HOLIDAY LOADING
Twins win. Lynx host Toronto tonight. Aurora opens tonight.
Memorial Day Weekend feels like the first break since Metro Surge, the Session and a chance to breathe.
WCCO Radio announced this morning that since CBS Radio News is shuttering that they will become an ABC Radio news affiliate starting this afternoon.
The Minneapolis City Council will vote today on the new police training center.
Traffic patterns across the metro are amazingly frustrating. Once again there if there is coordination between state, county and local officials you’d never know it.. The East-West arteries including 394 (from Downtown to Wayzata), Cedar Lake Road, and Excelsior Blvd makes “construction” season a new issue in quality of life. If there are other regions that have these issues send an email. bloisolson@gmail.com
U.S. News ranked eight Minnesota cities on its list of the top 250 places to live — Plymouth is highest at 31st place. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4eZhsC2
Trust for Public Land ranked Minneapolis in 3rd on its list of cities with the best parks, while St. Paul is 4th. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4tN938q
The Federal Reserve is considering interest rate hikes if inflation stays elevated. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/3RhARUZ
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SPEAKING Lobbyist and trade associations that are killing time waiting today, let me know if you want me to speak to your summer and fall events about the “Signals vs. Noise” of the election. bloisolson@gmail.com
Go deeper…Check out a Fluence Forum podcast. APPLE: https://fluence-media.co/FluenceForums
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
Sunday Take covered the final days of session and the lack of a 340B bill with Rahul Koranne of the Minnesota Hospital Association. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4wGysn4
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NOT-SO-SLOW…NEWS DAY
Aimee Bock will be sentenced today, and fraud will drive news of the day prosecutors want 50 years.
EXPECT: More indictments and the announcement of a Health Care Fraud Strike Force focused on Minnesota. Other cities have these strike forces and Minnesota is the likely next market to have local DOJ presence on fraud issues
MORE: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Several top Trump Administration officials will be in Minneapolis on Thursday to ‘announce major law enforcement actions involving fraud in Minnesota,’ one day after several federal fraud indictments were also unsealed. A press conference is planned for 11 a.m. … Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche will be joined at the press conference by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz…US. Attorney Daniel Rosen and other federal law enforcement partners.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4tJxRhp
YESTERDAY: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “Two Minnesotans testified at a U.S. Senate Small Business Committee hearing on fraud in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, [saying] they faced retaliation for speaking up. … Jay Swanson, a former manager of recipient and child care provider investigations at Minnesota’s Department of Human Services, and Faye Bernstein, a current compliance specialist at the department, [said] concerns about risky financial practices and conflicts of interest were dismissed by leadership.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4dnZN5O
REPEAT: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Federal prosecutors have leveled their latest fraud charges against a group of people accused of stealing millions from Minnesota’s housing and child care programs. Fahima Egeh Mahamud faces one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, alleging that from October 2022 through December 2025, she collected $4.6 million [for] her child care center. … Jillaine Mertens was charged with one count of wire fraud alleging she [stole] $425,000. … Mustafa Dayib and Abdulbasit Ibrahim [allegedly] defrauded the state’s Housing Stabilization Services program by receiving $975,000 in Medicaid money for services they did not provide.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4upshSw
MORE: KARE 11 has a list of every fraud indictment revealed yesterday — in total, nine people were charged. Notably, Fahima Mahamud was previously charged in the Feeding Our Future case, and KARE 11’s Lou Raguse said she was the top recipient of taxpayer money last year among daycare owners. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4tJxRhp
MORE: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “A KARE 11 investigation has uncovered new allegations that workers paid to care for vulnerable Minnesotans were sleeping on the job while billing taxpayers for services clients say they never received. The findings are the latest in a series of [reports] on Minnesota’s Integrated Community Supports, or ICS, program. … The ICS program is now at the center of Minnesota’s ever-widening fraud investigations, with some lawmakers calling for the entire program to be scrapped and rebuilt with better safeguards.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4v00A2A
ICE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “The [ICE] officer who allegedly pointed a gun at another car on Highway 62 in February will turn himself in on Thursday. … The attorney for Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., of Temple Hills, Md., confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Morgan will surrender himself. … Morgan was charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4dWzzY8
POLL: Republican candidate for governor Mike Lindell shared results from an Otter Tail County GOP straw poll yesterday that showed him in the lead with 20 votes out of around 40 respondents. The same straw poll shows Adam Schwarze in the lead for U.S. Senate, Wendy Phillips winning Secretary of State, and Nate George chosen for State Auditor. Despite its small sample size, the poll may indicate strength among Republican primary voters and party activists. Lindell advertised the poll earlier this week on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, as seen in yesterday’s morning take. RESULTS: https://fluence-media.co/4urJRWa
ONEWEEKOUT: Americans for Prosperity MN will host a debate for Republican gubernatorial candidates on Thursday, May 28 in Duluth — one day before the party’s endorsing convention. KSTP’s Tom Hauser will moderate the debate.
NOTE: morning take will be in Duluth with regular updates for MNSider subscribers on the GOP Senate and Governor’s endorsement battles.
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)
EMMER: via The Hill, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) has a naturally blunt demeanor, but he says a softer touch is the key to wooing rambunctious members in the super-slim House Republican majority. EMMER: “Human beings are very emotional animals. If you don’t manage the emotions, then you got cleanup to do,” Emmer said…“I pretty much tell the members, say whatever you want.”…“This is an emotional thing. You got to get it out. Eventually, we’re going to get you back,” Emmer said. By the end of the bumpy week, all the measures in question passed… The No. 3 House Republican is tasked with being the chief vote-counter and vote-getter for the House GOP legislative agenda under President Trump. His two terms as whip — and before that, two winning cycles as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee — have allowed him to foster personal relationships across the ideological spectrum of the House Republican Conference, according to a dozen GOP lawmakers and aides who spoke to The Hill….That has made him a top contender for a higher leadership position, should Republicans lose control of the House in November and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) leave leadership.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PdiJLm
HCMC: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Gov. Tim Walz visited HCMC on Wednesday to talk to hospital and county officials [about] a $205 million infusion. … The legislation calls for measures to monitor how the state money is spent, but [Walz] insists the hospital’s financial situation is not the result of mismanagement. WALZ: ‘It’s a broken health care system. … You can make hospital finances work if you turn people away at the door. Well, we have a moral obligation and legal obligation [here].’ … Still, his senior health advisor, Jan Malcolm, says the new legislation includes reporting mandates and a task force to study how to make HCMC more financially stable. MALCOLM: ‘There will be a lot of transparency in how the funds are being used and what progress is being made to stabilize [HCMC].’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3PFu46O
RELIEF: via WCCO Radio, VERBATIM: “Lake Street Council leaders say they are ‘disappointed’ after a state aid plan for business owners died in House deadlock. Following the demise of a $100 million state relief package, manager of Corridor Recovery Initiatives Russ Adams says that emergency aid for struggling immigrant and minority owned storefronts became a legislative bargaining chip. … ‘Supporting small businesses is supposed to be a bipartisan consensus,’ [Adams] said.” READ/LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4dVTGpn
SELF DRIVING: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “A bill that would have cleared the way for driverless cars did not pass as the 2026 Minnesota legislative session wrapped. … DFL Rep. Brad Tabke [said] current Minnesota law doesn’t allow driverless cars.” TABKE: “Republicans really wanted to move forward with straight-up industry language, and us Democrats didn’t want to move forward without having safety guardrails around it. We were really close at the end of the session, and I thought we had a solution to go.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3PFwsui
(DISCLOSURE: Waymo was a Fluence sponsor during session)
ROOF DEPOT: via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Minnesota lawmakers cleared a path for a long-stymied urban farm project in south Minneapolis by including funding in a large infrastructure bill. … The [bill] includes $4 million for the city of Minneapolis for a new water distribution facility, a long-delayed step needed for the nonprofit East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) to purchase the Roof Depot site.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dnHr4N
SOCIAL MEDIA: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Pending Gov. Tim Walz’s signature, a new Minnesota law would require parental consent and ban ‘addictive’ features for users 15-years-old and younger [on] social media. … The bipartisan legislation [adds] Minnesota to a growing list of states adding social media restrictions amid a lack of major federal action. In 2025 alone, lawmakers in 45 states and Puerto Rico introduced bills or resolutions related to social media and youth. … ‘Addictive’ features [include] infinite scrolling capabilities, autoplay videos, push notifications, personalized feeds and personal metrics. … It also bans targeted ads and the sale of personal user data.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wGqKct
PETS: via MPR, VERBATIM: “After back and forth about the rights of small businesses versus concerns about animal welfare, a bill that awaits consideration by Gov. Tim Walz prevents future pet shops from selling cats and dogs. The bill is aimed at curbing the ‘puppy-mill-to-pet-shop pipeline,’ according to bill sponsor Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis. … Lawmakers ultimately grandfathered in the few local pet shops that currently sell cats and dogs, including Four Paws and a Tail in Blaine, but ensured puppy store chains can’t set up shop in the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fwlmSW
Follow the 2026 Minnesota elections up close with the Fluence Election Tracker.
https://fluence-media.co/electiontracker
SIGNED: via Office of the Governor, VERBATIM: “Governor Tim Walz today signed three bills. HF 3067 clarifies paraprofessional qualifications, making hiring standards clearer and addressing staffing shortages in schools. HF 4074 includes administrative changes, direct state aid, changes to employee contributions, appropriations from the general fund and trunk highway fund, and the creation of a new pension plan. HF 5074 financially compensates certain individuals who were wrongfully incarcerated.” LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4dTxsEr
TAXES: Via Center for Fiscal Excellence, an analysis of the tax omnibus lawmakers passed this week. EXCERPT: “The biggest victory was the amount of federal conformity accomplished, aided by the fact that conformity is a revenue raiser. … In business taxation alone, corporate income tax conformity is projected to generate $177 million in FY28–29. … Decoupling decisions followed two themes: protecting the Minnesota base by rejecting federal changes that would reduce revenue and asserting independence from federal policy designs. … Notable inclusions are a two year extension of the PTE, $9.3 million over the next 3 years to create a free filing filing program for state income taxes, the sustainable aviation fuel credit modification, and a 100% tax on amounts obtained through fraud.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dBaroH
IMPERSONATION: DFL Sen. John Hoffman shared a statement commending the signing of a new law increasing penalties for impersonating a police officer. Hoffman survived an attack by a man dressed as an officer last year. HOFFMAN: “Minnesotans expect and deserve absolute confidence when an individual presents themselves as a peace officer, that the person in that uniform is a duly licensed peace officer. … That trust was shattered for me, but it should not ever happen to another Minnesotan. This law will safeguard and uphold this trust, and it will protect Minnesotans.”
(DISCLOSURE: Fluence is providing media support to the Hoffman family)
HEALTHCARE: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “A last-minute proposal on charity care — the patient financial assistance programs that nonprofit hospitals are required to provide — did not advance this session. The bill, HF 5142, would have redirected the state’s hospital surcharge tax revenue to a statewide charity care account. The Minnesota Department of Heath would then administer that account, giving payments to hospitals for their charity care programs. Chief author Rep. Steve Elkins, DFL-Bloomington, [said] he intends to reintroduce the bill next year.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dTVbV6
GOLF: via MPR, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s upcoming run in the pro golf spotlight will come with a tax perk. The tax bill passed on Sunday includes a sales tax exemption for ‘championship golf tournament admission.’ … The proposal is expected to result in $2 million in tax exemptions through the end of the 2029 budget year, according to a spreadsheet from the tax-writing panels that struck the agreement.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dRngMK
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)
GOVT $
IT UPGRADES: via MPR, VERBATIM: “County workers who administer federal safety net programs such as SNAP and Medicaid are looking forward to a slightly easier work load in the coming months, now that the Minnesota legislature has allocated $90 million to upgrade the outdated technology they use. … Many counties around the state struggled with increased workloads navigating the outdated systems. … Counties said it took more employees and more time to comply with new requirements for safety net programs, so the need to update the antiquated technology was urgent.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wBMy8Z
PIPES: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “The federal government announced it will invest nearly $60 million to find and replace lead pipes across Minnesota. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said $57,770,000 will go directly to Minnesota through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) as part of a nearly $3 billion nationwide initiative.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/42M4CQc
BROADBAND: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “In 2020, LTD Broadband, a company with Minnesota ties, received more than a billion dollars in federal funding to provide broadband to rural areas like Le Sueur County. Because of the provisional grant, the county found itself shut out of state funding for its own programs because of possible overlap. … [But] LTD’s plans fell apart in 2022 after state and federal regulators revoked key licenses and canceled grants after determining the company couldn’t fulfill its promises. … Broadband advocates said they hope a new federal law will force the U.S. government to do a better job vetting broadband internet providers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Rd9gUW
RALLY: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “State and local governments spent more than half a million dollars on security and other measures for the most recent No Kings rally outside the state Capitol in St. Paul, which drew at least 100,000 people. Outside of those costs, organizers paid about $400 for garbage removal, a Pioneer Press analysis found. State agencies and the city of St. Paul say they do not bill organizers for protest costs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ujtdb3
TIDBITS
JUSTICES: via MPR, VERBATIM: “The [governor’s] judicial selection has a fall ballot ramification. … Justice Theodora Gaïtas was supposed to be on November’s ballot for an election to a six-year term. Her seat will not be on the ballot now because it technically came open and was filled by appointment. Instead, she and new Justice Reynaldo Aligada, Jr. will face voters in 2028. Two associate justice seats are on the November ballot still. They are for the spot occupied by Justice Paul Thissen and the one by Justice Sarah Hennesy. Minnesota has so far avoided the expensive, partisan judicial elections of other states, including neighboring Wisconsin.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fwlmSW
MSU: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota State’s Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a sizable tuition increase — a 6.25% average bump — across its 33 colleges and universities on 54 campuses. The increases will affect tuition starting in fall of 2026. It’s the second consecutive year of significant hikes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/42IjnDH
TECH: via UMN advisory, VERBATIM: “The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, in collaboration with Polar Semiconductor and Honeywell Aerospace, is establishing a first-of-its-kind academic-industry Spin Technology Center to advance the state’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry. The $5.7 million project has been awarded $2.83 million from the Minnesota Forward Fund administered by [DEED], with an additional $2.8 million in matching funding from industry partners. … The new center will develop quantum spintronic devices focusing on high-tech magnetic sensors and advanced memory storage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v2fcP3
TRAVEL: via MAC advisory, VERBATIM: “Passenger traffic is building up at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in the days leading up to Memorial Day weekend. … Approximately 300,000 people are projected to clear MSP security checkpoints between Monday, May 18, and Monday, May 25. The busiest travel day of the week is expected to be Thursday, May 21, with more than 46,000 people passing through security.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4f4yNJT
LOCALS
EAGAN: Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire, first elected in 2006, will seek reelection this year.
DULUTH: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “Several months into the [Duluth] school district’s budget reduction and realignment process, in an effort to close a $4 million funding gap, district employees are raising concerns about cuts to mental health personnel and services. … During [a] listening session, several school counselors and social workers expressed doubts over the district’s ability to avoid a significant impact on mental health services in light of the proposed layoffs.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3PABMz5
DELANO: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “Delano Public Schools will be back in session on Thursday following a cyber attack that shuttered schools on Wednesday. Superintendent Matt Schoen tells Bring Me The News that an encrypted ransomware message began printing off on printers throughout the school district on Tuesday morning. … Schoen confirmed students will be back in session on Thursday for in-person learning, but internet access will be limited. … He adds the district is confident no student, staff, or Google classroom information was accessed during the cyber attack.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4v4Xfj2
MPS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Public Schools again faces a financial crunch in the tens of millions of dollars, while also maintaining a glut of underused buildings that suggest it is time, at last, to downsize. Yet the state’s third-largest district also is now considering building a brand new $105 million school. The new school, if approved, would house Anishinabe Academy, [offering] instruction in Native language and culture.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4dnCZD5
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)
LOOKING AHEAD
TODAY: DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek and Labor Market Information Director Angelina Nguyen will have media availability at 10:00 a.m. to answer questions regarding April employment data.
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz will interview candidates for three vacancies in the Tenth Judicial District.
TODAY: The League of Women Voters will host a conversation about voting with Sec. Steve Simon in Bemidji on Thursday, May 21 at 4:30 p.m. Simon will also visit St. Louis County and meet with high school students, per his office.
TODAY: Sen. Andrew Mathews and Rep. Bryan Lawrence, both GOP, will host a town hall in Zimmerman on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
NEXT WEEK: Americans for Prosperity MN will host a debate for Republican gubernatorial candidates on Thursday, May 28 in Duluth — one day before the party’s endorsing convention. KSTP’s Tom Hauser will moderate the debate.
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
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BDAYS: fmr. Sen. Al Franken, sports announcer David Wright, Fox 9’s Maury Glover, Dakota County candidate Drew Christensen, long time lobbyist Gary Botzek, sports guy Phil Mackey
SPEAKER: If you’re looking for a speaker about the “Signal vs. Noise” dynamic of today’s politics and the 2026 election. EMAIL: BloisOlson@gmail.com.
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IN MEMORIAM: morning take is dedicated in memory of Melissa Hortman.