Wild host Edmonton.
Next year’s Gopher football schedule is out, and they have a new QB coming from Georgia Tech. See more in Sports Take this afternoon.
Here’s why weather forecasts are using the term “extreme cold” instead of “wind chill” now. KSTP: https://fluence-media.co/3DmJlmv
Cub Foods is slashing prices to compete with larger grocery chains. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/4gqdOyg
It’s not just you: Meta has apologized for widespread outages affecting Facebook, Instagram and more. FOX: https://fluence-media.co/3D9xIj3
Not on his public schedule, Gov. Walz will host media for a holiday reception today at his temporary residence, last year I was on the list – this year apparently not.
Happy Gingerbread House Day!
Stay warm.
Blois
tips/feedback bloisolson@gmail.com
From Sunday Take, U of MN President Rebecca Cunningham shared legislative priorities. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3BkGFFq
TAKE: The future of Minnesota and its two largest cities are shaping up to be a major theme for 2025’s multiple political battles. Yesterday’s veto of the Minneapolis City Budget by Mayor Jacob Frey, the rejection of Mayor Melvin Carter’s plea to compromise further and the committee membership lists from the Minnesota House begin to finalize a clear preview for the tone and stakes of politics next year.
First, Frey’s veto sets up a robust discussion about the future of Minneapolis. It might feel like that discussion has been happening for years, but the crashing commercial property tax base and the folly of the amendments from councilmembers illustrate the stark challenge of governing through a period where economic realities set in. The increased taxes on homeowners, including those in key wards should set-up the Mayor to ask and find out if residents believe they are getting good value from city government or if the city being mindful of the small businesses in neighborhoods. Minneapolis is on a comeback path, but there is still a big question about priorities and the value of property taxes. If residents look at the council priorities, and Mayor Frey’s accomplishments the narrative in a Mayor’s race, and the council race will be very stark, giving Minneapolis a clear choice for the future.
In St. Paul, the headwinds are economically stronger, and the previously more progressive Mayor are now faced with a very liberal City Council. St. Paul has operated better, but it’s harder to see the needed refresh of downtown, and investment in other commercial corridors will come back quickly. Unlike Minneapolis, St. Paul doesn’t have the housing boom thanks to rent control – which would also help the property tax gap. One thing Mayor Carter should do is call on State government and others to call workers back to the office. Carter’s taken a look at higher office, and may have even had a role in a Harris-Walz administration but now his re-election could be challenged from the left – which could further complicate St. Paul’s future.
For the House, the word to consider is “function”, as committee lists come out, Leaders Melissa Hortman and Lisa Demuth have made good progress on setting up to operate, but behind the scenes and starting to show publicly tensions are rising. Republicans challenging the Roseville and Shakopee seats didn’t help, but Republicans aren’t going to forget the past two years, and last week’s budget forecast sets a tougher battle forward. The legislative work of 2025 is going to set up the narrative and dynamics of 2026 – when there will be a highly competitive Governor’s race and all 201 seats on the ballot. Will the House function? – it will operate – but dysfunction will be will on full display on the budget. That will mean pressure on moderate DFLers to find a path that creates a middle lane, they can run on in 2026.
COMMITTEES: via House Session Daily, VERBATIM: “House leaders released most committee assignments Wednesday, filling the 23 committees and one division with an equal number of DFL and Republican members as the parties have agreed to share control. … The House Ways and Means Committee will be the largest, with 28 members, and is to be co-chaired by Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) and Rep. Zack Stephenson (DFL-Coon Rapids). The House Taxes Committee, which is to be co-chaired by Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Mpls) and Rep. Greg Davids (R-Preston), and the House Education Finance Committee, co-chaired by Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) and Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins), will each have 24 members. The health (22 members), public safety (20 members), and commerce (20 members) committees also have large rosters.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fcRjfp
MORE: Rules and Legislative Administration Committee membership has yet to be announced, but the mostly-complete 2025 committee roster for the Minnesota House is available online. ROSTER: https://fluence-media.co/4fblgwh
MNLEG: MinnPost’s Peter Callaghan has a recap of a virtual panel where Minnesota legislative leaders discussed the upcoming session — and relitigated issues from the previous session. VERBATIM: “Bipartisanship was mostly absent during a 60-minute rehash of the partisanship that led to a chaotic end of the 2024 legislative session. … DFL speaker-designate Melissa Hortman scolded her GOP counterpart [Lisa Demuth] for challenging two elections that Democrats won, [among other spats]. … Yet when given an opportunity to identify areas where compromise can occur, both Hortman and Demuth struggled. … Demuth said she was confident that a budget deal would be reached, but then called for examining the increases adopted by the DFL majorities in 2023 and 2024.”
NOTE: from the MinnPost story, VERBATIM: “Still, nothing passes — no bill, no agenda, no challenge of a parliamentary ruling — without at least one vote from the other party. Even if Demuth’s legal challenges to the elections of Rep. Brad Tabke over missing ballots and Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson over his residency are successful, she would still lack a parliamentary majority to pass bills.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZN07nz
MATH: The House needs 68 votes to elect a speaker, not a simple majority of those seated.
MPLS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Wednesday vetoed the $1.9 billion budget passed by the City Council Tuesday night, although he signed off on the property tax levy set by the council, which is 6.8% higher than the 2024 levy. It’s unclear when a Minneapolis mayor last vetoed a city budget — if ever. The council approved the budget by a 10-3 vote, enough to override the veto, [and] 62 amendments passed with a supermajority. … The council could vote on the [veto override] as soon as Thursday morning.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3VDvuyz
MORE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Council members on Tuesday night approved a record 71 amendments, bringing the original proposed tax levy increase down to 6.9% — which Frey said he would approve, while also rejecting the budget. … Council leadership said its priorities, including property taxes and homelessness response, came straight from constituents, and they said the administration’s current strategy isn’t getting the job done. … Frey called the Council’s newly funded programs ‘unvetted.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3ZzpMiw
RESPONSES: At least two Minneapolis City Council Members have responded negatively to the news of the mayor’s budget veto, which he is defending as a fiscally responsible move.
● Via a Mayor Jacob Frey statement, FREY: “The Council’s budget increases property taxes for years to come. It cuts essentials like unsheltered homelessness response and recruitment of police, then turns around and uses the money to fund pet projects. Fiscally, times are tight — federal funding will likely be withheld and state dollars are in short supply. We need to be responsible with our tax dollars.”
● Via a Council President Elliott Payne statement, PAYNE: “The fact that the Mayor is willing to veto the entire 2025 City budget because [the council] made amendments that accounted for less than 2% of the total $1.88 billion City budget is absurd. Council Members learned of Mayor Frey’s intention to veto through a press release, before he even received the formal budget packet from the Clerk’s office. … I will do everything in my power to work with my colleagues to overturn this reckless veto.”
● Via a Council Member Emily Koski statement, KOSKI: “The Mayor accused the Council of ‘fiscal irresponsibility,’ when it was he who proposed the highest property tax levy in over a decade, he who blatantly ignored the financial realities our City faces and chose to place additional financial strains on our residents. His accusations seem particularly misplaced given his own actions. … The Mayor’s dismissal of these priorities as 'pet projects' reveals just how out of touch he is with the very residents he was elected to serve.”
ST PAUL: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Despite a last-minute plea from St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and a wide-ranging assembly of city partners, the St. Paul City Council voted 4-2 on Wednesday to reject the mayor’s final budget proposal, which called for a 6.9% property tax levy increase. The council instead opted for a 5.9% tax levy increase, slashing $4 million in spending from the budget plan Carter presented in August, in part by cutting $1.2 million from police overtime. … The council budget also makes cuts to street resurfacing and sidewalk replacement. … Carter issued a statement after the vote that did not eliminate the possibility of a full veto or line-item veto.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZAq9Jw
POT: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management Wednesday announced it was canceling the special license lottery for social equity applicants and will instead move toward a lottery next year for both social equity and general applicants. While no new date is set for license lotteries, a chart released by OCM suggests it will now be in May or June, months later than previous estimates of 1st quarter of 2025. The office said it was responding to a Ramsey County court order [that] put the lottery on hold. … Other than on tribal reservations, no cannabis sales can happen until final rules are adopted, the lottery held [and] licenses issued.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gsLrzE
MORE: via Fox 9, VERBATIM: “Everybody’s a loser in Minnesota’s first lottery for cannabis license approval…A preapproval process was designed to give a head start to veterans and people previously impacted by marijuana laws…But a judge held up the lottery in late November…Some of the people who applied and got excluded said the OCM should’ve let them correct perceived application errors. BRINER: "We were very clear, knowing that there was no right for reconsideration and no right to appeal in preapproval," said OCM interim director Charlene Briner…Now OCM says it’ll skip the early lottery and wait for months to review all applications… WEST: "I would say that this rollout was comically bad," said Rep. Nolan West, (R-Blaine), who voted for the cannabis bills even after trying and failing to add amendments that he says would've smoothed out the initial stages. "They would rather just call it off than try and work through it." WATCH/READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gt2Rfy
NOTE: Minnesota will become the third slowest state to move from legalization to operation of cannabis. Licenses were originally expected in early 2025, now it will be mid-2025 at the earliest.
RESPONSE: DFLers Sen. Lindsey Port and Rep. Zack Stephenson, the chief authors of the 2023 cannabis legalization bills, released a joint statement responding to the OCM’s decision to end social equity license preapproval. STATEMENT: “We are disappointed in the court's actions that prevent the Office of Cannabis Management from moving forward with social equity licensing. The few bad actors who flooded the preapproval pool with duplicate or misleading applications have delayed the process for those who followed the rules. … Those who were approved for social equity licenses can still earn their licenses this spring in the general lottery.”
MORE: Read yesterday’s lunch take on our new website for additional coverage and responses to the OCM’s cannabis lottery decision. READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ffryv5
CRAIG: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The push by Minnesota congresswoman Angie Craig to lead her party on the House Agriculture Committee remains a toss-up. … A number of members [spoke] about the 52-year-old Craig’s campaign to oust 79-year-old Georgia Rep. David Scott, who has missed votes due to health issues. Democrats are slated to vote next week on the ranking member. Craig’s name is among three circulating, including [Scott] and longtime California Democrat Jim Costa. But days out from the election, members were mixed on their [preferred candidate].” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fcX2BJ
TUNEIN: This week, Rep. Angie Craig will be the guest on Sunday Take at 9AM on WCCO Radio.
CD3: Rep.-Elect Kelly Morrison was on WCCO Radio with Chad Hartman yesterday. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3OQe5Ph
DEFENSE: via AP News, VERBATIM: “The House on Wednesday passed a $895 billion measure that authorizes a 1% increase in defense spending this fiscal year and would give a double-digit pay raise to about half of the enlisted service members in the military. The bill is traditionally strongly bipartisan, but some Democratic lawmakers opposed the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members. … The bill passed 281-140. Two hundred Republicans and 81 Democrats voted yes, while 124 Democrats and 16 Republicans voted no.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49CND5l
RESPONSES: Four of Minnesota’s representatives put out statements responding to the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.
● Via a GOP Rep. Brad Finstad statement, FINSTAD: “The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act makes tremendous strides to take care of our servicemembers by increasing pay across the board, improving housing conditions, and ensuring access to medical care. Moreover, this legislation bolsters our national security by ending radical ideology in the military. … I am proud to vote in support of the FY25 NDAA.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fuwf4l
● Via a DFL Rep. Betty McCollum statement, McCOLLUM: “I am disappointed that I cannot support the NDAA this year. … The legislation includes language I oppose that allows the transfer of certain state Air National Guard personnel to the Space Force, [which] is opposed overwhelmingly by America’s governors. It was good that some of the most abhorrent right-wing social policies have been removed, but too many remain…signaling to servicemembers with transgender children that their service is not valued.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fcpd3U
● Via a GOP Rep. Tom Emmer statement, EMMER: “This year’s NDAA supports significant quality of life improvements for our service members and refocuses our military on their core mission: American safety and security. Including [my] Ammunition Supply Chain Act in this legislation is an important step to strengthen domestic ammunition production and support our service men and women.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gdiDeW
● Via a DFL Rep. Ilhan Omar statement, OMAR: “This year's NDAA designates $900 billion for military spending. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has failed its financial audit for the seventh year in a row. While I recognize the long-overdue 14.5% raise for our lowest-ranking enlisted personnel is important…the bloated military budget continues to take away crucial funding from programs that could help millions of Americans. … I cannot support a bill that continues unnecessary military spending while also [harming] Palestinians [and] transgender youth.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g8sx1n
FBI: via CBS News, VERBATIM: “FBI Director Christopher Wray announced he will resign from his post at the end of the current administration, leaving the bureau in advance of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next month. … Trump appointed Wray [as] FBI director in 2017 for a 10-year term. … Wray has since come under fire from Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill over the FBI's handling of investigations into the president-elect, [who] said he intended to remove Wray and replace him with Kash Patel.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3ZOLvnQ
RESPONSE: via a DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar statement, KLOBUCHAR: “The motto of the FBI is ‘Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity’ and those words perfectly describe Christopher Wray. For decades, he has dedicated his life to law enforcement and public safety. … He has earned the support and respect of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle [and] upgraded the FBI’s capacity to take on cyberterrorism and protect national security, all while improving morale. Christopher Wray has served our country faithfully, always putting his responsibility to the American people first, and I am thankful for his leadership.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Zzju2o
HEGSETH: via AP News, VERBATIM: “[Minnesota native] Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a ‘wonderful conversation’ with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. … [Collins] said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49yZO3a
BRINGING SAFETY TO ‘THE NEXT LEVEL’: As part of Enbridge’s work on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation in northern Minnesota, Enbridge has brought in family-owned and Indigenous-owned Northern Lights Family Outfitters to fully outfit project workers right on the job site with personal protective equipment (PPE) from its 48-foot mobile trailer. “Enbridge really brings safety to the next level,” says Patti, a project liaison for Enbridge and the Fond du Lac Band. “It’s really helpful to have a mobile unit, especially for this kind of work.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3OQYmjn (SPONSORED: Enbridge)
FEED FRAUD: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Aimee Bock, the former executive director of Feeding our Future, [is] set to stand trial on Feb. 3. But her lawyer, Kenneth Udoibok, does not have access to materials he believes could exonerate Bock — despite those materials being cited in a series of posts on Substack, according to a motion filed by Udoibok on Wednesday. … ‘Nourishing Truth – Unpacking the Feeding Our Future Scandal’ [includes] details no other news outlet has published concerning the case, including audio recordings of conversations. … Udoibok believes the government has the recordings — along with evidence concerning the reimbursement claims process from phones and tablets seized during the investigation that prosecutors did use in the first trial — but have not disclosed them to Udoibok for Bock's case.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3BeXp0Z
UMN: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “The University of Minnesota is taking steps to restructure the M Health system by integrating its physicians within the university under a new leader. … This week, the M Physicians Board of Directors passed a resolution to partner with the university to create the governance structure for all parts of the academic health system by next summer. The U’s Board of Regents is expected to consider the restructuring proposal this week, along with budget issues. President Dr. Rebecca Cunningham said the changes will allow the school [to] ‘enhance the delivery of care we have while addressing our overhead costs.’ … The U has long wanted to reacquire assets from Fairview Health Services, [but] Cunningham said the reorganization is ‘independent of our decisions and negotiations with Fairview.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZN2U01
MORE: via a U of M press release, VERBATIM: “We will integrate more fully all the elements of the University’s healthcare enterprise, including with M Physicians. … The University has begun a search for an interim Executive Vice President for Health Affairs (EVPHA). … The University continues to explore options to purchase the University of Minnesota Medical Center assets from Fairview Health Services—East and West Bank facilities, Masonic Children’s Hospital, and the Clinics and Surgery Center.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4gyJ6TX
MPS: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “A number of parents of Minneapolis Public Schools students pushed back against the district's staffing decisions during a board meeting Tuesday night. According to parent groups, staffing at the elementary school level has reached a breaking point. … Maggie Koerth has two daughters in the district and says her fourth grader has grown overstimulated by the constant noise [with] ‘up to 35 kids in one classroom.’ … A district spokesperson said, ‘MPS is excited to see higher than anticipated enrollment at some of our schools. So far this school year, MPS has allocated 19 additional staff to 16 sites and shifted some staff for needed support.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3ZvYo4T
SPPS: via a JCRC press release, VERBATIM: “Today, 531 St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) stakeholders — students, parents/guardians, educators, staff, taxpayers, and alumni — sent an open letter asking district leadership to take action to make SPPS a safer and more inclusive environment for Jewish students and staff by requiring Jewish Identity and Antisemitism training for all staff members. This initiative was spurred by a divisive St. Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE) resolution that [described] the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel as ‘multiple resistance organizations in Gaza revolt[ing] against Israel.’” LETTER: https://fluence-media.co/4fgPi1L
PERMITTING REFORM FOR RESPONSIBLE INDUSTRIES: Jobs for Minnesotans is committed to advancing responsible industrial projects through a predictable, timely and transparent permitting process. Broad permitting reform for all responsible industries is essential to strengthening Minnesota’s communities and advancing our state’s clean energy future. (SPONSORED: Jobs for Minnesotans)
MINING: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to reverse President Joe Biden’s 20-year moratorium on new mining near Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness on his first day in office. While environmentalists are calling Trump's policies ‘a worst-case scenario,’ mining supporters say this is their biggest opportunity [in years]. … Congressman Pete Stauber, who for years has been introducing legislation to expand mining, [said] those bills have gone nowhere. But Stauber says 2025, with the GOP trifecta, will be different.” STAUBER: “We are going to mine those critical minerals in the Duluth complex. It's the biggest untapped copper-nickel find in the world. … [But] we're going to do it right. We're going to follow the current laws, the environmental and labor standards. There will be no shortcuts.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49FKuSw
TRANSIT: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Metro Transit is earmarking funds for increased safety and cleanliness on board buses and light-rail trains, officials said Wednesday. … Reported crimes are down year-over-year and ridership is up, according to Metro Transit. The Metropolitan Council [has] adopted a 2025 operating budget Wednesday that includes funding to grow a new program that includes fare inspections, expand the use of supplemental security officers, partner with community-based organizations and bring on more police officers and community service officers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZM1Jhs
MORE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “As Metro Transit expands its public transportation network, an unprecedented amount of transit construction is tearing through the Twin Cities — sometimes to the frustration of businesses whose customers steer clear. And even as this season’s work slows, there’s more to come, with the start of the Blue Line extension and more bus rapid transit routes in the coming years. … Business districts affected by the builds say the lack of resources to help them survive the disruption has caused major hardship, even as it brings opportunities and development.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/41umXBZ
HOUSING: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “At the urging of St. Paul City Council Member Cheniqua Johnson, the city council voted 6-0 Wednesday to approve zoning relief sought by an East Side church looking to sell a vacant lot to a nonprofit developer of affordable housing. The Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative has proposed building the Aragon, a four-story, 53-unit housing development. … The project involves a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom units, mostly geared toward households earning no more than…about $62,000 to $75,000.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3VyVjje
MOVE: via a NewPublica press release, VERBATIM: “NewPublica is proud to announce the addition of Sarah Kruger as Vice President of Public Affairs and Engagement. … Sarah joins NewPublica following her [unsuccessful] 2024 Minnesota House race for District 26A, a highly competitive, top-target race in the Winona area. As Chief of Staff at FairVote Minnesota, she managed a large team that was instrumental in advancing ranked-choice voting initiatives.”
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 in January. Follow on your favorite podcast platform, or at www.TheDailyAgenda.com/Podcasts. (SPONSORED: Minnesota Telecom Alliance)
ROSEMOUNT: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “The city of Rosemount is winding down 2024 with some big accomplishments, including the hiring of the city’s first full-time fire chief and opening a new police and public works department building that was six years in the making. The new 20-acre police and public works campus, which cost $58.2 million, is operational and open to the public as of Wednesday. … Formerly owned by the Minnesota National Guard, the land was given to the city by Flint Hills Resources, which has a refinery in Rosemount, and a subsequent land swap with the Minnesota National Guard, saving the city roughly $2 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZNlvZX
(DISCLOSURE: Flint Hills Resources is a sponsor of Fluence Media)
ROCHESTER: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “Developers of a planned 282-unit apartment complex on the edge of the Kutzky Park neighborhood expect the location to help keep rents affordable, while also encouraging tenants to take advantage of newly developed transportation infrastructure. … The developers are planning a seven-story apartment complex. … With 282 apartments planned — ranging in size from one to four bedrooms — the building would include approximately 180 interior first-floor and underground parking stalls, meeting city requirements.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49vt7nj
MANKATO: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The city of Mankato is set to open its own impound for lost or stray dogs after the termination of a contract with a troubled local animal shelter. The new pound in Sibley Park is set to open Jan. 1. … For the last four years, Mankato has partnered with the Blue Earth Nicollet County Humane Society shelter for animal care services. But the nonprofit organization known as BENCHS faced a crisis after a wave of staff resignations this fall. After a raucous Oct. 14 meeting that included accusations of overreach by board members, the shelter implemented a temporary ‘soft closure’ and has been trying to recruit new staff.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49AGmD1
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: https://fluence-media.co/3O2nzH0 (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
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: https://fluence-media.co/3O2nzH0 (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
DULUTH: via KQDS-TV, VERBATIM: “The city of Duluth’s largest employee union, AFSCME Local 66, voted Tuesday to authorize a strike, demanded ‘fair wages and dignity’ and called on Mayor Roger Reinert to fix it. AFSCME called the city’s next contract offer ‘insulting, inadequate and unacceptable,’ according to a news release. The union said the police and fire departments got 8% market adjustment to their wages without any concessions in their last contracts. But for AFSCME, union officials said the city proposed a 1% market adjustment in the first year and 6% over three years, while demanding concessions.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49umgdR
PRISONS: via Northern News Now, VERBATIM: “Last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced the Federal Prison Camp Duluth (FPC Duluth) will be deactivated. Employees of the prison camp are being told they’ll be able to relocate to the Federal Correctional Institution, Sandstone (FCI Sandstone) but union leaders said it may not be that simple. Ruark Hotopp is the National Vice President for District Eight of the American Federation of Government Employees. He said FCI Sandstone is unlikely to be able to take on all of FPC Duluth’s employees.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3VAfyNs
FEES: via Axios Twin Cities, VERBATIM: “Minnesota restaurants are grappling with how to adapt to a new state law that will ban them from adding fees to customers' checks. The so-called ‘junk fees’ law begins Jan. 1 and prevents businesses from tacking on all kinds of charges at the end of a transaction. The one most people will quickly notice is at restaurants, where adding a 3%-5% health and wellness fee has become common in the Twin Cities. The new law allows restaurants to add an automatic gratuity, but it must be clearly labeled and go to the wait staff. It also allows taxes, shipping and delivery charges to be added.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OT2hvT
AG TRADE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The ups and downs of the global ag trade are part of life for farmers and cooperatives like Inver Grove Heights-based CHS. The industry has been here before, and the pendulum always swings back eventually, executives said. But this down cycle comes amid particularly acute uncertainty. Tariffs, if they come to pass, could hurt U.S. farm exports as they did in 2018. Wars and weather continue to be constant threats. Shifting regulations, in the U.S. and abroad, are adding complexity. And still, there is no new farm bill.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4g9aKHj
THEDAILYAGENDA: Every day, we’re sharing significant political, business and other news in your inbox and on our new website, The Daily Agenda. If you love morning take, sign up for the other Fluence tip sheets and share our web content with your friends. SIGNUP: https://fluence-media.co/4eZwLa7
TODAY: via Office of the Atty. General, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Keith Ellison will announce significant litigation against a major corporation in the firearms industry. The Attorney General will be joined by members of law enforcement to discuss the public safety implications of the state’s lawsuit, and he will also be joined by Minnesotans who have been personally affected by the illegal conduct alleged in Minnesota’s litigation.” The event is at 10:00 a.m.
TODAY: At 2PM, Governor Tim Walz will meet with Attorney General Keith Ellison.
TODAY-TMRW: The University of Minnesota Board of Regents will meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and 8:00 a.m. Friday.
JAN 21: via Minneapolis Chamber, VERBATIM: “Join us for a moderated discussion with St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as they address their 2025 priorities, what challenges lie ahead for our cities, and how businesses can support and promote the Twin Cities region. This annual [Breakfast with the Mayors] event will be hosted by the University of St. Thomas.” The event is at 7:15 a.m.
BDAYS: Secretary of State Steve Simon, health care leader Jennifer Myster, fmr. Rep. Ken Eken, public affairs pro Laura Harris, communication pro Maria Surma Manka, fmr. Commissioner John Linc Stine
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