LET IT FLOW
Wolves win. Frost win. Wild play Calgary tonight.
The CNN town hall missed the conversations and questions that many Minnesotans are having.
Border Czar Tom Homan will drive news today with a news conference at 7AM.
Getting ready for the fundraising report flood, House DFLers have raised $2.6 million and have $1.6 million cash on hand.
Guitarist Tom Morello is holding a surprise benefit concert in Minneapolis on Friday. BMTN: https://fluence-media.co/4k5jZLt
Bystander video of a previous, non-fatal encounter between Alex Pretti and federal agents has been found. Pretti damaged a federal vehicle before he was subdued by federal agents 11 days before he was killed. STRIB: https://fluence-media.co/49ZSrT0
The Federal Reserve is leaving interest rates unchanged despite the president’s wishes. REUTERS: https://fluence-media.co/4aligy4
The role of sports in troubled times, Paul Allen’s misstep on KFAN, a women’s hockey controversy could be rekindled and how to help a Minnesota hockey writer -- mentioned in Wednesday’s Morning Take -- who is battling a rare genetic disease. All that and more coming early this afternoon.
Happy National Puzzle Day.
Follow the 2026 Minnesota elections up close with the Fluence Election Tracker. www.FluenceElectionTracker.com
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The MNSider Brief: With Michele Tafoya’s entrance into the US Senate race, the latest analysis for premium subscribers came out Friday. HERE: https://fluence-media.co/3NEy8Di
Sunday Take covered the impact of Alex Pretti’s killing and ICE activity in Greater Minnesota with Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar). LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/3Zxvvpi
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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/
THE FEED
KLOBUCHAR: Sen. Amy Klobuchar announces her Gubernatorial campaign this morning. SCRIPT: “Minnesota, we’ve been through a lot. [...] In these moments of enormous difficulty, we find strength in our Minnesota values of hard work, freedom, and simple decency and good will. These times call for leaders who can stand up and not be rubber stamps of this Administration, but who are also willing to find common ground and fix things in our state… believe we must stand up for what’s right and fix what’s wrong. That’s why today, I am announcing my candidacy for Governor of the state of Minnesota….I like my job in the Senate. But I love our state more than any job. I love the people of Minnesota.”
WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4t3Mzkk
The dueling polls in the DFL Senate race continue, a new memo from the Craig for Senate campaign says, VERBATIM: “With more than six months to go in the election, the race is a toss-up. Craig has erased any advantage Flanagan had before Craig threw her hat into the ring and has narrowed the race to a statistical tie (42% Craig / 45% Flanagan / 3% Someone else / 9% undecided)…. Peggy Flanagan is vulnerable to negatives while Angie Craig maintains a lead after attacks. Flanagan is vulnerable on her record, including her role in the fraud scandal.” MEMO: https://fluence-media.co/49OsSWh
NOTE: Campaign polling memos are one point of measurement, the next point of measurements in this campaign are the DFL caucuses next week, and the fundraising numbers for the Flanagan campaign.
POLL: via SEIU, VERBATIM: “A new poll of 1,940 Minnesota voters in the state conducted by a national polling firm found that nearly 80% of Minnesotans polled heard about the massive ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth and Freedom event that happened on January 23rd across the state and that nearly a quarter (23%) of Minnesota voters said they took part in the Day of Truth & Freedom protest that called for No Work, No School and No Shopping.”
TONE: via Axios, VERBATIM: “President Donald Trump renewed his verbal attacks on Minnesota officials over the last 24 hours, jeopardizing attempts to de-escalate tensions between his administration and the state’s leaders. … Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday morning that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was ‘PLAYING WITH FIRE!’ after Frey said that his city does not enforce federal immigration law. Frey replied, saying he wants police protecting residents, not ‘hunting down a working dad.’ … Trump [also] targeted Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) during a speech in Iowa, [before] Omar was rushed by a man and sprayed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rjBMRi POSTS: https://fluence-media.co/4keOgri
MORE: Politico’s Kyle Cheney analyzed how Pres. Donald Trump’s statement on Mayor Jacob Frey could impact the court case to end the ICE surge. CHENEY: “Trump could not have designed a better statement to convince Judge [Kate] Menendez that Operation Metro Surge is meant to coerce policy changes. Courts have ruled repeatedly that the fed. govt. cannot coerce states to enforce federal law. Nor is it illegal for states to decline to do so. And the menacing ‘playing with fire’ is exactly the kind of statement (‘retribution is coming’) that worked against the administration in court earlier this week.” POST: https://fluence-media.co/4a5ZcCZ
SENATORS: Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith gave floor speeches on Capitol Hill yesterday honoring Renee Good and Alex Pretti and calling for the end of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3M0N2TM
SHUTDOWN: via AP News, VERBATIM: “With a partial government shutdown looming, Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands Wednesday for the Department of Homeland Security, including an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that officers show identification. … There’s a lot of ‘unanimity and shared purpose’ within the Democratic caucus, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said after a lunch meeting Wednesday.” SMITH: “What we are talking about is that these lawless ICE agents should be following the same rules that your local police department does. There has to be accountability.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3M0I7lM
HOFFMAN: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Senator John Hoffman is officially back at work with his first committee hearing since he and his wife were shot by an attacker last summer. Hoffman is the Chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, and this week the committee is hosting two hearings that will take a look at new policies at the Department of Human Services (DHS) that are designed to catch fraud.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4bqViXt
(DISCLOSURE: Fluence provides media support to the Hoffman family)
OMAR: via AP News, VERBATIM: “Rep. Ilhan Omar blamed President Donald Trump for threats to her safety on Wednesday, one day after she was accosted and squirted with liquid at an event in Minneapolis. … QUOTE: ‘Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,’ Omar said during a press conference. … The man accused of squirting the substance on Omar has a criminal history and has made online posts supportive of the Republican president.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3NIyicM
MORE: via CNN, VERBATIM: “The FBI is leading the probe into an attack last night on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Minneapolis police said. … Forensic examiners have determined with high probability that the substance sprayed on [Omar] was apple cider vinegar, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4t3GhRE
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ON THE GROUND
ON LEAVE: via CBS News, VERBATIM: “The federal agents who were involved in Saturday’s deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on administrative leave, a federal law enforcement official confirmed to CBS News. It is unclear exactly when the personnel were placed on leave. Typically, the protocol is for federal law-enforcement agents who have been involved in a shooting to be placed on administrative leave during the course of the investigation. … Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino [previously] told reporters that the Customs and Border Protection officers were still on the job, working in a different city for their safety.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bTRQVu
HOMAN: via Axios, VERBATIM: “An administration adviser told Axios [that] the White House wants to get the Minnesota immigration operation on solid footing as Senate Democrats threaten to shut down the federal government. … ‘So it’s Tom Homan to the rescue,’ the confidant said. … An administration official said Homan is likely to emphasize more targeted enforcement efforts with fewer confrontational tactics. … ‘We can’t lose Minneapolis because if we do, we lose Chicago and Los Angeles,’ an administration adviser said. ‘We’re not going to let the people who lost the presidential election over immigration dictate to us on immigration.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a140sX
MORE: via CBS News, VERBATIM: “St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her says she has met with the Trump Administration’s border czar Tom Homan to discuss the surge of immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota. … Her’s office said she spoke with Homan about ‘the harm the surge is causing.’” QUOTE: “Changing leadership and opening lines of communication with leaders in Minnesota are promising steps toward building trust, ensuring accountability to federal actions, and finding a meaningful resolution to end this surge.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4riX15R
WALZ: Gov. Tim Walz discussed ICE operations in Minnesota with FOX 9. Walz said he supports targeted operations against violent criminals, but he remains cautious about whether or not ICE will really change its tactics. READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4qWUuhV
BILLS: via KARE 11, VERBATIM: “Representative Leigh Finke wants to unmask ICE agents operating in the Twin Cities. Finke plans on introducing two separate bills she argues will increase accountability for federal immigration agents. … Finke’s bill would prohibit law enforcement agents, including federal forces, from wearing masks while working, with an exception for public health needs. … The legislator is also introducing a separate bill that would require vehicles used by law enforcement to transport people be ‘clearly marked as a law enforcement vehicle and be equipped to safely transport people.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4sXkT0q
MORE: via Forum News Service, VERBATIM: “Rep. Michael Howard, DFL-Richfield, and Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, released a ‘Housing Stability Action Plan’ with several recommended responses on state, local and federal levels — three of those state recommendations are set to be introduced as bills.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4pZkd81
RESTAURANTS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Chef Sean Sherman [has] written what he says is a bipartisan letter to members of Congress, demanding ‘accountability, safety and human rights to support the American food system.’ The letter, which has been signed by more than 1,000 chefs, business owners and other industry leaders, includes a list of demands that they think should be met before any further funding for the Department of Homeland Security is approved. … One of [Sherman’s] staff members was detained this week. … The employee, who Sherman said is from Ecuador and here legally, was in Texas by the next morning. Sherman said agents told the employee and other witnesses that the arrested man looked like someone they were looking for.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qKMwrX
SCHOOLS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Perhaps [ICE’s] most visible impact on Minnesota schools has been declining attendance, along with increased numbers of students choosing remote learning options. … Sixteen percent of all Fridley students are now enrolled in virtual learning, a program that did not exist at the beginning of January. … From Jan. 9-27, 530 more Rochester students were absent from school as compared to last month, including a 417% increase in ‘absences excused at parent request’ for students whose first language is not English.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a3iwR9
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)
FROM THE BENCH
COURT ORDERS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A 16-year-old Osseo High School student was ‘lost in the system’ after federal agents detained him, [requiring] two court orders to force government officials to bring the boy home. The January encounter is one of 17 cases uncovered by the Minnesota Star Tribune that shows federal officials violating judicial orders. … The cases show that federal officials have been overwhelmed and sometimes incapable of handling the responsibilities that come with detaining the more than 3,000 immigrants it claims to have arrested in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4riynSP
ARRESTS: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Two Twin Cities women who were detained by federal officials in high-profile cases were arrested Wednesday and are federally charged in separate incidents. [They are] Inver Grove Heights paraprofessional Christina Rank, 25, [and] a 23-year-old Somali-American woman, Nasra Ahmed. … U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests of Rank, Ahmed and 14 others on the social media platform X, calling them ‘Minnesota rioters’ for ‘allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement.’ … Rank’s mother, Sarah Hunkele, [said] ‘The bigger story is the comments made by the AG. … Our system is innocent until proven guilty and that was not their message.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qMZeXe
MORE: via FOX 9, VERBATIM: “After arriving in Minnesota Wednesday, Attorney General Pamela Bondi said more arrests are expected. … [But] FOX 9 Investigators found the majority of people arrested for assaulting or impeding agents during a previous operation were either never charged or had their charges dismissed due to ‘insufficient’ evidence.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3NXlG1n
PROSECUTION: via Politico, VERBATIM: “If Minnesota officials try to prosecute the federal agents who recently killed two people in Minneapolis, they’ll face steep obstacles from a century-old Supreme Court precedent — one that helped sink a similar case just a few years ago. … The 2017 shooting of Bijan Ghaisar by two U.S. Park Police officers in a Northern Virginia neighborhood — and the protracted legal battles that followed — may be the best preview of what Minnesota officials can expect if they pursue criminal charges against federal immigration agents. And the same legal theory that stymied Virginia’s prosecution may also block Minnesota’s.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rfaXxz
COUNSEL: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “A Minnesota nonprofit and a St. Paul resident filed a class-action lawsuit this week saying she and others are being unlawfully held at the Whipple Federal Building. The lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal security officials ‘for deliberately blocking access to counsel for immigrants.’ … The suit was filed by the Advocates for Human Rights, which is based in Minneapolis.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4a4tPsm
ACROSS MN
ENROLLMENT: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota saw small gains in college enrollment in fall 2025 compared with 2024, marking two consecutive years of increases and signaling that students have returned after plummeting pandemic-era enrollment. … Total enrollment across the state of all postsecondary students was up about 2%, with undergraduate numbers alone rising more than 2%. Graduate student enrollment, however, declined by 2%. Minnesota fared slightly better than the nation and the region.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4k3tFWC
CLIMATE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “A lawsuit from the state of Minnesota that aims to hold the oil industry accountable for allegedly misleading the public about climate change can move forward, a state appeals court ruled. … The ruling inches the case closer to trial after nearly six years of legal challenges. … The case now heads back to the lower court to begin the discovery process if no other attempts to dismiss it are filed.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/49K261a
MANKATO: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Lourdes Menjivar, regional director for COPAL MN in southern Minnesota, [said] COPAL receives over 400 calls per day from all corners of the state reporting ICE activity. … But because there are few observers out recording video of these incidents in these smaller cities and rural areas, Menjivar said they get little public attention. … COPAL MN is beginning to train observers in the Mankato area so they can better document interactions with ICE and border patrol agents in southern Minnesota and raise more awareness about the operations in rural communities.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rdNnkS
RICHFIELD: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “The City of Richfield unanimously passed an emergency ordinance [to] prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol from using a number of city-owned parking places. They will not be allowed to use parking lots, garages, parks and vacant lots for staging operations. The Richfield Public Works quickly made new signs to reiterate this message.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aloRIQ
RED LAKE: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “The Red Lake Nation tribal council has passed a resolution on a vote of 10-0 that prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agents from entering Red Lake tribal lands, unless the agents have a court order signed by a federal judge. There have been no reports of ICE agents on Red Lake’s reservation, [but] the resolution stated concerns over ICE agents stopping and arresting Native Americans in the northwest part of the state.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46kvSqZ
NEXT
TODAY: Governor Tim Walz will attend the Minnesota Newspaper Association Annual Convention and meet Minnesota Police Chief Association leadership.
TODAY: The Senate will hold a hearing on HHS issues at 2PM.
TODAY: The Senate subcommittee on federal impacts will hold a hearing discussing “the impacts of ICE actions on Minnesotans” at 10:00 a.m.
TODAY: Gov. Tim Walz and Sec. Steve Simon will be keynote speakers at the annual Minnesota Newspaper Association luncheon. The event is at 12:00 noon.
TOMORROW: Two “National Days of Action” are planned for Friday and Saturday. On Friday, participants are encouraged to avoid working, shopping or going to school. On Saturday, marches and rallies are planned. DETAILS: https://fluence-media.co/4q1zIMN
TOMORROW: via DEED advisory, VERBATIM: “The Minnesota Trade Office (MTO) is delighted to invite you to join Governor Tim Walz, Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Matt Varilek and Department of Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen at a luncheon event to honor this year’s recipients of the Governor’s International Trade Awards.”
TUESDAY: Precinct caucuses to decide on party-endorsed candidates will begin Tuesday, Feb. 3.
WEDNESDAY: DFL Sen. Aric Putnam will hold a public town hall in St. Cloud at 6:30 p.m.
BDAYS: social media realtor Bryan Clapper, foodie Stephanie March, political advisor Gregg Peppin, policy guy Dean Peterson, retired public servant Jim Gelbman
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.