Twins win.
Wild play tonight in Vegas.
At least one of yesterday’s tornadoes was caught on camera near Minnesota Lake. PHOTO: https://fluence-media.co/4lPvZAX
The early and overhyped weather warning likely cost businesses money last night. The multiday hype and fear was over the top.
Overall, a median of 61% of adults across 35 countries say having freedom of the press in their country is very important, with another 23% saying it is somewhat important. PEW: https://fluence-media.co/3RH66FQ
Two-thirds of K-12 teachers in the U.S. are satisfied with their workplace, including 22% who are “extremely” satisfied. GALLUP:
A St. Louis Park neighbor is suing over a basketball hoop. Filing an injunction to prevent kids from playing basketball this summer. FOX9: https://fluence-media.co/3Gw1MHe
Tickets for Purple Rain the Musical go on sale May 9th.
We’ll celebrate 15 years of morning take tonight at Groveland Tap, join us if you’re in the neighborhood from 5-8 PM.
Happy National Zipper Day.
Blois
All Fluence Media tip sheets are now available to read and share online at our website, The Daily Agenda:
Our first premium publication. The Fluence Brief, will be released 3-4 times a month and dive deeper into the business, economic and political dynamics of the Midwest. . READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cQw43r
KSTP’s Tom Hauser was on Sunday Take to discuss how Minnesota politics and media have changed since morning take began 15 years ago. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4jvVJRy
Sponsorships available – to reach over 25,000 readers per day on Fluence’s tip sheet and website www.TheDailyAgenda.com – email BloisOlson@gmail.com
TODAY: A special election in Senate District 6 will be held today, with polls closing at 8:00 p.m. Voters will decide whether Republican Keri Heintzeman or DFLer Denise Slipy will replace former Sen. Justin Eichorn in the state Senate following his resignation earlier this year.
SD6: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “A Legislature marked by churn in recent months gets its newest member Tuesday when voters in north-central Minnesota choose a new senator, about a month after an abrupt resignation opened the seat. The winner of the special election will fill the District 6 seat. … The brief campaign revealed some stark political differences between Republican Keri Heitzeman, a staunch conservative who campaigned for President Donald Trump, and DFLer Denise Slipy, a relative political newcomer who says she will bring common sense to the state Capitol. The results of Tuesday’s election won't change control of the Minnesota Senate. … The district has favored Republicans in recent years…but voter turnout is a concern for both parties.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ScqfDQ
USSEN: Rep. Angie Craig launched her US Senate campaign this morning with the debut of a video. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4jTBfSo
Lifeline of Rural Health Care: Why Local Pharmacies Matter in 340B - In the heart of Greater Minnesota, access to local, 24/7 health care services isn’t just a necessity – it’s the cornerstone to vibrant rural communities. The 340B Drug Pricing Program has been instrumental in enabling nonprofit hospitals like Essentia Health to provide comprehensive, high-quality care to the state’s rural and underserved communities. Unfortunately, out-of-state pharmaceutical companies continue to blatantly ignore Minnesota’s law that protects safety net providers’ access to 340B discounted drugs. Legislators should stand up to these drug manufacturers and protect the 340B Program, ensuring that Minnesota’s rural communities continue to have access to life-saving - and community sustaining – health care services. Read more about how 340B is a lifeline for rural health care. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/42D8kLo (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
ELLISON: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was called before the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee on Monday to discuss the work his office does fighting fraud in programs funded by the state government. He ended up spending most of a nearly two-hour session answering questions about a [2021] meeting he had with some people who later were charged in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case. … Republican lawmakers say Ellison should have known more about the involvement of some people in that meeting because his office was already involved in litigation regarding Feeding Our Future. … Ellison said he was aware of the litigation but said he can’t know all the details of every case his 430 lawyers are working on. … After the hearing, the chair of the [committee], Rep. Kristin Robbins, R-Maple Grove, issued a statement.” ROBBINS: “There are still unresolved questions about when the Attorney General became aware of Feeding Our Future’s misconduct, how vigorously he defended his clients, the state agencies, and whether he put undue pressure on agencies to back down.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/437G30Q
MORE: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Republicans on the panel…sounded puzzled as to why [Keith] Ellison would agree to meet with the group and agree to look into their concerns without realizing they were the subject of state and federal probes. … Ellison said the tape is proof that the [fraudsters] tried to use him, but he didn’t take the bait. … Democrats on the committee branded the hearing a political stunt. … GREENMAN: ‘I think the general tenor of this committee [is] not about the policy. … We don't hear bills. It is about gotcha moments that then they repeat,’ said Rep. Emma Greenman, DFL-Minneapolis.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RFGF7B
LAWSUITS: The Star Tribune has a new dashboard keeping track of the various lawsuits the Minnesota Attorney General’s office has joined against the federal government since Pres. Donald Trump was inaugurated. There are currently 17 lawsuits in the tracker. DASHBOARD: https://fluence-media.co/4jLO6G8
MEDICAID SUPPORTS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL OF US: Medicaid keeps Minnesota’s hospitals strong and ensures communities across the state have access to care. Policymakers must protect Medicaid so every Minnesotan — regardless of income or health status — can get the care they need, when they need it. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3FtrCuH (SPONSORED: Minnesota Hospital Association)
MN HOUSE: via an MPR newsletter, VERBATIM: “The House saw some political friction [regarding] germaneness. It started with a disagreement over whether an amendment dealing with immigration enforcement was germane — or relevant — to a bill dealing with public safety, corrections and the judiciary. Republicans argued it was while Democrats argued it wasn’t, since immigration wasn’t directly referenced in the bill. The tied chamber split over how the speaker (a Republican) should rule and ended up in an extended and tense debate about House rules and whether a deal reached between GOP and DFL leaders was worth the paper it’s written on. After deadlocking a second time, the amendment came up for debate and failed on a 67-67 vote. Still, it will provide campaign ammo for Republicans who are likely to keep immigration as a central theme in 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42JgymJ
EDUCATION: via House Session Daily, VERBATIM: “An incomplete grade appears likely when it comes to the already late omnibus education finance bill. A proposal has been introduced more than two weeks past the committee deadline, but a single provision could derail the entire package. The House Education Finance Committee received a walkthrough of HF1388 as amended Monday, took public testimony and laid the bill over for future consideration. … A main sticking point between the parties remains: summer unemployment insurance for hourly and temporary school employees. The bill would fund the program with a one-time $30 million emergency appropriation…before the program is eliminated for the 2028-2029 school year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42Ladpn
MORE: via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Setting the [summer unemployment insurance] repeal date so far in the future means Democrats could reverse course again and keep the benefits going if they win back control of government. But some Democrats say they aren’t willing to vote for the deal and bank on a strong election in 2026, which means the issue could divide the DFL House and Senate caucuses.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cYvQYg
EVICTIONS: via MPR, VERBATIM: “Minnesota senators are considering a change that would force landlords to wait to evict tenants if the federal government suspends housing vouchers. Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, moved to tack on an amendment to a broader public safety bill last week, saying the state needs a contingency plan if President Donald Trump's administration opts to cut the Section 8 housing program. The plan would require a three-month wait to start eviction proceedings if a tenant couldn't pay rent due to a change in the program. … The proposal would also set aside state dollars to repay landlords. Sen. Rich Draheim, GOP-Madison Lake, said it's not clear the state will need a contingency.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42JgymJ
END-OF-LIFE: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “This is the fourth time the End-of-Life Option Act has been introduced in the Minnesota Legislature. As of now, there are no hearings scheduled for the act in its Senate or House bill form for this legislative session. [But] if passed, it would allow a specific portion of people to have access to…the prescription of lethal medication for the end of life. … If it became law, Minnesota would be the 11th state or district to provide what is referred to as either medical aid in dying or physician-assisted suicide.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jMoxF8
MINNESOTA INSURANCE COVERAGE TAX WILL COST FAMILIES, SMALL BUSINESSES AND SENIORS MORE: Governor Walz and the Department of Commerce want to create a new tax that will, at a minimum, double the tax rate paid on supplemental non-medical insurance coverage including dental, vision, private paid family medical leave, long-term care, and wage replacement insurance products to fund reinsurance. This tax hike will make these critically important products more expensive for consumers, force more seniors onto Medicaid and public programs, make Minnesota-based insurers less competitive nationally, and make it more difficult for employers to provide competitive benefits. These products provide Minnesota families with peace of mind and everyday security, and we should not ask them to pay more to subsidize other insurance products. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4lNcE3n (SPONSORED: Minnesota Insurance and Financial Services Council)
PHARMA: via a Rep. Angie Craig press release, VERBATIM: “U.S. Representative Angie Craig recently introduced a bipartisan bill to eliminate tax breaks for pharmaceutical companies on prescription drug advertising. The bipartisan No Handouts for Drug Advertisements Act would eliminate the tax deduction companies can claim for pharmaceutical marketing and promotional expenses related to advertising. … The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing estimates that prohibiting pharmaceutical advertising [tax breaks] could increase federal tax revenues by $1.5 to $1.7 billion annually from 10 of the largest pharmaceutical companies operating in the U.S.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iIt0rx
OLYMPICS: via a Rep. Pete Stauber press release, VERBATIM: “Today, the House of Representatives passed Congressman Pete Stauber’s (MN-08) Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act, which will award three Congressional Gold Medals to the members of the 1980 United States Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team for their historic victory over the Soviet Union in the Winter Olympics. … Once signed into law, the three Congressional Gold Medals will be given to three different locations [including] the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, MN.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jwbdoL
BETTING POLL: Support is surging among Minnesotans who want legal wagering on sporting events. New polling by the Sports Betting Alliance of Minnesota indicates 60% of voters in the state support the legalization of sports betting. The survey of 1,000 Minnesota voters also revealed overwhelming support for legal wagering among 18–29-year-olds, with 75% of females and 73% of males in favor of allowing sports betting in Minnesota — something that is available in 39 states. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/49uj4OF (SPONSORED: Sports Betting Alliance)
IMMIGRATION: via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “The Trump Administration’s policy on international students is changing so quickly, its own lawyers are having trouble keeping up. … Reports Friday indicated that the administration would change course on the mass cancellations of legal status for international students. But in a hearing Monday in St. Paul, a Trump Administration lawyer told a federal judge that while he understood there was a new policy, he did not know what that new policy was. ‘I have not seen the policy so I cannot speak to what its contents are,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Bahram Samie told U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan. Samie said he had learned Monday morning that a new policy was created Sunday evening. … The exchange took place during a hearing regarding two international students [who] saw their legal status terminated.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3REOVow
MORE: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “A federal district court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday barring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from moving detained University of Minnesota grad student Dogukan Gunaydin out of Minnesota while his immigration case plays out. … The order is valid for at least the next two weeks when Judge [Jeffrey] Bryan has scheduled a court hearing on the issue, May 12. … Gunaydin’s case has drawn significant public attention including protests on campus as well as outside the immigration court facilities in Bloomington.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/44e0sm8
HOMEOWNERS: via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “A recent report by the Minnesota State Demographic Center shows that the overall rate of homeownership since 1970 has held steady at roughly 72%, but there has been a precipitous decline in Black homeownership over the same period. In 1970, for instance, 42% of Black families were homeowners. In 2022 just 26% were. … The decline happening almost exclusively among U.S.-born Black families. Among Black immigrants, homeownership rates increased.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3RBYtk7
IT’S POSSIBLE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY UPHOLD ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY AND GROW OUR ECONOMY: Minnesota’s lengthy and uncertain permitting process has frustrated businesses for decades. A recent report found that air permitting in Minnesota can take up to six times longer than comparable states. A coalition of business and labor groups are advocating for reform that will shorten timelines and increase certainty while maintaining our strong environmental standards. Contact your legislators and tell them to support streamlining the permitting process. CONTACT: https://fluence-media.co/3Ea5Tbe (SPONSORED: Minnesota Chamber of Commerce)
HENN CTY: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “A new policy that requires Hennepin County prosecutors to consider a defendant's race when negotiating plea deal offers took effect Monday, April 28. … [But] in addition to its race-based provisions, the new policy makes other significant changes to how prosecutors handle cases. A related ‘collateral consequences policy,’ which took effect April 23, directs prosecutors to consider — at every stage of a case — any collateral consequences a defendant might face. Examples provided in the policy include ‘immigration impacts,’ loss of employment, public benefits, housing, or student financial aid.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4iIAY3P
MPLS: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “A class of about a dozen FAIR School for Arts students practiced a jazzy dance routine on Monday morning. … The downtown Minneapolis high school has robust dance programming, but that can be hard to find at other public schools. Now, there’s a plan to improve dance offerings. City officials announced a partnership Monday to bring dance education to every public school and Parks and Recreation center in Minneapolis, funded with $350,000 from the city.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jYiduq
NONPROFIT: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “A year ago, the future was looking bright for Vail Communities, a 45-year-old Twin Cities-based nonprofit that provides services and support for people with mental illness. The centerpiece of Vail’s programming is its clubhouses — member-run meeting spaces where people with serious and persistent mental illness gather for community, food, support and advocacy. … [But] the organization announced in a press release that the Minneapolis and St. Paul clubhouses would be defunded and closed due to federal cuts. The Hopkins clubhouse, Vail’s original location, would remain open, Vail leaders said, because its Hennepin County funding remained secure. … [DHS] continues to investigate other options for keeping the clubhouses open.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4izshIT
SUPPORT SF 2929 AND HF 2677: Third-party lawsuit funding (TPLF) — or “lawsuit lending” — is a growing and extremely concerning trend in courts across the state and throughout the country that encourages frivolous lawsuits and threatens to drive up the costs of products, services, and insurance for Minnesota consumers. Fortunately, lawmakers are considering legislation — the Consumers in Crisis Protection Act (SF 2929 & HF 2677) — to increase transparency around this highly secretive practice and reasonably regulate third-party lawsuit funders to protect consumers and help keep premiums low. MORE INFO: https://fluence-media.co/4jivOfT (SPONSORED: ASPCIA)
HIV: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota is entering a bittersweet phase in its fight against HIV: Improved treatments have helped people with the disease live so long that they are dying of other age-related causes. The state recorded 158 deaths in its HIV population last year, the highest number in at least a decade, but only 32 people died from the disease while the rest were from other causes. … And for the first time, half of the state’s deaths in its HIV population involved people 60 and older.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4lRf8xH
POLLUTION: via an MPCA press release, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) completed 75 enforcement cases for water quality, air quality, waste, stormwater, and wastewater violations in the second half of 2024. Environmental enforcement investigations often take several months, in some cases more than a year, to complete the investigation and issue final enforcement documents and fines.” READ/LIST: https://fluence-media.co/3EJezp6
MET COUNCIL: via TCB Magazine’s Adam Platt, VERBATIM: “The Met Council is likely to lease several surplus NorthStar trainsets to Amtrak to help with its equipment shortage. They will not operate on Borealis, but on short distance routes.” TWEET: https://fluence-media.co/435gj5h
PUSH BACK AGAINST TAX BREAKS FOR BIG TECH DATA CENTERS: Our tax money should be going to essential services for Minnesotans, like education, health care, and infrastructure — not subsidies for billionaire owned data centers. The current tax credit has already cost our state an estimated $5 million a year since 2011. In 2025 it will be over $100 million. It’s time to stop these skyrocketing numbers. Tell your legislators, ‘No big tax breaks for Big Tech.’ LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3ErmQh8 (SPONSORED: Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy)
STEARNS CTY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A judge has dismissed the emergency guardianship of a former central Minnesota county commissioner whose wife sought the order as his dementia worsened. The dismissal hinged on a resolution brought to the court and agreed upon by now-retired Stearns County Commissioner Leigh Lenzmeier, his wife, Alice, and their three adult children. Alice Lenzmeier filed for, and was granted, emergency guardianship over her husband in early April.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4302Jzc
ROCHESTER: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “A once-projected near 10.7% increase for Rochester’s 2026 property tax levy is expected to drop as work on the city’s next two-year budget continues. … [City] staff has identified a potential $1.3 million in expense reductions, as well as $1.7 million in possible revenue increases as work starts on the next budget recommendation. The potential $3 million change could reduce an $11.9 million increase to the city’s overall tax levy, which was projected as the 2025 budget was being created. If the entire $3 million in budget adjustments were applied to the city’s tax levy, it would bring the once 10.7% increase down to 8%, but it’s unlikely to happen, since the savings likely includes services not supported by property tax revenue.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44K8h2Y
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)
DULUTH: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Construction crews will begin work on the shoreline of Duluth's ever-popular Canal Park starting the first week of May. According to a press release Monday from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the construction project will aim to protect the lakeshore near the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center from weather and wave damage. … Construction will last from May through November of 2025, then resume and finish in the spring of 2026.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3S98MMu
STILLWATER: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “The St. Croix Valley Syttende Mai Society will host a banquet May 15 to observe Norway’s Constitution Day. ‘Syttende Mai’ is Norwegian for ‘17th of May,’ the day in 1814 the Norwegian Constitution was adopted, said Roger Bosmoe, president of the society. The holiday is ‘often thought of as Norway’s Fourth of July,’ Bosmoe said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4izKC8M
PRODUCING THE FUELS THAT HELP KEEP MINNESOTA MOVING: Flint Hills Resources, one of the Midwest’s leading producers of transportation fuels is hiring! With openings in IT, accounting, engineering, operations, procurement and asset management, Flint Hills Resources’ goal is to match talented individuals with their passions and interests to truly shine. APPLY TODAY: Flint Hills jobs (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
MNLEG: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “A power-sharing agreement in the tied Minnesota House and a narrow Democratic edge in the Senate will be put to the test this week as the Legislature searches for a budget agreement in the homestretch of the session. Final negotiations are starting to play out even as the respective House and Senate budget bills come up for floor votes this week and early next week. The final plan is likely to approach $66 billion for the next two years, smaller than the budget in place now but also accounting for a possible falloff in federal funding for some programs. There are already signs that things could get choppy in the House, split 67 to 67 between Democrats and Republicans.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3EI8vx6
HIGHER ED: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Through a flurry of executive orders and letters, President Donald Trump has laid siege to higher education across the U.S. in the first few months of his second term, attacking longstanding practices and funding sources. In Minnesota, the chaotic roll-out of changes and cuts — and then reversals in decisions — has left college leaders scrambling. … While efforts to undermine Ivy League schools like Columbia University and Harvard University have drawn the most attention, the strain is affecting schools big and small across Minnesota, officials said, with the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus remaining at the center of the firestorm.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jRq3pk
DATA CENTERS: via Axios Twin Cities, VERBATIM: “Minnesota's boom in data centers is part of a trend that has big tech companies targeting the Midwest for its cool air and abundant water. Data centers power the AI boom — but there's growing concern about their soaring energy and water demands. Columbus and Chicago remain the region's primary data center markets. But companies are increasingly eyeing the Twin Cities, Pittsburgh, Des Moines and parts of Indiana, where land is cheaper and energy is more available.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42FPVNW
SESSION: No House floor session. No Senate floor session. HOUSE: Taxes will hear the education finance omnibus. Capital Investment will hear presentations and requests from the University of Minnesota, Minnesota State University, the Department of Corrections and more. Ways & Means will hear finance omnibus bills for education and human services. SENATE: Finance hears omnibus bills for E-12 education and higher education. Taxes will hear changes to tax exemptions and rebates for e-bikes, tribal properties and more. CALENDAR: https://fluence-media.co/3EPTitN
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz will have meeting with leaders from Minnesota’s medical technology industry, and legislative leaders.
TODAY: via an FFA advisory, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota FFA State Convention takes place at the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Monday and Tuesday, April 28 and 29. This year’s theme is Stand as One, selected by the FFA’s State Officers.”
SATURDAY: via an MN DFL advisory, VERBATIM: “Senator Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley), Representative John Huot (DFL-Rosemount) and Representative Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley) invite residents of Senate District 56 to join their legislators at a town hall on Sunday, May 3 to hear updates from the Capitol and ask questions about Minnesota’s legislative session.” The event is at 11:30 a.m.
MAY 6: via City of Minneapolis, VERBATIM: “On Tuesday, May 6, Mayor Jacob Frey will give his 2025 State of the City address at 11:30 a.m. in Minneapolis. … The address will be hosted in person and will be live streamed on the City’s YouTube page.”
BDAYS: Sen Heather Gustafson, Mayo’s Tina Bro
TIPS: How do we get the best news and most buzzed about stories? Send us your tips at BloisOlson@gmail.com
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