iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bloomberg basically saying separation isn’t that important, but that PQ is getting votes off (mostly) pro-biz stuff

St-Pierre Plamondon said after the event that he was "pleasantly surprised" and the business leaders' comments resonated with his views. The PQ's plan includes large cuts in the number of civil servants and a gradual reduction in the corporate income tax rate to
9.5%, from 11.5%, offset by a reduction in grants for businesses. His agenda sits well with many businesses. In his first 100 days in office, Quebec's new premier has promised to unlock funds to address homelessness, eliminate taxes on used goods, lower the gas tax, create a secretary to overhaul the bureaucracy, conduct an
audit of technology projects and lower immigration thresholds. St-Pierre Plamondon emphasized during his campaign that it's important for Quebec to have greater control over its language, culture, immigration and finances. That may exacerbate tensions
with the federal government.

David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 03/10/2026

Strib: “it’s a month from Election Day but we’ll keep writing gauzy soft-focus profiles of Republicans with exactly the message they want even though the keep refusing to talk to us”

Demuth and Tafoya would make history, but race and gender aren't their pitch

Both declined to comment to the Minnesota Star Tribune for this article.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/10/2026

Shot, chaser. Couldn’t happen to a more loathsome Blazers owner.

Trail Blazers broadcaster fired hours after hiring for past racist, sexist social
media posts
E Summarize
Jason Quick PORTLAND, Ore. - The same day the Portland Trail Blazers announced the hiring of television broadcaster Braiden Bell, the team has fired him because of past social media posts. KGW-TV reported the posts were made when Bell was a teenager in
2012 and 2013.
Bell, 29, was the television play-by-play announcer for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. ¿The Portland Trail Blazers have zero tolerance for racist, sexist or harmful comments," the team said in a statement. "Social media posts made by our recently announced play-by-play announcer are in clear violation of team and league policies, as well as our values and expectations. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with
this broadcaster." Bell was set to appear at Sunday's Fan Fest scrimmage and begin working in Portland next week. He was replacing veteran broadcaster Kevin Calabro, who spent nine
seasons broadcasting in Portland.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/10/2026

If you’re angling for a Ralph Rapson-designed church, one at 58th & Cedar can be yours for $2.49 million. [DHH, which did so much mutual aid work during the surge, is moving somewhere bigger in S Mpls tho story doesn’t say where.]

Headline: South Minneapolis church lists Cedar Avenue property for $2.49 million as it plans expansion. Picture of 1950s church with large squarish tower.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 01/10/2026

Hadn’t clicked that Southwest Tire & Auto at 50th & Xerxes pointedly flies the old Minnesota flag. That’s their right, but also fuck off. (Note: All J’s Tire, right next door on the corner, does not. They don’t like their neighbors!)

A business front with an old Minnesota flag flying at right.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 30/09/2026

Pouring the new curb on Cecil Newman Lane that will connect the Blaisdell bike lane to the new 1st Avenue protected lane. This is just north of the Greenway looking east.

New curb and apron cemented. The street will be narrowed

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 28/09/2026

How cloudy/rainy has it been? I only have 3 years of solar panel data for September, but it’s running at November levels (where I also have 3 data years). 2026 14-day running average is in green.

A chart showing 2026 solar harvest running about a third under 2025 and a half under 2024 data.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 26/09/2026

Twins telling us it will be a 22-hour rain delay. (It’s 22 hours til tomorrow’s game but maybe we’ll play two …)

A timer at Target Field counting down 22 hours til game time …

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 25/09/2026

Example: last week Jacob Frey blocked his employees from answering oversight questions in public meetings. You’d think a reporter, especially one who aggressively covered pols, would note in her opinion column as a JEER. Instead:

From Rochelle Olson’s Strib column: Cheers to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's advice Frey gave stellar advice to high schoolers at Augsburg University's Minnesota Urban Debate League fundraising dinner a week ago.iThere's nothing more empowering than realizing that rejection ain't that bad," Frey told the students, encouraging them to seek out mentors, ask for help and to be open to a route they didn't initially anticipate. "People can spot passion from a mile away," he said. "They can also spot a fake." It was a great pep talk for the high school debaters and a solid reminder for the adults in attendance

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 25/09/2026

I don’t mind Eric Roper noting Kaohly Her‘s skills but playing shuttlecock with unhoused people should be mentioned if this stuff is. They spent a bunch of money on worse than nothing! www.startribune.com/roper-st-pau...

From the column: “ The whole episode is especially unfortunate because Her
appears to be exactly the mayor St. Paul needs right now. She
already has an impressive command over the city's finances and
is forging important relationships with a business community
that has felt ignored by City Hall.”

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 23/09/2026

Regrettable Business Names, Inc.

From the NY Times: “The request for a restraining order was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville by She's Alive, a corporation responsible for overseeing Ms. Parton's many business endeavors. It is run by Danny Nozell, her longtime manager.
A lawyer for She's Alive declined to comment further.”

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 22/09/2026

Amazing how tightly her campaign has Michele Tafoya bubble-wrapped. She was even a media personality! But it’s an indication of how poor her understanding of government is (and how smart a gamble so far that she won’t be vetted if she dummies up).

From the Star Tribune: A conversation with the candidates. The U.S. Senate race is one of Minnesota's biggest contests this fall. I sat down with DFL nominee Peggy Flanagan for a wide-ranging conversation about her campaign, her record as lieutenant governor and the case she is making to voters in the final stretch. Listen to the interview here. We will be doing similar conversations with the top candidates for governor as well. We have reached out to Republican nominee Michele Tafoya's campaign but have not received a response.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 22/09/2026

Spouse wanted to see the lake and keep her clothes on we chose poorly

Grassy park with a large green privacy fence blocking the clothing optional part and the lake

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 20/09/2026

Shirt I am wearing today

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 20/09/2026

Bulkshit Washington State honeycrisps probably best made into booze.

Ballard beer fest in Seattle, a tent with Pumpkin Spice cider but also Honeycrisp cider. Washington honey crisps are vastly inferior to Minnesota’s.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 17/09/2026

Came to Seattle to dry out from rainy Minneapolis

A lock on Lake Union with a bridge and blue water in the distance. The sky is clear blue.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 17/09/2026

The beatings will continue until morale improves

From the Reuters story: In an effort at that time to bolster Steiner's morale and enlist White House support for his restructuring plans, Trump donors in the mailing industry organized a December 2025 trip for the postmaster general to golf with the president at one of his Florida
resorts, the people said.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 16/09/2026

MPS is literally saying it won’t save money. It’s about providing more consistent pathways and “experiences.” sahanjournal.com/education/mi...

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 11/09/2026

Anyway, here’s a section that will cut you to your core. Odds are 1-2% of the local Latino population has been deported & one community member thinks 25% have left.

“We lost a lot of our community,” said Rudy Trujillo, owner of accounting firm Trujillo Service at 420 E. Lake St., whose clients are mostly Latino immigrants.
He estimates that one in four Latinos left the Twin Cities, either by self-deportation or moving to another state.
No hard data is yet available. About 235,000 Hispanic people lived in the seven-county metro area in 2024, according to census data. The 5,000th detainee (most detainees were of Latin-American descent) was flown out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in August, Minnesota Reformer reports.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 11/09/2026

Mina’s the best, and really nails it about social media (at least from my perspective)

Favorite social network: Bluesky I post everywhere to try and get my work out there and get it seen and read. But I would say the one that I use the most is Bluesky. While it has its flaws, there's definitely the occasional sports ball person in my mentions. I've found the interactions on there are the most like interactions I have with people in the real
world, which is a rarity on the social internet these days.
Least favorite social network: Twitter Everyone says Twitter, right? Which is a bummer because it used to be really fun and essential for news. When breaking news was happening, it was a place you'd go to get on-the- ground impressions. You could meet friends, you could find new writers and comedians, and all of that feels lost just because Elon completely killed the vibe. And I say that because obviously he's done things far more serious in terms of poisoning the discourse, and the place is a cesspool for racism and misogyny and misinformation, but it's also just, like, a terrible fucking hang. Everyone either seems miserable or is determined to
make other people miserable.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 09/09/2026

Like you, I pick a secure highly protected password manager to give that info to the out-of-control world-eating intellectual-thievery machine.

Hi there, Al agents can browse websites, sign in to accounts, and complete tasks for you. But when an agent reaches a login page, the task can come back to you. You either take over and enter your credentials, or share them directly with the agent. None of these options are secure and shouldn't be
something you sacrifice for speed.
1Password for Claude gives you a simpler way to keep going. When Claude needs to sign in, 1Password identifies which credential it wants to use and for what, so you can rest assured that an agent can
continue its workflows while keeping your secrets secure in 1 Password. After you approve the credential request with biometrics, 1Password fills the page directly with the credential. Claude can use your password, one-time code, or social login, all while the item stays secure in 1Password. The agent never sees your password values or other secrets, and item access ends when the task is complete

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 09/09/2026

I should note the TIPP poll, while not a push poll per se (asked preference question first), includes these 3 highly suss pro-GOP payloads; nothing similar for Tafoya or Demuth. The poll’s sponsor is a self-proclaimed “deplorable.” Groups like this often poll to signal to campaigns where to message.

Table E14

According to an analysis of U.S. Senate votes, Amy Klobuchar voted with Senator Bernie Sanders 87% of the time through 2019. Does this information make you...

Amy Klobuchar has been a longtime supporter of Governor Tim Walz. If elected Governor, do you think Amy Klobuchar would represent a change from the Walz administration, or would she be more likely to continue Governor Walz's policies?

As Lieutenant Governor, Peggy Flanagan has supported allowing minors to receive puberty blockers, hormones, and other medical treatments as part of a gender transition. Does this position make you...

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 08/09/2026

Self-selecting sample, probably of you liberal student council nerds, but I still found it interesting the majority opposes photo ID for voting. Boo to exempting tips from taxes and opposition to red-light cams, though.

1. Should Minnesota's governors and lieutenant governors be limited to serving two, 4-year terms in their lifetime?
Yes 69.4%
No 18.4%
Undecided/No Opinion 12.2%
2. Should the state appropriate $100 million for a small-business relief fund for Minnesota business owners who experienced significant
financial losses during Operation Metro Surge?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
64.3%
22.7%
13%
3. Should a state employee whose intentional actions allowed fraud to occur in a state program be terminated and banned from
state employment for five years?
Yes 80.4%
No 6.9%
Undecided/No Opinion 12.7%
4. Should health plans be required to cover infertility treatment and standard fertility preservation services?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
64.8%
19.9%
15.3%
5. To receive a ballot, should voters be required to show a photo ID at the poll?
Yes 37.1%
No 56.9%
Undecided/No Opinion 5.9%
6. Should the possession of semiautomatic military-style assault weapons be prohibited except for peace officers, servicemembers, and other government officers authorized to possess a weapon while acting within the scope of their duties?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
75.2%
20.5%
4.3%
7. Red light cameras are used for enforcement of speeding violations and traffic-control signal violations. Should they be banned in Minnesota?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
47.8%
38.9%
13.2%
8. Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to increase the funding going to all school districts from the permanent school fund, which is a fund that supports school districts without raising individual income or property taxes, effective
July 1, 2027?"
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
77.7%
11.7%
10.5%
9 & 10 cut for space

11. Should tips and overtime pay be exempt
from state income tax?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
52.1%
37.2%
10.7%
12. Should government entities be prohibited from acquiring and using facial recognition
technology?
Yes
No
Undecided/No Opinion
59.4%
25.2%
15.5%

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 08/09/2026

God forgive me, I occasionally check X

Aaron Klemz @aaronklemz • Sep 6
There was literally a local newspaper called "Southside Pride" for 35 years from 1990-2025.
Becka Thompson
@becka_thompson
Until the takeover, around 2015, NO ONE called it "southside". Southside is CHICAGO. "South" is Minneapolis. Hope this helps. x.com/mayorfrey/stat...

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 08/09/2026

Strib publisher touts the virtues of “Upper Midwest“ thought with an assemblage of coastal corporations & bland local CEOs. No juice, no frisson, by design. Reminds me of all the thirsty locals who dubbed us the “Minneapple” decades ago. Two global resistance movements exploded here but not a word.

From the Star Tribune’s publisher: This year's North Star Summit will host local and national leaders on stage to
discuss and debate the biggest topics of our time: • Google, Open Al and Spotify are coming to town to talk about Al's impact on
the economy. • The New York Times and Associated Press will address the future of
information. • Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and a possible 2028 presidential candidate, will tackle America's economic renaissance, while half a dozen CEOs from global companies based in Minnesota will grapple with the biggest issues they
face. • University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham and University of St. Thomas President Rob Vischer will offer insights on the future of higher
education. • The Timberwolves CEO Matt Caldwell and Loons CEO Christina Hennington will discuss the future of sports with Minneapolis Mayor (and noted
marathoner) Jacob Frey • Gov. Tim Walz will give an exit interview on what it's been like to lead
Minnesota during these last eight years.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 07/09/2026

A few crop arts that maybe got less attention

Bobby from King of the Hill saying “That’s my neighbor, I don’t know you!”

Agent Down! with illustrations of ICE agent falling in their ass.

We shocked the world spelled out with a Minnesota state outline below and nature on the edges.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 07/09/2026

A few crop arts that maybe got less attention

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 07/09/2026

Decided to pre-pay the crop art line by queuing up at 8 for the 9a opening. Only about 3 dozen folks waiting. Several folks leave when the find out there’s a hour wait still.

A small line of people in front of a yellow hort building.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 06/09/2026

If Razava Bread doesn’t open up a brick-and-mortar store in South Mpls they are leaving money on the table.

A long one to buy bread at a Kingfield Market tent.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 05/09/2026

That’s goddamn Greenland out there

In the distance past a blue jet engine with clouds in the foreground, snow-capped mountain peaks on a coastline. The whole frame is white and slate grey.

In the distance past a blue jet engine, snow-capped mountain peaks frame giant unspoiled lakes. The mountains are slate grey with a glacier in the background.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 05/09/2026

Good morning! Spent yesterday in Münster, where they brag about having 400,000 bikes for 300,000 people, purposed the old Roman wall path for bikes not cars; saw where the Peace of Westphalia happened w/very inbred boy Sun King. Also cheese NOT from here (US reimagining of French cheese).

Tree-covered wide asphalt cycling path with brown fall leaf debris.

Wood paneled room with chandelier & portraits of the signers of the Treaty of Westphalia ending the 30-years war, first one ended by treaty. Wood beams, wainscoting, Jesus cross at wall center v

Chinless dipshit inbred baby king , blonde locks and gold blouse with red cape.

Tree-covered wide asphalt cycling path with brown fall leaf debris and bikers passing.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 04/09/2026

When in Germany, currywurst

A long sausage in sauce, with a ramekin of mayo, French fries & some greens.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 04/09/2026

Good morning from your Münster cuckoo clock.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/09/2026

They serve an ice cream treat called Spaghetti in Aachen, Germany and it’s vanilla ice cream pushed through potato ricer-like holes to create the “noodles” and strawberry sauce for the tomato sauce and shedded nuts for the Parmesan and damn if it isn’t delicious.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/09/2026

Massive indoor bike parking under the Heerlen, Netherlands city hall. This is about a quarter of it. The future liberals want.

About 50 bike parking spaces in two rows in an underground bike garage.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/09/2026

Are German snails as tasty as French ones? I’m not gonna find out.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/09/2026

When you visit the city government of Heerlen, Netherlands you get treats. Look at this branded goodness

A cup of coffee & gorgeous cherry torte on white china with the city name.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 02/09/2026

Saint Paul represent in Charlemagne’s Germany

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 01/09/2026

Waiting to help get an international award

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 01/09/2026

More than a bit weird to be part of a group picking up a peace prize to visit the cathedral where Charlemagne’s bones rest. The Holy Roman Emperor was a very successful butcher of humans, he had his imperial HQ here & built this church in 805. His bones are in the back gold sarcophagus.

A Sept with beautiful tall stained glass windows in a dark church in Aachen, Germany. An ornate gold case containing Charlemagne’s relics sits in the near frame in a glass case on a marble pedestal; a similar one on a wooden table sits near the back, containing Charlemagne’s bones.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 01/09/2026

Becoming europilled — behold the urban secure bike parking **with a green roof** it’s so cute

Cobblestone street in Aachen, Germany with a rectangular bike locker that’s container shaped. A bicyclist passes to the left of the container.

Small green succulents planted in tight rows on a growing surface on the top of the bike locker. Buildings in the distance.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 31/08/2026

6/ I will be handing our We Keep Us Safe Mpls stickers to anyone I meet, and in closing if (for now), I leave you with photos of the Lederhosen Superstore I bought a shirt in this morning, even though we are not in Bavaria!

A storefront on a cobblestone street with a glassed window display of lederhosen wearing mannequins & a sign that says Lederhosenland

Lederhosen wearing mannequins, including a cow, like right out of the Sound of Music!

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 31/08/2026

So I’m not sure how this is possible but … I’m in Germany to help pick up an international peace prize, as one does. A very cool organization in Aachen, Germany is honoring Unidos/Monarca & Smitten Kitten for Metro Surge resistance. Browser-translate the release: www.aachener-friedenspreis.de 1/

An old German gothic-type building in Aachen, Germany hosting the municipal government. An NGO is awarding an org I volunteer for the Aachen Peace Prize.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 28/08/2026

Reminds me of this classic

Michele Bachman scarecrow at the Minnesota State Fair.

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