SHORT WEEK…
Twins win. Vegas sweeps Colorado to go to the Stanley Cup.
TX AG Ken Paxton, endorsed by President Trump defeated Sen. John Cornyn in Texas.
Bari Weiss announced that The Free Press plans to host a “Supper Club” in Minneapolis. SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4nSfypa
Newly released FBI files include details on a UFO sighting by Anoka police officers. FOX9: https://fluence-media.co/4nSaocM
This morning Lt. Gov Peggy Flanagan at 8:20 and Councilmember Michael Rainville and Robin Wonsley will be on together on WCCO Radio with Vineeta Sawkar at 7:20. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/WCCOLive2
Here’s my take on the O’Hara resignation with Vineeta Sawkar this morning on WCCO Radio. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4f6ugGI
Happy National Grape Popsicle Day….it’s also National Flip Flops Day.
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Get smarter… Long Term Care – Is Minnesota Ready? Care Providers Minnesota and LeadingAge Minnesota hosted providers, Senator Grant Hauschild (03, DFL), Representative Natalie Zeleznikar (03B, GOP), and Representative Nathan Nelson (11B, GOP) for a conversation about the future of careing for our seniors. This coming week the conversation moves to St. Cloud. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4ue3YXA
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A hot start to summer, another big Minnesota story, the content doesn’t stop. The resignation of Chief O’Hara has all the elements to captivate alleged sexual stories, personalities, politics. It might also have more news stories coming. Another distraction to the important work of rebuilding confidence, commerce and public safety in Minneapolis.
The Minneapolis City Council should be challenged to present the profile of the next Chief that they want – rather than just being the critics of Mayor Frey’s decision. The far left in Minneapolis hasn’t put forth a compelling or clear vision of public safety for six years, so what a better chance than now.
The race for Hennepin County attorney, a new Chief, and a new Governor will shape the policy and reputation of the region – a critical element for confidence for those who care deeply about the state and the region but feel ignored.
At 1:30 today, Minneapolis City Council members, including: Council President Elliott Payne, Minority Leader Robin Wonsley, Council Member and Chair of Public Health, Safety and Equity Committee Jason Chavez will hold a news conference to discuss the resignation of Chief Brian O’Hara.
MPD: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara has resigned from the Minneapolis police department following an investigative report with ‘concerning substantiated findings’ that were to result in discipline and possible termination, according to an internal email by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. … ‘I informed the chief I would be disciplining him up to and including discharge, and he resigned. I have accepted his resignation,’ Frey said. … Frey said Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell will serve as interim chief.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vchefA
MORE: Via internal communications obtained by numerous reporters, Mayor Jacob Frey explained why Chief Brian O’Hara was facing disciplinary action. O’Hara was being investigated for allegedly having an intimate relationship with a city employee, which was not substantiated — but during the investigation, Frey said O’Hara deleted contact information from his phone and told other city employees about the situation. Frey added that O’Hara’s “interference risked the integrity of the investigation and constitutes a significant breach of trust.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4e6AoxF
Two different rulings on data centers yesterday create another facet of tension between developers, cities and environmental activists. via MPR News, VERBATIM: “A Minnesota judge has ordered developers of a hyperscale data center near Rochester to temporarily halt construction until a lawsuit over the project’s environmental review can be heard. The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy [had] sued developer Ryan Cos. and the city of Pine Island, arguing that the environmental review of the data center known as ‘Project Skyway’ was inadequate. … In a separate lawsuit filed by MCEA, a Dakota County judge ruled Tuesday in favor of the city of Lakeville over its approval of an environmental review. … The review didn’t name the project, but MCEA speculated it was a data center.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fJUnDu
Meanwhile, in Lakeville “In its order, the Court found that the City appropriately followed the requirements for an AUAR by evaluating development scenarios for anticipated light industrial and office park uses. … The Court noted that no specific end user or project had been identified for the property when the AUAR was prepared, and that the City evaluated development scenarios as part of its planning and zoning process.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3S36qSA
MORE: Lakeville officials say no specific project was identified in this case, but the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy claims on its website that “internal city communications showed” the development “was intended to be a data center.” SEE: https://fluence-media.co/4wSRp5Y
NOTE: The interference of litigation on nearly every large development in mining, tech, ag and other new projects by MCEA is becoming a nationally known barrier of investment in Minnesota.
SENATE RACE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “As she heads into the DFL Party’s endorsing convention this weekend in Rochester, [Peggy] Flanagan has emerged as the favorite to win the party’s backing, a development that wasn’t a foregone conclusion when she entered the race. Flanagan had never run statewide on her own or faced a significant challenge in her previous legislative runs. … But the backlash to Operation Metro Surge energized progressive activists and gave Flanagan and her supporters an enduring line of attack against [Angie] Craig, who — with her establishment backing and a proven track record of winning in a battleground district — initially looked like the candidate to beat. … Former state House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, who has endorsed Craig, said [Operation Metro Surge] ‘fundamentally changed the nature of this election.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4vwUtDt
CONVENTION: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “The expected 2,600 delegates and alternates who will converge on Rochester [for] the DFL convention at Mayo Civic Center will arrive in a jazzed and ready-to-do-battle frame of mind, DFL leaders and party activists say. … There is an expectation that the DFL convention will be a full house, said party Chairman Richard Carlbom. One measure of the party’s enthusiasm and energy? Many of the 1,200 alternates who have the option to attend are expected to show up. Typically, not many do.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4uyGSex
OMNIBUS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Court of Appeals handed down two decisions regarding whether the 2024 omnibus bill [violated] the state constitution’s rule that legislation must have a single subject. In both cases, the appeals court affirmed a district court judge’s ruling, noting that prior state Supreme Court cases declined to invalidate entire pieces of legislation that violated the single subject rule. … As a result, Minnesota’s ban on binary triggers is no more, because the courts have ruled it didn’t belong in the omnibus bill. But a ban on for-profit health insurers contracting with state agencies was ruled valid because the judges said it fit within a bill related to the operations and finances of state government.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nUdBIX
FLINT HILLS FAMILY FESTIVAL: Kick off the summer in downtown Saint Paul with the Flint Hills Family Festival on May 29-30, one of the largest and longest-standing events of its kind. The Festival offers free fun for people of all ages in Rice Park and Landmark Plaza, with performances and activities that provide something for everyone, along with world-class shows inside the Ordway for just $8! Now in its 26th year, this year’s Festival lineup includes Cirque Mechanics: TILT!, NOOMA: an opera for babies, and Click Clack Moo! More than one million people have experienced the Festival, including hundreds of thousands of students who have visited on field trips during the Festival’s School Days. Join us this year! LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dhpdBM (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
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SD24: Fmr. Rep. Nels Pierson wins GOP endorsement in the open seat being vacated by Sen. Carla Nelson.
STATE STUFF
READ ACT: The state Dept. of Education has finally published a report to the legislature that was due on Dec. 1, 2025. The report covers progress on implementing the READ Act, and KSTP says it was published five days after they asked MDE officials about its whereabouts. VERBATIM: “Bobbie Burnham, assistant commissioner for the Office of Teaching and Learning at MDE, [said] simply building the infrastructure needed to gather the information required in the governor’s report took time. It’s meant to provide both lawmakers and parents information about how different districts are using the READ Act.” REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/430rXhb KSTP: https://fluence-media.co/49nX9ur
NOTE: Deadlines for reports from state government required by the legislature have consistently slipped. Chatter among those who follow the administration closely believe that the next Governor will have to restore a discipline on deadlines and accountability in many areas of state government.
FINALLY: The state Dept. of Natural Resources announced that its long-anticipated digital licensing system for hunting and fishing will finally go live next month. VERBATIM: “The [DNR] will launch the first phase of its modernized electronic licensing system on June 9 with the fishing and hunting license module. … The existing licensing system will be in use until 11:59 p.m. Monday, June 1, when information from the old system begins moving to the new system. … Phase two of the launch will happen at a later date with the recreational vehicle and watercraft titling and registration module.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a9VqJi
MORE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s new system was initially supposed to launch in March 2025, but the state delayed that because of persistent issues. … The DNR [said] it has met all of the success criteria for the project and addressed the other concerns highlighted by OLA [audits] to be ready for the system’s launch.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4e6uQDl
FERTILITY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Birthrates are declining, yet many families who want children can’t afford fertility care. Many states require insurance to cover it, but a bipartisan push at the State Capitol to bring that requirement to Minnesota failed again. … Lawmakers and advocates said the Minnesota Building Families Act came closer to passage this year than ever before. But concerns about the cost of a new health insurance mandate at a time of already-rising premiums, as well as religious opposition, stood in the way.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dLN9MC
RAW MILK: via WCCO Radio, VERBATIM: “Minnesota advocates continue to push to broaden the use of raw milk products, despite their latest string of legislative failures. … During this year’s state legislative session, another attempt to update various dairy standards failed to advance. Minnesota Republican Senator Andrew Lang says it’s a fight he supports, [and] in future legislative sessions, state lawmakers who support the move will continue to look for alternatives to loosen current dairy restrictions.” READ/LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4dLs2dn
SIGNED: Via Office of the Governor, Gov. Tim Walz signed a number of bills yesterday addressing social media protections for children, egg donations, the permanent school fund, public safety, withholding payments for fraud allegations, cannabis supply chains, health and human services, and more. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4u95IAU https://fluence-media.co/4tTESfL
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)
DC
FRAUD: via States Newsroom, VERBATIM: “A handful of Democratic state attorneys general said Tuesday that expert officials from their offices were denied access to a major White House anti-fraud meeting convened by Vice President JD Vance and attended by Republican AGs. … Democratic attorneys general in California, New York and New Jersey said at a press conference later Tuesday that officials from their states were not allowed to attend the anti-fraud meeting. New York Attorney General Letitia James said officials from Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland and Nevada were also turned away.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tTNiUp
MORE: Via WCCO-TV, Attorney General Keith Ellison was not part of the roundtable in Washington, D.C. and had not planned to attend, citing short notice and unequal partisan treatment from federal officials. However, Ellison did send a staffer from his office. READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43y9UPu
PREDICTIONS: Pres. Donald Trump criticized Minnesota and other states on Truth Social for trying to regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, saying the federal government “must protect” the industry. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., is a strategic advisor for Kalshi and a major investor in Polymarket. TRUMP: “It is critically important that the CFTC’s exclusive authority over Prediction Markets is maintained, and that they will thrive. … We cannot have SCUM like Chris Christie, Letitia James, Tim Walz, and JB Pritzker setting the rules! … It is a major Industry, and we must protect it.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/3S2vadE
(DISCLOSURE: Sports Betting Alliance is a client of Fluence Advisory)
ICE: via CBS News, VERBATIM: “The Department of Homeland Security’s top lawyer on Tuesday directed [ICE] attorneys to aggressively pursue administrative fraud cases against immigration lawyers accused of filing false asylum claims, the latest step in the administration’s push to speed up removals. … While the directive does not create new penalties, it signals that ICE lawyers will begin to use existing administrative enforcement tools more frequently to crack down not only against migrants accused of submitting fraudulent applications, but also against the lawyers who represent them.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/42X6Zjm
ACROSSMN
ST LOUIS PK: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Employees at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park have come to a tentative agreement with the hospital days before they were set to strike. … The agreement includes increases in time-off benefits, wage increases, seniority rights, meal coupons for extra hours and grievance and arbitration rights, according to the announcement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dzCeHk
OAKDALE: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Tanners Lake Park in Oakdale is scheduled to get a $2.1 million makeover next year, and city officials are asking residents to weigh in on the improvements. They’re hosting a ‘walk and talk’ for residents to learn more about the project. The event, which will be held 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, will include walking tours of the park.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PN09Ka
GLOBAL TRADE BOLSTERS AG ECONOMIES: via Minnesota Corn, VERBATIM: “Each year, Minnesota’s exports of corn, ethanol, corn-fed meat, and dried distillers grains (DDGS) alone support over 11,500 jobs and add billions to the state’s economy. They also help ensure that consumers around the world have access to affordable protein and dairy products. In May, during World Trade Month, Minnesota Corn celebrates that important role trade plays in all our lives — in the U.S. and abroad.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dqEqB1 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Corn)
ACROSS MN
WASH CTY: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Washington County voters this fall could be asked to support a $40 million referendum question on the Nov. 3 ballot to conserve land and protect water. … The measure, if approved, would result in a property tax increase of approximately $25 a year for the average homeowner, according to county officials.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Rxhjfg
ALBERT LEA: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The Albert Lea City Council was wrong to prevent a cannabis microbusiness from setting up shop in the southern Minnesota city last summer, the state Court of Appeals ruled. … The court [said] the council broke its own ordinance and arbitrarily rejected an application from Jacob Schlichter, owner of the Smoking Tree, but the future of the business remains in question after the court declined to force the city to issue a business registration.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tYXaMS
MENDOTA HGTS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Mendota Heights will receive $4 million in state funding for its proposed Municipal Campus project as part of the bonding bill. … Early city estimates have put total costs for the proposed 49,000-square foot complex at $33.5 million, which city leaders have said is necessary to replace the aging facility where the city houses its governmental and law enforcement operations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3S0lyQE
PLYMOUTH: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A school bus company based in Plymouth has announced 125 layoffs after losing a contract to provide services to a nearby district. First Student in Plymouth informed [DEED] that it would be permanently closing its facility [on] July 31. … The closure is ‘due to the loss of a contract with Wayzata Public School District.’ The positions impacted include bus drivers, dispatchers, technicians, a location manager, and a location safety manager.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wPGERK
LOOKING AHEAD
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz will chair a special meeting of the Minnesota Board of Pardons and host a series of ceremonial bill signings with authors and advocates.
TODAY: DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek will meet small business owners in Rochester to discuss “the challenges and opportunities small businesses are facing, and how Minnesotans can help,” per a release. The event is at 9:00 a.m.
TODAY: The IRRR Board will host a special meeting in Eveleth at 9:00 a.m.
TODAY: U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison will announce legislation to end veteran homelessness at a 1:00 p.m. press conference. Morrison’s bill is the House companion to Sen. Tina Smith’s Senate bill.
TODAY: U.S. Rep. Angie Craig will have media availability in St. Paul at 2:30 p.m. before she officially files to run for U.S. Senate.
TOMORROW: DFL Sen. Aric Putnam will hold a campaign kickoff for his reelection bid in St. Cloud at 5:00 p.m.
TOMORROW: Americans for Prosperity MN will host a debate for Republican gubernatorial candidates on Thursday, May 28 in Duluth at 6:00 p.m. — one day before the party’s endorsing convention. KSTP’s Tom Hauser will moderate the debate.
TOMORROW: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will host a town hall with state Rep. Jamie Long, Edina Mayor James Hovlund and Minneapolis City Councilor Linea Palmisano in Minneapolis at 6:00 p.m.
FRI-SUN: The DFL will hold its 2026 convention in Rochester this weekend, while the state GOP has its convention in Duluth. Both parties will decide endorsements for statewide races, including governor, U.S. Senate, secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor.
JUNE 5: via Minneapolis Fed, VERBATIM: “Twice a year, regional economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis survey construction companies to gauge the sector’s performance and overall outlook. … Join Regional Outreach Director Erick Garcia Luna for a webinar discussing results from the spring survey of construction firms across the Ninth District.” The event is at 9:00 a.m. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/4wFjTjv
JUNE 5: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear will speak at the DFL’s annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner in Minneapolis on Friday, June 5. The event is at 6:00 p.m. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/4ehO614
JUNE 8: Attorney General Keith Ellison is hosting a community forum on the proposed acquisition of North Memorial Health by Sanford Health. The event is in Robbinsdale on Monday, June 8 at 6:00 p.m.
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