FLURRIED FORECAST
Tonight, nine Republican candidates for Governor will gather in Marshall. Weather depending, I’ll be there for the first look at the dynamics – and who performs well, and who doesn’t. Expect a MNSider Brief by Wednesday morning.
DFLers endorsed Meg Luger-Nikolai yesterday in HD64B – will there be a contentious primary?
Federal relief program for farmers reportedly coming this afternoon from the Trump administration.
The meme game is big with AI, the scarier part is who might believes them to be true. We should be encouraging others to be curious and decipher facts – otherwise its not a good sign for democracy.
ICYMI – the New York Times has a great piece on Gen X. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/4a8vaA9
Our next Fluence Forum, The State of Health Care is scheduled for December 16th. REGISTER: https://fluence-media.co/StateofHealthCare
Last week was Minnesota’s coldest and snowiest in decades for December in decades. More snow tomorrow. MAPS: https://fluence-media.co/48AkKqs
This week’s Sunday Take covered civility, immigration, and Republican Ron Schutz’s campaign for attorney general. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4iEm5B2
Happy National Brownie Day.
Blois - tips: bloisolson@gmail.com
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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/
MONDAY CATCH UP
Nine Republican candidates for governor are scheduled to appear at a forum in Marshall tonight at 6:00 p.m. The invited candidates are Chris Madel, Lisa Demuth, Kristin Robbins, Scott Jensen, Kendall Qualls, Jeff Johnson, Brad Kohler, Patrick Knight and Phillip Parrish. Lyon County Republicans plan to livestream the event on Facebook.
Rep. Ilhan Omar discussed allegations of Somali fraudsters funding terrorists on CBS “Face the Nation” yesterday. QUOTE: “If there was a linkage in the money that they have stolen going to terrorism, then that is a failure of the FBI and our court system in not figuring that out [sooner]. … [But] if that is the case, if money from U.S. tax dollars is being sent to help with terrorism in Somalia, we want to know. And we want those people prosecuted. And we want to make sure that that doesn’t ever happen again.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4rGTEXd
Another head scratcher… via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “St. Paul is trying to recoup $900,000 and damages from a contractor who allegedly blew deadlines, canceled meetings and has not yet delivered lesson plans to teach elementary schoolers about financial literacy, according to a federal lawsuit. … The lessons were meant to be part of St. Paul’s CollegeBound program that started savings accounts for babies born in the city starting in 2020. … The savings accounts are not affected, according to a spokesperson from [the mayor’s] office, and St. Paul still hopes to move forward with the financial literacy lessons. … [But] the work has been set back a year because St. Paul has yet to receive the lesson plans.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4oFVfdq
SUBSIDIES: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “A vote is expected in the Senate [this week] to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that help millions of Americans, including 90,000 in Minnesota, purchase health insurance. … But most Republicans in the Senate either don’t want to extend the subsidies or want them pared down. … The effort to extend the ACA subsidies appears even bleaker in the House, [but] a group of 35 House Republicans and Democrats released a plan to scale back and extend the ACA subsidies for two years. None of the [lawmakers] who have signed on to that effort are from Minnesota.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aBzYOu
MPD: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The Minneapolis Police Department is expected to end the year $19.6 million over budget, [which] is expected to be a hot topic during a Monday budget committee meeting. … Police Chief Brian O’Hara [has] largely attributed the overspending to the costly process of replenishing the ranks. The department has hired 162 people, and most aren’t on the street yet; they’re community service officers and cadets and recruits in the police academy, still in training. In the meantime, the city continues paying heavy overtime to its sworn police force. … MPD [saw] $31 million in overtime — $3 million more than last year’s record-breaking total and $11.4 million over what was planned.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3Ycr8iH
PROGRAM PROBLEMS
MEDICAID: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said the agency is ‘increasingly concerned with the performance and integrity of Minnesota’s Medicaid program’ [and] immediate action is expected, or the state’s federal Medicaid funding could be withheld. … Gov. Tim Walz initiated payment stoppage to providers in 14 state programs in October while an outside auditor analyzed Medicaid claims. … Minnesota’s DHS will now be required to provide CMS with weekly updates on the state’s audit activities. … [CMS] also states that DHS should institute an immediate pause, or moratorium, on any new provider enrollments for the 14 programs, [and] if the state fails to do so, CMS will initiate a federal moratorium. … By the end of December, CMS is also requesting a comprehensive corrective action plan.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pTT0E8
DHS: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Disability service providers in Minnesota are urging transparency, accountability and collaboration from the Department of Human Services (DHS) as the agency plans to pause new licenses for home and community-based care providers. … Josh Berg, director of Minnesota services and strategic growth at Accessible Space, Inc, [said] a couple thousand pending applications will also be canceled, affecting people in need.” BERG: “The moratorium isn’t unreasonable…but then to go back and retroactively [cancel] any application that’s been sitting in the queue for the last multiple years — for the people that have been counting on those services, it’s taken to a whole different level, and I think that’s where so much of the frustration and concern is coming [from].” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pYiRLp
MORE: Via CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, the letter to Gov. Tim Walz and DHS. LETTER: https://fluence-media.co/48peoLF
$1 BILLION? via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump’s White House claims that ‘Democrats allowed a $1+ billion heist to take place’ in Minnesota, [but] the alleged fraud totals fall short of Trump’s claims. … The Feeding Our Future case [saw] $246 million billed through federal child-nutrition programs. … Federal prosecutors have not produced evidence indicating all of that money was fraudulent; a Minnesota Star Tribune review puts the alleged fraud closer to $128 million. … [Including other cases], a review of court records shows the alleged fraud uncovered to date is closer to $152 million, though that number is expected to grow. … The billion-dollar figure first surfaced in July [from] Joseph Thompson, acting U.S. attorney. … But Thompson, who did not respond to the Star Tribune’s request for comment, has not offered evidence to support the billion-dollar figure.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3KNEZZM
FACTS: A video by KARE 11’s Lou Raguse illustrated claims from Gov. Tim Walz and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter regarding who was responsible for investigating and charging the Feeding Our Future fraud case. Raguse said that despite what Walz and Carter have recently claimed, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office — not state agencies — led the charge on stopping the fraud. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4pYy1Ag
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THE GAME
GOP: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Republican Sen. Jim Abeler was frustrated after hearing President Donald Trump call Somalis ‘garbage,’ [so] Abeler decided to write Trump a letter, admonishing the president for his comments and inviting him to come to Minnesota, meet with Somali people and see for himself what they’re like. ‘The Somalis I know, and I know many, are nothing of the sort,’ the Anoka senator wrote. … Abeler told the Minnesota Star Tribune he was troubled by Trump’s comments, as well as ‘the fallout.’ ‘There’s too much acrimony,’ he said. ‘I don’t like that part about politics.’ … Sen. Omar Fateh, DFL-Minneapolis, reposted the letter on Facebook and thanked Abeler.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48YwW5G
MORE: The Senate DFL sent a joint letter to the Senate GOP asking “that each of you publicly repudiate President [Donald] Trump’s hateful and racist statements” regarding Somali people. GOP Sen. Julia Coleman responded publicly, saying she would only sign on if Democrats also condemn their members for referring to Republicans as “Nazis and fascists.” COLEMAN: “Painting an entire group of people with the same brush because of the actions or origins of a few is wrong, divisive, and has no place in civil discourse. … [But] the concern about ‘harmful rhetoric’ is selective, situational, and reserved exclusively for when the target isn’t a Republican.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48Wwhlg
ICE: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “A week into a stepped-up immigration enforcement campaign in Minnesota, the number of disclosed arrests by federal authorities has risen to 19. … Those arrests include men from Somalia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Last week, ICE officials showcased the arrests of 12 other men from Somalia, Mexico and El Salvador. … [On] Sunday, a top White House official denied that the administration’s Minnesota operation is racially targeted. Tom Homan, the White House border czar, [said] ordinances in Minneapolis and St. Paul barring police from cooperation with immigration authorities are one catalyst for the operation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4iGacuq
MORE: The White House released names and photos of five Somali people detained by ICE last week in Minneapolis as part of “Operation Metro Surge.” The White House also commented on Minnesota’s Somali population in general, saying they’re “exceptionally vulnerable to radicalization” and the president has “rightly called out the problems associated with unchecked Somali refugee resettlement in Minnesota.” READ/PHOTOS: https://fluence-media.co/3YbKGDQ
AUGSBURG: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “Augsburg University officials say ICE agents pointed weapons at students and staff while conducting an operation on the Minneapolis campus targeting an undergraduate student on Saturday. … [MPD] Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed ICE was involved in the incident at Augsburg. … An Augsburg spokesperson [said] ‘These tactics, with the implicit threat of violence, are unacceptable, dangerous, and profoundly disturbing.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/48rpmjX
FREY: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey discussed immigration operations in his city on WCCO-TV yesterday. QUOTE: “We know that it is a chaotic operation. We know that the work they are doing seems to be somewhat scattered and, at times, it doesn’t seem like federal agents know what they are doing themselves.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4plzqRl
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)
ISSUES
GUNS: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Annunciation Catholic School parents and community members gathered at Mounds View City Hall on Saturday for a town hall hosted by the mayor and the Minnesota attorney general to discuss gun violence and reform. Mayor Zach Lindstrom [said] it feels like silence has fallen over the tragedy, a few months after the deadly mass shooting. Meanwhile, a dozen parents described the trauma that has forever changed the lives of students and families as they made a public plea for change. … Following two hours of testimony, Lindstrom and Attorney General Keith Ellison urged lawmakers to draft a ballot measure that would allow Minnesotans to vote on whether to ban assault-type weapons.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4q0K9AR
VACCINES: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “A recommendation to change the hepatitis B vaccine sent shockwaves through the medical community and caused confusion. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-3 to drop universal recommendations for the hepatitis B birth dose. … ‘It is not an evidence-based or scientifically grounded vote, and the vote flies in the face of what has been a successfully established practice for decades,’ said pediatrician and professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School Mark Schleiss. Schleiss said this panel’s recommendation isn’t a prohibition, but it rescinds a 30-year national policy.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/44SiCco
RESPONSE: via Rep. Kelly Morrison and the Democratic Doctors Caucus, STATEMENT: “The Democratic Doctors Caucus unequivocally condemns the decision to end the decades-long standard practice of vaccinating every newborn against hepatitis B. Today’s decision — made without any scientific justification that a newborn dose is unsafe — will lead to more disease, more cancer, more preventable deaths, and will further increase the cost of health care in our nation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49WMGHo
TIDBITS
AUDITOR: via Wolgamott for Auditor, VERBATIM: “Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL–St. Cloud) is proud to announce he is the first labor-endorsed candidate in the race for state auditor, receiving the backing of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 10 (SMART). … Wolgamott [was] endorsed by all major labor unions in each of his races for state representative.”
TRAINING: via Sen. Amy Klobuchar advisory, VERBATIM: “U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) reintroduced a bill to enhance access to skills training. The Skills Investment Act would expand Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) — tax advantaged savings accounts for educational expenses — so American workers can use the accounts to pay for skills training, career-related learning, adult education, and professional development.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3XJvJZE
TUITION: via Rep. Brad Finstad advisory, VERBATIM: “Congressmen Brad Finstad [and others] introduced the Air Guard Standardizing Tuition Assistance to Unify the Services (STATUS) Act, bipartisan legislation that requires the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a permanent federal tuition assistance program for drill status guard (DSG) members of the Air National Guard (ANG). This tuition assistance program would be consistent with the program already available to the Army National Guard.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3KIYJOe
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE: Flint Hills Resources was just awarded the 2025 Large Business of the Year award from the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce at their annual Business Excellence Awards celebration. The award celebrates the outstanding achievements of businesses that exemplify the thriving and growing spirit of Dakota County. The businesses honored make an impact and contribute to the continued success of our community. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/46lTpIs (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
AROUND THE MN
TRANSIT: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “A major change to bus service through Minneapolis launched Saturday morning with the new ‘E Line.’ The E Line is the third rapid transit bus line launched by Metro Transit this year. … According to Metro Transit, the new route will have fewer stops, feature all-door boarding and operate 20% faster than the outgoing Route 6 line. It’s all part of a $64 million project that took about two years to complete.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3KEm1EP
EAGAN: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “An Eagan neighborhood aimed at combating homelessness within Minnesota’s veteran community has officially welcomed its first residents as key organizers announced the completion of the $6 million enclave. … Veteran Village includes 22 homes for up to 36 veterans and their families who are experiencing homelessness. The homes sit on about 6 acres. … The Veteran Village includes a mix of one-bedroom units, one-bedroom units with a garage and three-bedroom units for families spread across six buildings. Opening the Village caps off a more than two-year effort.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pVIxZ4
APPLE VALLEY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Apple Valley leaders know that ‘forever chemicals’ are coursing through the city’s water supply, but they can’t say for sure how the synthetic substances got there [as] Apple Valley [is] 24 miles from the nearest 3M site. … The city faces a $100 million bill, [but] with outside sources unlikely to cover the whole project, residents are set to see their water rates rise to pay for the costly treatment plant upgrades. … City officials [are] hoping the state approves its $40 million bonding request to pay for cleanup efforts. But that cash infusion would still leave residents on the hook for the remainder, forcing the city to hike rates from $75 to $161 per household a quarter.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49WIBTA
ROCHESTER: via Rochester Post Bulletin, VERBATIM: “The Rochester City Council will be asked Monday to approve $52 million for labor and materials to build the city’s planned sports and recreation complex. With a $65 million budget provided through a 2023 voter-approved sales tax extension and $7.7 million already spent on property acquisition and planning/design work for the project, the proposal leaves some aspects of the outdoor project in flux. Some items in the original plan could be funded by borrowing from a different sales tax fund, while some work would require potential cost-cutting or generating additional funds.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44aMTDg
DULUTH: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “The state’s highest court will hear a legal dispute over how [Duluth] imposes utility fees for stormwater runoff. The Minnesota Supreme Court last week granted requests to review the class-action lawsuit. … The [plaintiff] businesses claim that the city overcharges and uses an inequitable system to collect the fees. They are seeking refunds for up to 1,500 businesses dating back to 2015 — damages that would potentially cost the city millions of dollars.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rGpuU8
BEMIDJI: via Bemidji Pioneer, VERBATIM: “Community leaders, parents, social workers and elected officials gathered for a child care affordability forum [last week], with funding and support within Minnesota as the central focus. … An initial presentation detailed supportive child care legislation that passed in 2023, including nearly $1 billion in ongoing funds to support child care efforts statewide. Then, the forum hosted four guest speakers to share both personal experiences and educate. The forum closed with questions aimed at four elected officials in attendance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/48AKH9i
MOWER CTY: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “State health officials report that private well water testing has detected high levels of arsenic and manganese in the wells of some homes in southeast Minnesota’s Mower County. … 65 percent of the water samples tested in the county [had] high levels of arsenic. Elevated levels of manganese were identified in 28 percent of the samples. Allison Ward, a community health educator with Mower County Health & Human Services, said the levels detected aren’t quite high enough to be dangerous to human health yet, but she encourages Minnesotans in the region with private well water to get their water tested.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pscSi2
NEXT…
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz has no public events scheduled.
THURSDAY: via MN House, VERBATIM: “From 6:00 – 7:00 pm, Representative Kristi Pursell (DFL-Northfield) and DFL members of the House Health Committee will host a listening session focused on rural healthcare affordability in Winona.”
FRIDAY: via Minneapolis Fed, VERBATIM: “Twice a year, regional economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis survey construction firms to gauge the sector’s performance and overall outlook. Join Regional Outreach Director Erick Garcia Luna to discuss these and other results from the fall survey of construction firms across the Ninth District.” The virtual event is at 9:00 a.m.
BDAYS: belated to Ben Petok a guy who loves Minnesota bagels, TODAY: comms pro Colin Cox
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