President Trump’s support among independents is down 17 points from before he took office. AP/NORC: https://fluence-media.co/4vIPG1F
RIP David Hockney. See his work at the Walker and at Mia. WALKER: https://fluence-media.co/4e3TzIC MIA: https://fluence-media.co/4enCvME
ICYMI… sports take has a comprehensive guide to the World Cup including local watch parties and why none of the games being played here. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vhW3cg
Headed out of town? There’s a 136-inch screen where you can watch the games at the airport. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/446PLjO
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
Here are the two MNSiders with insight from the state party conventions:
SAT: https://fluence-media.co/49se3rS
SUN: https://fluence-media.co/4u5nHIc
Want to manage your subscription to TheDailyAgenda.com? HERE: https://fluence-media.co/managesubscription
Follow the 2026 Minnesota election’s up close with the Fluence ElectionTracker. FluenceElectionTracker.com
Sunday Take featured a recap of post-convention dynamics and CD1 DFL candidate Jake Johnson discussing his campaign priorities. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4easFO8
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
Follow the 2026 Minnesota elections up close with the Fluence Election Tracker.
https://fluence-media.co/electiontracker
A BUSY FRIDAY
SLEEP NUMBER: Via Furniture Today, VERBATIM: “[Minneapolis-based] Sleep Number has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered into an agreement that would combine the company with Sleep Country Canada, creating what executives describe as a leading North American mattress and bedding business. The company announced this morning that it has initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 sale process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. As part of that process, Sleep Country Canada will serve as the stalking horse bidder in a court-supervised sale.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xpaBbz
MORE: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Neil Saunders, an analyst with GlobalData, said Sleep Number’s financial performance has been ‘materially worse’ than competitors.” QUOTE: “If the underlying capital structure of the business had been solid, it would have bought Sleep Number more time and space to enact a turnaround,” Saunders said. “Unfortunately, this was not the case as, even with recent agreements with lenders, the company lacked the liquidity to sustain an ongoing slide in revenue.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3S3Lwmw
MORE: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “The Wall Street Journal earlier this month reported that Sleep Number was preparing to file for bankruptcy as it grappled with a high debt burden and deteriorating financial performance, and that it was aiming to use the chapter 11 process to complete a reorganization that would keep its business intact.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3S6Dvgz
HORTMAN: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Since losing both his parents in a politically motivated attack, Colin Hortman has channeled his grief into a simple goal: preventing another family from experiencing a similar loss. The big picture: In recent months, the 31-year-old programmer met privately with members of Minnesota’s divided House, participated in workshops on bridging the partisan divide, and gave his first public talk on the need to lower the temperature when talking politics.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49ZtMyS
ICYMI… morning take with a look back at messages exchanged with Rep. Melissa Hortman and what they say about her as a leader. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4efqWXB
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)
DATA CENTERS
THE SITUATION: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Tech companies are eyeing Minnesota for data centers because of its relatively cool climate and available land, water and electricity . . . Supporters see those developments as economic opportunities that could generate property tax revenue, help pay for infrastructure improvements and create well-paying construction jobs. Workers on the Meta project in Rosemount have raved about the good treatment and working conditions, said Tom Dicklich, executive director of the Minnesota State Building and Construction Trades Council.” DICKLICH: “They’re going to build them somewhere,” he said. “If we can do them in Minnesota, where we have labor standards and we can build these more efficiently than anywhere else in the country, we should be bringing them here.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4w5jDt9
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)
AROUND MINNESOTA
TREES: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “Private woodland owners in the Bemidji area who were impacted by the Jun. 21 wind storm last year have until the end of July to apply for a program that can provide up to 75% reimbursement towards restoring their forests. The Emergency Forest Restoration Program helps private woodland owners by providing payment in order to carry out emergency measures to restore land damaged by a natural disaster.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3SDaVU8
MINERS: Via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “In the early afternoon of Nov. 14, 1914, huge timbers supporting the main shaft into the Sibley Mine gave way, causing it to cave in and trap six men who had been working on repairs to the underground iron ore mine’s shaft . . . Save for one man who was rescued more than four days later, the details they received were tragic. Five men were crushed and killed . . . Nearly 112 years after the disaster, the men’s names will be among the more than 200 names listed on a memorial for miners killed in Ely’s seven iron ore mines, the first of which opened in 1888 and the last closed in 1967. It is set to be dedicated at a ceremony at Pioneer Mine on Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3QGA9R3
HABITAT RESTORATION: Flint Hills Resources has earned Tandem Global WHC Gold Certification for habitat restoration at its Cottage Grove fuel terminal. The certification comes after two years of work in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River to implement a restoration and monitoring plan to re-establish the 6.5-acre site’s natural prairie and savannah. Flint Hills has held gold certification for its work done with community partners over the past 25 years to restore more than 200 acres of the Pine Bend Bluffs, a critical natural area along the Mississippi River that is adjacent to Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery. This makes two Flint Hills gold certified sites in Minnesota and the first two gold-certified sites ever in the Twin Cities. LEARN MORE: Environmental Stewardship (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
COMMERCE
BOOKS: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “In the middle of Milton Square in St. Paul, the old and fondly remembered Micawber’s Books location had sat vacant since 2019. Last March, life had begun creeping back into the space, all thanks to Rachael Ostrom, the owner of the new Acorn Bookshop. Ostrom bought the small building on a whim in October last year after seeing the For Lease sign while in the area. Having always wanted to own a bookstore, and harboring countless memories with her kids when Micawber’s was open, Ostrom knew she couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v9mQHW
HIBBING: Via Mesabi Tribune, VERBATIM: “A new women’s clothing store, Pink Poppy Boutique, recently opened its doors at 316 E. Howard St. in Hibbing. The store opened on May 1 and carries clothing ‘from high school age to grandmas,’ according to Vicki Knuckey, the store’s owner.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4e1KwI8
WINTER CARNIVAL: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports the St. Paul Festival & Heritage Foundation, the organization behind the St. Paul Winter Carnival, has hired former Minnesota Twins exec Patrick Klinger as its new president and CEO. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gh60lJ
BREAKFAST: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Alicia Hinze built The Buttered Tin into a beloved three-location Twin Cities breakfast spot all on top of one deceptively simple ‘eureka’ insight: The American breakfast rests on a foundation of scratch baking.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eln8V1
GLOBAL TRADE BOLSTERS AG ECONOMIES: Via Minnesota Corn, VERBATIM: “Each year, Minnesota’s exports of corn, ethanol, corn-fed meat, and dried distillers grains (DDGS) alone support over 11,500 jobs and add billions to the state’s economy. They also help ensure that consumers around the world have access to affordable protein and dairy products. In May, during World Trade Month, Minnesota Corn celebrates that important role trade plays in all our lives—in the U.S. and abroad. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dqEqB1 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn)
WHAT’S NEXT?
THIS WEEKEND: St. Paul Pride begins tomorrow. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4eoyNlP
SUNDAY: Via Mia, VERBATIM: “The Current’s annual free Rock the Cradle event for kids and their grown-ups to explore music, art, and culture returns to Mia and Children’s Theatre Company.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4orF19c
NEXT WEEK: Juneteenth is Friday.
NEXT WEEKEND: The LumberJack Festival is Friday and Saturday in Becker County. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4v8fG6A
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
THEATER MU: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Theater Mu, the St. Paul-based theater company telling the stories of the Asian American diaspora on stage, has announced a five-show season that includes an immersive taiko drumming experience, a new play festival, and a few world premieres.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eoI0KV
BDAYS: Fluence Media’s managing editor Mike Maybay, weather man Paul Douglas, comms pro Brooke Worden, Building Association leader James Vagel. SAT: operative Kenza Hadj-Moussa, host and entertainer Jim Cunningham SUN: retired lobbyist John Knapp, public safety insider Leah Palmer
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.
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