TUESDAY TENSION
Wild lose to the Devils. Timberwolves will miss Ant tonight due to injury.
Koi Perich is going to be a Duck.
There’s a buzz among businesses that feels a lot like the COVID uncertainty. We wait for the imminent announcement from Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Meanwhile, Attorney General Keith Ellison is staying very visible.
The vigilantes seem to be disrupting ICE, but to what end?
The Landman roommate is from Minnesota and has a pet ferret. My roommate in college had pet ferrets…such a great scene.
Some Republicans are expressing unease with the investigations into Fed Chair Jerome Powell. POLITICO: https://fluence-media.co/4jzNuoa
I wonder if they have unease about the election odds.
It’s National Peach Melba Day….seems overrated.
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The Fluence Forum - The State of Energy is Jan. 21. REGISTER:
DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek discussed the state’s new paid leave program on Sunday Take. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3NuT7Ig
Health Care will remain a top issue into 2026, the State of Health Care Fluence Forum panels from last week are now available in podcast form. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/FluenceForumPodcast
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The latest insight from Fluence Advisory on the loss of institutional knowledge from the Minnesota Legislature. READ:https://fluence-advisory.com/insights/
FIRST
A meeting on Capitol security should get coverage today, it’s one of the issues that hasn’t gotten enough attention. Meanwhile, in a memo to media the Flanagan for Senate campaign is relying on some of the harshest Jacob Frey critics to go after Rep. Angie Craig.
Buzz amongst many Republicans is that they forced Gov. Tim Walz out of the 2026 gubernatorial race too early. In addition to the Walz push out, Republicans are concerned that the ICE activity that will energize the far left that DFLers need to boost turnout in a non-presidential year.
Last night in Cannon Falls a straw poll from Goodhue County Republicans had Kendall Qualls winning and Chris Madel finishing second, and Mike Lindell finishing third.
There’s a dominant narrative about Minneapolis that highlights the most vocal voices, rather than those of others including a profile on Sen. Zaynab Mohamed in the Washington Post, VERBATIM: “That’s when Chief Brian O’Hara asked Mohamed and the small group of young, female elected officials she was with to help convince the crowd that Minneapolis police weren’t there to work with ICE… “They’ll listen to you guys,” Mohamed recalled him saying…Mohamed, 28, is an increasingly high-profile lawmaker with an expanding social media reach whose family fled Somalia nearly 20 years ago in hopes of leaving political violence behind. Over the past half decade, her adopted hometown has suffered searing local traumas that reverberated nationally: police killings, political assassinations and now a fatal immigration crackdown. These events bruised the collective psyche of this deeply purple state while molding Mohamed’s life as Minnesota’s youngest state senator.” READ: https://wapo.st/49sH4CM
Add to that a headline in the Star Tribune about lame duck attorney Mary Moriarty: “How Mary Moriarty could approach prosecuting ICE agent Jonathan Ross for killing Renee Good VERBATIM:” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Attorney General Keith Ellison’s pursuit of an independent investigation into Renee Good’s killing faces significant hurdles, hindered from the start by a lack of access to evidence and a high legal threshold for leveling charges against ICE agent Jonathan Ross for firing the fatal shots.Yet unique potential scenarios remain in play, including a state prosecution of the case that could take place in federal court.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49Ir3sK
The intriguing and challenging issue is that the same factions in Minneapolis politics that have been against MPD, are now relying on them to not interfere with ICE. Meanwhile, DFLers never recovered from the 2020 “Defund the Police” narrative, especially the Minneapolis City Council.
That means local police, and many others are stuck in the middle. The worst place to be.
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SUING TO STOP
LAWSUIT: via Office of the Atty. General, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Keith Ellison, on behalf of the state of Minnesota and alongside the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and related agencies and officials, asking the court to end the unprecedented surge of DHS agents into the state and [issue] a temporary restraining order. … As a result of this surge, municipalities have been forced to divert local law enforcement resources. … The estimated cost of [MPD] overtime to taxpayers for the period between January 8 and January 11 is more than $2 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49tO4zm
MORE: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said residents are afraid to go to work, shop or seek medical care. … ‘If the goal were simply to look for people that are undocumented, Minneapolis and St. Paul would not be the place where you would go,’ he said. … Minnesota’s non-citizen immigrant population is 1.5% [of all residents], which is half the national average. … St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her said the ‘occupation’ by federal agents is ‘creating mass chaos.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45O4ykE
MORE: Via KARE 11, Illinois and the City of Chicago filed a similar lawsuit the same day. READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pv0oVT
RESPONSE: via joint statement from Speaker Lisa Demuth and Floor Leader Harry Niska, both GOP, STATEMENT: “Instead of working with the federal government to target and arrest criminal illegal immigrants, they are wasting state resources on a lawsuit that seeks to override the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law. Minnesotans deserve leaders that allow the removal of violent criminals — not ones that demand they remain in our communities.”
INVESTIGATION: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Attorney General Keith Ellison says state investigators have been denied access to crucial evidence collected by federal officials in the fatal shooting of Renee Good. … Ellison said the state does not have access to several key pieces of evidence in the shooting, including Good’s car, the gun [Jonathan] Ross used, and witness statements taken by federal officials. Despite the obstacles, Ellison still maintained that the state plans to pursue its own investigation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jJb6Hm
ARRESTS: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the federal immigration enforcement surge began in December, federal officials said in a statement Monday. The statement did not offer any details about the people arrested, including how many people were released after being arrested, charged with a crime or who face deportation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ntji29
O’HARA: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara joined the New York Times podcast The Daily to discuss the shooting of Renee Good and how the presence of ICE agents is complicating his police department’s work. O’Hara criticized ICE’s law enforcement tactics, saying Good’s death was “predictable and entirely preventable.” LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3Yy6IkC
BOVINO: U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino spoke to WCCO-TV about the ICE surge in Minnesota. Bovino said U.S. citizens have “no reason” to fear immigration officers even though Renee Good, a citizen, was killed by an ICE agent. QUOTE: “If they’re United States citizens or legal permanent residents or have some type of legal status to be or remain here in the United States, there’s no reason to be scared. … Let us conduct this legal, ethical and moral law enforcement operation, get these bad people and bad things off the streets, and then we’re off to the next city.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pBPZrK
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)
OTHER STUFF
RURAL HEALTH: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “As state lawmakers prepare for the upcoming legislative session that begins next month, some of them are meeting with rural Minnesota residents to hear from them directly about their health care needs, and how the crisis of rural healthcare affordability and accessibility is impacting them. Since the fall, legislators have met with folks in Northfield, St. Peter, St. Cloud, Red Wing and Winona. There are plans to hold listening sessions in Hermantown and Moorhead next. Kristi Pursell, a DFL state representative from Northfield, helped plan the sessions with some colleagues.” PURSELL: “I wanted to get my more metro colleagues to come to these places to be able to hear firsthand what the unique challenges are.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NgdngU
MATERNITY: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “In a new report by the Minnesota Department of Health…the state health agency said that 95% of Minnesota’s pregnancy-related deaths, from 2017 to 2021, were preventable. The report also found that Minnesota’s 2021 maternal death rate, 34.1 deaths per 100,000 live births, is slightly higher than the national average, which is 33.2 per 100,000. Within the state, American Indian and Black parents face a higher average maternal death rate.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4buMIqw REPORT: https://fluence-media.co/4qruB9W
DESPITE THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL HEALTH CARE, ESSENTIA IS RECOGNIZED FOR PROVIDING TOP CLINICAL CARE: According to the latest report from Minnesota Community Measurement, a statewide resource on health care quality, costs and equity, Essentia ranked as a high performer with 19 of 20 clinical quality metrics scoring above statewide averages. According to Dr. Maria Beaver, chief quality and patient safety officer at Essentia: “This is a testament to the amazing care provided by all our clinical care teams and all our colleagues who support them.” LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4dCxy1D (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
HOMICIDE: via Axios Twin Cities, VERBATIM: “The number of homicides in St. Paul and Minneapolis fell in 2025. … St. Paul Police reported 15 homicides in 2025, down from 33 in 2024 and the lowest annual total in 12 years. … In Minneapolis, 64 people were murdered last year, according to city data. That’s a 16% drop compared to 2025’s count of 76, but still above 2019’s total of 48. … St. Paul’s public safety strategy that led to a drastic decline in murders already has Minneapolis leaders working to copy that approach.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49sPYlb
POT: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Public safety officials are hoping this is the year the Minnesota Legislature will give law enforcement permission to employ technology to detect drivers under the influence of cannabis. They had permission to run a pilot last year, and results were promising. … ‘The devices proved highly accurate,’ said Mike Hanson, director of the Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. ‘The instruments worked as expected. We are hopeful policy makers will approve them’ in 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49AX8CH
DC
OVERSIGHT: Via AP News, a hearing is scheduled for tomorrow regarding the new policy that blocked Reps. Angie Craig, Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar from visiting an ICE detention facility, as seen in yesterday’s morning take. VERBATIM: “Last month, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked ICE from enforcing policies limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities. In a court filing on Monday, plaintiffs’ lawyers asked Cobb to hold an emergency hearing and decide if the duplicate notice policy violates her order. Cobb scheduled a hearing for Wednesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4jGfAhV
FED FUNDS: via AP News, VERBATIM: “A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump Administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants. … The grants supported hundreds of clean energy projects in 16 states, including [Minnesota]. … U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta [said] ‘Defendants freely admit that they made grant-termination decisions primarily — if not exclusively — based on whether the awardee resided in a state whose citizens voted for President [Donald] Trump in 2024.’ … The city of St. Paul and a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit after they lost grants.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4sEhEuO
AROUND THE STATE
FED AGENTS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Operation Metro Surge is fanning out far beyond the boundaries of the Twin Cities metro that the Trump Administration says it’s targeting. … ICE intensified [its] presence in Greater Minnesota, with a flurry of reports coming in from Rochester, Mankato and other cities. … [It’s] particularly noticeable in southern Minnesota, said Ryan Perez, organizing director at COPAL. … Perez [said] DHS is using Minneapolis to brand the operation, [but] to get the numbers that the Trump Administration wants, it can’t limit itself to just the metro.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aSk82f
ST CLOUD: via St. Cloud Live, VERBATIM: “Witnesses said that chaos erupted on Monday [in] St. Cloud, with estimates of at least 50 armed ICE agents [at] a strip mall. … At least one man and two protesters were detained during the interaction. … Pepper spray was also deployed during the incident, including against state Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, the lawmaker [said]. … Abdi Daisane, who is running for the state House of Representatives District 14A, [said] ‘People are sick of this. … We won’t stop resisting until we are free.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49hFSDw
BEMIDJI: via Bemidji Pioneer, VERBATIM: “In a statement on Monday, Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin shared that there is currently no planned presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Bemidji…[and] BPD would ‘not take a proactive part in those operations’ if ICE agents were to come to Bemidji.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YEcoJT
WILD ABOUT READING: Join more than 800 Minnesota classrooms and 30,000 students 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, Paulie; 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/49AHNSE (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
BUSINESSES: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “Many Latino businesses in northeast Minneapolis were closed Monday due to the presence of ICE agents, with business owners reporting a significant loss in revenue — some losing 50% to 80%. The ICE surge has led to empty streets and closed doors in areas like Central Avenue and St. Paul’s District Del Sol. … One business owner, who wished to remain anonymous, shared his struggles with FOX 9. Although he says he is legally in the country, he fears for his business’s future as customers stay away.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Z9HNUB
WHIPPLE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Concrete barriers were installed outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Monday morning as tensions continue to rise between protesters and federal immigration agents. Near midday, fencing began to be installed, too.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/45b267I
WALKOUTS: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Students at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis walked out of class Monday afternoon, protesting recent federal immigration activity in the Twin Cities. More than a hundred students, carrying signs denouncing ICE, walked around their campus and to Hiawatha and back. … The demonstration at Roosevelt is not the first school walkout we’ve seen in the past several weeks, but it comes just days after tensions flared when Border Patrol agents were on campus.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/49y2xud
MORE: Via WCCO-TV, high school students also held anti-ICE walkout protests in Roseville and Maple Grove. READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Ngkea8
WHAT’S NEXT
FED AGENTS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Operation Metro Surge is fanning out far beyond the boundaries of the Twin Cities metro that the Trump Administration says it’s targeting. … ICE intensified [its] presence in Greater Minnesota, with a flurry of reports coming in from Rochester, Mankato and other cities. … [It’s] particularly noticeable in southern Minnesota, said Ryan Perez, organizing director at COPAL. … Perez [said] DHS is using Minneapolis to brand the operation, [but] to get the numbers that the Trump Administration wants, it can’t limit itself to just the metro.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aSk82f
ST CLOUD: via St. Cloud Live, VERBATIM: “Witnesses said that chaos erupted on Monday [in] St. Cloud, with estimates of at least 50 armed ICE agents [at] a strip mall. … At least one man and two protesters were detained during the interaction. … Pepper spray was also deployed during the incident, including against state Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, the lawmaker [said]. … Abdi Daisane, who is running for the state House of Representatives District 14A, [said] ‘People are sick of this. … We won’t stop resisting until we are free.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49hFSDw
BEMIDJI: via Bemidji Pioneer, VERBATIM: “In a statement on Monday, Bemidji Police Chief Mike Mastin shared that there is currently no planned presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Bemidji…[and] BPD would ‘not take a proactive part in those operations’ if ICE agents were to come to Bemidji.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3YEcoJT
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