A team from Minnesota is headed to Texas to help with search and recovery. READ: https://fluence-media.co/44BQSry
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/46EtjRA
Excerpted from the Minnesota Business Partnerships NYSE bell ringing last week, Best Buy CEO Corie Barry and Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha discussed the Minnesota Headquarters’ Economy on Sunday Take. LISTEN: http://fluence-media.co/469gEpE
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:
REPORT: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s fertility rate is following national trends downward. It could spell trouble for the economy and state budget, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank. In 2023, Minnesota had its lowest fertility rate in more than 30 years. Measured by the number of children born per 1,000 women between 15 and 44 years old, it was 55.7 compared to an average of 64.2 between 2011 and 2020. This drop was slightly higher than the national average. Historically, fertility rates have decreased during economic downturns but later bounced back. This changed after the 2008 recession, and the beginning of the pandemic saw a drop without a long-term recovery.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kzkigd
MORE: Via Pew, the report which shows Minnesota’s fertility rate was 69.4 in 2007 and 55.7 in 2023. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3ItbSJO
FASTENAL: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Fastenal Co. (FAST) on Monday reported second-quarter earnings of $330.3 million. On a per-share basis, the Winona, Minnesota-based company said it had net income of 29 cents. The results topped Wall Street expectations . . . The maker of industrial and construction fasteners posted revenue of $2.08 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40MZhaC
MORE: Reuters, VERBATIM: “While the threat of President Donald Trump's tariffs led businesses to front-load goods in the first quarter, it also prompted firms to avoid major investments in sectors such as construction, affecting demand for Fastenal's core products. ‘With industrial production still sluggish in the second quarter of 2025, the performance of our fastener product line continued to lag our non-fastener product lines,’ the company said in its release.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40gG80y
BACK TO WORK: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Return to office mandates are on the rise, leading many people to ask: What about the CEO? Starbucks, for example, ended its remote work policy for corporate headquarters staff in 2023. But the Seattle company was skewered last year when it granted its new CEO a remote work arrangement. With the corporate zeitgeist shifting toward in-office quotas, the debate is spilling into chat boards and in private conversations. Minnesota’s business luminaries are split on the debate.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ii0BMx
GOLDEN VALLEY: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Issues related to public safety have been a common discussion topic in Golden Valley. The conversation continued this week as the city council took a second look at its rising budget for prosecution costs.” QUOTE: “Over the past year, the city’s policing activity has significantly increased, resulting in a corresponding rise in prosecution caseloads,” city staff members wrote in council agenda materials. “Specifically, the police department has doubled the number of cases referred for prosecution compared to the previous year. This surge in activity has placed considerable strain on the prosecution budget, which was not originally structured to accommodate such a dramatic increase.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40ilNIf
CONSTRUCTION: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Daily commutes downtown could get a lot worse starting Monday. Driving our pain: MnDOT is kicking off a fresh construction and paving project on I-94 and I-394, bringing lane closures and more bottlenecks to the west end of downtown.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46FlbjO
MORE: Via MnDOT, more about the project. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4ltXFuQ
TOO MUCH?: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “There are lane closures along Hwy. 13 and Interstate 35W in Burnsville, Interstate 494 in Bloomington, Hwy. 55 in Plymouth and, perhaps the biggest traffic-tangler of the season, Interstate 94 over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis . . . The myriad cone zones have caught the attention of State Rep. Andrew Myers, R-Tonka Bay, who is asking the same question many of us are. Why are all these projects stacked on top of each other?” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40RHWxh
MORE: Rep. Myers talked about his concerns and the letter he wrote to MnDOT about it on WCCO-Radio’s The Morning News. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4lsJUg3
2028: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “The first presidential primary votes won't be cast for another two and a half years. And yet, over the span of 10 days in July, three Democratic presidential prospects are scheduled to campaign in South Carolina. Nearly a half dozen others have made recent pilgrimages to South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa — states that traditionally host the nation's opening presidential nomination contests. Still other ambitious Democrats are having private conversations with officials on the ground there . . . the race for the Democratic nomination appears to be wide open, even as 2024 nominee Kamala Harris and running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have left open the possibility of running again.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44LRN8S
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)
WOLVES/LYNX: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “New Timberwolves and Lynx controlling owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez were introduced to the media Friday in a press conference held in Las Vegas where the NBA Summer League is taking place. The duo answered prepared questions from Wolves broadcaster Michael Grady and took more questions from the mostly national basketball press in attendance. The duo emphasized that their tenure as minority partners over the last half decade promises continuity rather than revolution. They had been given atypical levels of influence during their run up to majority ownership, before their relationship with ex-owner Glen Taylor soured.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kG3iVs
BEMIDJI: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “With crews working to continue debris and tree pickup around the Bemidji area, the Bemidji Police Department is urging the public to stay out of Diamond Point Park while it is closed for disaster cleanup.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4lsIySt
BIRD POOP: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The murky mocha-colored water in Lake Augusta is as off-putting as the source of its pollution: bird droppings, lots of them. Every fall, thousands of migrating double-crested cormorants roost in the dead trees ringing the Mendota Heights lake and defecate, dumping roughly 14,500 pounds of phosphorus-rich feces into the water — and creating an intractable environmental problem for their human neighbors.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eSBL1Q
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)
THIS WEEK: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “The week is starting out hot and humid in Minnesota as temperatures Monday and Tuesday rise into the 90s, accompanied by dewpoints in the upper 60s and low 70s. It'll feel juicy outside, and that moist airmass will set the stage for heavy rain and storms Monday night in northern Minnesota and throughout the state on Tuesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/464Qwwd
OFFICE SPACE: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Demand for quiet space and an opportunity to keep personal items at work emerged as key themes in Gensler’s 2025 Global Workforce Survey. According to the design firm’s latest research, people who describe their office as a ‘high-performing workplace’ are more than three times more likely to say they have access to spaces for focused concentration than are people who work in a low-performing workplace.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46zwhXx
FOOD HALL: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A new ambitious food hall project is hoping to help speed up a Downtown Minneapolis revival. Patricia Wall, the visionary behind Malcolm Yards, will be at the helm of the $10-$20 million food hall project at LaSalle Plaza. It's a collaboration with Hempel Real Estate that Wall says will turn the former Rock Bottom Brewery into a culinary hub.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4eJfl2Q
ALLETE: Via news release from Duluth-based ALLETE, VERBATIM: “ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE: ALE) announced that the Company and its transaction partners Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have reached an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce that will deliver immediate cost savings and substantial benefits to Minnesota Power customers and communities following the approval and completion of the proposed transaction. With this settlement agreement, the Minnesota Department of Commerce, which is charged with advocating for the public interest in utility matters, supports the acquisition of ALLETE as being consistent with the public interest and recommends approval by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lQ6ej8
THURSDAY: Via news release from Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, VERBATIM: “U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) will release its second quarter 2025 earnings results before the market opens on Thursday July 17, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44aNqW8
STATE FAIR: Via Minnesota State Fair, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota State Fair is currently hiring for fair-time positions at its Employment Center, as well as hosting a Job Fair on Wednesday, July 23. Throughout the summer, the State Fair hires approximately 3,000 employees to work in its various departments during the 12-day Great Minnesota Get-Together.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kIPlWR MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3PEeKSZ
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
DAKOTA: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “
Lowell Pickett first opened the Dakota’s doors in 1985, and in the 40 years since, he’s been on the phone day and night, booking its intimate stage with globally important artists, from Prince to Aimee Mann to Arlo Guthrie to Lucinda Williams to Nachito Herrera. But what’s the plan for the next 40 years?” READ: https://fluence-media.co/464bHyo
BDAYS: attorney Eric Swanson, communicator Tim Post
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 © 2025 Lunch Take, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Fluence Media
PO Box 270031
Golden Valley, MN 55427