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For weeks, the leaders of Minnesotas most prominent businesses have remained tight-lipped as thousands of ICE agents have flooded the Twin Cities, where those agents have raided residential neighborhoods, detained employees from local businesses, and taken multiple schoolchildren in broad daylight. Now, over the weekend, more than 60 Minnesota-based CEOs finally spoke out against ICE in a brief collective letter. The 200-word letter was released on January 25 by Minnesotas Chamber of Commerce. It came the day after a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot and killed Minneapolis resident and ICU nurse Alex Pretti, and weeks after the death of Minneapolis writer Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7. In the letter, the business leaders call for an immediate deescalation of tensions, and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions. But, for many Minnesotans, this response is too little, too late. A culture of corporate silence Just a few years ago, it was fairly commonplace for major companies to speak out about social justiceto varying degrees of actual commitment and impact. In the summer of 2020, during President Trumps first term, Minnesota-based companies including General Mills, Target, Best Buy, Cargill, UnitedHealth Group, 3M, and Land OLakes all offered statements in the immediate wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. But now, during Trumps second term, corporate silence has become the norm as companies opt to remain mute on critical issues rather than attracting the Trump administrations ire. Until recently, the above companies have failed to speak up amidst large-scale ICE raids in their home state. Earlier this month, Fast Company writer Joe Berkowitz reached out to all of them regarding ICEs presence in Minneapolis, and received radio silence. Meanwhile, small businesses in the community were actively responding to the situation by condemning ICE and setting up fundraisers for affected residents. Now, though, it seems that major Minnesotan companies finally feel that silence is no longer a viable path forward. Their new letter was signed by CEOs from all of the aforementioned companies, as well as others like Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, the Minnesota Vikings, Xcel Energy, and more. “The business community in Minnesota prides itself in providing leadership and solving problems to ensure a strong and vibrant state,” the letter starts. “The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life.” It continues, “In this difficult moment for our community, we call for peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future. Notably, the letter never actually references ICE or U.S. Border Patrol by name, and only acknowledges Pretti’s death as “yesterday’s tragic news.” Too little, too late So far, some commenters online have expressed their gratitude to these companies for coming forward. But the overwhelming response has been dominated by people who are incredulous at the statements timingand its lack of direct language. Id argue this isnt even breaking silence, one comment under a post from The Minnesota Star Tribune reads. This statement essentially says nothing. They are just speaking out to avoid criticism. A second comment noted, “It reads with the subtext ‘please lets all calm down so we can make money again’ PASS.” And a third user added, Yall have the resources to do more than write a letter. Pause operations for a week, pay your employees anyway, go to DC and take an actual risk. Small businesses stood 10 toes down and lost revenue on Friday while yall stayed open. Leadership isnt just about bts conversations . . . its also about using your leverage. So use it.
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E-Commerce
The Wienermobiles are coming back for a bite at the Brickyard in May, giving them another chance to relish the spotlight of racing’s biggest weekend. Oscar Mayer announced Sunday all six of its famed street-ready vehicles will compete for the second straight year on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s historic 2.5-mile oval. The Wienie 500 is scheduled for May 22 during the track’s annual Carburation Day festivities. Last year’s race was such a hit, organizers wanted to give fans a second round to savor the flavor of a light-hearted competition just two days before IndyCar’s marquis race the Indianapolis 500. The presentation will have a familiar look for fans who watched last year’s inaugural race. Each Wienermobile will feature toppings representing an American regional favorite while carrying carry custom decals. Drivers will don Hotdogger racing suits while the iconic Wiener Song plays and the champ drives into wieners circle. Slaw Dog, which represents the Southeast, will try to prove it is beefy enough to defend last year’s crown. Four other regional favorites also are expected to return Chi Dog (Midwest), New York Dog (East), Chili Dog (South) and Seattle Dog (Northwest). But the Sonoran Dog may be replaced after failing to cut the mustard in 2025. Fans can choose the final entrant from a menu of seven possibilities, including the Sonoran Dog, by visiting Instagram in the first Pick Your Dog Wienie 500 bracket. Updates will be provided on the Instagram account or on TikTok. The response to the first Wienie 500 was overwhelming, and we heard the fans loud and clear that they were hungry for more, Kelsey Rice, Oscar Mayer brand communications director said in a statement. This year, were supercharging the experience, delivering an even bigger, bolder and more unforgettable event that puts the fans at the forefront. With amplified engagement, intensified rivalries and more surprises in store, were giving the people what they want an unparalleled live experience that will leave them craving more.
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E-Commerce
So many things went wrong last Jan. 29 to contribute to the deadliest plane crash on American soil since 2001 that the National Transportation Safety Board isn’t likely to identify a single cause of the collision between an airliner and an Army helicopter near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people at its hearing Tuesday. Instead, their investigators will detail what they found that played a role in the crash, and the board will recommend changes to help prevent a similar tragedy. Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration already took the temporary restrictions it imposed after the crash and made them permanent to ensure planes and helicopters won’t share the same airspace again around Reagan National Airport. Family members of victims hope those suggestions won’t be ignored the same way many past NTSB recommendations have been. Tim Lilley, whose son Sam was the first officer on the American Airlines plane, said he hopes officials in Congress and the administration will make changes now instead of waiting for another disaster. Instead of writing aviation regulation in blood, lets start writing it in data, said Lilley, who is a pilot himself and earlier in his career flew Black Hawk helicopters in the Washington area. Because all the data was there to show this accident was going to happen. This accident was completely preventable. Over the past year, the NTSB has already highlighted a number of the factors that contributed to the crash including a poorly designed helicopter route past Reagan Airport, the fact that the Black Hawk was flying 78 feet (23.7 meters) higher than it should have been, the warnings that the FAA ignored in the years beforehand and the Army’s move to turn off a key system that would have broadcast the helicopters location more clearly. The D.C. plane crash was the first in a number of high-profile crashes and close calls throughout 2025 that alarmed the public, but the total number of crashes last year was actually the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 with 1,405 crashes nationwide. Experts say flying remains the safest way to travel because of all the overlapping layers of precautions built into the system, but too many of those safety measures failed at the same time last Jan. 29. Here is some of what we have learned about the crash: The helicopter route didn’t ensure enough separation The route along the Potomac River the Black Hawk was following that night allowed for helicopters and planes to come within 75 feet (23 meters) of each other when a plane was landing on the airport’s secondary runway that typically handles less than 5% of the flights landing at Reagan. And that distance was only ensured when the helicopter stuck to flying along the bank of the river, but the official route didn’t require that. Normally, air traffic controllers work to keep aircraft at least 500 feet (152 meters) apart to keep them safe, so the scant separation on Route 4 posed what NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy called an intolerable risk to flight safety. The controllers at Reagan also had been in the habit of asking pilots to watch out for other aircraft themselves and maintain visual separation as they tried to squeeze in more planes to land on what the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority has called the busiest runway in the country. The FAA halted that practice after the crash. That night, a controller twice asked the helicopter pilots whether they had the jet in sight, and the pilots said they did and asked for visual separation approval so they could use their own eyes to maintain distance. But at the investigative hearings last summer, board members questioned how well the crew could spot the plane while wearing night vision goggles and whether the pilots were even looking in the right spot. The Black Hawk was flying too high The American Airlines plane flying from Wichita, Kansas, collided with the helicopter 278 feet (85 meters) above the river, but the Black Hawk was never supposed to fly above 200 feet (61 meters) as it passed by the airport, according to the official route. Before investigators revealed how high the helicopter was flying, Tim Lilley was asking tough questions about it at some of the first meetings NTSB officials had with the families. His background as a pilot gave him detailed knowledge of the issues. We had a moral mandate because we had such an in-depth insight into what happened. We didnt want to become advocates, but we could not shirk the responsibility, said Lilley, who started meeting with top lawmakers in Congress, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Army officials not long after the crash to push for changes. The NTSB has said the Black Hawk pilots may not have realized how high the helicopter was because the barometric altimeter they were relying on was reading 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters) lower than the altitude registered by the flight data recorder. Investigators tested out the altimeters of three other Black Hawks of the same model from the same Army unit and found similar discrepancies. Past warnings and alarming data were ignored FAA controllers were warning about the risks all the helicopter traffic around Reagan airport created at least since 2022. And the NTSB found there had been 85 near misses between planes and helicopters around the airport in the three years before the crash along with more than 15,000 close proximity events. Pilots reported collision alarms going off in their cockpits at least once a month. Officials refused to add a warning to helicopter charts urging pilots to use caution when they used the secondary runway at Reagan the jet was trying to use before the collision. Rachel Feres said it was hard to hear about all the known concerns that were never addressed before the crash that killed her cousin Peter Livingston and his wife Donna and two young daughters, Everly and Alydia, who were both promising figure skaters. It became very quickly clear that this crash should never have happened, Feres said. And as someone who is not particularly familiar with aviation and how our aviation system works, we were just hearing things over and over again that I think really, really shocked people, really surprised people. Josh Funk, AP transportation writer
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E-Commerce
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