A nice surprise to have the HOV lanes on 394 open this morning. Warm-up comes tomorrow on the weather.
In a predictable move… President Trump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani and others involved in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ju1eU9
Atty General Ellison release says there will be a hearing this afternoon…but Wisconsin governor Tony Evers had a one-word response to a Trump administration demand to undo November SNAP payments: “no.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49h3Mzv
The Supreme Court this morning turned away an appeal aimed at overturning the legalization of same-sex marriage. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WNMqmd
In a number that seems high…American adults’ trust in their government is at 45%. GALLUP: https://fluence-media.co/3WNzWel
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3LuAAes
Sunday Take had St. Paul Mayor-elect Rep. Kaohly Her sharing how her rise has been “accidental”, what her father’s words have meant, and how she and the late Speaker Melissa Hortman didn’t start on the right foot. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4hMn3uA
Blois
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RETAIL
TARGET: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “Target Corp. is leaning into ‘Minnesota Nice.’ The Minneapolis-based retailer has a new directive for store employees: If a shopper comes within 10 feet of you, then make sure you smile, make eye contact and greet or wave. If they come closer — within four feet — ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to new guidance confirmed by Bloomberg News. The new initiative — dubbed the 10-4 program internally — is among Target’s latest efforts to make its stores more welcoming and reverse its extended streak of weak sales ahead of the all-important holiday season.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3XiTreX
MORE: Via New York Post, VERBATIM: “The company has been testing new store formats and digital fulfillment models to improve efficiency and reduce out-of-stock issues. In Chicago, certain locations are now handling a greater share of online orders, while others focus entirely on in-store service. Target’s renewed focus on customer experience follows a period of sluggish sales. The retailer reported that comparable sales fell 1.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2025, including a 3.2% drop in-store. Digital sales, however, rose 4.3%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oUGdRw
SHUTDOWN
AIRPORT: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Another day of flight disruption is expected at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday, with more than two-dozen services canceled so far due to restrictions implemented by the Federal Aviation Authority. As of Monday morning, FlightAware is showing 60 cancellations on Monday at MSP airport, 24 departures and 36 arrivals.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qYVVwT
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)
POLITICS
SNAP: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s directive that U.S. states ‘undo’ steps they took to issue full SNAP food aid benefits, according to a court notice on Monday. The move came after a federal appeals court late on Sunday allowed a judge’s order to stand that directs U.S. President Donald Trump‘s administration to fully fund this month’s food aid benefits for 42 million low-income Americans during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WNc4HW
MORE: Via news release from the Attorney General’s office, VERBATIM: “This is the latest development in Attorney General Ellison’s and the coalition’s ongoing lawsuit against the Trump Administration for unlawfully suspending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for more than 42 million Americans who rely on the program for food.” ELLISON: “While reports pile up from every part of the country about the hunger and misery that Donald Trump is forcing 42 million Americans into, this weekend Trump went golfing in Florida. We are seeing that there are no depths to which Trump will not stoop to enrich billionaires and make sure hungry Americans starve — while rubbing their faces in it,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I’m grateful the court has granted our motion to stay USDA’s outrageous directive. This coalition and I will keep fighting this administration’s cruelty and lawlessness with every tool we have.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WNnGKY
This morning the DFL divide for the 2026 Senate race took more form… Via news release from the Flanagan campaign, VERBATIM: “Today, Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan earned the endorsement of U.S. Senator and progressive juggernaut Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) in her race for U.S. Senate.”
39A: Via Minnesota House, VERBATIM: “Today, State Representative Erin Koegel (DFL - Spring Lake Park) announced she will not seek re-election in 2026.”
GUNS: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Sid Allen did not set out on his 3D printing journey to manufacture firearm accessories in his garage . . . Allen and the other St. Cloud State University students who help with the business identify as leftists. Allen and Tarik Alduri, 23, said so discreetly at a recent St. Cloud gun show for fear of hurting business. But at home, Allen and Alduri, along with Riley Dahlberg, 20, freely discussed food stamps and taxes, President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and their gripes with the Democratic Party . . . Still, they decried Democrats’ move to make gun control a purity test, shutting the door on potential Democrats by turning ‘small gaps into massive issues,’ especially given Republicans’ willingness to accept a wider range of views on many issues, Alduri said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nQSV2T
BUCKET TRUCK: Via Xcel, VERBATIM: “On a crisp autumn morning in Waconia, Minnesota, Laketown Elementary buzzed with excitement as fifth-grader Grant Scotting kept his eyes trained on the parking lot. A birthday surprise for Scotting was in the works — and soon it rolled up: a shiny Xcel Energy bucket truck. Scotting, who has special needs and is nonverbal, is known for his love of Xcel Energy. His enthusiasm for the local energy company ranges from reporting outages on his family’s iPad to eagerly opening each monthly bill.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4oq7uei (SPONSORED: Xcel Energy)
WORKFORCE
SURVEY: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “When it comes to scheduling in-person work meetings, the early bird gets … a lot of side-eye. State of play: Close to 50% of the readers who responded to our survey on IRL calendar invites said the absolute earliest start should be between 8am and 9am. Another 40% said they shouldn’t begin until 9am or later.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/484SSLU
APOGEE: Via The Dallas Express, VERBATIM: “Apogee Architectural Metals plans to lay off dozens of workers at its Mesquite facility in early 2026. The Minnesota-based architectural products company notified the Texas Workforce Commission that 58 positions are expected to be eliminated at its Mesquite location, website says the firm is a leader in designing and installing large-scale building façades, including systems that aim to reduce energy consumption and protect structures from hurricanes and blasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LuD2l3
NEXTGEN: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “The college, Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead, Minnesota, will embed electric vehicle courses into its curriculum starting this coming spring, a reflection of what an evolving automotive industry demands from its workforce. M State Moorhead, as the college is known, developed the course after securing a grant from the National Science Foundation in 2022.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/443Shrt
THE EDMUMD
TONIGHT: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Fifty years ago tonight, 29 men — including two from Minnesota — died in the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior. Why it matters: The story of the demise of one of the most beloved ships in Great Lakes history is well known by an older generation in the Upper Midwest, but younger people may not know much beyond Gordon Lightfoot‘s ballad.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qSIz51
MORE: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The anniversary of the tragedy is also a yearly reminder of the size, scale and power of Lake Superior and the Great Lakes, bodies of water the size of inland seas where the ‘Gales of November’ can whip up wind and waves of hurricane-like intensity.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4i0unTK
SUPERIOR: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “On November 9th, 1975, the ship left the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock in Superior, Wisconsin, but didn’t make its return home. On that same day, 50 years later, the Superior community gathered to honor the lives lost with a new memorial that sits on the Lake’s shore.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43lHRTZ
40 YEARS OF PARTNERSHIP: Flint Hills Resources and Ducks Unlimited (DU) are celebrating 40 years of partnership, a longevity landmark that makes Flint Hills one of DU’s longest-standing corporate partners. Working together over the past four decades, Flint Hills and DU have contributed to conserving more than 250,000 acres of wildlife habitat and natural areas in Minnesota and over 900,000 acres across North America. LEARN MORE: Flint Hills Resources and Ducks Unlimited Celebrate 40 Years of Partnership (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
AROUND MINNESOTA
NORTHSTAR: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “The Metropolitan Council’s decision to suspend the 16-year-old rail service in early January has left cities on Northstar’s route uncertain about the future of their stations and the millions of dollars in infrastructure surrounding them. At the Anoka station, Mayor Erik Skogquist pointed toward a parking ramp, a pedestrian overpass and two stairwells with elevators – all built since the rail line opened in 2009.” SKOGQUIST: “Right now, it’s kind of murky,” he said. “But what we were told originally was everything in the Burlington Northern right-of way was going to be removed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nOApb8
ICE: Via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “The sheriff’s offices in eight Minnesota counties have agreed to assist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their effort to ramp up deportations around the country, which immigrant rights advocates say creates a dangerous risk of civil rights violations, among other problems. The counties are Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca, Jackson, Kandiyohi, Mille Lacs and Sherburne, according to a list of agreements posted on the ICE website. Freeborn, Kandiyohi and Sherburne counties have longstanding agreements with immigration authorities to detain immigrants in their county jails.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43opq0S
JUDGE: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The Commission on Judicial Selection announced Thursday that it is recommending three candidates for consideration to fill a vacancy in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District. The vacancy will occur upon the retirement of the honorable Daniel A. Benson, and the seat will be chambered in Long Prairie in Todd County.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LF2LqZ
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)
IN THE MSP…
PLYMOUTH: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Plymouth’s fire department was left with a significant leadership gap this week following the abrupt resignations of Fire Chief Rodger Coppa and Assistant Fire Chief Steve Baker. Plymouth spokesperson Emilie Kastner said that Coppa, who had served in that position since 2015, and Baker, who served for six years, announced their resignations on Monday, Nov. 3. Plymouth does not require city employees to provide a reason for resignation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3LRL6wg
MINNEAPOLIS: Via KSTP-TV, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis educators and school district leaders are joining Monday morning to tout the tentative agreement reached over the weekend to avert a strike.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/485tBBo
PARTNERSHIP: Via news release from Minneapolis-based Marketing Architects, VERBATIM: “All-Inclusive TV agency Marketing Architects announced a partnership with New Engen, a digital marketing agency recognized for its performance roots and growing brand strategy leadership. New Engen joins a roster of strategic partners working with Marketing Architects to help brands build more connected, full-funnel campaigns.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47PFJ8s
WHAT’S NEXT?
TODAY: Via Northland News Radio, VERBATIM: “On Monday, the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Split Rock Lighthouse will light the beacon and ring a bell for each of the 29 men who lost their lives during a storm on Lake Superior in 1975. Tickets to the in-person ceremony at the Lighthouse are sold out, but the event will be streamed online at MNHS.org.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nQOZiD
WEDNESDAY: Via news release from Minneapolis-based Vireo, VERBATIM: “Vireo Growth Inc. (CSE: VREO; OTCQX: VREOF), today announced that it will release its financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2025 on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, before the market opens.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48WPbZQ
WEDNESDAY: Via news release from Minneapolis-based Regis, VERBATIM: “Regis Corporation (NasdaqGM:RGS), a leader in the haircare industry, will issue financial results for the first fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2025, before the market opens on November 12, 2025. Following the release, the Company will host a presentation via webcast for investors beginning at 7:30 a.m. Central time to discuss its corporate developments and financial performance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49qUOPY
WEDNESDAY: Via news release from Hopkins-based Digi, VERBATIM: “Digi International Inc. (NASDAQ: DGII) will release its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal 2025 on Wednesday, November 12, after market close, at approximately 4:00 p.m. ET. Ron Konezny, CEO, and Jamie Loch, CFO, will host a conference call later the same day, at 5:00 p.m. ET, to briefly discuss the results and will take questions and provide answers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47aCqbt
WEDNESDAY: Via news release from New Prague-based Electromed, VERBATIM “Electromed, Inc. (NYSE American: ELMD), a leader in innovative airway clearance technologies, today announced that it will issue its financial results press release for the fiscal 2026 first quarter ended September 30, 2025, on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 after the close of the stock market. Company management will host a conference call the same day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hzADkZ
WEDNESDAY: Via news release from Minnetonka-based DiaMedica, VERBATIM: “DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for preeclampsia and acute ischemic stroke, announced today that its third quarter 2025 financial results will be released after the markets close on Wednesday, November 12th. DiaMedica will host a live conference call on Thursday, November 13th at 8:00 AM Eastern Time / 7:00 AM Central Time to provide a business update and discuss financial results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/43R3f3v
THURSDAY: Via news release from Wayzata-based SUI, VERBATIM: “SUI Group Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: SUIG), today announced that it will host a conference call on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oq4tuT
THURSDAY: Via news release from Minnetonka- and Israel-based Stratasys, VERBATIM: “Stratasys Ltd. (Nasdaq: SSYS) will release financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The Company plans to hold the conference call to discuss its third quarter 2025 financial results on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3L7zBAL
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
MARKETS: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Forgo big-box bonanzas and cyber sales—every holiday season, there seems to be a makers market (or two, or three) to hit every weekend. With each one offering fresh handcrafted gifts (perhaps even something for yourself), and cocktails and craft beers to boot, there are many ways to keep your dollars local and support small businesses.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4hMXERu
BDAYS: Anoka County Commissioner Julie Jeppson,agency leader J. Marie Fieger
Send us your tips at BloisOlson@gmail.com
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