COFFEE MORNING
A cool morning for good coffee.
Twins lose. Savanah Banana’s in town this weekend.
Sports Take cleans up after the Indiana Fever, does a first-week check on Vikings training camp and is worried about Joe Ryan. That and more coming this afternoon.
KSTP/ Survey USA poll numbers tonight before the primary.
If the State Fair’s 36 new foods weren’t enough, the Star Tribune also found 10 “unofficial” new foods. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4bzB2lP
Austria returned a painting to a Minnesota family after learning it was stolen by Nazis. KARE: https://fluence-media.co/45JXBRg
The number of House Democrats ousted by progressive primary challengers this year is now up to four. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/4w5yIdz
A Donald Trump-endorsed Republican in Michigan lost his primary to a candidate who had dropped out of the race. POLITICO: https://fluence-media.co/45alelP
It’s National Social Engineering Day….is that something we need? Discuss it over a Root Beer Float or IPA as also celebrating those days today.
Blois - tips: bloisolson@gmail.com
Sunday Take featured a Farmfest preview and Republican Adam Schwarze discussing his U.S. Senate campaign. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3TyEK93
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From Farmfest to Noah Kahan it was a long Thursday with a glimpse of all sides of Minnesota. Young, old, rural and urban – finding a connectivity in the state is a challenge these days.
The differences in the GOP race for Governor are subtle, which is odd since there hasn’t been much subtle about the Republican party for 10 years. The lack of contrast or calling out your opponent yesterday in the Farmfest Governor’s forum may be a sign of agreement, but the personalities of the parties couldn’t be more different.
Yesterday’s gubernatorial forum was fascinating, not because of the answers of the candidates as much as the reactions of the guests in the barn. Immigration and fraud warranted the most emotive responses, illustrating the depth of frustration on both topics.
In the Senate race, there is a depth of knowledge, there were platitudes and there are side shows. The reality is that for agriculture, the departure of Sen. Tina Smith and potentially Sen. Amy Klobuchar Minnesota’s seat at the table in the Senate will be weaker. The departure of Rep. Angie Craig means the same in the House.
Minnesota has over indexed on ag knowledge and seniority in Congress – even compared to a state like Wisconsin, the loss of that is something that any new members from Minnesota have to be mindful of and be willing to dig in.
A full “Primary Primer” coming by Saturday, because the scenarios especially on the Republican ballot are a bit of a Rubik’s cube. The sense that Michele Tafoya is very favored, and any of the three candidates for Governor could win is curious.
SENATE RACE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Two divergent reads of the Trump Administration’s first 20 months back in office dominated Wednesday afternoon’s U.S. Senate forum at Farmfest. … The Democrats, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig, made their final pitches to voters ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, while Republicans Michele Tafoya and Royce White got their chance to shore up support among a largely conservative crowd. … Flanagan, Craig and Tafoya all expressed support for avoiding a patchwork of regulations for pork farmers in the aftermath of California’s Proposition 12 and, with the exception of White, called for boosting the H-2A farm visa program for temporary farm workers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pWAFrk
MORE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Notably absent from the debate was the Minnesota GOP’s endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate Adam Schwarze, but he did have a tent at Farmfest to speak with attendees. Schwarze [is] alleging that the national Republican Party pressured Farmfest not to have him on stage to protect their preferred candidate, Michelle Tafoya. … Farmfest has denied these claims, stating that those chosen for the debate were selected based on poll numbers.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Tvw8QG
ICYMI: Yesterday’s lunch take and ag take featured additional coverage of the candidate forums at Farmfest, including the gubernatorial forum. DETAILS: LUNCH | AG
ESSENTIA HEALTH SUPPORTS FREE CLINIC IN VIRGINIA, SERVING INCREASED NUMBER OF UNINSURED MINNESOTANS: Every Thursday night, physicians and care team members from Essentia Health-Virginia volunteer at the Project Care Free Clinic, providing treatment, screenings, and preventive care to patients who are uninsured or may be struggling to afford health care premiums. Essentia also provides lab and X-ray services at no cost to the clinic or its patients. Essentia is proud to support the clinic, ensuring everyone in the community can get the care they need. READ MORE: https://fluence-media.co/4yt7Qqu (SPONSORED: Essentia Health)
CD7/CD8: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “At one point in the 6th, 7th and 8th district forum, the crowd booed Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-7th District, while she was launching into a defense of the Trump Administration’s tariff policies. … She spoke off mic with her Democratic opponent, Erik Osberg. He asked the crowd to please let Fischbach and [others] finish speaking without interruption. … While the crowd’s jeers subsided as the forum continued, Osberg and [Trina] Swanson’s supporters weren’t stingy with their effusiveness. Some of the loudest reactions came when Swanson brought up Trump’s pardoning of a Medicaid fraudster and the need for guardrails on data centers.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4giiAzN
MORE: Forum News Service has a profile on the candidates in the CD8 DFL primary. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3U0cxbn
CD2: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The [CD2] race has become emblematic of the larger fight over the direction of the Democratic Party. [Matt] Little and [Kaela] Berg are running from the party’s left flank, while [Matt] Klein is following in [Angie] Craig’s moderate footsteps. Though Craig handily won reelection in 2024, the seat…has long been seen as one of the most purple districts in the state. The Aug. 11 primary is expected to test how well more progressive candidates play outside of their home base. … National Democrats feel confident any of the three Democrats who emerge out of the primary can hold the seat, [but] national Republicans think they have an opportunity to go on offense.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4hSpYUB
HEALTHCARE: Strong communities depend on sustainable nonprofit healthcare. By planning to join leading, nonprofit healthcare system Sutter Health, Allina Health will be better positioned to expand access to high-quality, innovative care in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin - supporting patients, caregivers, and communities for generations to come. Learn more about the Allina-Sutter partnership.. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/AllinaHealth (SPONSORED: Allina Health)
STRAIGHT CASH…
CASH: Via MPR, a look at how much spending the DFL and GOP Senate primaries have seen so far, and how much PACs are reserving for ads. Notably, the DFL Senate primary is projected to be “the most expensive…that Minnesota has seen.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pYYsGY
DFL: “The leading DFL candidates have spent at least $15 million from their own campaign funds, but likely far more given those numbers only count spending through June 30 for Angie Craig and Peggy Flanagan. But their outside-group allies have to document spending more often, and those figures are also sizable: At least $13 million by pro-Craig groups and about $2.5 million by the leading pro-Flanagan group. … It will be easy to see this primary race topping $40 million by the time all spending is accounted for.”
GOP: “The Republican race has been sleepier, with former TV sportscaster Michele Tafoya the top spender on her side. There is a new Republican-aligned group spending on behalf of GOP-endorsed candidate Adam Schwarze. The Sheepdog PAC is sending text messages and airing television ads holding him up as the right choice for Republicans.”
PACS: “One of the big state-level spenders on the Democratic team is coming off the sidelines. The Alliance for a Better Minnesota has now reserved TV ad time from the week of Minnesota’s primary (the day after) through the Nov. 3 election. The group usually comes in heavy after the GOP picks its candidate to help define the opponent. … At last check, ABM had $740,000 in reserve. … Advance Minnesota, which as we’ve noted is shaping up as a leading GOP fund focused on legislative races, padded its account this week with another $250,000 from the Republican State Legislative Committee. Advance Minnesota was sitting on nearly $2.7 million as of mid-July.”
NOTHING SPECIAL
MNLEG: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that he does not see a need to call a legislative special session to extend the state’s peacetime emergency declaration for the wildfires [because] fire activity has been relatively calm. … Walz also said calling a special session to address economic relief for businesses affected by the fires, and by last month’s closure of the Boundary Waters wilderness, appears unlikely at this point, [but] the Legislature should act as soon as it can.” WALZ: “I would encourage the Legislature to, right now, start working on a package of relief for the area.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4giiQyL
MEDICAID: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid have a new tool to figure out if they must work to keep their health insurance under the requirements of the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ … The state just debuted a [website] to help Minnesotans figure out if they are participating in activities that meet the federal requirements to keep their care, or if they are exempt from the new mandate. The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) created the lookup tool, which is available for one month. … If people report their information now it might make the 2027 renewal process easier and won’t affect current coverage, agency officials said.” DETAILS: STRIB | DHS
HEALTH JOBS: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Nine months after Medica announced it would acquire state contracts from health competitor UCare, the state’s Rapid Response Team announced more than 100 positions are being terminated from UCare this fall. A statement from [DEED] said 102 employees at the Minneapolis-based health care company will be terminated, beginning Oct. 1.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4hivujd
TEAR GAS: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Throughout Operation Metro Surge, tear gas was used at several standoffs across the Twin Cities metro. A team of researchers says that substance could have left heavy metals in the soil. They’re sites and scenes that an assistant University of Minnesota geography professor says could have long-term health effects. … ‘There’s research to suggest it sticks around in the environment, but we don’t have a lot of clarity about how it moves through the environment,’ Rebecca Walker, the lead researcher for the project, said. Walker and nearly 10 other undergraduate Gophers are working to find answers.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4z0X2zW
A deep dive into the CD1 race between Rep. Brad Finstad and Jake Johnson for MNSider subscribers. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/49OqNJu
AG RACE: via MPR, VERBATIM: “The national Democratic calvary is coming to Keith Ellison’s defense in what is likely to be another tough and close attorney general’s race. The Democratic Attorneys General Association dropped $1 million on Thursday into a political fund called We All Do Better. … Republicans are also heavy into the race in support of GOP attorney Ron Schutz. There has been seven-figure activity on the GOP side with various groups trading money and the result being scalding ads over fraud attacking Ellison.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4fVJ3ms
SENATE RACE: KSTP aired one-on-one interviews with DFL Rep. Angie Craig and Republican Adam Schwarze discussing their Senate campaigns yesterday. Issues discussed include the “Big Beautiful Bill,” Social Security and more. WATCH: CRAIG | SCHWARZE
QUALLS: Republican Kendall Qualls spoke to FOX 9 about his campaign for governor, his plans for addressing healthcare costs and more. A transcript of his comments is available online. READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4fG6GjW
VOTING: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “The Trump Administration is suing at least 30 states, including Minnesota, for their voter data. [Donald] Trump is also seeking more control over mail-in ballots through executive order, a move Minnesota and other states have sued to stop. MPR [asked] Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, about how election officials are preparing for potential threats to election integrity and security.” SIMON: “I have every reason to believe that for the primary and eventually the upcoming general election, we’re going to have an election that’s fair and accurate.” READ/LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4fNF38R
VOLUNTEERS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “For decades, Democratic organizers in Minnesota have searched for a way to turn moments of outrage into lasting political engagement. Many believe Operation Metro Surge did just that. A sprawling volunteer network that sprang up almost overnight to help immigrant families is now feeding people into the state’s DFL political infrastructure as precinct chairs, convention delegates, campaign volunteers and even candidates for office. … The next test is whether that civic awakening translates into electoral power.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pZdyfO
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)
SAINTLY…
HOMELESS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Relief workers, volunteers and members of the St. Paul Fire Department spent the day helping individual residents leave the Pig’s Eye homeless encampment, leading to a handful of tense but brief stand-offs between homeless advocates and city staff. … The city’s second-largest encampment soon swelled with newcomers, raising questions with a growing number of skeptics concerned about Mayor Kaohly Her’s decision to clear the city’s three largest homeless sites on a rolling basis. … The mayor was not on site Wednesday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4xraHik
MORE: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “[Yesterday] afternoon, the city announced that starting Thursday, county outreach workers will be available downtown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a ‘transitional hub.’ They will be there for the next two weeks to connect residents to shelter, housing, health care and financial assistance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4wHElQb
ST OLAF: Officials at St. Olaf College announced that the event “A Conversation with St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her,” originally scheduled for Aug. 18, has been postponed indefinitely “due to recent circumstances,” per an email.
HABITAT RESTORATION: Flint Hills Resources has earned Tandem Global WHC Gold Certification for habitat restoration at its Cottage Grove fuel terminal. The certification comes after two years of work in partnership with Friends of the Mississippi River to implement a restoration and monitoring plan to re-establish the 6.5-acre site’s natural prairie and savannah. Flint Hills has held gold certification for its work done with community partners over the past 25 years to restore more than 200 acres of the Pine Bend Bluffs, a critical natural area along the Mississippi River that is adjacent to Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery. This makes two Flint Hills gold-certified sites in Minnesota and the first two gold-certified sites ever in the Twin Cities. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3VASKg4 (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
METRO
DAKOTA CTY: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Dakota County leaders are now mulling over the property tax rate for next year. An internal budget presentation obtained by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS shows four scenarios. One is upwards of 29% — a $255 hike for a median home. … County Manager Heidi Welsch [is] predicting a rate somewhere between 14% and 24%. That lower number is estimated to cost a median-priced home an increase of $111. An 18% to 19% rate could mean a $145 increase. … Welsch estimates a bit less than 100 [county] positions could be cut. She also says the numbers could change before the County Board of Commissioners votes in September on a maximum levy.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4hmSptT
HASTINGS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “The Hastings City Council [has] moved forward a potential pause on any data center development, joining a growing number of cities across the state considering such a measure. The ordinance calls for a moratorium on any data center projects for one year, allowing Hastings city staff to study the impact of these facilities. … [The council] will consider final adoption at its Aug. 17 meeting, when they will also solicit comments from the community with a public hearing.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4zfEM6e
ROBBINSDALE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Support is growing in a west metro school district to increase property taxes to address aging buildings and entice families to attend Robbinsdale Area Schools (RAS). On the ballot this November for district households is what could be a $413 million bond referendum. It comes as RAS works to climb out of financial woes and build back community trust. The district hasn’t asked for a capital improvement bond since the 1980s.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4q1milC
GREATER MN
ROCHESTER: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “At least $88,500 has been spent on campaigns for candidates seeking to be Rochester’s next mayor. The campaign seeking to elect local restaurateur Joe Powers has spent more than half of [it] — the Powers campaign reported spending $46,700 on expenses ranging from his campaign kick-off to campaign materials, with nearly $73,000 raised through July 27. … The campaign for Ayub HajiOmar, a Rochester Public Schools substitute teacher, generated the second-highest combined donations, reporting nearly $19,000 raised and spent.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3U0ijd3
BRAINERD: via Brainerd Dispatch, VERBATIM: “There’s a plan in place for Brainerd Public Schools to recoup some of the state funding it would receive for students lost to homeschooling. Superintendent Chip Rankin told the board [that] he plans to sign a contract with Fullmind for a program he’s calling Brainerd Homeschool Extension. … The move could generate more income for the district without costing taxpayers anything.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4yViXZz
ST LOUIS CTY: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “The St. Louis County District 1 primary race, which takes place Aug. 11, features three candidates vying for the role of county commissioner. The race will be further whittled down to two candidates Tuesday. Incumbent Annie Harala is seeking reelection after being appointed to the seat in 2023. … Her challengers are Kris Eilers and John Socha. … Eilers is centering her campaign on environmental issues, while Socha is focused on improving local roadways and streets.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45akAEV
LOOKING AHEAD
TODAY: Minnesota Farmfest concludes today in Redwood County. SCHEDULE: https://fluence-media.co/4pQIEGw
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz will attend Farmfest.
TODAY: The Twin Cities Coalition for Justice will host a press conference at 10:00 a.m. to “demand Amy Klobuchar repair harm caused to Black Minnesotans,” per social media. Klobuchar’s DSA opponent Kobey Layne shared the post.
TODAY: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will host a town hall in Richfield on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 6:00 p.m.
SATURDAY: Sen. Amy Klobuchar will attend a Q&A at Game Fair to discuss hunting, mining, and other outdoor topics on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 11:00 a.m.
AUG 4-13: Fluence sponsor Xcel Energy and industry partners will host a series of open houses on their planned “PowerOn Midwest” electric transmission projects from Tuesday, Aug. 4 to Thursday, Aug. 13. SCHEDULE: https://fluence-media.co/4yHUlDi
SEPT 9: The IRRR Board is hosting its third annual “State of the Range” event in Chisholm on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 4:00 p.m.
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BDAYS: health care leader Anna Youngerman, CAE’s Katie Fulkerson
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IN MEMORIAM: morning take is dedicated in memory of Melissa Hortman.