BUDGET: From Briana Bierschbach via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Gov. Tim Walz is pitching his first budget under the Trump era as a counterweight to the incoming president’s threats to impose tariffs, which he says will raise costs on everyday Minnesotans. His plan would lower Minnesota’s sales tax rate for the first time in state history by three quarters of a percent across the board while expanding it to cover some previously excluded services. Facing a projected multi-billion deficit in the next state budget, Walz also wants to reduce ballooning costs for special education and disability services.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ahtDFP
MORE: From KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser via X, VERBATIM: “On the Walz budget proposal regarding ‘loopholes’ in state sales tax code, the governor proposes ‘closing loopholes by expanding the sales tax base to (include) services provided to individuals by investors, bankers, and lawyers, making the tax system more fair…’” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/42csAVG
MORE: From Center of the American Experiment’s Bill Walsh via X, VERBATIM: “Such tired rhetoric coming from Gov. Walz on budget. Pitting Minnesotans against each other on taxes. Why should you (poor people?) have to pay sales tax on tree trimming while they (rich people?) don't pay it with their stock broker. Reality is we all pay for both services.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/42gA3TK
MORE: On the Garage Logic Podcast, GOP House leader Lisa Demuth said she was aware of today’s budget announcement but that she hadn’t yet seen the details. DEMUTH: “What we know, though, right now, is that there were tax hikes and that is off the table.” Via YouTube, WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/40BYDxc
MORE: Via Long-Term Care Imperative, VERBATIM: “The biennial budget proposed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz cuts critically needed assistance for Minnesota’s long-term care community, Minnesota’s seniors, and the incredible workforce who care for our aging population. Today’s proposal is nothing short of a slap in the face to Minnesota’s seniors, who are already facing a crisis in diminished access - particularly in rural Minnesota. This budget leads us to conclude that the Governor does not consider Minnesota’s seniors a priority.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jkX9yv
(DISCLOSURE: Long-Term Care Imperative is a client of Fluence Advisory)
MORE: Via Minnesota Management and Budget, the Governor’s budget recommendations. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/3PovYFy
MORE: Via KSTP-TV, today’s budget news conference. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3E88u4M
FRAUD: From KSTP-TV’s Tom Hauser via X, VERBATIM: “Walz anti-fraud proposals: ‘Adding 9 staff to AG’s Medicaid Fraud unit; giving agencies expanded authority to stop payments going to people and entities suspected, charged, or convicted of fraud/financial crimes; and using artificial intelligence to detect/prevent fraud.’” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/42bckUW
MNLEG: From Susie Jones via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Supreme Court is now considering the question of whether or not there was a quorum in the Minnesota House yesterday, which is necessary to do House business according to the state constitution.” QUOTE: "There's a good chance the Supreme Court is going to strike down what the Republicans have done," predicts University of Minnesota Political Science Professor Larry Jacobs. "So bottom line, I think in about a month's time, we're going to have Democrats and Republicans sharing power in the Minnesota House, and what's going on right now will fade into history and become a kind of a Trivial Pursuit question." LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/40lVPme
WILD ABOUT READING: More than 500 Minnesota classrooms and 15,000 students are participating in the “Wild About Reading” program, a partnership with Flint Hills Resources which encourages students to read more using Minnesota Wild-branded posters, reading logs, and bookmarks. Teachers set weekly reading goals and give certificates to students who complete the four-week program. Fun program incentives include classroom visits from the Wild’s mascot, Nordy – and the team dog, Rookie; a pair of tickets to a Wild home game, player signed pucks and photos; and a pizza party for a classroom. LEARN MORE: Wild About Reading SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources
UNITEDHEALTH: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $5.54 billion. The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based company said it had net income of $5.98 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and amortization costs, came to $6.81 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations . . . The largest U.S. health insurer posted revenue of $100.81 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g12pEJ
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “UnitedHealth's high medical costs and lower-than-expected revenue in the fourth quarter underscored persistent challenges at its insurance unit, sending the healthcare conglomerate's shares down about 4% before the bell on Thursday. The earnings report was the company's first since the shock killing of UnitedHealth's insurance unit CEO, Brian Thompson, that ignited conversations about denied health insurance claims and high premiums.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gWgnZQ
E-CIGS: Via news release from the Attorney General, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Ellison today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against High Light Vapes for violating state laws against deceptive tobacco marketing, marketing vapes to children, and consumer fraud, and has launched an investigation into e-cigarette manufacturer Loon to determine whether Loon has violated these or similar laws.”
“High Light Vapes is the maker of e-cigarette products that mimic highlighters and are designed to be easily concealable and usable by school-age children.” READ/PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4jbZlIN
AI: Via labor-funded North Star Policy Action, VERBATIM: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the workplace, offering opportunities for innovation while presenting significant challenges for Minnesota’s workers. A recent survey highlights the disconnect between employer expectations and worker experiences: 96% of business executives believe AI will boost productivity, but 77% of workers already using AI tools report increased workloads and decreased productivity. This disparity underscores the urgent need for sound regulation that ensures AI benefits both businesses and workers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fVVqwM
TARGET: Via Bloomberg, VERBATIM: “Target Corp. raised its sales guidance following a better-than-expected holiday season, but the boost wasn’t big enough to please investors that had higher expectations for profit growth. The Minneapolis-based retailer now expects comparable sales to grow about 1.5% in the fourth quarter, which runs through January, up from an earlier view that sales would be flat. The company maintained its profit outlook. Shares fell as much as 4.9% Thursday morning in New York. Target stock fell 5.1% last year, while the S&P 500 index gained 23%.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hiIDFH
MORE: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “The retailer saw a ‘meaningful’ increase in the purchases of non-essential items such as apparel and toys, a change from the previous quarter where apparel sales were weak as unusually warm weather reduced demand for winter clothing. As a result, Target had issued a much weaker-than-expected sales forecast for the holiday quarter, causing its shares to drop. Since then it boosted advertising on streaming platforms like Peacock and Hulu after Black Friday and on Cyber Monday. It also increased promotions to attract cash-strapped customers and cut prices across a wide assortment.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jbNXN3
FEED FRAUD: From Matt Sepic via MPR, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is on the government’s lengthy list of potential witnesses in the second trial over allegations that 70 people fleeced taxpayer-funded child nutrition programs out of $250 million during the pandemic. The DFL mayor is not accused of any wrongdoing. But Abdi Nur Salah, a former policy aide to Frey who left Minneapolis City Hall in 2022, is charged with taking part in the alleged conspiracy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3WlDDrS
ENCAMPMENT: From Katelyn Vue via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Some residents of a St. Paul homeless encampment scheduled for eviction today plan to relocate to a nearby park, while others don’t know where they’ll go, said advocates working with the camp. The city plans to stay on site for ‘as long as needed’ to clear the encampment located on the city’s East Side south of Payne Avenue and 7th Street East, said Casey Rodriguez, communications manager for the city of St. Paul’s Department of Safety & Inspections.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hjwSic
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.-Elect Kari Rehauer
Rep.-Elect Wayne Johnson
Rep. Elect Julie Greene
Rep. Elect Keith Allen
Rep. Elect Peter Johnson
Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
BEER: Via Wisconsin Public Radio, VERBATIM: “In an effort to save their family’s brewery in Chippewa Falls, Dick and Jake Leinenkugel tried starting discussions to buy it back from the current owner Molson Coors. That offer was rejected and the 157-year-old Wisconsin institution is still set to close this week. Leinenkugel’s beer has been synonymous with Chippewa Falls for generations, and has been a cornerstone of the community since its founding in 1867. On Friday, brewing operations in the original tan brick building and the more modern additions will cease.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/40grmWR
MORE: From Jessica Hart via KARE-TV, VERBATIM: “Tim Tupy started Mankato Brewing 13 years ago and will pour its last draft at the end of the month . . . Mankato Brewing isn’t the only place closing in a matter of days. Chanhassen Brewing Company is closing on Feb. 1. Leinies in Chippewa Falls is set to close this Friday. ‘As we’re seeing things kind of plateau, it is very different from what we are kind of used to from the 2015, 2016, 2017, era in that we are not seeing as many breweries opening we are still now seeing more breweries closing,’ said Bob Galligan, director of government and industry relations for Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40BSK35
WINTER: From Nick Halter via Axios, VERBATIM: “This winter is giving Minnesotans the worst of both worlds: frigid air without the fluff. Why it matters: At roughly the halfway point of meteorological winter, recreation options in the Twin Cities have been limited for the second year in a row.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42gepyH
ART: From Macy Harder via Minnesota Monthly, VERBATIM: “What happens when you combine Minnesota’s vibrant art landscape with its winter recreation culture? The result is Art Shanty Projects, a whimsical symbiosis of art structures and ice fishing villages.” QUOTE: “Two artists had been observing ice fishing culture on Medicine Lake, and they learned that there are no building codes on a frozen lake,” explains Erin Lavelle, artistic director of Art Shanty Projects. “You can make whatever you want.” READ/PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/42b3OFr
PICKLEBALL: From Kevin Miller via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “A Brooklyn Park sports facility is finding new life under a new owner. Located next to Fleet Farm at 8401 83rd Ave. N., the former Premier Pickleball and Tennis Club has been transformed into Le Dome by Lucky Shots. While the previous owner offered both tennis and pickleball, in its new format, it’s pickleball only.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/40hlsou
MHA NATION-ENBRIDGE AGREEMENT: “IT’S AN AWESOME DAY” - Enbridge has sold its Plaza/Wabek Pipeline in North Dakota to the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation, paving the way for the MHA Nation to become the first Tribal shipper on the Enbridge liquids pipeline network. The pipeline will “create an avenue” from the MHA Nation’s Thunder Butte facility, notes Mark N. Fox, Chairman of the MHA Nation, “to move our very valuable assets and resources to the marketplace.” Adds Bernie Fox, Thunder Butte’s CEO: “I’m thankful to Enbridge, because now they’re part of our history. They’re our partner.” As part of Enbridge’s Indigenous inclusion strategy, “we want to provide even more opportunities,” says Mike Koby, VP of our U.S. Liquids Pipelines group, “to partner with the MHA Nation and other Tribal communities along our operations.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/47ozrun (SPONSORED: Enbridge)
READING: From Elizabeth Shockman via MPR, VERBATIM: “On a cold winter morning, kindergartners gather on a rug in Holly Hins’ classroom at Woodbury’s Middleton Elementary School . . . Her students are learning to recognize sounds, decode words and learn phonetic patterns to let them read and spell with confidence. Called structured literacy, this method boasts decades of research showing it as the most effective way to teach kids to read. But it’s not the way Hins used to teach, and it’s not how she learned literacy instruction in college. Like elementary school teachers around Minnesota and the nation, she’s had to come to terms with a difficult reality: What she was doing wasn’t working, and she had to change.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/42hJ0vZ
RETAIL: From Dustin Nelson via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Excelsior's charming kitchen equipment store, The Abundant Kitchen, is closing. The shop, which opened five years ago and was voted Lake Minnetonka's best kitchen store two years in a row, will shut its doors on Feb. 22.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3C0XZ2N
US BANK: Via Reuters, VERBATIM: “U.S. Bancorp's reported a rise in its fourth quarter profit on Thursday, helped by an increase in trust and investment management fees. The expectation of more rate cuts and business-friendly regulations anticipated under U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration has fueled an equity market rally. The lender's trust and investment management fees rose 13.2% driven by growth in equity markets, while payments revenue increased 1.6% in the quarter.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hkriwi
LIFE TIME: Via Investor’s Business Daily, VERBATIM: “Planet Fitness (PLNT) rival [Chanhassen-based] Life Time is poised to break out early Thursday after reporting preliminary Q4 results well above expectations. Planet Fitness scored its own breakout earlier in the week and is trading at record highs. Health and wellness club operator Life Time Group (LTH) forecasts adjusted earnings between 24 cents and 25 cents for Q4 2024 results on Feb. 27. FactSet expected a 26% decline to 14 cents per share. Life Time sees total revenue increasing 18.5% to range from $661 million to $663 million for the quarter, also topping analyst views for $644 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42hVkfz
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.
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
UOFM: Via University of Minnesota, VERBATIM: “Through its Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), the US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded the University of Minnesota $10 million for the Oilseed Crops to Sustain the Environment and Meet Energy Demand (OILSEED) project. OILSEED was selected as one of six projects working to ‘advance the production of low carbon intensity, purpose-grown energy crops critical to accelerating a clean energy bioeconomy.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3E89eH5
WATER: Via MDA, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has published an updated map that will help farmers across the state comply with the Groundwater Protection Rule. The rule restricts fall application of nitrogen fertilizer in areas vulnerable to groundwater contamination, and it outlines steps to reduce the severity of contamination in areas where nitrate is already elevated in public water supply wells.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40lcvup MAP: https://fluence-media.co/2DfkXVj
CONES: From the Minnesota DNR via Facebook, VERBATIM: “The State Forest Nursery needs people in the NORTHEAST and NORTHWEST to harvest black spruce and jack pine cones. While this isn’t an easy task, you will play a vital role in helping achieve Minnesota’s reforestation goals – and earn a little extra money while you’re at it!” POST: https://fluence-media.co/3C0UfhM MORE: https://fluence-media.co/42fmdRr
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HB FULLER: Via Associated Press, VERBATIM: “H. B. Fuller Co. (FUL) on Wednesday reported a loss of $7.4 million in its fiscal fourth quarter. On a per-share basis, the St Paul, Minnesota-based company said it had a loss of 13 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 92 cents per share. The adhesives company posted revenue of $923.3 million in the period, beating Street forecasts.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fZVn38
FORUM: If you’re interested in having the Fluence Forum host a topic, please contact Blois Olson at bloisolson@gmail.com
STILLWATER: From Serena Maria Daniels via Eater Twin Cities, VERBATIM: “The couple who wowed the Cities with an acclaimed taco stand from within an Eagan BP gas station and launched a modern Latin destination in Tangletown is poised to debut their latest anticipated project. Inspired by Guatemalan and Mexican traditions, Xelas by El Sazon, should open on Tuesday, January 21 in Stillwater.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/40AwxCf
DINKYTOWN: From Dustin Nelson via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “The North Loop's bodega-style egg sandwich shop, Egg on a Roll, is now slinging breakfast in Dinkytown. The shop held a soft opening over the weekend and is now open at 1325 4th St. SE.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jlJ1Fa
BDAYS: Lifetime’s Natalie Bushaw, law enforcement leader John Harrington
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