Which is better – Iowa, Minnesota or Wisconsin? SURVEY: https://fluence-media.co/4mUeDDF
MLB, NBA, and NFL players top the list of athletes who’ve made the most money in Minnesota. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/45Os55T
The weather’s about to take a more typically June-like turn. FORECAST: https://fluence-media.co/3FyWoTD
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3TiyaQy
All four legislative leaders — Speaker Lisa Demuth, Rep. Melissa Hortman, Sen. Erin Murphy and Sen. Mark Johnson — were guests on Sunday Take to discuss the latest developments in the Capitol. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3HLdCxv
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:
DOD: Via The New York Times, VERBATIM: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing sharp questioning from Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee over his sharing of detailed information about military strikes in a Signal group chat and the Trump administration’s deployment of troops in response to protests in California. Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the panel, said Mr. Hegseth’s tenure has been ‘marked by endless chaos.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jMBxKx
MORE: Via USA Today, VERBATIM: “Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, pressed Hegseth over the military's recent deployment of troops in response to protests over ICE arrests in Los Angeles. ‘This is a deeply unfair position to put our Marines in,’ she said of the Pentagon's deployment of 700 Marines to the region a day prior. Hegseth invoked the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, saying Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ‘abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HzoHlu
MORE: Via YouTube, from this morning’s hearing, MCCOLLUM: “Mr. Secretary, we’re both from Minnesota. I was in the Twin Cities during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd. Tens of thousands of protestors took to the streets for days. Governor Walz made the decision to call up the Minnesota National Guard. At now point did we need the citizens of Minnesota request that Marines be deployed.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3ZZR1DN
DULUTH PD: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “The Duluth Police Department is transitioning to a Red Dot Sight System for its firearms. The purchase of new guns for the Duluth Police Department was on Monday’s city council agenda. DPD will be purchasing nearly $159,000 in new handguns and rifle accessories. The purchase includes transitioning to a ‘red dot sight system’ meaning the weapons will project a red dot that is superimposed over the threat.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZX4xYN
SPECIAL SESSION: Via Star Tribune, a rundown of what passed and what didn’t. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3ZpmTSd
MORE: Via statement from the Senate Blue Dog Coalition, QUOTE: “We sought to advance pragmatic and balanced policies this session and bridge divides to serve all Minnesotans, regardless of political affiliation. We are proud of the successes we accomplished in the 2025 Session that will support working families, small businesses, and communities in every corner of our state. Throughout this work, we are proud to have protected historic accomplishments like universal school meals, 100% carbon free energy by 2040, a global leading PFAS ban, investments in EMS, eliminating social security taxes for 80% of seniors, and much more.”
DWI: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “In March, Shane Canady was pulled over while driving. A urine test later showed the level of alcohol in his system reached .08, which led to a charge of driving while impaired. On Monday, his defense attorney told a Mahnomen County judge that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) urine test was flawed because it rounded the number up from .079 to .08 and the case should be dismissed.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kAkgFq
TACOS: Via KMBC-TV in Kansas City, MO, VERBATIM: “General Mills has been revealed as the buyer of Gladstone Food Products, the parent company of the locally beloved La Tiara taco shell and seasoning brand. The confirmation comes after a Clay County judge approved a multi-million sale agreement last month. The deal was initially kept confidential, with the buyer requesting anonymity until the transaction closed.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43TnUmR
MOVE: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Medical device-maker Boston Scientific is selling one suburban Twin Cities property and ballooning another’s footprint, the latest example of area companies concentrating operations in fewer but often fast-growing locales. The medtech company recently listed its 226,000-square-foot complex on 24 acres in Minnetonka, a step toward sunsetting its presence in the western suburb after several decades. Meanwhile, just a 14-minute drive up I-494, construction is underway on a 52,000-square-foot expansion of the company’s 79-acre Weaver Lake spot, officially located at 1 Scimed Place in Maple Grove.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43VO8VV
ENDORSEMENT: Via news release from the Craig campaign, VERBATIM: “Today, United States Senator Ruben Gallego endorsed Angie Craig in her campaign for U.S. Senate. Gallego served with Craig in the U.S. House and worked closely with her on critical issues such as fighting the fentanyl epidemic.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43Qclg3
MPD: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Some Minneapolis City Council members want to revive parts of the federal police reform plan that the Trump administration recently quashed. Why it matters: The Minneapolis Police Department is still under state court orders to reform, but that settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights doesn't go as far as the federal consent decree would have to rein in police misconduct. Though there's a lot of overlap between the two documents, the consent decree outlined specific protections for minors, protesters and people with mental health challenges that aren't in the state agreement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3SFMLFA
DULUTH: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Employees at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency research lab in Duluth that faces layoffs and a possible closure spoke passionately about their work to the Duluth City Council Monday evening, urging elected officials and city residents to speak out about the lab’s importance. It’s the first time current employees have spoken publicly since the New York Times reported in March that the Trump administration planned to close the EPA’s Office of Research and Development and fire up to 75 percent of the staff.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jFG7Kj
TARIFFS: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Just two years after he left Ford Motor Co. to turn around C.H. Robinson, CEO Dave Bozeman finds himself dealing with a volatile U.S. tariff policy that has upended global trade. As a huge logistics provider, C.H. Robinson’s 83,000 customers look to the Eden Prairie-based corporation for solutions.” QUOTE: “This is not the first time the industry has seen disruption, and it won’t be the last,” Bozeman says in a May TCB interview. “Shippers need a logistics partner who just understands not only how to navigate an increasingly complex environment, but also how to partner with them to solve and execute on these unique supply chain challenges.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kT1zNH
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)
LAKEVILLE: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “J&E Companies, a precision machining and fabrication company based in Plymouth, is closing all its Minnesota locations. That means about 45 employees have been laid off from its Lakeville plant, according to a Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice. The company also has Minnesota locations in Shakopee and Delano. The notice points to ‘financial difficulties and circumstances.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HAusPJ
CUPCAKES: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Sweet things are changing hands in Hopkins: Amy’s Cupcake Shoppe owner Amy Brace is handing the keys over to Katy Gerdes of Angel Food Bakery. The transition will be, as the two of them put it, ‘steady as she goes’—a gradual process that keeps the heart and soul of Amy’s very much intact, while also folding in exciting new additions (namely weekend donuts are in the plans, so clear your calendars, Hopkins).” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HBm1nl
CHICKEN SALAD: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A famed Minnesota basketball family will bring a fast-growing chicken salad chain to the Twin Cities under a recently announced franchise deal. The Coffey family – Richard and Sheba, and their children Sydney, Nia, and Amir –are behind Chicken Salad Chick's expansion in the Upper Midwest.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/448zBat
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)
LINDELL: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “One of the nation’s most prominent election conspiracy theorists, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, stuck by his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen while testifying Monday during a defamation trial over statements he made about a former official for a leading voting equipment company. Taking the stand for the first time during the trial, Lindell denied making any statements he knew to be false about Eric Coomer, the former product strategy and security director for Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. Among other things, Lindell accused Coomer of being ‘a part of the biggest crime this world has ever seen.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3FNhFsJ
MAPLE GROVE: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A special meeting place for artists in Maple Grove is searching for a new home. The Maple Grove Arts Center, which has called The Fountains at Arbor Lakes home for about seven years, needs to find another storefront where its members can sell their goods.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4dWECGB
ARTISTS: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “If you’ve wandered around the Historic Warehouse District in downtown Minneapolis recently, you may have noticed a stalwart of the neighborhood, the seven-story Kickernick Building, looking more vibrant . . . Last year, when family-owned commercial property management and development company Space Unlimited purchased the building, it was 99 percent unoccupied. The Kickernick’s new owner, Kristi Oman, embarked on a mission to bring art galleries back to downtown and build a haven for local creatives.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3HvPFu3
STATUE: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The Beltrami County Historical Society in Bemidji commemorated the 10th anniversary of the current statue honoring Shaynowishkung at Library Park on Saturday. Shaynowishkung, whose name means ‘He Who Rattles’ in Ojibwemowin, was described as an orator and spokesperson who helped address difficult issues facing people in northwest Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jFYWNL
THURSDAY: Via DEED, VERBATIM: “Join us for the latest webinar in our Latin America Series, ‘Trade opportunities in South America's leading countries for 2025: Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Argentina.’ This session will provide insights from the Minnesota Trade Office’s South American partner, BusinessHub, through its contract with the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP), focusing on the lucrative and rapidly evolving opportunities in Chile, Colombia, Peru and Argentina.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43AusYE
SUNDAY: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday, and one way to celebrate the dads (and father figures) in your life is by taking them out for a great meal. Luckily, the Twin Cities metro has no shortage of food and drink specials, promotions, and events to take advantage of this weekend.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Fvh66U
JUNE 25: Via news release from Eden Prairie-based Winnebago, VERBATIM: “Winnebago Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WGO), a leading outdoor lifestyle product manufacturer, plans to issue its third quarter fiscal 2025 financial results before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZVm6bG
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
FLEA MARKETS: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Summer kicks off the hunt-and-gather season of shopping, bargain-style. Mark your calendar so you don’t miss these treasure-filled flea markets, tag sales, and vintage pop-ups.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4l3Sql4
BDAYS: organizer Dan McGrath, comms pro Melissa Champine, Washington County Commissioner Stan Karwoski
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