After missing the first ten weeks of the season to recover from surgeries on both ankles, Napheesa Collier is cleared to play in today’s Lynx game at Seattle. ESPN: https://fluence-media.co/4hqzy0O
Tee times for the first two rounds of the 3M Open are out. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4yAEsi0
The most expensive recent home sale in the Twin Cities was for $8.5 million, according to Homes.com. The most expensive nationwide: $47 million in Los Angeles. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4pyUnZT
The Brennan Center for Justice warns of “mass voter challenges” in the upcoming midterms. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4yAA56A
Fluence Advisory has released its Insights memo on “The Next Legislature”. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aNNSMV
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Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4xgXaKf
Sunday Take featured DFLers Matt Little, Sen. Matt Klein and Rep. Kaela Berg for the CD2 DFL primary debate. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4yssTcu
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ECONOMIC INDICATORS
SURVEY: Via Minneapolis-based Allianz, VERBATIM: “After decades of saving, many Americans struggle with the idea of actually spending their retirement savings, according to the 2026 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Seven in 10 (71%) working Americans say they anticipate being reluctant to spend money in retirement in order to preserve their account balance as much as possible. This feeling continues after leaving the workforce. Nearly two in five (39%) retirees are reluctant to spend to preserve their savings.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wWn4CG
BUYING POWER: Via Journo Research, VERBATIM: “A new study has revealed that the Minneapolis metro area had the fifth-largest decrease in real annual pay between 2020 and 2025 among America’s large metro areas. The study, by intelligent motor control experts Energy Drive, analyzed how average wages changed after accounting for inflation from 2020 to 2025 among America’s largest metro areas.”
KID COSTS: Via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “SmartAsset ranked the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area as one of the top 10 most expensive metro areas for raising children in 2026, with annual costs reaching $33,307 for a household with two working adults and one child. The report found that childcare is the biggest expense for local families, totaling $19,509 per year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44I4Zwe
ROBBINSDALE: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Voters in the Robbinsdale Area School District will find up to $413 million in bonding requests on their November ballot. The Robbinsdale School Board approved ballot language for three referendum questions on Monday, July 20. If voters give the go-ahead, the district expects to use the money to create a single unified high school campus, reconfigure its middle schools and construct a new elementary school.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wkGhOy
ROCHESTER: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Rochester’s year-round elementary school is back in session Wednesday after a six-week summer break. Longfellow Elementary in southeast Rochester follows a 45-15 calendar, which means students go to school for nine weeks and then get a three-week break plus six weeks off for the summer.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vNO86e
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)
DEVELOPING STORIES
METRO SURGE: Via CNN, VERBATIM: “‘Someone’s going to get killed.’ The warning, from an agent of the federal Homeland Security Investigations division, sent a chill through the other officials in the room. It was early January 2026 . . . The HSI agent’s fears about the unprecedented surge of DHS personnel proved prophetic. The deaths of Renee Good on Wednesday, January 7, and Alex Pretti on Saturday, January 24, at the hands of federal immigration agents, followed soon after. This is the story of the 18 days between the killing of Good and Pretti, the highly questionable ways the Trump administration handled immigration enforcement and the shootings, and the atmosphere of aggression and mendacity that continues to mark its enforcement operations. CNN spoke with more than a dozen former and current members of the Trump administration, most of whom refused to go on the record out of fear of retaliation by the administration.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wjPoPy
MITCHELL: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Former state Sen. Nicole Mitchell filed Tuesday to run for Woodbury City Council just a year after her conviction on felony burglary charges. Last August, Mitchell resigned from the Legislature after a Becker County jury found her guilty of breaking into her stepmother’s Detroit Lakes home in 2024. She received a six-month jail sentence last September, which she was allowed to serve closer to home.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pvIjIY
BWCAW: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Vehicles still sitting at several Boundary Waters entry points is raising concerns that some visitors may remain inside the wilderness despite the closure. On July 14th the U.S. Forest Service closed the Boundary Waters as raging wildfires spread across the wilderness. That closure has been extended through July 24th, but park officials say it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep visitors out.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4gWoclb
FOUNDRY: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “An iron foundry in St. Paul appeared in court Tuesday in an effort to avoid losing its air emission permit. It’s another episode in a yearslong saga between the foundry and state regulators. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in court the Northern Iron foundry has a ‘substantial history of noncompliance’ with the state’s air pollution laws and the agency’s orders, which prompted the agency decision last year to begin the process of revoking its license.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wo5Xdi
988: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The number of calls and texts to Minnesota’s ‘988’ mental health crisis line continues to increase according to state Health Department data. There have been more than 370,000 contacts with experts manning the Minnesota Department of Health’s ‘988’ Lifeline centers since the program launched four years ago according to MDH mental health and suicide prevention supervisor Tanya Carter.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4gRgf0y
DULUTH: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “17 people are behind bars, and large amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine are off the streets following a safety operation by law enforcement focused on downtown Duluth. According to the Duluth Police Department, the multi-day operation took place on Monday, July 20, and Tuesday, July 21, in response to ongoing community safety concerns surrounding the area near 2nd Avenue East and East First Street downtown.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3TefxAB
PINE ISLAND: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Emotions ran high again in Pine Island on Tuesday night as residents packed city hall to weighed in on the proposed data center project. Supporters and opponents both urged city leaders to listen as the debate continues. Tuesday’s meeting also marked Pine Island’s first city council session under new public comment rules adopted after previous confrontations.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4ffYMxv
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)
LANDMARKS
MINNEAPOLIS: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “As the Vikings season draws near, the group that owns the restaurant building closest to U.S. Bank Stadium is hoping to finally find a tenant after seven years of vacancy. Why it matters: Generations of football fans packed into Hubert’s between 1983 and its closure in 2015 . . . Last week Garfield Clark, an advisor to the trust that owns the building, listed the building at 601 Chicago Ave. for lease.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44IRtZ7
ST PAUL: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “It is semiquincentennial summer, and the party has just begun at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. An icon of architectural significance, the Landmark Center is capitalizing on the cultural moment with an exhibition dedicated to its restoration on view now through September 13. From Bicentennial to 250: The Renaissance of Landmark Center features pictures, records, and documents on display in the North Gallery and tells the story of the building’s transformation into a venerable symbol of vibrant St. Paul culture.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pBryMC
COMMUNITY CELEBRATIONS: Flint Hills Resources is celebrating summer with thousands of Minnesotans at local festivals and parades. Look for Flint Hills employees – along with their families and friends – as they show their hometown pride at many local celebrations, including Rosemount Leprechaun Days, Hastings Rivertown Days, Inver Grove Heights Days and Saint Paul’s Lowertown Sounds. For decades, Flint Hills Resources has supported programs, organizations and events that improve our quality of life in our communities. LEARN MORE: Community Partnerships (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
COMMERCE
MOVE: The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reports UBS Financial Services will move its operations to a new office building in Edina, exiting its namesake tower in downtown St. Paul as well as offices in Minneapolis and Bloomington. READ: https://fluence-media.co/44IZnBK
MEDIA: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “There’s a new meteorologist on the staff at KARE 11. Tucker Antico announced this week that he’ll make his debut at the Twin Cities NBC affiliate in late August, making his move to the Minneapolis-St. Paul market after spending the past three years at a TV station in Boston.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vNjBoR
COLLAB: Via Anthropologie, VERBATIM: “Anthropologie today announced the launch of an exclusive home collaboration with [East Grand Forks] chef, cookbook author, blogger, and television host Molly Yeh. Marking Yeh’s first-ever partnership with Anthropologie Home, the 25-piece assortment brings her signature perspective on food, family, and hospitality to a thoughtfully designed range of kitchen and tabletop pieces designed for gathering.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45grkB7
BEER: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Incidentally, my favorite nonalcoholic beer was Bauhaus Brew Labs‘s pink guava sour from its ‘Nah’ line, a wheat ale with a round, bright juiciness and a trace of salt; tart but never so sour that it made you pucker. I didn’t know it then, but Bauhaus had partnered with St. Paul-based company ABV Technology—which helps local craft brewers, from Fulton to Indeed to Bent Paddle, produce their nonalcoholic drinks—to make that summery NA sour. Now, just a few months after Bauhaus’s closure was announced, ABV has acquired the Northeast brewery and plans to reopen it later this summer with a ‘full-spectrum’ beverage program that includes full-strength, low-alcohol, and nonalcoholic drinks. The name won’t change; it’ll still be Bauhaus.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Rschkr
POT: Via Detroit Lakes Tribune, VERBATIM: “After a licensing process marked by state and local hurdles and a statewide product shortage, Full Spectrum Dispensary opened its doors in Vergas on Friday, July 3, becoming the first licensed retail cannabis dispensary to do so in Otter Tail County.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pCRCXJ
BRIDGEWATER: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (BWB) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $14 million. The St. Louis Park, Minnesota-based bank said it had earnings of 45 cents per share. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations . . . The company posted revenue of $75 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $40.9 million, beating Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vHxsgq
TARGET: Via Target, VERBATIM: “Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) announced the election of Joe DePinto, former president and chief executive officer of 7-Eleven, Inc., to its Board of Directors.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4b8aurx
WHAT’S NEXT?
FRIDAY: Via release from the Flanagan campaign, VERBATIM: “On Friday, July 24 at 7:00 p.m. CT in St. Paul, U.S. [Senator] Elizabeth Warren will hold a rally for Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan in St. Paul. Warren and Flanagan will also be joined by U.S. Senator Tina Smith, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.”
THIS WEEKEND: Via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “After eight years away, one of the Midwest’s most beloved boutique music festivals is making its long-awaited return. Eaux Claires—founded by Eau Claire native Justin Vernon, of Bon Iver, and Aaron Dessner, of The National—returns July 24-25 at a new home: Carson Park in Eau Claire, about 90 minutes east of the Twin Cities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4frEGzj
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
MAPLE GROVE: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Maple Grove city and civic leaders celebrated the opening of the new Lions Pavilion and Playground at the Maple Grove Community Center on Monday, July 20. The modern city asset is part of the ongoing community center renovation and expansion project.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vMaNzU
BDAYS: Winthrop’s Tami Diehm, GOP operative Zach Freimark, Lindell campaign manager Rick Weible, comms guy Jeff Bakken
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