Twins win. Happy Grandma’s Marathon Weekend.
Billboard’s list of the best R&B singers of all time has Prince ranked 7th — his favorite number, as fans know. LIST: https://fluence-media.co/3HN2lgg
A corpse flower could stink up Como Park Conservatory as soon as this weekend. PIPRESS: https://fluence-media.co/44aGuHg
Minnesota’s Hormel has sued Wisconsin’s Johnsonville over allegedly stealing sausage recipes. STRIB: https://fluence-media.co/44owmMi
An NBC News poll finds that 81% of Americans want the Trump Administration to comply with federal court orders, but self-identified “MAGA” Republicans are split 50-50 on the issue. POLL: https://fluence-media.co/3FXvmp6
It’s going to be a hot weekend, but we’ll have Sunday Take at 9AM on WCCO Radio. Show ideas welcomed. bloisolson@gmail.comBlois
TIPS: bloisolson@gmail.com
Sunday Take was dedicated to the legacy of House DFL Leader Melissa Hortman following her tragic death. Rep. Jeff Witte and former Rep. John Lesch discussed her life, her career, and how her killing could change Minnesota politics forever. LISTEN: https://fluence-media.co/4kL12x4
Sponsorships available – to reach over 25,000 readers per day on Fluence’s tip sheet and website www.TheDailyAgenda.com – email BloisOlson@gmail.com
HOFFMAN: via MPR News, VERBATIM: “Yvette Hoffman, who along with her husband, state Sen. John Hoffman, was shot nearly a week ago, is no longer hospitalized. Earlier in the day, Gov. Tim Walz told media at a Juneteenth event that he got word Yvette Hoffman would be released Thursday. No specific update was provided on John Hoffman's condition, but he was said to be recovering.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eaT9P5
WALZ: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Not long before the fatal shooting of a prominent Minnesota legislator left Gov. Tim Walz pleading for a more civil discourse, he was arguing that Democrats need to ‘be a little meaner.’ … Walz never matched President Donald Trump’s willingness to mock and insult his political adversaries. But he and other Democrats have been trying to learn from the success of Trump’s scorched-earth approach. … Walz’s more recent call to tone down political rhetoric, however, rings hollow for Republicans. … COLEMAN: ‘I fully support all of that. The question is, will the governor be living that two days from now and/or a week from now, and I kind of doubt it,’ former Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman said. ‘He’s traveling across the country fanning the flames.’ … State Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, said both Trump and Walz should think about the weight of their words.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4li4pLL
GUN CTRL: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Thursday that the Legislature should consider prohibiting people from carrying firearms at the State Capitol after two lawmakers were shot in their homes. … He expects more conversations about Capitol security going forward. … Under current law, Minnesotans with a permit to carry can bring a gun inside the Capitol complex.” WALZ: “I think it’s inappropriate that we carry firearms in the Capitol, and I think we have to reassess that.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45rt9MY
ENERGY: via Canary Media, VERBATIM: “Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman is being remembered by advocates and lawmakers as one of the most important climate and clean energy leaders in the state’s history. From the state’s trailblazing community solar program to the flurry of energy and environmental laws adopted during Democrats’ 2023 trifecta, Hortman had a hand in passing some of the country’s most ambitious, consequential state-level clean energy policy. … ‘Clean energy was her first love,’ said Michael Noble, who worked with Hortman for more than 20 years during his time as executive director of the Minnesota-based clean-energy policy advocacy organization Fresh Energy.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4n4IVnf
UMN: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Some University of Minnesota students fear the steep tuition spikes approved Thursday will worsen student loan debt. Despite some students’ concerns that the hikes will price out their peers from being able to afford the U, the Board of Regents approved the $5.1 billion budget in a 9-3 vote. … Mark Kaczmarczyk, a rising junior from Duluth, [said] the decision to raise tuition was disappointing because part of the appeal of going to an in-state school was keeping costs low. In 2024, 51% of undergraduates who entered as first-year students graduated with debt, with the average loan amount at $29,615, a U spokesperson said.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3ZAETZR
IRAN: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “Dozens of people gathered outside the federal courthouse in Minneapolis to call for the United States to stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran…Local artist Katayoun Amjadi held a sign that said “Hands Off Iran.”… Israel warned hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate the middle of Tehran earlier this week. President Trump urged evacuation on social media as well.” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/43U4ZcV
IMMIGRANTS: via Sahan Journal, VERBATIM: “Federal agents are showing up unannounced at homes throughout Minnesota looking to question minors who came to the United States without parents and legal status, according to immigration attorneys and advocates. Families in Windom, Worthington, St. Paul and Minneapolis reported that minors in their care have been interviewed by federal agents starting in March. … The interviews are part of the many new ways President Donald Trump’s administration is tightening immigration enforcement, according to local immigration attorneys, who said the practice was not used by other presidential administrations.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/44pXZVe
HOUSING: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “Higher mortgage rates and economic unease haven’t yet stifled the cost of one of Minnesota’s most coveted and expensive luxuries: lakeshore [property]. Even as home sales slow, the price of lake houses in the state is rising at more than twice the pace of inland options, according to data from Minnesota Realtors. With the median price of those waterfront properties fetching a $200,000 premium, it’s a luxury affordable to only upper-bracket buyers in many parts of the state. That class of buyers is, for now, widely immune to the forces pushing many others out of the market.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4eb0BJK
FED FUNDS: via Bring Me The News, VERBATIM: “A federal judge has sided with three nonprofits – one of them the Minneapolis Foundation – as he ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to restore $180 million in environmental justice funding terminated by the Trump Administration. … The money was split equally between the three nonprofits, including the Minneapolis Foundation, in 2023 as part of a $3 billion block of grants under the Clean Air Act. … In the ruling, the judge called the termination of the grants ‘arbitrary’ and said the EPA had ‘exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act.’” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4nfWtg2
THREAT: via KSTP, VERBATIM: “A lobbyist is in custody after a constituent of state Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) received a ‘threat of violence’ toward the State Capitol on Wednesday. … Jonathan Michael Bohn, 41, of Woodbury, [has] not been officially charged as of Thursday evening. … A spokesperson for House Republicans says the threat was not aimed at any specific lawmaker. … Campaign finance board records show Bohn has made multiple donations to DFL campaigns. The Minnesota DFL sent the following statement on Thursday: ‘Violent threats have no place in our politics and we condemn them unequivocally, no matter who makes them or whom they’re directed toward.’” READ/WATCH: https://fluence-media.co/4e8bdJr
BENTON CTY: via St. Cloud Live, VERBATIM: “A 100-megawatt solar farm, battery storage facility and half-mile 115-kilovolt transmission line in Benton County is now expected to be completed by the end of 2027, according to officials. That project, Benton Solar, is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, which plans to start construction in April 2026, about 4 miles east of St. Cloud. The company previously said the facility would be fully operational by 2026.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3T2orOl
DULUTH: via Duluth News Tribune, VERBATIM: “While City Councilor Mike Mayou won’t have a say in who is appointed to serve the remainder of his term representing the 2nd District, he has made clear he hopes the future appointee will not be someone campaigning for the office. … When he steps down, remaining city councilors will be expected to appoint someone to serve out the rest of Mayou’s term, which ends in January. Three candidates have filed to run for his 2nd District seat — Chris Adatte, Diane Desotelle and Pierre Tournier. … [But] just one of those candidates, Tournier, has expressed an interest in filling in for Mayou before the election.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/4ebuBFn
ST CLOUD: via Star Tribune, VERBATIM: “[A] new St. Cloud Children’s Museum could bring thousands downtown. Great River Children’s Museum, with a grand opening this weekend, is the result of more than six years of planning and $17 million in public, private and in-kind contributions. … The museum had a soft opening and will mark its grand opening, which could draw thousands of people, Friday through Sunday. … Great River [is] the second-largest of Minnesota’s 13 children’s museums.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3G4O3XS
CELEBRATING 70 YEARS: The Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount is a landmark like no other – the tall columns, bright lights and steam during cold winter days can be seen from miles away. Generations of workers have helped operate, maintain and transform the refinery, making it one of the nation’s most innovative and efficient energy facilities of its kind. This year, Flint Hills Resources celebrates 70 years of dedicated employees at the Pine Bend refinery who have produced the fuels that help move us forward. LEARN MORE: About the Pine Bend refinery (SPONSORED: Flint Hills Resources)
From yesterday’s Fluence newsletters:
BOELTER: via MinnPost, VERBATIM: “Few who served on the Governor’s Workforce Development Board with Vance Boelter have much memory of the man accused of assassinating Rep. Melissa Hortman. … MinnPost spoke to eight current or former members of the Governor’s Workforce Development Board to get their accounts of the board’s work and how members are chosen, its relationship with the governor or any politicians, and how Boelter fit into the picture. … Looking back at available meeting minutes from Boelter’s two terms, his name only came up in a smattering of motions to approve prior meeting minutes.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/406ijII
SMITH: via New York Times, VERBATIM: “In an interview, [Sen. Tina Smith] attributed what she said was a political environment awash in violent threats and actions to a toxic atmosphere created by President [Donald] Trump.” QUOTE: “The uptick in political violence and people being willing to use violence as a means to achieve their political ends, I believe that it is fueled by the president’s willingness to use violent rhetoric and to cheer on the people that are doing violence on his behalf.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/3TxvONQ
WISCONSIN: via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, VERBATIM: “Wisconsin lawmakers were greeted with increased security measures for their first floor sessions in the Wisconsin State Capitol since two Minnesota lawmakers were gunned down by a man who also targeted Badger State officials. Ahead of the June 18 floor session, state Senate staff implemented security measures, including checking bags and using handheld metal detectors, on members of the public seeking to watch the floor session from the Senate gallery above the chamber.” READ: https://fluence-media.co/45wGRhA
TODAY: via Xcel Energy, VERBATIM: “Xcel Energy’s inaugural North Star Lineman’s Rodeo will offer a rare glimpse of what life is like as a lineworker. More than 60 Xcel Energy lineworkers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Colorado [will] put their skills to the test in a series of simulated, life-like scenarios at [the] Hugo Training Center in Hugo, Minnesota. … Media will have a chance to speak with lineworkers and their families as well as company leadership.” The event is at 11:30 a.m.
JULY 12: 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.
BDAYS: restaurant icon Steve Schussler. SAT: Mpls Chamber leader Mike Logan, fmr. Rep. Debra Hillstrom, Rep. Peter Fischer. SUN: veteran Denny Shields, Cargill’s Matt Swenson, musician Ali Gray, lobbyist Cristine Almeida, Blandin’s Tuleah Palmer, journalist Jane McClure, lobbyist Margaret Van Reynolds, Pioneer Press’ Jess Fleming
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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about morning take: Founded in 2010, morning take has grown to become the leading Minnesota morning newsletter on politics and news of the day. Published by Fluence Media since 2012 the mission is to "make you smarter" before breakfast.
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