43% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning moderates say they’d vote for Kamala Harris in 2028. MORNING CONSULT: https://fluence-media.co/3YXLOen
Will we get much snow this winter? AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/48XqWbM
Happy 40th to St. Paul’s Red Balloon Book Shop. MPR: https://fluence-media.co/3AQDG7q
Today’s 6:20 morning take on WCCO Radio with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3ARWJyo
Sign-up for Sports Take a weekly preview of the week ahead published on Thursdays. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/SportsTakeSignUp
On Sunday Take, fmr. Rep. Pat Garofalo and Secretary of State Steve Simon discuss the recounts, election integrity and more. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4fLY7lr
Blois
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UNITEDHEALTH: Via ProPublica, VERBATIM: “For years, it was a mystery: Seemingly out of the blue, therapists would feel like they’d tripped some invisible wire and become a target of UnitedHealth Group. A company representative with the Orwellian title ‘care advocate’ would call and grill them about why they’d seen a patient twice a week or weekly for six months. In case after case, United would refuse to cover care, leaving patients to pay out-of-pocket or go without it. The severity of their issues seemed not to matter. Around 2016, government officials began to pry open United’s black box. They found that the nation’s largest health insurance conglomerate had been using algorithms to identify providers it determined were giving too much therapy and patients it believed were receiving too much; then, the company scrutinized their cases and cut off reimbursements. By the end of 2021, United’s algorithm program had been deemed illegal in three states.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OiMtlN
POT: From Matt Sepic via MPR, VERBATIM: “Minnesota cannabis regulators say they’ll hold a lottery in the coming weeks to determine who will operate the state’s first legal marijuana businesses, but the Office of Cannabis Management is facing pushback this week after it rejected around two-thirds of the applicants it deemed ineligible . . . More than 1,800 people applied for 282 licenses, so the state is using a lottery to determine who will move forward in the process. But the Office of Cannabis Management on Monday notified around 1,150 applicants that their names would not be going into the hat.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eDjeVw
MORE: Via KAAL-TV, VERBATIM: “Olmsted County has updated its rules for cannabis businesses, a press release said Wednesday . . . It includes provisions for business registration, compliance checks, event requirements, and the enforcement of regulations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3V2d9Lc
ROBBINSDALE: From Kevin Miller via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A budgeting mistake, as well as slow-moving staffing cuts, have left the Robbinsdale Area School District facing serious financial woes. The district recently reassessed its financial situation and found a $19-21 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year. ‘I look at this number and it’s startling,’ said district CFO Kristen Hoheisel in a Nov. 18 ‘State of the Budget” address. “The financial realities are difficult.’ According to Hoheisel, an error occurred in the application of the budgeting process, and as a result, the district overstated its available resources by about $20 million.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4fQVjTm
TARGET: Via NBC News, VERBATIM: “Target reported earnings Wednesday that came in far below Wall Street's expectations, something the big-box retailer attributed to slower than expected demand. The company announced profits that fell short of forecasts by 20%, its widest miss in two years. Revenues, meanwhile, came in under expectations for the first time in more than a year. The discouraging results came despite a heavily touted campaign to discount thousands of items, as well as a pushed-up holiday sale.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3V20zvE
MORE: Via Target, INFOGRAPHIC: https://fluence-media.co/4fAzYy2
MORE: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “The most recent quarter at Target stands in stark contrast to rival Walmart, which reported another quarter of stellar sales Tuesday and released optimistic projections for the holiday season. And last month, Amazon reported a boost in its quarterly profits. Quarterly sales jumped 11% at Amazon, exceeding expectations. Target's shares plummeted nearly 21% in morning trading Wednesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fWDlPG
CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT: Flint Hills Resources makes fuels and other products people need and use every day, products that help keep Minnesota moving. The company does this while prioritizing safety and environmental stewardship and contributing meaningfully to the community. STEWARDSHIP WITH A PURPOSE: Four pillars of stewardship (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
FEED FRAUD: From Joey Peters via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Newly disclosed text messages in the Feeding Our Future juror bribery case show suspects haggled over their plans and plotted to deceive each other amid a whirlwind of excitement and uncertainty . . . The deleted messages were recovered by the FBI, and also reveal that although five suspects were charged in the bribery case, a sixth person also allegedly knew about the bribe. That person, Mukhtar Shariff, was tried alongside six co-defendants in the first Feeding Our Future trial this past spring, which led to the bribe as jury deliberations were set to begin.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3AOeWge
MORE: Via Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, VERBATIM: “Shariff, according to the court documents, actively participated in covering up the plot. He deleted communications exchanged with co-defendant Abdiaziz Farah, but FBI analysts recovered digital traces of messages from Shariff’s phone and those of others involved, including Said Farah and Abdimajid Nur.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Cz9Zbz
MN HOUSE: From Alex Derosier via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican leaders in the Minnesota House reached a committee power-sharing agreement this week, but they’re still working out how leadership will work with no clear majority after the Nov. 5 election. In this year’s election, DFLers and Republicans both won 67 seats in the House, resulting in what may be the first even split in the Legislature since 1979. Recounts are scheduled in two races, but leaders are already negotiating power-sharing. This week, DFL House Speaker Melissa Hortman and Republican Minority Leader Lisa Demuth announced plans to have a DFLer and Republican co-chair all committees. Membership would be evenly split between the parties, according to nonpartisan House Public Information Services.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40RrgXF
LISTENING, LEARNING AND REDEFINING INDIGENOUS PARTNERSHIPS - “We want to build partnerships with Indigenous Nations. We continue to listen to and learn from Indigenous leaders and communities, and that’s informing how we engage communities in B.C. and across North America,” said CEO Greg Ebel of Enbridge’s approach to be the “first-choice partner” for Indigenous Nation interested in pursuing energy infrastructure opportunities. READ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3Yht20R (SPONSORED: Enbridge)
MEDIA: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “FOX 9 will soon welcome a new evening news anchor. The station on Tuesday announced Symone Woolridge, who most recently served as a weekday anchor for WTMJ4 in Milwaukee, will anchor the 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. news beginning in December.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YWVUMD
ST CLOUD: From Corey Schmidt via St. Cloud Times, VERBATIM: “St. Cloud City Councilmember Jake Anderson resigned from the council Monday night. Anderson’s resignation comes as he will become the city’s next mayor and will be sworn into office this coming January. Anderson won St. Cloud’s mayoral election against fellow councilmember Mike Conway by four percentage points, or 1,229 votes . . . The St. Cloud City Council deemed Anderson's city council seat vacant Monday night, and approved an application process for potential applicants to abide by.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3APsHv3
MPS: From Becky Z. Dernbach via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “The Minneapolis school board swore in its newest member last week. Lucie Skjefte, chair of the Minneapolis Public Schools’ American Indian Parent Advisory Committee represents District 3, which includes much of south Minneapolis. She replaces Faheema Feerayarre, who resigned her post in September. Skjefte and five others applied for the open position. After interviewing finalists, school board members used a ranked-choice voting process to select their new colleague.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48WXylS
CLIMATE: From Hannah Ward via Twin Cities Business, VERBATIM: “If Arctic thaw turns unpaved Alaskan roads into marshes, will the military need to invest in new types of vehicles capable of traversing the altered landscape? It’s an aspect of climate change not widely considered, but one of serious consequence to the U.S. Department of Defense. Among the research groups evaluating the threat is an unlikely partner: the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. How did the arts college get tapped to work on a $17 million project funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab? That’s thanks to MCAD professor and chair of creative entrepreneurship Olaf Kuhlke. With a Ph.D. in geography, Kuhlke has conducted Arctic research since 2018.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3CzbNBf
NOTE: Every day, we’re sharing significant political, business and other news in other newsletters. If you love lunch take, sign up for the other tip sheets HERE: fluence-newsletters.com
TOMORROW: Thursday is Give to the Max Day. From GiveMN, events highlighted for media coverage:
Wildflyer Coffee Early Morning Coffee Spot – starting at 5 am
Mile in My Shoes 40-mile run – 7:30-8:30 am
Can Do Canines – 9-10 am
Second Harvest Heartland – 10-noon
THIS WEEK: Theater Latté Da’s presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella opens at the Ritz Theater. MPLSSTPAUL: https://fluence-media.co/4hXrLoX
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
E. COLI: From Nick Lentz and Ubah Ali via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Eleven recent cases of E. coli in Minnesota have been linked to burgers eaten at Red Cow and Hen House. The Minnesota Department of Health says it has identified 10 cases of E. coli in people who had eaten burgers at Red Cow restaurants in Hennepin, Ramsey and Olmsted counties. One person infected reported dining at Hen House Eatery in downtown Minneapolis. The ground beef was also distributed to other establishments, according to the department, so additional cases could be identified.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4gdFYwH
MORE: From Heidi Wigdahl via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is warning people to get rid of any recalled organic carrots in their homes. On Nov. 16, Grimmway Farms recalled multiple sizes and brands of bagged organic baby and whole carrots. While the products have likely been pulled from shelves, they could still be in people's refrigerators and freezers . . . Nationwide, at least 39 people have been infected by the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O121:H19 outbreak in 18 states.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3AKxcHj
TRANSPLANT: From Jeremy Olson via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “March 5 had been a day of dread for the Pfaff family since 2014, when Lisa and Jerry found their 19-year-old son, Derek, bleeding in the snow from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that ripped away his face. Not this year. After 58 surgeries that kept him alive but disfigured, Pfaff underwent a transplant at Mayo Clinic in February that replaced 85% of his face with donor bone, tissue and skin.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fQFQCS
AIRCRAFT: From Matthew Freeman via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji specializes in the restoration, maintenance, and building of vintage World War II Aircraft. The organization held an open house last week. ‘We’re in the restoration shop tonight, so this is where we take our planes apart and we restore them and put them back together again and make them fly,’ explained Erik Hokuf, AirCorps Aviation General Manager. ‘We are showing some of our major projects that are going on. We have a P-38 project and parts from a B-25, Boeing Stearman, a P-51 Mustang, a Howard DGA and AT-10.’ The aircraft are restored not only so they can fly again, but also to preserve the stories and history behind them.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4fQIh8y
EAGLES: From Dan Gunderson via MPR, VERBATIM: “Preston Cook believes you can’t have too many eagles. Several times a week, items featuring eagle imagery are delivered to his Wabasha home . . . What began nearly 60 years ago as a hobby for a 19-year-old Army draftee took wing as Cook, now 78, became a successful California real estate developer. With some 40,000 pieces in the multimillion-dollar collection, he started looking for a place where it could land. After searching sites from Alaska to the Atlantic coast, Cook found what he was looking for in southeastern Minnesota. He donated the collection to the National Eagle Center on the shore of the Mississippi River in Wabasha — and then he moved to town.” LISTEN/PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/3YWspul
Subscribe to other Fluence newsletters: fluence-newsletters.com
TORO: From Bloomington-based Toro via Business Wire, VERBATIM: “The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC), a leading global provider of solutions for the outdoor environment, announced today that it will release its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full-year results on Wednesday, December 18, at approximately 7:30 a.m. CST.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3UYS0S4
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
BLACK JOY: From Sheila Regan via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Before beginning a live painting performance last weekend, artist seangarrison introduced his toy turtle, a gift he received from his daughter nine years ago. Garrison keeps the turtle at hand whenever he has a show, to keep his family and loved ones close . . . The event took place at the University of Minnesota’s Regis Center for Art building, a precursor to ‘Layers of Joy,’ at the Quarter Gallery, where garrison’s completed work is on view. Curated by students at the U, the show investigates the contours, openings and buoyancy of Black joy as a form of resistance through the lens of five local artists.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fXvAJ2
BDAYS: Sen. Mary Kunesh, Auditor comms guy Donald McFarland, union activist Leah Solo, MN Chamber comms pro Anne Yoder, Medical Alley’s Peter Glessing, libertarian Marianne Stebbins
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