There’s apparently a heist crew with a sweet tooth in Switzerland. KITKATS: https://fluence-media.co/4bL3MXO
We could see a “Super El Niño” next winter – what does that mean? READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sLY7rW
Minnesota Reformer reports on a “No Kings” rally in Worthington where President Trump won big in 2024. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4cf4BJW
It’s BACK…the TwinWest Legislative Breakfast on April 17, featuring Sen. Min. Ldr. Mark Johnson, DFL House leader. Jamie Long, Sen Asst. Maj. Ldr.. Nick Frentz and House GOP Ldr. Harry Niska in a mid-session discussion moderated by Blois Olson and presented by Fluence Advisory. REGISTER: https://fluence-media.co/4lWWmFM
Follow the 2026 Minnesota election’s up close with the Fluence ElectionTracker. FluenceElectionTracker.com
Today’s WCCO Radio morning take at 6:20 with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/413BenB
Sunday Take featured texts from listeners in a discussion about the “Mood of Minnesota” and how it could influence the 2026 elections. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4s5LFlE
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
MONDAY HEADLINES
AUTO THEFT: Via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Vehicle thefts are rising in Minneapolis in 2026, driven in part by thieves using modern key-programming devices to hijack a car in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. Andrei Damian, a Twin Cities locksmith who owns the Key Doctor, said that over the last two years, he’s seen an increase in teen car thieves using the same technology he employs. Damian said he’s been robbed of his tools several times over the last couple of years, and he was once held at gunpoint. A year ago, another locksmith he knows was robbed and assaulted.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4155633
SENATE: Via Axios, VERBATIM: “Sharp-elbowed attacks over ICE, fraud and electability are flying in the high-stakes U.S. Senate primary between U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Why it matters: Political fallout over Operation Metro Surge has stoked a race that was already seen as a proxy battle over the future of the Democratic Party. Catch up quick: President Trump’s crackdown angered and activated Democratic voters throughout Minnesota, giving Flanagan, a favorite of progressives, an opening to hammer Craig over a 2025 vote to give federal agents more power.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PC5zY1
CHILD CARE: Via MPR, VERATIM: “The state’s Child Care Assistance Program requires kids miss no more than 25 days for a child care center to be reimbursed with the subsidy . . . Some state lawmakers are working on language at the Capitol now that would exempt families from the 25-day absence rule for ‘extreme circumstances,’ including the past few months. That would let child care centers stay afloat and families wouldn’t have to worry about having to pay out of pocket . . . According to a recent survey of 300 metro-area providers from Think Small, an early education nonprofit, 41 percent of centers in the Twin Cities region reported more than half of their students would hit the 25-days absent limit.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40YJgOH
GUNS: Via KMSP-TV, VERBATIM: “New evidence videos obtained by the FOX 9 Investigators reveal how guns initially sold by Fleet Farm to illegal straw buyers repeatedly surfaced at crime scenes across the Twin Cities. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a civil lawsuit against Fleet Farm in 2022, one year after the mass shooting at the Truck Park Bar in St. Paul. A firearm initially sold by Fleet Farm was recovered at the scene and traced to convicted straw buyer Jerome Horton Jr.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4bSU2Lh
PROTESTERS: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “A group of Target Protesters make their first court appearance Friday over anti-ICE sit-ins in Minnesota. Four people were arraigned following their February 11 arrests during what they called a peaceful demonstration at the Dinkytown (University of Minnesota) Target store.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4bThnwh
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)
UTILITIES
DATA CENTER: Via Finance & Commerce, VERBATIM: “Last year, Oppidan Investment Co. announced plans to build a data center campus complete with seven buildings. A little over a year later, those plans are likely finished. The company, which has delivered more than 10 million square feet of data center space in the past 10 years, saw the Apple Valley City Council vote Thursday to deny a site plan, preliminary plat and conditional use permit for the proposed campus. The property would have consisted of 860,000 square feet of space across seven buildings, five of which would have been data centers, or around 794,200 square feet. The remaining two buildings would have been for support purposes. Had it been built, it would have produced between 250 to 300 megawatts of energy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47snlDg
SOLAR: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Looking to help power its casino and resort, Minnesota’s Upper Sioux Community built a massive solar array two years ago, engineering it so the power would stay on tribal land and off the local power grid . . . The utility, though, responded by threatening to shut off power to the tribe if it switched on the solar farm, arguing the giant array violated state law and the tribe’s obligations as a member of the nonprofit co-op. The fight’s now in the hands of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which agreed last summer to sort through the complex legal, contractual and tribal sovereignty issues.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48fKuZE
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)
COMMERCE
POT: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Residents in the northwest metro now have a new destination for recreational cannabis. Fullmelt Factory, the first licensed dispensary in Maple Grove, officially opened its doors on March 20, marking a significant milestone for the city’s retail landscape.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4sRMXBO
ACQUISITION: Via National Mortgage Professional, VERBATIM: “CrossCountry Intermediate Holdco LLC, an affiliate of CrossCountry Mortgage, has agreed to acquire [St. Louis Park-based] Two Harbors Investment Corp. in an all-cash deal valued at $10.80 per share. The companies announced this agreement on Friday, March 27. This acquisition follows Two Harbors’ termination of its previously announced merger deal with United Wholesale Mortgage Holdings Corp.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dioeSy
MERGER: Via WS, VERBATIM: “[St. Paul-based] Weekes Forest Products and [Colorado-based] Snavely Forest Products announced they are formally uniting under a single enterprise brand: WS Building Materials, a strategic step toward greater enterprise alignment and long-term growth.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bWeA5w
DOD: Via Minnetonka-based Stratasys, VERBATIM: “Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS) today announced that its parts-on-demand business, Stratasys Direct, has been selected to take part in the U.S. Department of War’s (DoW) Joint Additive Manufacturing Acceptability (JAMA) IV Pilot Parts Program, a multimillion-dollar initiative to accelerate qualification and deployment of 3D-printed parts across military platforms and systems.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bW0OQq
(DISCLOSURE: Stratasys is a client of Fluence Advisory)
YOUR NEIGHBORS RIDE ATVs: From the Twin Cities to the Iron Range, thousands of Minnesotans own and ride ATVs. They are families, veterans, teachers and small business owners who rely on Minnesota’s trail system for recreation, tourism, and economic activity. ATV riders aren’t just “up north” — they live in the Twin Cities metro area. And they care deeply about maintaining safe, well-managed trails. As the legislature considers trail policy, funding, and land-use decisions this session, ask them to support Minnesota’s ATV community and the outdoor opportunities they value. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4td9sRR (SPONSORED: ATV Minnesota)
CITIES
PLYMOUTH: Via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Eight Plymouth police officers were sworn in this week at Tuesday’s Plymouth City Council meeting. The swearings-in mark the largest group of police officers to join the city during Plymouth Police Chief Erik Fadden’s five-year tenure leading the department.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dcJQzD
ROCHESTER: Via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “A recent Destination Medical Center report pointed to a continued decline in non-Mayo Clinic investment in the downtown core, but it’s a whole other story when you look at development activity city-wide.” QUOTE: “It’s important to understand that while DMC has geographic boundaries, the influence and the impact of what you’re doing has a citywide impact,” Rochester Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said. “Rochester in 2025 had a record-setting $1.2 billion in new construction permit valuation. This is our highest permit valuation year ever.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48eSZ7i
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)
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FLOODING: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “It’s spring flooding season in Minnesota. And while there’s a low risk for serious floods this year, hydrologists are still closely watching more than 300 river gauges across Minnesota that relay water levels and how fast the rivers are flowing. However, the National Weather Service only issues flood forecasts for about a third of those locations. And many communities have no river gauges, which means there are many places all around the state without a localized flood forecast.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dj3XMx
WILDFIRE RISK: Via DNR, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is restricting the open burning of vegetative debris effective tomorrow, Monday, March 30, due to increased wildfire risk resulting from warm temperatures and dry conditions in parts of central, northwest, and northeast Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4m1QIlF
CASS LAKE: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “A fire destroyed a storage facility for a wood products company in Cass Lake last night. Firefighters responded to the scene on the south side of Cass Lake around 10:45 p.m. and found a large fire at the Timberlyne Wood Products kiln drying and storage facility.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4uVmsgx
WHAT’S NEXT?
TODAY: Via Minnetonka-based DiaMedica, VERBATIM: “DiaMedica Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: DMAC), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel treatments for preeclampsia, fetal growth restriction and acute ischemic stroke (AIS), today announced that its full-year 2025 financial results will be released after the markets close on Monday, March 30th. DiaMedica will host a live conference call on Tuesday, March 31st at 7:00 AM Central Time to provide a business update and discuss financial results.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lU3MK0
NEXT MONTH: Via Winona-based Fastenal, VERBATIM: “Fastenal Company (Nasdaq:FAST) announced the date and time for its conference call to review 2026 first quarter results, as well as current operations. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet on Monday, April 13, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. central time.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4s24nKO
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
BREAKFAST: Via MplsStPaul, VERBATIM: “Edina’s near century-old diner, the Convention Grill, is adding a breakfast menu for the first time in its history starting Wednesday, April 1, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. daily. We’ll get into the menu deets below, but first things first—yes, malts and shakes will be available with breakfast, for all you fiends who want to start the day with an 8 a.m. butterscotch sundae.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4842RRj
BDAYS: civic leader Laura Bishop, Fox9’s Jeff Wald, writer David Schimke
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.
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