Taylor Swift inspired a south Minneapolis home’s Halloween decorations. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4nAVfLX
A Minneapolis hotel is among the best in the Midwest according to Conde Nast readers. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4gXDiEG
There will be dozens of new foods on the menu at the Minnesota Wild home opener this Saturday. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48lGlEE
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4odWhO0
What are the headwinds and tailwinds facing the regional economy? - Sunday Take featured UMN’s Myles Shaver discussing the current state of the headquarters economy in Minnesota. LISTEN: http://fluence-media.co/3IPKVR8
Blois
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Fluence Advisory hosted a cannabis forum on the “State of Cannabis in Minnesota including an interview with Executive Director of the Office of Cannabis Management Eric Taubel.
DRIVERLESS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Waymo is making moves in Minnesota. Why it matters: The California-based company would need a change in state law to launch its driverless robotaxis here, since current statute requires that a person is on board and able to take over driving if necessary. Driving the news: Waymo recently hired four lobbyists from a local firm, state disclosures show, signaling that it’s gearing up to push for a green light to test — and eventually launch — its autonomous vehicles in Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4q5SJ20
QUESTION: How will the snow impact Waymo?
CHICKEN SALAD: Via news release from Atlanta-based Chicken Salad Chick, VERBATIM: “Chicken Salad Chick, the nation’s only fast-casual chicken salad restaurant concept, is expanding its footprint across the Midwest with six newly signed franchise agreements. While fast-casual restaurant concepts are booming nationwide, the Midwest region has remained an area of consistent growth in the sector. Chicken Salad Chick is entering into Michigan and Minnesota for the first time, while deepening its presence in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Oklahoma.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3KyFCGn
TAXES: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Local governments are leaning on their tax levies as they set their 2026 budgets and dozens of school districts are counting on voters to approve higher taxes for building construction or to supplement classroom funding. With a few weeks before truth-in-taxation notices must be mailed out, local leaders are bracing their residents for tax bumps. They point to federal spending cuts, rising health insurance costs and inflation as driving the increases.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4odjpMp
SHUTDOWN: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Just a week into the U.S. government shutdown, businesses nationwide are starting to feel the pain . . . Vinco, a telecommunications and electrical subcontractor, learned just over a month ago that it was part of the winning bid for a Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Force Reserve building upgrade. But the shutdown has held up the paperwork needed to process the contract, which would employ six to eight skilled electricians at Vinco for about nine months. Steve Anderson, president of the Forest Lake, Minn., company, said he will put the electricians on other jobs, even if doing so means overstaffing some projects. That will hurt profit margins at the 300-person company, which receives about 5% of its sales from the federal government.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pZJHU3
ROBBINSDALE: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A member of the Robbinsdale Area School Board has resigned from her post. Kim Holmes submitted her resignation effective Oct. 5. The board voted to accept it the following day . . . Holmes resignation comes after former Board Member Sharon Brooks filed a lawsuit against board in civil court seeking $5 million in damages. The board discussed the lawsuit in a closed meeting on Oct. 6. Brooks was the board’s last resignation. She left in February 2025, and Kenneth Wutoh was appointed to fill her seat.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nIYkK1
PURPLE RAIN: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Purple Rain hasn’t even made its pre-Broadway debut in Minneapolis, but it’s getting an additional week of performances due to ‘extraordinary audience demand’ according to producer Orin Wolf and Hennepin Arts. Those performances were announced Tuesday, with the first show set for Thursday, October 16 running through Sunday, November 23 marking the final show in the 2024-2025 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin season.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4h0Zyhd
BROADBAND: Comcast is rewriting the broadband playbook in the Twin Cities. From neighborhood networks to next-gen tech, we’re delivering community-first internet connectivity with no contracts, no surprises. The new Xfinity package means unlimited data, blazing-fast, reliable speeds and a 5-year price guarantee, plus free mobile for a year. It’s not the old Comcast — it’s a bold new era of connection. Let’s power the future, together. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/Comcast2025-1 (SPONSORED: Comcast)
GUNS: Via Everytown for Gun Safety, VERBATIM: “Today, faith leaders from across Minnesota will gather on the Upper Mall steps of the Minnesota State Capitol to launch ‘Seven Days of Prayer and Action’: a weeklong series of midday prayer services calling for an assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity magazines. Each day from Wednesday, October 8 through Tuesday, October 14, two to three congregations will lead short, public prayer gatherings at noon to honor victims and survivors of gun violence, pray for communities living in fear, and to call on lawmakers to act. On Saturday, October 11, the service will take place virtually via Zoom, allowing participation from faith communities statewide.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46TRRog
DRONE: Via The Bemidji Pioneer, VERBATIM: “During Monday’s Bemidji City Council meeting, the Bemidji Police Department gave a presentation to showcase its new drone program with officers Michael Mestemacher and Guy Schermerhorn. Presently, the department has one drone at its disposal. Mestemacher, Schermerhorn and three other officers are qualified to operate the drone. Drone operators are in contact with the Bemidji Regional Airport to ensure plane safety. Additionally, they are bound by the Federal Aviation Administration rules, must undergo ample training and must re-obtain certification every two years.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3VVIeAo
AWARDS: Via Minnesota Medical Association, VERBATIM: “Two physicians, four physicians-in-training, the late Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy were all honored with MMA awards as part of this year’s Empowering Physicians event on September 26. Each year, the MMA honors those in medicine for going above and beyond . . . The late Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, received the James H. Sova Memorial Award for Advocacy, posthumously. Sova was the chief lobbyist for the MMA from 1968 until the time of his death in December 1981. This award is given to a person who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of public policy, medical sciences, medical education, medical care or the socioeconomics of medical practice.”
MN CUP: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “This year’s MN Cup wrapped on Monday night, and AcQumen Medical, a medical device company in Minneapolis, walked away with the $50,000 grand prize. AcQumen presented its UltraTrac invention to a review board at the McNamara Alumni Center. The device uses electrodes and ultrasound technology to monitor infants’ blood flow.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48Qjcu3
COOLEST: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “What’s the coolest thing made in Minnesota? According to folks who cast a vote, it’s a military vehicle. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and BMO unveiled the winner of the second annual Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota contest at the 2025 Manufacturers’ Summit in Minneapolis on Tuesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4neGOfL
(DISCLOSURE: Minnesota Chamber is a Fluence sponsor)
SOLAR: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump‘s tax and spending bill passed this summer did away with several clean energy incentives designed to encourage homeowners to make their homes more energy efficient or switch to energy sources that don’t generate greenhouse gases. That includes tax credits that have helped lower the cost of installing solar panels, batteries that store electricity and heat pumps, or of making homes more energy efficient with better windows or insulation. ‘My advice to folks would be to hurry up if you can and take advantage of these federal tax credits while they still exist,’ said Joel Haskard, co-director of the Clean Energy Resource Teams, a public-private partnership that connects people and communities to resources for clean energy projects.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4q1Dsz2
70-YEAR LEGACY OF CONTINUOUS TRANSFORMATION. Innovation has been synonymous with the Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery since it was established 70 years ago. Today, Pine Bend operates with cutting-edge leak detection technologies, the largest solar installation of its kind, a community-driven water-recycling system, and numerous other advancements. These innovations have allowed Pine Bend to produce more of the fuels and other products we all need, while continually finding ways to use fewer resources and minimize emissions. LEARN MORE: Environmental, Health, and Safety at Pine Bend refinery (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery
MEDIA: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “MinnPost’s long-time mental health and addiction columnist Andy Steiner has been named a Pulitzer Center 2025 StoryReach Midwest Fellow. She joins six other journalists paired with local newsrooms who will dedicate the next year to telling ‘urgent, deeply reported stories impacting communities in the U.S. Midwest.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pRNId8
RAPIDAN: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “All it takes is a bucketful of water, a clear tube and some sunlight for Eileen Campbell to conduct a water quality test. Campbell, who works for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, is about 10 miles south of the Rapidan Dam, where a partial failure last summer churned up more than a century’s worth of sediment and pollutants that had been cemented in the river bottom and sent it downstream . . . Minnesota’s rivers and lakes are slowly getting healthier, according to the latest water quality report by the state’s Pollution Control Agency, but the pollution still threatens many of the state’s waterways. Campbell says the Blue Earth River is one that is hurting and is in need of intensive care.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/46FXjwa
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)
DOWNTOWN MPLS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “The investors who bought the former Seven Steakhouse & Sushi building in downtown Minneapolis a year ago are once again putting the property up for auction. Why it matters: On paper it looks like a bad deal. They paid $4.4 million for the building, surprising some real estate professionals by how much they outbid competitors. A Nov. 17-19 auction has a starting bid of $450,000.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4q1Vp0w
BBQ: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Animales Barbeque Co., helmed by chef and pitmaster Jon Wipfli, is opening its first permanent restaurant and live Americana music venue in Minneapolis’ Harrison neighborhood this month. Located at 241 Fremont Ave. N., right next to La Doña Cervecería and exactly 1 mile from Target Field, the massive 12,000-plus-square-foot space promises to be equal parts smokehouse, stage, and community hub.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pZEsDZ
ST PAUL: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Did you know that a slip of a shop in St. Paul’s Mac-Groveland neighborhood is the home turf for a powerhouse in the global sporting goods game? Enter onto the playing field: Talisman and Co. What started as an idea to produce the perfect cap to support a football club has become a star player in the retail, wholesale, and customized product worlds.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3IZcIhX
LAKEVILLE: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Minnesota lost one of its few IMAX theaters earlier this year when CMX closed all of its theaters in the state. But another is coming to fill the void, as Emagine Entertainment unveiled on Tuesday that it will open the largest IMAX screen in the state at its Emagine Lakeville location.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46TH7Gs
NEXT MONTH: Via news release from Eden Prairie-based SunOpta, VERBATIM: “SunOpta Inc. (Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY), the company that delivers customized supply chain solutions and innovation for top brands, retailers and foodservice providers across a broad portfolio of beverages, broths and better-for-you snacks, today announced that the Company will issue financial results for the third quarter ended September 27, 2025 after the markets close on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4o8XmGy
TORO: Via news release from Toro, VERBATIM: “The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC), a leading global provider of solutions for the outdoor environment, today announced that Grant M. Young has been appointed group vice president of Golf, Grounds and Irrigation, effective immediately. Young succeeds Edric Funk, who was recently appointed president and chief operating officer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Wq7fnw
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
MOVIE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “From a shuttered theater in the pandemic to a red-carpet premiere at the Parkway, a new Twin Cities film has taken an unlikely path. Playwright Harrison David Rivers was approached to write a new play for the innovative Twin Cities-based Trademark Theater in 2019. So he wrote a love story for two performers told through monologues. The COVID-19 pandemic made live performances of the play impossible.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4mZfgL8
BDAYS: Rep. Dawn Gillman, fmr. Sen. Greg Clausen, marketer Greg Swan, realtor Julie Christensen
Send us your tips at BloisOlson@gmail.com
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