Good morning.  It’s hard to miss that smoky smell throughout Minnesota. Sending good vibes to those up north.

President Donald Trump won’t stay on the sidelines in Minnesota’s race for governor, backing steadfast ally Mike Lindell in the GOP contest. It’s a major turn in the race with just weeks until the Aug. 11 primary. All of the contenders were hoping to land it or at worst that the president would keep his thoughts private until after the nomination was settled. Will it lift Lindell? Will Trump stop with one endorsement? Will it drive people to vote who otherwise wouldn’t? All questions that we will be watching for answers to in the final stretch. Lindell’s longtime relationship with Trump and unwavering alliance on election matters, 2020 and beyond, surely helped. Trump never won Minnesota in a general election and finished third in the 2016 caucus, so this might play differently here than in other states. But it’s a definite vibe shift for Lindell, whose campaign operation is more strung together than carefully assembled as some others are.

The Minnesota Republican Party found itself in the rare position of criticizing Trump’s judgment for endorsing Lindell. Alex Plechash, the state GOP chair, issued a scathing statement suggesting Lindell had electability problems and could drag down the ticket. Plechash said in part: “When the going got tough under Tim Walz, Mike Lindell left Minnesota for Texas. Now he wants Minnesota Republicans to overlook his serious financial baggage, public records showing tens of thousands of dollars in delinquent property taxes, significant electability concerns, and unanswered questions surrounding his running mate. Minnesota cannot afford to nominate a ticket that gives Democrats an easy target and creates the very real possibility of another DFL trifecta.” He predicted Lindell would lose the nomination. Notably missing from the party chair’s statement: The name of Kendall Qualls. Instead, Plechash referred to “other Republican candidates” who have done work to strengthen the party.

Qualls said he was initially surprised at the endorsement, but chalked it up to Trump’s close relationship with Lindell. “Does it make it a little bit tougher? Yes, it does,” Qualls said. “We're going to win the primary, but going into the general, not getting his endorsement, that's something the Democrats won't be able to use as a hammer, if you will, or baseball bat against our campaign.” Asked about Plechash’s decision not to name him in the chair's response, Qualls said,” We’ve had conversations.” House Speaker Lisa Demuth issued a pair of statements yesterday. The first didn’t mention Trump in saying she could unite the party; the second praised his agenda and said she would remain “laser focused” on winning the primary and the November election. 

President Trump’s 2026 endorsement scorecard in notable statewide races for governor or U.S. Senate have largely resulted in wins for his picks. That includes support for eventual nominees in Alabama, California, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina (he actually endorsed two candidates there). But his picks fell short in Iowa and Georgia (his candidate won the U.S. Senate nomination but his governor pick lost). Don’t rule out another endorsement here, whether that’s in the Senate race or a second pick for governor.

Trump dinged Gov. Tim Walz as “incompetent” while making his Lindell endorsement. Walz was asked to respond to the presidential foray into Minnesota’s race. Walz, who abandoned a third term bid, was measured. “It does not surprise me, as many of you heard me been talking about this for quite a while, I think that is where that is where the party is at with that and the president wants loyalty. Republicans will respond on August 11th, I guess, and then everyone else will get a chance in November.” That was it.

Minnesota’s Executive Council voted to extend a peacetime emergency declaration for 30 more days to help with fighting wildfires in and around the BWCA. The council met at the State Emergency Operations Center for the vote, and to hear updates on several fires burning around the BWCA area. The vote extends an emergency declaration signed by Walz, which opened the door for the state to provide swift emergency help to fight the fires. That includes deployment of members of the Minnesota National Guard. The fires have led to the evacuation of the park, and firefighter unit deployments to the area. The heat, combined with a lack of rain have made containing the fires difficult. DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen was asked whether it could mean the BWCA will remain closed for the summer. “I'm confident they will reopen it as soon as they feel it's safe to do so. But I think it's very safe to say summer has changed in that part of the state,” she said. 

Walz said he knows he can count on federal help — from Canada — in an emergency. Walz texted Ontario Premier Doug Ford late Tuesday night asking if Canada could help with rescuing two groups of Minnesota campers who were on a trip in Wabakimi Provincial Park. Canada, which is dealing with several wildfires of its own north of the BWCA, jumped into action, Walz said. “It took one call, and over the night all their forces were activated to go and rescue Minnesota campers from the Y,” Walz said. “That speaks volumes to our neighbors from Canada.” He added that it was a little disorienting to think about. “I can pick up the phone and get a Canadian official to answer immediately, and our team here is able to do that. I still think the professionals are out there. It's not quite as simple right now for me on the national level, which I think is unfortunate,” Walz said.

Four more people have been charged with fraud in connection to Feeding Our Future. Matt Sepic reports that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Ali F. Egal and Fardous J. Egal of Mendota Heights and another married couple, Abdirisak A. Abdulle and Samsam Gatah, with filing false tax returns. The criminal complaints allege that a business owned by a sister of Ali Egal and Abdirisak Abdulle had a sponsorship agreement with Feeding Our Future. Prosecutors say that MN Best entered into food vendor contracts with Ruwayda Kitchen, which shared an address on 17th Avenue South in Minneapolis with MN Best and at least 13 other businesses. According to the complaints, MN Best paid Ruwayda Kitchen $2.4 million for meals from 2020 through 2024 but spent less than $20,000 on food purchases during that time. Matt breaks down the numbers for you: how much money was allegedly stolen and what the couples spent it on.

U.S. Amy Klobuchar confronted Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche about federal and state cooperation in Minnesota ICE shootings investigations. Blanche has been serving as acting attorney general since April and faced the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing yesterday. Klobuchar asked Blanche whether he believes federal law enforcement should cooperate with state law enforcement to investigate the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “I appreciated that the department shared evidence with state investigators early this week. Will you commit to continued information sharing between federal and state investigators in these cases, as well as with regard to the recent shootings in Texas and Maine?” Klobuchar said. Blanche answered, “I expect that these investigations should be run as every investigation of similar kinds, and so that necessarily includes working with state and locals in the appropriate way. I think that the definition of full cooperation can be disputed.”