Don’t forget the bug spray – Twin Cities parks are seeing an “uptick in ticks.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/40fRWjD
Tune-in Sunday at 9 on WCCO Radio for Sunday Take.
On last weekend’s Sunday Take, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer discussed the passage and local impact of the “Big Bill”. LISTEN: http://fluence-media.co/44i2ph1
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:
LIST: Via news release from Women We Admire, VERBATIM: “Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Leaders of Minneapolis for 2025. As the state's most populous city, Minneapolis plays a vital role in shaping the future of Minnesota. The city's strength lies in its diverse industries, with leading sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, finance, retail, education, and real estate. Its vibrant mix of tradition and transformation has made Minneapolis a magnet for forward-thinking business leaders . . . Among this year's honorees is Kim Sutch, the Senior Director of Financial Products and Service Enablement at Target . . . We also honor Jackie Knight, the President of Ackerberg, a privately held real estate investment organization . . . Lastly, we acknowledge Erin Bartolo, an Executive Director for JPMorgan Chase, where she leads the marketing strategy for payments.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eM12dV
TARGET: Via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “Target Corp. employees who work in merchandising and sourcing were notified Thursday that they will be expected back in the downtown Minneapolis headquarters office three days a week beginning Sept. 2. Other departments have received similar notices in recent weeks as leadership pushes for more face time without issuing a companywide mandate. Today’s email came from Target’s chief commercial officer Rick Gomez, who oversees the retailer’s entire product assortment from home and apparel to food and beverage, including owned brands, insights, and merchandising.” GOMEZ: “More time together, in the office, will help us grow our business faster, solve problems quickly, and build stronger relationships.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GDkfSu
UOFM: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Gov. Tim Walz gets to tap four new University of Minnesota Regents this summer, giving the DFL governor rare influence to shape the flagship university's 12-member governing board. Why it matters: The appointments come at a pivotal time for the U, which is grappling with federal funding cuts, uncertainty over its international student visas and a Trump administration probe into anti-semitism on campus . . . Some notable names in the mix include former Minnesota Hillel executive director Benjamin Kaplan, former Tim Pawlenty aide Dan Wolter, philanthropist and Democratic donor Ellen Luger, former U.S. ambassador to Norway Samuel Heins and former Comcast executive John Gibbs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44VOHjY
TRAVEL: Via The Wall Street Journal, VERBATIM: “Delta Air Lines shares jumped as the airline expressed confidence after a rocky first half of the year and forecast a stronger third quarter than analysts expected. Delta said in April that it was too hard to predict its performance for the rest of the year amid the specter of sweeping tariffs, sending shock waves through the industry. Demand tumbled as consumers worried about rising inflation and an uncertain economic outlook. Now, Delta said travel demand has stabilized as consumers and businesses are gaining the clarity they need to make travel plans again.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ipek40
(DISCLOSURE: Delta is a Fluence client)
SENATE: Via news release from the Flanagan campaign, VERBATIM: “Today the Flanagan campaign announced that TAXPAC, the political arm of the national organization Patriotic Millionaires, has endorsed Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate. The organization is made up of millionaires from around the country who believe in an equitable economy that benefits every American, not just the ultra-wealthy.”
MONDAY: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “The long-awaited felony burglary trial of Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, begins Monday after multiple delays and the conclusion of two legislative sessions since her arrest. Seventh Judicial District Chief Judge Michael Fritz last month delayed Mitchell’s trial, scheduled to begin on June 16, because of the assassination of Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and the attempted assassination of Mitchell’s colleague, Sen. John Hoffman. The trial, which is expected to play out like a messy family drama, will begin Monday in Detroit Lakes with jury selection; opening statements from the prosecution and defense are expected Monday afternoon or Tuesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3U4qGRw
CANADA: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Six Republican members of Congress, four of them from Minnesota, have sent a letter to the Canadian ambassador complaining about the smoke from wildfires that have drifted south into the Midwest during the summer, prompting criticism from the Manitoba Premier.” QUOTE: "I have shaken the hands of American firefighters in northern Manitoba who are helping us out, and I would challenge these ambulance chasers in the U.S. Congress to go and do the same, and to hear how much the American firefighting heroes who are here love our province," Wab Kinew said on Thursday. He added: "This is what turns people off politics. When you've got a group of congresspeople trying to trivialize and make hay out of a wildfire season where we've lost lives in our province." READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eK4XYD
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)
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. ‘If you don’t plan for a dedicated workstation for an employee, you shouldn’t plan on them coming back,’ says Brian Woolsey, cofounder and principal of Monarch Commercial Real Estate in Minneapolis. But that’s tough to pull off when businesses have reduced their office space since the start of the pandemic—by 22% per person, on average, according to brokerage firm CBRE.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46zwhXx
WARNING: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “The St. Louis County Sheriff’s office is warning folks about a new sophisticated scam. Numerous people within the county received an email, posing as St. Louis County Planning and Zoning, with invoices demanding money be wired to various locations. The Sheriff’s Office has determined that these emails and invoices are fraudulent.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4lGVH9W
GUNS: Via KTTC-TV, VERBATIM: “Minnesota is one of the most recent states in the US to sign the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law, commonly known as a red flag law. In a roundtable at Rochester Area Foundation on Thursday, experts stated ERPO has successfully had a positive impact since it took effect in January 2024. ‘We saw 135 ERPOs filed in the state,’ Executive Director of Protect Minnesota Maggiy Emery said. Protect Minnesota is a coalition of statewide groups collaborating to prevent gun violence.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4lOiNvw
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)
MEDIA: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Prime Video will have many familiar faces along with some new voices when it begins its first season of NBA coverage in October. Two of those are very familiar to Timberwolves fans, with Michael Grady, the current TV voice for the team, and Kevin Harlan, the voice of the Wolves franchise at their start, joining the mix.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lnVGYX
CEOS: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A new study out this year, though, shows companies with long-distance CEOs have lower market valuations and employee satisfaction rates. Such leaders are also more likely to leave under investor pressure because of the company’s financial performance, according to the study of 929 U.S. companies by Boston College and Arizona State University professors. About 18% of the companies studied by the researchers had so-called fly-in CEOs between 2010 and 2019. A heavier concentration of those were businesses based in colder, landlocked central U.S. states. Minnesota would fit that geographic profile yet had one of the lowest rates of out-of-town CEOs during that time — much lower than neighboring states Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ii0BMx
STATE FAIR: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Everyone has a State Fair story, and Minnesota filmmaker Alec Fischer is no exception—though his story may run a little deeper than most. As a teenager Fischer worked long days in the sweaty, sugary chaos of the Sweet Martha’s cookie stand; as an adult, he’s making what might be the most ambitious film ever about the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Fischer’s project, The Fair documentary, is fundraising to enter its second summer of filming. If his team pulls it off, the result will be a feature-length documentary, which Fischer hopes to release statewide (likely in 2027 and 2028) and take on film festival circuits.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3GH7ZjT
SUNDAES: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A sweet Maple Grove favorite is coming to the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Nadia Cakes will be making its first-ever appearance at the Minnesota State Fair. The cake shop is partnering with Minnesota-based Bridgeman’s ice cream for a layered state fair sundae treat.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eK6gqv
SUNDAY: Via Minnesota House, VERBATIM: “In partnership with OutFront MN; the Itasca Pride Committee; Cultures, Humanities and Arts on the Iron Range (CHAIR); Transitioning the Iron Range; and Range Iron Pride; State Representative Leigh Finke (DFL-Saint Paul) is hosting town hall events in Grand Rapids and Virginia, Minnesota.”
NEXT WEEK: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Fans of Minnesota author Sinclair Lewis will gather next week in Sauk Centre, his home town, to mark the 100th anniversary of his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, ‘Arrowsmith.’ Many believe the story of an idealistic doctor struggling with ethical questions about medicine and the ideals of scientific research and rigor remains as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1925.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/464zi23
NEXT MONTH: Via news release from Duluth-based ALLETE, VERBATIM: “ALLETE Inc. (NYSE:ALE) will announce its financial results for the second quarter before the stock markets open on Thursday, August 07, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lJNNN3
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
NEW: Via Eater, VERBATIM: “Summer is here, and with it comes a bunch of new restaurants. From a bar tucked away in a gas station to a sandwich shop that pays homage to Minnesota hockey, there’s an exciting mix of newcomers to check out. Welcome to the Opening Report, a curated roundup of recent restaurant openings big and small across the Twin Cities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nK7cPI
BDAYS: SAT: MCEA’s Aaron Klemz, Senate GOP’s Rachel Aplikowski. SUN: lobbyist Kathi Micheletti, magazine guy Frank Roffers, WCCO Radio’s Dave Harrigan, advocate Carlos Mariani
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