What happens when you and your classmates meet your walkathon goal? At Lakeview Elementary in Albert Lea, you get to shave the principal’s head. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4hqRW7G
World Atlas makes the case for Winona as one of Minnesota’s most underrated towns. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4hyx1zV
Alaska has fat bears. Not to be outdone, Texas now has “Fat Squirrel Week.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4nkOBZb
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Blois
CELEBRATING 70 YEARS: The Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount is a landmark like no other – the tall columns and bright lights can be seen from miles away. Generations of workers have helped operate, maintain and transform the refinery, making it one of the nation’s most innovative and efficient energy facilities of its kind. This year, Flint Hills Resources celebrates 70 years of dedicated employees at the Pine Bend refinery who have produced the fuels that help move us forward. LEARN MORE: About the Pine Bend refinery (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery)
All Fluence tipsheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
FOOD SHELVES: Via WCCO-Radio, VERBATIM: “Hunger is coming to Minnesota, local food banks warn, as SNAP benefits are scheduled to run out in days if the federal government shutdown does not end. Forty-two million people will lose benefits nationwide, including more than 440,000 Minnesotans, on Saturday. Local food banks are bracing for a surge in demand, fearing they won’t have enough food to offer.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4nlRuJj
PRIDE: Via KARE-TV< VERBATIM: “For the third consecutive year, Twin Cities Pride hosted its trunk-or-treating event at Loring Park on Sunday, providing a space for families and neighbors to come together. This year, organizers said that a sense of community feels especially important as the federal government shutdown continues and many across the Twin Cities feel the impacts.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4oGwVZc
GRAND MARAIS: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Businesses in Grand Marais are offering discounts and gift cards to help residents facing the end of federal food assistance programs on Nov. 1.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4ht1cbo
GROCERS: Via MGA, VERBATIM: “Since 2008, the Minnesota Grocers Association (MGA) and its partners have provided more than 45 million meals to Minnesota families facing food insecurity. This year, the MGA has set an ambitious goal of raising 1 million meals through its 2025 Bag Hunger Campaign, taking place October 26 – November 15. The MGA is inviting consumers statewide to join the effort by shopping at participating retailers during the three-week campaign. All food and monetary donations collected in stores will go directly to local food shelves and food banks to support families in need across Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hvW7iN
FIRE: Via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A major emergency response effort is underway in St. Paul after a small fire led to a total power outage at the 504-unit Skyline Tower near the Midway Target . . . Around 150 city staff members and Metro Transit assisted with the evacuation Sunday, bringing in around 2,000 bottles of water in the initial aftermath . . . Those looking to support residents can make a financial contribution at commonbond.org/skylinetower to help minimize the disruptions to residents’ lives, especially as SNAP benefits are set to end within days amid the federal government shutdown, Schmidt said. Second Harvest Heartland, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are already involved in the effort to help meet basic needs, such as dietary-appropriate food and transportation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nBhSze
VETS: Via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Saunas and cold plunges — both known for their health and wellness benefits — came together for a good cause along the North Shore this weekend. The Veterans Resilience Project hosted its Sweat for Vets fundraiser to support mental health healing for Minnesota veterans, service members, and their spouses dealing with post-traumatic stress. Participants took turns relaxing in a sauna set up on the edge of Lake Superior before taking an icy plunge into the lake.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4oyEGQO
REV. BROOKS: Via MPR, VERBATIM: “Life was lovely for the Rev. Devlyn Brooks. In the embrace of his rural Wilkin County ministry and its rituals — singing hymns, reading the liturgy and starting the Sunday service with a greeting — he felt happy and comfortable. Then last year, he started to question it all. Hired as the CEO of Churches United, a nonprofit that operates a shelter, food pantry and affordable housing units, Brooks saw close-up the suffering of people who lived just a 30-minute drive from his church, and it shook him.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4ocb8sH
BARN QUILTS: Via West Central Tribune, VERBATIM: “Hundreds of brightly painted barn quilts brighten the back roads and highways of central Minnesota. Mounted on barns, fence posts, parks and community spaces, these large-scale, hand-painted ‘quilt blocks’ have become a hallmark of rural pride and artistry. The Barn Quilts of Central Minnesota Trail—now featuring more than 150 designs—is a not an actual trail as much as it is a gigantic, rural art project with its pieces scattered and on display all over central Minnesota, up from Menhaga down to Long Prairie.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49ukgnE
SCULPTURE: Via Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, VERBATIM: “Inside a quiet Bloomington gallery filled with gleaming stone figures of mothers, lovers and elephants, Rex Mhiripiri has built what he calls the largest privately owned Shona sculpture gallery in the Midwest. Named after him, the gallery has become a leading U.S. hub for Zimbabwean stone sculpture.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ocNkEM
MIA: Via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “For hundreds of years, a seven-foot long, nearly thousand-year-old bronze sculpture on view at the Minneapolis Institute of Art lay in pieces. Since 2018, experts have deployed cutting-edge technology to reunite fragments of the incomplete masterpiece. You can see the result as part of ‘Royal Bronzes: Cambodian Art of the Divine,’ on view at Mia through January 18.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47R7ayL
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)
ROAD SAFETY: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office and the Itasca County Safe Roads Coalition have been honored for their work to reduce traffic deaths with a Toward Zero Deaths Traffic Safety Innovation Award. The state of Minnesota’s Toward Zero Deaths program presented awards in Prior Lake last week to traffic safety advocates and law enforcement officers for working to reduce deaths on state roadways.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3JuzXAR
MORE: Via Toward Zero Deaths, this year’s award recipients. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/47cZQhD
AI: Via University of St. Thomas, VERBATIM: “University of St. Thomas Chief Data and Analytics Officer Jena Zangs ’10, ’18 MS recently was selected as the Minnesota Ambassador for Women in AI USA. ‘A true builder at heart, Jena’s bringing AI innovation into communities, nonprofits and education ecosystems (K-12 through higher ed). Passionate about empowering women in AI, Jena is a classroom guest speaker, national presenter and mentor helping women thrive in a male-dominated industry,’ Women in AI USA noted in its LinkedIn post.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qArtci
NAMI: Via Eden Prairie Local News, VERBATIM: “The board of directors of NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) has announced the appointment of Marcus Schmit as its next executive director, effective Oct. 27. Schmit succeeds Sue Abderholden, who led the organization for more than 20 years. Abderholden announced her impending retirement earlier this year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/47cEz7S
MORE: Via MPR, an interview with Sue Abderholden on what her organization accomplished during her tenure. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4qr6CYR
HISTORY: Via Lakeland PBS, VERBATIM: “It was History Mystery time at the Beltrami County History Center in Bemidji last weekend. On both Friday and Saturday, attendees were treated to a live-action drama mystery to gather clues from suspects and discover the fate of Emma Davids more than a century ago.” QUOTE: “Emma Davids was part Native, and she was a traveling person,” said Emily Thabes, Executive Director of the Beltrami County Historical Society. “She was born in Wisconsin, and she moved to Colorado, then got married and her husband died in a mine fight between the union and the miners. She was trying to make her way back home to Wisconsin, and she kind of got waylaid in Minnesota.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4hw1QVH
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