MNDOT says roads are improving, the fire is on here.
While some haven’t started cooking yet, Axios Twin Cities is planning ahead for Thanksgiving leftovers. RECIPES: https://fluence-media.co/4ipUALJ
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Rena Sargianopolous . LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/48oviZD
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.
TRAVEL AND ROADS
FIRST: The most Minnesota scoreboard of all: the snow totals. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/48ixxOd
The storm may be over, but the wind continued to cause problems throughout the morning. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3KgypLd
You can find the latest road conditions around the state HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3JXtVZX
Take it easy out there. A near-miss caught on a dashcam yesterday near the North Dakota-Minnesota border is a good reminder. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48oCrcw
MSP this morning reported five canceled flights and dozens of delays. STATS: https://fluence-media.co/3JXKtRz
And don’t forget… while the snow may be an inconvenience for some, it’s great news for a lot of small businesses. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Mbgypv
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)
IN THE CITIES
PROPERTY TAXES: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis, as elsewhere, needs more money (again). That’s the message property owners are expected to hear by the end of November, when ‘truth-in-taxation’ notices arrive in mailboxes detailing estimated 2026 property taxes. Precisely how much money depends on the city’s final budget, set to be voted on by the City Council on Dec. 9. Leading up to the vote, the council is hearing public comment on Mayor Jacob Frey’s proposed budget, which increases property tax rates by 7.8% — the maximum limit set by the city’s Board of Estimates and Taxation, or BET.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43SKb5b
SIDEWALK CHALK: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Four years ago, a protestor scrawled a statement in chalk on the plaza outside Anoka City Hall. The message? Praise for the city manager’s dog. It was one of many innocuous drawings scribbled to tease city officials in response to Anoka’s ban on chalk drawings — a quirk of an ordinance banning displays on public property. The law, which was broad enough to prohibit hopscotch on city sidewalks, drew national attention and sparked a debate over free speech. But this month, the City Council washed away those criticisms. The council amended the law to allow water-soluble chalk drawings in public.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Xn8yEi
CLEAN | RELIABLE | AFFORDABLE: Via Xcel Energy, VERBATIM: “We’re powering the Upper Midwest with clean, reliable, and affordable nuclear energy. For more than 50 years, our Prairie Island Nuclear Plant, located near Red Wing, MN, has been a workhorse of reliable, carbon-free energy. With two pressurized water reactors producing about 1,100 megawatts, Prairie Island generates enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes across the Upper Midwest. Unlike sources that depend on weather, nuclear energy delivers 24/7 reliability—providing the power we need today while protecting the environment for tomorrow.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4oCHdK9 (SPONSORED: Xcel Energy)
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
EXIT INTERVIEW: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Three-term state Rep. Sandra Feist, DFL-New Brighton, recently announced she will not seek re-election in 2026. Feist was known for her willingness to take on some of the Legislature’s most complex tasks, sorting through thorny issues like property tax forfeiture laws.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4omTMIT
CRYPTO: Via The Street, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Fed president Neel Kashkari has renewed his criticism of cryptocurrencies. This time, he is comparing crypto to the 1990s Beanie Babies bubble and arguing that crypto still fails to offer meaningful economic value. Kashkari made the comments during a recent appearance on CNN, where he was asked about the latest bout of crypto market volatility and whether the sector is entering another bubble phase.” KASHKARI: “Trillions of dollars are going to be invested in AI, and I am much more confident that AI is doing things that are actually useful in the economy. Will all that investment pay off? I don’t know. But at least there are real use cases for AI. I can’t say that for crypto.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43TfqwP
NEXTGEN
FELLOWSHIP: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “The Bold Path Fellowship is a new program designed to help Twin Cities entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. As many as five Twin Cities residents will each receive $120,000 over two years, which allows people with limited financial resources to found companies.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3K8die3
ROBOTS: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “The state of Minnesota awarded Hennepin Technical College more than $4 million to expand its Automation Robotics Engineering Technology program. Instructors at the school say it will help its students have an edge in a rising, high-demand field. The grant, awarded by the Department of Employment and Economic Development, will develop students for careers in the semiconductor industry.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48dq58l
KITCHENS: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “From potatoes to peppers to tomatoes, the food grown by farmers near this western Minnesota town will soon be put to more and better use. Potatoes grown in the Red River Valley could be mashed and diced for school lunches. Peppers could become salsa and hot sauce. Tomato seeds could be harvested for the future. Such are the possibilities are envisioned by members of Manna Food Co-op — which like other cooperative grocery stores is independently owned by local residents who run it and shop there — with the help of a new commercial kitchen.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oWHcks
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE: Flint Hills Resources was just awarded the 2025 Large Business of the Year award from the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce at their annual Business Excellence Awards celebration. The award celebrates the outstanding achievements of businesses that exemplify the thriving and growing spirit of Dakota County. The businesses honored make an impact and contribute to the continued success of our community. LEARN MORE: About the Pine Bend refinery. (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
DC + MN
HUNGER: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited Second Harvest Heartland in Brooklyn Park on Tuesday to highlight record demand at food shelves. Second Harvest Heartland is one of the nation’s largest food banks. It distributes food to more than 600 food shelves throughout the northwest metro and the state. Food relief officials say record demand is caused by rising costs, stagnant wages and recent uncertainty over federal SNAP funding.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4p0t8q1
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)
COMMERCE
MEDICAL: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Scott Nelson says he is running out of time. If he can’t raise more money by the end of the year, the medical-devices executive says he may have to shutter his startup, [Brooklyn Park-based] FastWave Medical, and the technology he has been working on for nearly five years. Nelson’s problem is that a Chinese company is his biggest investor and is blocking every fundraising move he tries to make, he alleges. It seems like an elaborate scheme to destroy the business and gain control of its technology, FastWave claimed in a letter to Cfius, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews investments from overseas entities with a focus on national security.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4omh2GR
DATA: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A power developer has a novel plan to build a $4 billion data center in rural southwestern Minnesota, as well as an armada of wind, solar and battery plants the company hopes will attract a wealthy buyer. Somewhere among the farm fields that dominate the landscape around the tiny enclaves of Brewster and Reading, Geronimo Power envisions a project that could eventually use as much electricity as roughly 1 million homes — dwarfing other data centers proposed in Minnesota. The development would be remarkable for its rural location, its size and Geronimo’s idea to bundle clean power with a data center.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4p4906I
BANKING: Via Banking Dive, VERBATIM: “After adding bankers to serve businesses in Dallas and Houston, U.S. Bank is now focused on further expansion across the Southeast, a business banking executive said. Within the next six months, U.S. Bank plans to hire at least a dozen bankers in a couple of Southeast states where it doesn’t have branches, said Dee O’Dell, head of business banking sales at the Minneapolis-based lender. He didn’t elaborate, but that group includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43NiBWY
HARDWARE: Via The Street, VERBATIM: “The home improvement and hardware retail sector has been hit by a string of retailer closings this year that will continue through the end of 2025. Industry experts have predicted reduced growth in the home improvement market this year and lower sales projections, according to a Home Improvement Research Institute report in September . . . Minnesota-based hardware chain Jerry’s Hardware & Rental, which is a part of the Do It Best retail cooperative, revealed that it will close two of its Twin Cities-area locations on Dec. 31, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LZQ7TO
RETIREMENT: Via news release from the Great Plains Institute, VERBATIM: “The Great Plains Institute announced today that President and CEO Rolf Nordstrom will retire from the organization on July 31, 2026, concluding a transformative 20-year tenure that defined the organization’s local and national impact, reach, and leadership in the energy and climate space. Under Nordstrom’s leadership, GPI has grown from five employees to over 80 dedicated professionals spread across 23 states and Washington, D.C., and has an annual budget of $17 million. It expanded from a small regional nonprofit to a nationally recognized organization, forging and facilitating some of the most respected energy, climate, and industrial innovation forums in the country.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
TODAY: Via MN Attorney General, VERBATIM: “Today at 1:00 p.m. CT, Minnesota Attorney General Ellison will hold a virtual press conference alongside California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell to announce new legal action against the Trump Administration.”
FRIDAY: Lutsen Mountains ski resort is scheduled to open for the season. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rs70Xu
NEXT WEEK: The Tinsel Town Holiday Extravaganza begins December 4th at The Market at Malcolm Yards. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4isS9Ik
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
DAYTON’S: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “Close your eyes and imagine—it’s December 1967. You’re standing at the corner of Nicollet Mall and 7th Street, where snow is falling over the pine-green Dayton’s marquee. As you near the building, the air shifts. Bells chime, holiday tunes swirl, and the cityscape disappears as holiday characters invite you into a village of tales and memories.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Xn4UdA
BDAYS: American Swedish Institute’s Molly Steenson. In the coming days… real estate guy Eric Nordquist, PPMN CEO Ruth Richardson, comms pro Anna Long, business leader John Francis, Goff’s Sara Swenson, Fox 9’s Chenue Her, Rep. Roger Skraba
Send us your tips at BloisOlson@gmail.com
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