Twins win.
The Vikings are donating $500,000 to help Texas flood relief efforts. FOX: http://fluence-media.co/44EVlK6
Gopher athletics is projecting a budget deficit of nearly $9 million. STRIB: https://fluence-media.co/44UljKY
Sports Take is out later today.
Fluence client the Minnesota Business Partnership will host the NYSE opening bell in Minnesota for the first time ever at 8:30 a.m. today. WATCH: http://fluence-media.co/4lkhnsN
Live Nation and U.S. Bank Stadium say they’ll announce “one of the biggest shows in Minnesota history” at 7:00 a.m – It’s expected to be Paul McCartney.
You’re not imagining it — MnDOT says there’s more road construction than usual this year in the metro. BMTN: http://fluence-media.co/44niqlV
A former MN House candidate is threatening to sue Elon Musk’s X after its AI chatbot posted a guide on how to break into his home and assault him. MEDIAITE: http://fluence-media.co/405oD3h
Pew Research finds that 68% of Americans think the president makes “a big difference” for the U.S. economy, but only 30% say the president has the same impact on their personal life. POLL: https://fluence-media.co/46zjRyV
Blois
TIPS: bloisolson@gmail.com
On Sunday Take, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer discussed the passage and local impact of the “Big Bill”. LISTEN: http://fluence-media.co/44i2ph1
Sponsorships available – to reach over 25,000 readers per day on Fluence’s tip sheet and website www.TheDailyAgenda.com – email BloisOlson@gmail.com
PROTEST: via KFGO, VERBATIM: “People against President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” rallied Wednesday afternoon outside Representative Michelle Fischbach’s office in Moorhead. They’re asking for a meeting with Fischbach to address the bill’s tax breaks and budget cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food programs…Rachel Rennicke says the law’s cuts could be deadly. QUOTE: “We need everyone to come together now. The bill that was passed on Thursday effects all citizens in our country to devastating lengths. It’s going to cost lives and its happened, it’s done. We have to get people together now, we have to fix this and correct it before lives are lost.” Rennicke said. READ: https://fluence-media.co/3IzrKdE
MORE: via KIMT, VERBATIM: “The Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization held a protest on Wednesday, July 9, outside the office of Rep. Brad Finstad to protest his support of the Big Beautiful Bill. ..The bill claims to cut $1.5 trillion in government spending and reform social programs like SNAP and Medicaid…According to Rev. Luke Stevens-Royer, he came out to the protest due to the impact those cuts could have on vulnerable populations. FINSTAD: ““Importantly, this bill delivers meaningful and permanent tax relief for families and small businesses across the First District while also making government more accountable to taxpayers through much-needed checks on Washington’s waste, fraud, and abuse. I was proud to vote to get this done for the American people, ushering in the economic growth that puts American families first,"the statement said.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4kohgLr
3RD PARTY: via WCCO Radio, VERBATIM: “Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a former supporter of President Donald Trump, has said that he’s forming a new political party. … Former Democratic Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who has said repeatedly the U.S. needs more than the two main parties and ran against President Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic Primary, says he's planning to meet with Musk about the possibility of creating a new party.” PHILLIPS: “Musk, as we all know, has done what few can do — he’s alienated the right and the left. … I don’t believe that if he is the face of a new party, it will succeed. … I anticipate we will be speaking, [but] I just can't get into those details.” READ/LISTEN: http://fluence-media.co/4lKrvuM
MARTIN: Via Star Tribune, an interview with DNC Chair and former DFL Chair Ken Martin discussing his first few months on the job and how he’s dealing with Democratic in-fighting. QUOTE: “On the heels of an election like the one we just had, there’s a lot of anxiety and concern and frustration, and people want to see the party and others doing more. … I would rather not have to deal with internal silly bullshit that doesn’t help us win elections, but it’s the nature of the job.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4kuVuWm
PUBLICMEDIA: via release from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, VERBATIM: “On the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) spoke in opposition to the Administration’s attempt to clawback funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and foreign aid that Congress had already approved on a bipartisan basis. KLOBUCHAR: “As the daughter of a newspaperman, I know how important public media and the free press are to our country. Public Broadcasting reaches nearly 99 percent of Americans. 99 percent with programming they don't have to pay for delivering educational programming for our kids, coverage of local news stories and life saving emergency alerts..We have long agreed on a bipartisan basis to support the more than 1,500 local and regional public TV and radio stations throughout the country…I think we must continue this support.” WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4eCIJHY
OMAR: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has published a statement demanding that Florida Rep. Randy Fine apologize for his recent social media comments that imply he thinks Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is connected to Muslim terrorists. Jeffries called Fine’s comments “unhinged, racist and Islamophobic,” while Omar said Fine’s language “demands accountability.” Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig also came to Omar’s defense, calling the remarks “dangerous, unacceptable and wrong.” TWEETS: http://fluence-media.co/4lOMqwT http://fluence-media.co/3InYKWh
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)
HOSPITALS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Now that the [GOP’s] mega bill has been signed into law, rural medical administrators are scrambling to determine how hard they will be hit. For rural hospitals already operating on tiny margins, looming Medicaid cuts will dial up the financial pressures they’re feeling even more, said Jean MacDonell, president and CEO of Fairview Range hospital in Hibbing. … Fairview Range receives up to 25% of its revenue from Medicaid, placing it among the top medical facilities in the state when it comes to dependence on the program. … Many of these [rural] facilities, according to state hospital financial data, already aren’t bringing in enough revenue to offset expenses.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3Gzempr
SECURITY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The targeted shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers is sparking continued discussion about whether more security is necessary to ensure safety in the relatively open State Capitol building, one of the few in the country that does not use metal detectors or X-rays. … The advisory committee charged with assessing Capitol security issues and making recommendations to the Legislature has not met publicly since the shooting. The Minnesota Star Tribune attempted to reach five of its members on Tuesday but they declined to comment. The Legislature itself recently appropriated just a fraction of the $40 million the committee recommended for security upgrades.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3TR2Vwx
POLICE: via MPR, VERBATIM: “The agency that licenses Minnesota police officers is fighting a judge's ruling in a lawsuit over the release of information about undercover officers. … The [MPPOA] says the POST Board put 257 undercover cops at risk by failing to redact their names from a list of 29,000 officers it sent to an independent journalist in response to his data request. The POST Board argues that the information is public licensing data that's not subject to the same restrictions under Minnesota law as private personnel data. Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro disagreed. Last month, he ruled that the lawsuit may proceed and he granted the police officers' association class action status. The POST Board is asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to reverse Castro's decision and notes it would be the first class-action data practices case that the state has had if allowed to move ahead.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/44VpCpq
LEGAL FEES: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Gov. Tim Walz is defending his administration’s move to spend $430,000 on outside counsel to prepare for a congressional hearing centered on immigration policy last month. The DFL governor told reporters on Wednesday that his office contracted with law firm K & L Gates because its lawyers had more extensive expertise in immigration law than those already on the state payroll. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office supported the decision. … Minnesota Republicans criticized the use of taxpayer funds for the legal counsel, with U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer [calling] the governor a ‘scam artist.’ … Walz said he and other governors shouldn’t have had to testify in the first place.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3TwmMRj
MORE: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “5 EYEWITNESS NEWS asked the governor if he understands why taxpayers might think that legal bill is excessive. ‘Yes, and they should be angry at those folks,’ he said, trying to turn the tables on Republican members of Congress who put the Democratic governors through the day-long hearing last month.” WALZ: “It’s not where I wanted to spend money. It’s not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved there was nothing there other than using it for grandstanding.” READ/WATCH: http://fluence-media.co/4lhJHvP
PARDONS: via Minnesota Reformer, VERBATIM: “Dozens of people with stains on their records Wednesday asked the Board of Pardons for a pardon or commutation. The Minnesota Legislature in 2023 made it easier for people convicted of crimes or serving sentences to get clemency. In the past, the board’s vote had to be unanimous. Now the governor and just one other board member must vote ‘yes.’ … By the end of the eight-hour meeting, the board granted 33 pardons; denied three and commuted one sentence; and denied two commutation requests.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3IzYXpj
UMN: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “For 35 years, the University of Minnesota Extension Service has funded nutrition education in low-income areas statewide. … On Monday, all 59 of Extension’s full-time nutrition educators received termination letters, permanently ending the $7.2 million education and outreach program. Extension issued letters to 700 partners Tuesday — from clinics and day cares to parks and food banks — explaining that heavy cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, had forced the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families to slash grant funding. … The eight tribal nations in Minnesota, alongside SNAP education programs nationwide, face the same straits.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4lsTvDC
MORE: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “After more than 40 years as Minnesota’s only federally funded research center focused on people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the Institute on Community Integration would seem to have a solid foundation. But Amy Hewitt, director of the center dedicated to keeping disabled people in the community rather than in institutions through its research and training programs, worries that the federal dollars that comprise 70% of the center’s funding — about $13 million — are at risk. Without that money, Hewitt said, the center’s work to bolster community-based programs and train parents and others to fight for them could cease.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3GF6eUh
REGENTS: via a U of M press release, VERBATIM: “Alumni relations leaders from all five University of Minnesota campuses shared the tremendous impact alumni have on the University with the Board of Regents at their July meeting. Last year, the more than 366,000 alumni who live in Minnesota generated a $65.9 billion economic impact on the state…[while also] making up 70% of the state’s healthcare workforce. … The Board also: Received an update on the academic and athletic achievements of University of Minnesota Gopher Athletics student-athletes; Approved the consent report, including an amendment to Gopher Football Head Coach PJ Fleck’s employment agreement and tenure recommendations; [And] received an update on operational optimization across the University.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4nDFR1K
SCSU: via St. Cloud Live, VERBATIM: “St. Cloud State University interim President Larry Dietz is leaving his post early. He said the decision was due to persisting health issues in his family. … Dietz took over as the university’s president in July 2024…[but] he will be ending his two-year term early, leaving at the end of the fall 2025 semester. … Dietz said he hopes that a permanent SCSU president will be hired and leading the university by early January 2026. A national search for Dietz’s replacement will begin immediately, Scott Olson, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities president, told students and staff in an email.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/44MK36W
MUSEUM: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The Science Museum of Minnesota is laying off 43 full-time employees, a 13% workforce reduction. In a statement Wednesday, the museum framed the move as a proactive response to nationwide declines in museum attendance, decreased federal and state funding and an aging facility requiring significant investment. The museum will transition from a $38 million annual operating model to $31 million.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3IeOzU9
70 YEARS OF STRONG JOBS AND ECONOMIC IMPACT: The Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery is Minnesota’s largest and most active work site, driving economic impact for local communities. The refinery is busy with plumbers and pipefitters, carpenters and electricians, engineers and environmental scientists, software and IT specialists — there are more than 1,000 full-time employees and, at times, more than 3,000 contractors working on-site on any given day. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/3ZQQsMp (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
RAMSEY CTY: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Ramsey County has named Patience Ferguson as its next chief human resources officer. Ferguson starts Aug. 4, taking over for Kristen Schultz, who was named interim chief human resources officer in September. She’ll manage a team of 60 employees and an $11 million budget.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4kyzJ8e
CARLTON CTY: via Cloquet Pine Journal, VERBATIM: “Carlton County officials are racing to start building an estimated $4.75 million solar field to secure federal funding that is set to expire under the recently passed ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’ The passage of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill on July 4 could sunset an estimated $600,000 in anticipated federal funding for a proposed solar field. … County officials hope that starting construction by the end of the year will obligate the federal government to provide the 30% match. The county might need to expend 5%-8% on the project cost by year's end.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3GqyqdD
GOLDEN VALLEY: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “The pot of money Golden Valley set aside for prosecuting low-level offenses is nearly empty, and now attorneys are asking the City Council to nearly double the budget or reconsider how they want to handle some cases. Attorney Kurt Glaser told council members Tuesday that he anticipates they would need an additional $200,000 — nearly twice the current amount — to keep up with demands this year.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4lOgSqU
RICE LAKE: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “Suzanne Herstad has resigned as mayor of Rice Lake. According to a news release, Herstad announced her resignation on Monday. … The news release didn’t indicate why Herstad resigned. Herstad served Rice Lake for 10 years, starting in 2015, first as a city councilor before becoming the city’s second mayor. She was elected mayor last November.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/3IlZivV
AUSTIN: via Austin Daily Herald, VERBATIM: “The Austin City Council has settled on its contractor for the Oakland Avenue and First Avenue SW one-way reconstruction project. In a unanimous vote, the council accepted the bid by Ulland Brothers, Inc for just over $15 million. … Bids for the project opened on May 29 with work slated to start this summer and running through 2027. The project, originally slated to start in May, was delayed because of the project's review at the state and federal levels.” READ: http://fluence-media.co/4eKuXTV
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
34B: via CCX Media, VERBATIM: “Rep. Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and her husband Mark were killed about three weeks ago in what prosecutors say was a targeted attack on lawmakers. Her assassination rattled the Brooklyn Park community and has left an empty seat in the House of Representatives. Now, a Brooklyn Park City Council member has announced he’s running for her empty House District 34B seat. … Brooklyn Park City Council Member Christian Eriksen [said] ‘It is with great respect to her legacy, as well as the legacy of all those whom have served before us, that I run for this office.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/3Ih69qx
ENERGY: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Fields of wind turbines and large solar installations have sprouted around the state in recent years, driven by plummeting costs for the green technology and a state law requiring utilities to produce 100 percent of their electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040. Meanwhile, thousands of homes, farms and businesses have also installed smaller solar projects on rooftops and in fields. … Those projects all benefited from federal tax credits that shaved 30 percent or more off their cost. But those credits are all being phased out by the ‘Big, beautiful bill’.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TwEe8j
MASCOTS: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “In 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed a measure that bans public schools from using a name, symbol or image associated with an American Indian tribe. The legislation was modified this spring to make it easier for schools to get out of the name change. But even before the Trump Administration’s involvement on the subject, efforts to enforce the mascot ban were scattershot in Minnesota. For one, there is no penalty for not obeying the law. In fact, the Minnesota Department of Education does not even track a school district’s compliance.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eFZW3u
ALL THE TAKES: Every day, we’re sharing significant political, business and other news in your inbox and on our new website, The Daily Agenda. If you love morning take, sign up for the other Fluence tip sheets and share our web content with your friends. SIGNUP: https://fluence-media.co/4eZwLa7
TODAY: In the afternoon, Governor Tim Walz will attend a Solventum event
TODAY: Protect Minnesota announced that a Minnesota Suicide Prevention Roundtable will be held in Rochester on Thursday at 12:00 noon. Officials with the John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions will attend.
SATURDAY: Gov. Tim Walz will be the keynote speaker at the South Dakota Democratic Party’s annual McGovern Day dinner on July 12 in Sioux Falls, SD.
TIPS: How do we get the best news and most buzzed about stories? Send us your tips at BloisOlson@gmail.com
IN MEMORIAM: morning take from now to the future is in memory of Melissa Hortman her accessibility, leadership and commitment to public service.
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