “Electromed, Inc. (NYSE American: ELMD), a leader in innovative airway clearance technologies, today announced that the Company will join the small-cap Russell 2000® Index and the broad-market Russell 3000® Index, effective after the close of U.S. equity markets on June 27, 2025, as part of their 2025 annual reconstitution, according to a preliminary list of additions posted by FTSE Russell on May 23, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43yLQLX
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
GLAMPING: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “My husband, our dog, and I recently spent two nights at North Shore Camping Co., and it was exactly the quiet reset we didn’t know we needed. Nestled in the forest along the ridgeline just above Lake Superior, our walk-in tält (a luxury tent) provided a perfect blend of rustic charm and thoughtful comfort. Even in mid-May—when the air was crisp and the temperatures dipped (much) lower than expected—the tent kept us warm and cozy thanks to ample blankets, a gas stove, and a beautifully designed interior that made us feel right at home in the woods.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kgivxe
SHIP: Via KQDS-TV, VERBATIM: “The S.S. Meteor Museum in Superior is temporarily closed for repairs. Over the winter, a crack appeared in the ship.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mI4lqj
BDAYS: lobbyist John Kavanaugh, hockey writer Jess Myers, non profit leader Andera Kopfman, U of MN’s Peter Lindstrom
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