PRESIDENTS MONDAY
Presidents work hard – so we don’t take the day off like our friends at Twin Cities’ Axios. 😉
Anthony Ewards was MVP of the NBA All Star Game. Brock Faber scored for Team USA. Gopher WBB is having a strong season.
Minneapolis is tied with Ft. Myers, FL as the top ratings market for the Winter Olympics. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/4atDgTL
After record highs this weekend, Minnesota could see multiple snow storms this week. MAPS: https://fluence-media.co/4aPMqtE
Some Minneapolis residents view local police more favorably due to the ICE surge. STRIB: https://fluence-media.co/3MdqOhD
Since October, judges across the U.S. ruled that ICE detained people illegally over 4,400 times. Experts worry it could “clog” the legal system. REUTERS: https://fluence-media.co/3ZEArZC
Sunday Take featured Rep. Michelle Fischbach and Fluence sponsor Minnesota Corn’s Richard Syverson discussing E15, Congress and Homeland Security. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4ayBI9H
The radio version of morning take on the relationship between Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan today on WCCO Radio with Vineeta Sawkar. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4qFe9lA
Enjoy lighter traffic and no mail.
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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/
TOUGH QUESTIONS
Two national news stories that remind us of Minnesota being different. Last night’s Wes Moore town hall with Norah O’Donnell showed a straight-shooting Governor not afraid to be independent from his party and answer tough questions. Since that’s the case, Moore has intraparty issues. AXIOS: https://fluence-media.co/468K0DO
Based on comments from a panel on Friday, some more moderate DFL Senate members may be willing to work harder on compromise with Republicans this session. Stay tuned, and believe it when we see it.
Another angle was a piece in the NYT was about Governor Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman as powerful Dems in Pennsylvania having a strained relationship. That would seem to be an angle in Minnesota between Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan – as Flanagan runs for US Senate.
Plenty of news and questions ahead in 2026.
MNLEG
HORTMAN: This week, the Minnesota Capitol will begin its first session without state Rep. Melissa Hortman in over two decades. Her former colleague, U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison, has introduced a resolution on the U.S. House floor honoring Hortman’s life and service. MORRISON: “Melissa was a giant among Minnesota lawmakers – and modeled leadership qualities that we all should emulate. … I think of her mentorship and her example every day, and call on my colleagues to honor her legacy by prioritizing civility and humility in our service.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4aPL95Q
SESSION: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “When Minnesota lawmakers return to the Capitol on Tuesday for the 2026 legislative session, addressing fraud in state programs and the federal government’s immigration crackdown are sure to be top issues. … Another emerging discussion is boosting the state’s ability to investigate and prosecute fraud following a wave of resignations at the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office. … Leaders of both parties in the Legislature said they have had conversations with DFL Attorney General Keith Ellison about the possibility of hiring more attorneys dedicated to combating fraud. One bill would create 14 new positions at the attorney general’s office. … More proposals are in the works.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tBffBo
FRAUD: The New York Times has a report on the rise of conservative influencers using fraud accusations to create viral videos that lead to policy action — a trend kicked off by Nick Shirley in Minnesota. EXCERPT: “They create videos that are light on evidence and traditional journalistic techniques but are filled with sinister-sounding claims that neatly align with the Trump Administration’s priorities. … They claim to be documenting patterns of elite corruption, taxpayer fraud, abuse of power and government waste across the country, hoping their posts and videos will cross into the feeds of elected officials, as Mr. Shirley’s did. … Even Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Trump Administration official, has made [such] a video.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4bYxc6Q
MORE: House DFL Leader Zack Stephenson told the Pioneer Press he thinks Operation Metro Surge made Minnesota’s fraud situation worse. STEPHENSON: “That was billed as an anti-fraud measure, and it has been a disaster for our efforts to combat fraud in Minnesota. FBI agents have been reassigned from working on fraud to working on immigration. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has been decimated. I think it might be that Republicans are just more interested in using fraud as a political tool rather than actually getting anything done.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tBffBo
CAPITOL: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “At the Minnesota Capitol on Tuesday, new security measures will be in place. Gov. Tim Walz ordered that weapons scanners be installed at all public entrances to the Capitol. … Also new this year, Capitol doors will lock at 4:30 p.m. unless legislative business is continuing after hours. … [At the entrances], each person will walk through a scanner, placing any bags on a conveyor belt to go through a separate scanner. Visitors should not need to empty pockets, take off their jackets or remove their shoes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3OfJ62k
MORE: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “Banned items will include knives, explosives, and blunt-force objects like batons, as well as event or protest items like balloons, spray paint, chalk, or candles. But anyone with a permit to carry may continue bringing a pistol into the Capitol under state law. … Public safety officials did not have an exact estimate of how much the measures will cost the state, though the machinery at the four checkpoints cost around $200,000.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4rq6AjS
GUN CTRL: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Valentine’s Day brought a powerful scene at the State Capitol on Saturday, with families and survivors gathering to call for action on gun violence. Community members demanded ‘no more broken hearts,’ pushing lawmakers to act now to prevent gun deaths. … MURPHY: ‘I am so committed to the progress that we need to make this session and the session after this, and I’m not going to quit until we ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. I’m just not,’ said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4ajdYYf
TOPLINE: What will get done during the legislative session? The bills to watch, are as follows:
- Bonding Bill
- Tax Bill
- Public Safety Policy Bill
- Supplemental Budget
Via MPR this morning 5 “big” issues. READ: https://fluence-media.co/46QK7nG
A new level of insight and information….
The MNSider Brief: State of the Governor’s race – READ: https://fluence-media.co/4r3ACtF
THE FEED
PERMITTING: via Office of the Governor, VERBATIM: “Governor Tim Walz today issued an executive order to enhance the efficiency and transparency of environmental permitting. … The executive order will reduce permitting times for certain air permits to cut down on turnaround time for eligible projects. It also instructs MPCA to revisit their permitting goals and incorporate them into a strategic plan; and instructs [DEED], through the Minnesota Business First Stop, to work with MPCA to identify gaps in current environmental permitting and initiatives to improve permitting efficiency and customer experience.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cCdFsS
MORE: via statement from the Minnesota Business Partnership, VERBATIM: “Minnesota’s largest employers need a regulatory environment that keeps pace with their plans to invest, innovate, and grow in our state. Governor Walz’s Executive Order addressing permitting reform is a welcome sign that our leaders recognize that need, and we thank him for making this a priority,” said Kurt Zellers, CEO of the Minnesota Business Partnership. “When companies are deciding where to build new R&D facilities or expand operations, permitting timelines matter. Allowing companies to begin limited construction while awaiting full permit approval, brings Minnesota in line with how the majority of states already operate – and sends an important signal to businesses weighing where to make their next major investment. We applaud Governor Walz for issuing this Executive Order and sending the message that Minnesota wants to be a partner in growth for businesses.” (DISCLOSURE: Minnesota Business Partnership is a client of Fluence Advisory)
MPLS: via AP News, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis will need to decide how to manage makeshift memorial sites for two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents last month. Piles of flowers, signs and artwork swiftly formed to commemorate the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. … The public grieving spots echo the community-driven memorial to George Floyd. … It took the city more than five years to figure out how to officially memorialize the site of George Floyd Square, and construction is set to begin this year. Now, the city has two more high-profile memorials to manage.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/46CT7wI
IMPACT: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Officials in Minneapolis say the city has experienced at least $203.1 million ‘in impact’ as a result of federal immigration enforcement activity. … According to city data, local businesses and restaurants lost $81 million as a result of the operation, workers afraid to leave home and go to work lost $47 million in wages and hotels lost $4.7 in revenue from cancellations extending through the summer.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4rUUsY1
PROTESTS: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Protests against the surge of federal immigration agents in Minnesota continued over the weekend — even after last week’s announcement [that] the operation is winding down. While there’s relief, there’s also still fear, sadness, skepticism and anger in communities across the state. Hundreds of people rallied at Jackson Square Park and marched on Central Avenue in northeast Minneapolis on Sunday.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4cuOVCP
DRAWDOWN: via AP News, VERBATIM: “White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota’s Twin Cities area and hundreds more will depart in the days ahead. … A ‘small’ security force will stay for a short period to protect remaining immigration agents, [but] he did not define ‘small.’ He also said agents will keep investigating fraud allegations as well as the anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a church service.” HOMAN: “We already removed well over 1,000 people, and as of Monday, Tuesday, we’ll remove several hundred more. We’ll get back to the original footprint.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4aPKDVs
COOPERATION? via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Border czar Tom Homan said [last week] that ‘significant cooperation’ from local law enforcement helped lead to the expected end of Operation Metro Surge, but sheriffs across Minnesota say their policies have not changed. … The Minneapolis Police Department said its policies are also unchanged. … Local police [have] argued that helping with federal immigration enforcement drains limited resources available to keep their communities safe.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4albfO6
MORE: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Minnesota law barred county jails from holding an inmate past their release date, yet [Tom] Homan said he appreciated something Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told him – that nothing in Minnesota law prevented county jails from alerting ICE when an inmate the agency seeks to take into custody is being released. … [However], many county jails in the state have already been doing this, and some have said ICE had not appeared to pick up the person they sought.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4qHWcmz
INVESTIGATIONS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Two ICE agents involved in an enforcement action in Minneapolis that led to one man shot in the leg last month lied while giving sworn testimony about the encounter and are under investigation, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. … [This] comes one day after federal prosecutors moved to drop criminal charges against two Venezuelan men whose highly publicized arrests on Jan. 14 have been in dispute since conflicting accounts emerged from DHS officials and defense attorneys.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kEl2SD
MORE: via WCCO-TV, VERBATIM: “Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty says she will be sending a letter this week to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to demand they turn over evidence in the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Pretti. … Moriarty has already sent a letter with the same demands for the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Good. … Moriarty says the response deadline in that case is set for Tuesday.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4aS1EON
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)
CONGRESS
SHUTDOWN: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “A partial government shutdown has begun, with some U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding now expired. Democrats are pushing for new restrictions on immigration enforcement agents, while Republicans warn this could affect their operations. Democrats demand that federal agents unmask, identify themselves, and use judge-signed warrants before entering homes and businesses. Minnesota is seen as the catalyst for these demands. … While ICE and Border Patrol are unaffected, other agencies like TSA and FEMA face funding halts.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4qKihRj
MORE: Speaking to CBS News, Tom Homan indicated he is not supportive of Democrats’ demands for ICE agents to stop wearing masks on duty. HOMAN: “I don’t like the masks either…[but] these men and women have to protect themselves.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4rQfKG5
ANTITRUST: via Sen. Amy Klobuchar advisory, VERBATIM: “Senator Amy Klobuchar [led] 6 of her colleagues in raising concerns about the Department of Justice’s commitment to antitrust enforcement amid reports that Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Gail Slater was forced to resign. … Slater’s resignation comes only weeks before the landmark case to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster is scheduled to go to trial.” LETTER: https://fluence-media.co/4qxI9zD
VACCINES: via Rep. Kelly Morrison advisory, VERBATIM: “Representative Kelly Morrison [and others] lead nearly 50 of her colleagues in calling for the removal of two recently appointed anti-vax OB/GYNs to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). … Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed OB/GYNs Dr. Adam Urato and Dr. Kimberly Biss to ACIP. … The letter is joined by Representatives [including] Angie Craig.” LETTER: https://fluence-media.co/4azckRg
ISRAEL: via Rep. Betty McCollum advisory, VERBATIM: “Congresswoman Betty McCollum today re-introduced The Defending the Human Rights of Palestinian Children and Families Living Under Israeli Military Occupation Act. … The legislation would prohibit Israel’s government from using U.S. taxpayer dollars in the Occupied West Bank for the military detention, abuse, or ill treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military detention; the seizure and destruction of Palestinian property and homes in violation of international humanitarian law; or any assistance or support for unilateral annexation of Palestinian lands in violation of international humanitarian law.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tTl0L8
METRO
MPS: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minneapolis Public Schools faces a budget deficit in 2026-27 that is significantly deeper than initially forecast. … Documents obtained by the Minnesota Star Tribune in a public data request show the district ordered an outside review of the finance division that described it as being at a ‘crisis point’ with significant employee turnover — reportedly more than 50% over the past two years. … The update showed the district’s projected general fund deficit rising from $30.3 million in December to $50.5 million.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4tIOyLm
WILD ABOUT READING: Join more than 800 Minnesota classrooms and 30,000 students participating in the “Wild About Reading” program, a partnership with Flint Hills Resources which encourages students to read more using Minnesota Wild-branded posters, reading logs, and bookmarks. Teachers set weekly reading goals and give certificates to students who complete the four-week program. Fun program incentives include: classroom visits from the Wild’s mascot, Nordy, and the team dog, Paulie; a pair of tickets to a Wild home game, player-signed pucks and photos; and a pizza party for a classroom. LEARN MORE: https://fluence-media.co/49AHNSE (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
EAGAN: via Pioneer Press, VERBATIM: “New plans for the old Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota headquarters in Eagan are in early planning stages, according to the 55-acre site’s co-developers. Real estate developers Opus of Minnetonka and Capital Partners of Edina are working together on the build-to-suit industrial development plans, known as ‘Blue Ridge Innovation.’ … One concept calls for two buildings on the properties, [while] the second concept consists of a business park with six buildings.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4kD5vmj
COMING UP
TODAY: Speaker Lisa Demuth, Rep. Harry Niska and other House Republicans will hold a press conference at 2:00 p.m. to present their caucus’s session priorities.
TODAY: AFL-CIO is leading a “Day Out for Democracy” protest in Minneapolis today. A rally begins at 1:30 p.m., followed by a march at 2:00 p.m.
TOMORROW: The Minnesota Legislature’s 2026 session will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 12:00 noon. Despite numerous special elections, the makeup of both chambers is unchanged from last year: tied in the House (67-67) with DFL control in the Senate (34-33).
TOMORROW: The MN Chamber of Commerce will outline its policy priorities for the 2026 legislative session on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 4:00 p.m. Numerous state leaders and gubernatorial candidates will attend.
BDAYS: Farm Bureau leader Karin Schaefer, journalist David Phelps, civic leader Susan Hentges Carter, independent journalist Ivory Hecker
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IN MEMORIAM: morning take is dedicated in memory of Melissa Hortman.