One in three U.S. adults say they’ve been expected to tip more or more frequently in the last five years. MORNING CONSULT: https://fluence-media.co/44TOkXO
Despite recent political and corporate rollbacks, more than half of Americans say they believe increasing diversity strengthens organizations. AXIOS POLL: https://fluence-media.co/43d87jI
An average or recent polls has approval of President Trump at 47.5%. RCP: https://fluence-media.co/3SpNiLH
Realtor.com ranks the Twin Cities fourth on its list of top rental markets for recent college grads. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4dy3wvQ
A mother bear and three cubs have been spotted in a Maple Grove park. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kGvUOX
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Tom Hauser in for Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4dDEwU7
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)
SPECIAL SESSION: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “There's still no word on when a special session of the Minnesota legislature will be called. Lawmakers have been working toward a compromise since [adjourning] last week, despite not finalizing a budget. House Democratic Floor Leader Jamie Long (Minneapolis) told Tom [Hauser] on the WCCO Morning News they still have things to tie up before the special session can happen.” LONG: "Well, the governor's the one who gets to make the call, and I think he's gonna want to make sure all the budget bills are wrapped up," Long explains. "I could see Friday as a possibility, but I suspect it might be a day or two after that." LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4ke7aNW
MORE: From House POCI Caucus via Facebook, VERBATIM: “Throughout this critical session, the Minnesota House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus stood firm against regressive Republican policies, wielding strategic leadership and moral authority to safeguard the hard-fought gains of the 2023-2024 biennium. The House POCI Caucus mounted fierce resistance to protect cornerstone programs that Minnesotans have fought decades for such as Minnesota's social safety net—Earned Safe and Sick Time, Paid Leave, and MinnesotaCare for undocumented Minnesotans. These aren't mere policy positions; they are lifelines for working families and vulnerable communities across the state.” STATEMENTS: https://fluence-media.co/3F9CoH2
TODAY: Via Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee, VERBATIM: “With a legislative special session looming, in which Gov. Walz and legislative leaders have said they intend to pass a budget that takes away access to health care from immigrant adults, organizers from the immigrant rights movement in Minnesota and their allies will gather outside of Governor Walz’s office at the State Capitol on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 12:00 noon. There will be brief remarks and a message will be delivered to Governor Walz that taking away health care from anyone goes against Minnesota values and is unacceptable.”
DOE: Via news release from Rep. Tom Emmer, VERBATIM: “Last week, Congressman Emmer led the entire Minnesota Republican congressional delegation in a letter to the leadership of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies urging them to fully defund the Department of Education in their Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations bill.” QUOTE: “By defunding the Department of Education, we are putting our students’ education first. Dismantling the Department of Education will end federal overreach and allow states, parents, and school districts to take control of education and improve children’s learning outcomes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kuYbb4
INTEREST RATES: Via Investing, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari warned on Monday that supply shocks stemming from President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs stood to underpin inflation and dampen growth– presenting a stagflationary scenario. Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg TV, Kashkari warned that the Fed was unlikely to have enough clarity to alter interest rates by September, and that the central bank needed to see more trade deals and dee.” KASHKARI: “Uncertainty is something that we are dealing with at the Fed, as we’re trying to navigate where inflation is going, where the labor market is going.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jpf7ih
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “In an ongoing ‘healthy debate’ within the Fed, some policymakers have called for ‘looking through’ - or disregarding for now - the impact of tariffs as a transitory inflation shock, thereby prioritising support for economic growth by cutting interest rates, he said. Others are against ignoring as temporary the tariff-induced inflation on the view U.S. trade negotiations are unlikely to be resolved quickly, Kashkari said at a Bank of Japan-hosted conference in Tokyo. He included himself in that category.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HceL12
PRISON: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Rep. [Pete] Stauber says it’s possible that Duluth’s Federal Prison Camp will stay open. Minnesota District 8 Congressman Pete Stauber says he recently had a great conversation with the Federal Bureau of Prisons director. Stauber says they talked about his request to keep the Federal Prison Camp open and is working on a time for the director to come visit the facility.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43xjmSZ
SNAP: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A federal program that helps low-income families buy groceries is facing the biggest cut in its history and now, local food banks are sounding the alarm. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that cuts $290 billion over 10 years to federal farm and nutrition programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The cuts are aimed at reducing the deficit and shifting funds elsewhere. Food banks like Brooklyn Park’s Second Harvest Heartland are concerned that the cuts will drive more people to visit food shelves.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jju70Y
PROTEST: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “How many people can you get to participate or pass by a rally held on a bridge on Memorial Day? But folks who were driving the few cars that passed the several dozen people lining the St. Paul side of the Ford Parkway Bridge did manage to honk their horns and give a thumbs up. It was the ‘We. The People. Remember.’ rally, with protesters holding up signs critical of the current presidential administration. That it happened on Memorial Day wasn’t an accident.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4dzep0x
PROTESTORS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Activism is nothing new to Kathleen Laughlin, 69, who brandished a sign decrying the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs at a protest in St. Paul last week. ‘I’ve been to seven of these protests since March,’ said the retired history professor, who first protested against the Vietnam War in the 1970s. ‘I’ve been a progressive Democrat my whole life.’ A budding movement across the country in response to President Donald Trump’s policies has attracted tens of thousands of Minnesotans to dozens of protests throughout the state in recent months — and more are planned.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kaGj5j
TAXES: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “The tax provisions in House Republicans’ so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ would overwhelmingly benefit Minnesota’s wealthiest families, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a progressive think tank in DC. If the bill passes the Senate and wins the signature of President Trump, the bottom 20% of Minnesota households, with incomes of less than $36,000, would see an average tax benefit of about $250, or 1.3% of household income. Families in the middle of the distribution, with incomes between $63,000 and $100,000, would get an average benefit of $2,000, or 2.4% of household income. But Minnesota’s one-percenters, with incomes of $928,000 and above, would receive an average tax break of $66,000, adding up to 3.5% of their typical income.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44ULuSo
WILDFIRES: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Three combined wildfires burned nearly 20,000 acres in northeastern Minnesota over the past few weeks. As of Monday, the Jenkins Creek fire near Hoyt Lakes was 78 percent contained. The Camp House fire near Brimson, remained at 90 percent containment. As the wildfires become increasingly contained, the process to recovery is set. The fires destroyed dozens of structures and left some displaced.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43E5ExJ
MORE: Via DNR, maps showing fire danger levels and burning restrictions. MAPS: https://fluence-media.co/49W0SgW
SNAKE: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A bit of a once in a lifetime situation for police in Big Lake after someone ran over a boa constrictor on the highway. It was shocking for sure and very interesting to come across. Big Lake Police Officer Caleb Swatsky says when his fellow officers texted him a photo of the snake. He thought it was a joke.” LISTEN/PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/3Fx7IPR
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)
MINNEAPOLIS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “A couple dozen blue-uniformed officers gathered at Phelps Park near George Floyd Square in the spring warmth, flipping burgers and mingling with community members as children played. It was a sight that would have been impossible five years earlier, when witness video of police killing George Floyd ignited global protests. At first glance, there’s no indication of that past. But on the edge of the park, an indignant voice sounded, breaking the image of a new day. ‘Say his name!’ The voice belonged to Marcia Howard, a Minneapolis school teacher who has been tending to the protest space at George Floyd Square since 2020.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4kgfoW3
MORE: Via Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, VERBATIM: “On May 21, 2025, five years after the murder of George Floyd shook the world, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder brought the community together for a night of reflection, accountability, and forward-looking dialogue. Held at the University of Minnesota’s Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), the event gathered a panel of influential voices from the Twin Cities to ask: What has changed—and what hasn’t—since the world watched George Floyd take his last breath?” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43samhP
EYEWITNESS: Via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “In the waning hours of Memorial Day 2020, it wasn't yet clear how the events unfolding on the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue would alter the course of the future. But the weight of that moment wasn't lost on Darnella Frazier, who, in the face of injustice, recorded what would become one of the most infamous and most-watched videos in recent history. On Memorial Day 2025, Frazier again told the world not to forget, posting a tribute to the man at the center of it all.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4dAEAnC
PHOTOGRAPHER: Via The New York Times, a profile of a photographer who, after seeing the video of Floyd’s death, drove 1,000 miles to document the aftermath. Since then, he’s made more than a half dozen photography trips to Minneapolis. READ: https://fluence-media.co/43kaoK4
FACT CHECKS: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “It’s been five years since George Floyd was killed, and websites and social media continue to shape and reshape the narrative around the 46-year-old Black man’s murder on a Minneapolis street. This is part of a larger conundrum faced by users in the digital age — a lack of clarity between truth, skewed information and flat-out fiction. Here at MinnPost, we partner with Gigafact to produce bite-sized fact briefs to address just that. With the heightened scrutiny that the date May 25 brings, this week I’ve focused on online claims involving Floyd and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FAmYeO
MPD: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “While the Minneapolis Police Department endured a historic exodus of officers in the years following George Floyd's murder by officer Derek Chauvin, city officials say they are seeing signs of recovery. The big picture: The city's police force has shrunk by more than a third in recent years, from 920 officers as of March 2019 to 583 officers this past March, according to police data provided to Axios.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kgf89s
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)
FEED FRAUD: Via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Federal agents raided a St. Paul education business Thursday morning in connection with the Feeding Our Future fraud case. According to a search warrant unsealed Thursday, New Vision Foundation, a nonprofit that says it trains underserved youth in technology, operated two food sites and claimed to serve more than one million meals to children at its St. Paul site in 2021. The organization used Feeding Our Future as a sponsor to access funds from the federal child nutrition program.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jnwUX5
SPPS: Via Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, VERBATIM: “Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) has a new leader effective May 10, and for many it feels like a homecoming. On December 19, the SPPS Board unanimously selected Dr. Stacie Stanley as superintendent, citing her deep ties to the city, her courageous leadership style, and a clear vision for change . . . Board Chair Halla Henderson emphasized that Stanley’s intimate connection to the community made her stand out.” HENDERSON: “An opportunity to have someone who came through our school system felt like such a wonderful gift to highlight and to bring up,” she said. “We need someone who understands our city and is ready to show up and be an on-the-ground leader with us.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43wYiMb
LAKE ST: From Lagniappe via Instagram, VERBATIM: “With heavy hearts, we’re sharing that Lagniappe and the Du Nord Cocktail Room will close permanently after our final service on Saturday, May 31st. This isn’t the outcome we hoped for. Rebuilding on this stretch of Lake Street came with real challenges, and we met them with everything we had.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/45rrTt1
NORTH LOOP: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “The North Loop is about to get a serious dose of energy, thanks to two local restaurant heavyweights teaming up for a new venture. Billy Tserenbat, the force behind Billy Sushi, and Marty Collins of NOLO’s Kitchen are joining forces to open a bold, new dining and nightlife concept in one of the neighborhood’s most coveted—and long-vacant—spaces.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Sn20D5
BROOKLYN PARK: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A Brooklyn Park city-owned property could become home to an upscale restaurant. However, city Economic Development Authority (EDA) documents show the project has some financial concerns. The restaurant concept called Fidel’s Place is proposed for the southwest corner of Northwind Plaza where the new Small Business Center is located at the corner of Brooklyn Boulevard and West Broadway. A future light rail stop is also planned there.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43GYFnQ
SENTERA: Via news release from John Deere, VERBATIM: “John Deere (NYSE: DE) announced today the acquisition of Sentera, a leading provider of remote imagery solutions for agriculture headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. This acquisition will advance the capabilities of John Deere's existing technology offerings, providing farmers and ag service providers with a more comprehensive set of tools to generate and use data to make decisions that improve farm profitability, efficiency, and sustainability.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4519bbP
AWARDS: Via The Minneapolis Egotist, VERBATIM: “For the second year in a row, Twin Cities-based creative video agency Motion 117 Productions has been recognized on the international stage, earning 13 Telly Awards for work spanning music, education, and architecture. These honors celebrate the company’s collaborations with Cloud Cult, Mounds Park Academy (MPA), and RSP Architects, and reflect Motion 117’s ongoing charge to ‘create content that uncovers the relationship between a client’s passion and a viewer’s ideals to inspire action.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jmHOMQ
MORE: Via The Telly Awards, the full list of winners. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/43Mzmld
BATTERIES: Via The Minneapolis Egotist, VERBATIM: “Batteries Plus, the world’s leading multi-site services franchise for B2B & B2C batteries, is introducing a bold new brand campaign that repositions its franchisees and store teams as accessible technical experts in an era of impersonal technology and online overload. Under the new tagline, ‘The Experts In Charge,’ the company is celebrating the services, battery knowledge, and hands-on repairs that set it apart in providing immediate solutions for businesses and consumers.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jiH8YI
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
CENTRAL MN: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Central Minnesota is a treasure trove waiting to be discovered. This region is packed with natural beauty, charming towns, and welcoming communities that beckon explorers of all kinds. Imagine winding through picturesque landscapes dotted with serene lakes, quaint shops, and rich history that tells stories of days gone by. Whether you’re a local seeking new adventures or a visitor eager to explore, this guide will lead you through some must-visit destinations—where every turn reveals a new adventure, and every stop leaves a lasting impression.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jmTAXy
AIRPORT: Via Eater Twin Cities, VERBATIM: “Airports aren’t known for the haute cuisine but with strong showing of homegrown favorites — plus some well-loved chains — travelers headed through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport can a pretty decent taste of the Twin Cities. On the way to your gate, stop for Neapolitan pizza, a half-dozen gourmet doughnuts, and a beer by a local brewer.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/3wBn6qa
BDAYS: morning take’s Kyle Hampel, Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman, Delta’s Jeff Davidman
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