Flippable: Randy Brock for MN-HD26B

I grew up in Litchfield, Minnesota and have lived in Rochester since 2002. Like many cities in Minnesota, Litchfield sits on the vast prairie that dominates our state’s landscape. The end of our street provided great views of the open sky and natural world. And during my childhood I enjoyed watching lightning storms play out from that vantage point.

During college, I explored the world around me through a scientific and mathematical lens, digging into courses in physics, mathematics and meteorology. By chance, while deciding which career path to pursue, I was offered a summer internship in meteorology at a local television station. In that job, I got to use my love for science to analyze and explain the atmosphere and sudden weather changes that we all experience daily. And the rest is history.

From 2002 to 2016, I was chief meteorologist at KTTC-TV in Rochester. This career afforded me with the opportunity to serve as a trusted interpreter of the world around us and connect with people throughout the region on a daily basis. I enjoyed helping viewers interpret and understand our region’s sometimes chaotic weather and make decisions informed by science and careful analysis.

Since leaving that role, I have continued connecting with the world of meteorology and southeast Minnesota residents by filling in at ABC6News (KAAL-TV), and by providing digital weather updates, hosting a podcast and mediating community discussions for the Post Bulletin. In 2016, I also became a real estate agent at Property Brokers of MN , working alongside Ron & Lynn Wightman.

Outside of work, I also enjoy volunteering and serving in our community. I help deliver meals to people in need for Family Service Rochester’s Meals on Wheels program and was the chair of the Meals on Wheels Fundraiser committee. I have also served on numerous non-profit boards and planning committees including Boys and Girls Club of Rochester, Hiawatha Trout Unlimited, Minnesota Trout Unlimited and the National Trout Center in Preston, Minnesota.

I live in Eyota with my wife, Julie, sons, Drew and Owen, three dogs, and various fowl. My love for the outdoors continues, and you can frequently find me outside running, hunting, fishing, or trying to tame the buckthorn in my backyard.

While I may be Minnesota’s first meteorologist/real estate agent to run for elected office, this goal is consistent with my core values and my commitment to service. Throughout my career, I have been privileged to serve as someone who people can trust and rely on for accurate information and advice that affects their daily lives. Co-workers and others who know me well will tell you that I am also a good listener and team player who cares deeply about the people in this region. I would be honored to serve you in the Minnesota State House. Please reach out at or through any of my social media channels randybrockforhouse@gmail.com.








https://randybrock.mn/

FLIPPABLE: W. Michael Shimeall for KS-HD26

Dr. Shimeall and his wife, Carol, are both retired after teaching professionally for 74 years combined.

Dr. Shimeall served on the City Council of La Crosse, Kansas for 3 years, and held the office of Mayor for one year.

Having served as a medic in the 326th Medical Battalion, 101st Airborne, in Vietnam, Dr. Shimeall knows the importance of supporting those who have served our country.

Dr. Shimeall and his wife Carol have two adult children and eight grandchildren.







https://www.shimeall4kansas.com

Kodak Stock Trades Surged Before Announcement

Reid Wilson notes that Kodak stock volume has ranged from 52,000 to 215,000 shares per day since July 1.

On Monday, the day before President Trump tapped the former film giant to make drug ingredients, 1,645,000 shares traded hands.



https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/29/kodak-stock-trades-surged-before-announcement/

Trump's Makes Another Play for Suburban Voters

President Trump on Twitter:

“I am happy to inform all of the people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream that you will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood… Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down. I have rescinded the Obama-Biden AFFH Rule. Enjoy!”


https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/29/trumps-makes-another-play-to-suburban-voters/

Gohmert Spoke to Barr Without a Mask

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who tested positive for the coronavirus earlier today, spoke to Attorney General William Barr yesterday without a mask and for “a comment or two,” according to Olivia Beavers.


https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/29/gohmert-spoke-to-barr-without-a-mask/

Gohmert Returns to Office After Testing Positive

After testing positive for the coronavirus, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) went back to his Capitol Hill office, ABC News reports.

He told staff members he wanted to inform them in person instead of finding out from news reports.



https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/29/gohmert-returns-to-office-after-testing-positive/

Kavanaugh tried to toss Trump under the bus on his tax returns.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh sent a series of private memos to his fellow justices in an attempt to dissuade them from ruling on whether the president should be compelled to give his financial records to House investigators, CNN reports.

He reportedly argued that courts shouldn’t get involved in political questions, but the strategy could have left Trump with no legal route to stop his banks from handing over his tax returns to Congress.



https://politicalwire.com/2020/07/29/kavanaugh-urged-justices-to-sidestep-trump-tax-case/

NY-12: Carolyn Maloney wind her primary.

Michigan Threatens to Slip From Trump as He Goes Quiet on Airwaves

President Trump’s campaign has quietly receded from the television airwaves in Michigan in recent weeks, shifting money elsewhere as one of the key Midwestern states that powered his surprise victory in 2016 threatens to move more firmly back into the Democratic column in 2020.

Michigan began the year with expectations that it would be one of the most intense battlegrounds in the country, but its share of Trump television advertising dollars dwindled this summer as Joseph R. Biden Jr. built a steady advantage in the polls.

Since the end of June, Mr. Trump has spent more money on ads in 10 other states — with Michigan falling behind even much smaller states like Iowa and Nevada — and in recent days, Mr. Trump’s campaign stopped buying ads in Michigan entirely.

The Biden campaign has more than tripled what Mr. Trump spent on television in Michigan in the last month, by far the most lopsided advantage of any swing state where both are advertising. And in Detroit, the state’s largest media market, the Trump campaign last ran a television ad, outside of national ad buys that include the state, on July 3, according to data from Advertising Analytics.



https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/us/politics/michigan-trump-biden-2020.html

Republicans suddenly sweating falling deep into House minority

A slew of dismal summer polls and a persistent fundraising gap have left some Republicans fretting about a nightmare scenario in November: That they will fall further into the House minority.

Publicly, House GOP leaders are declaring they can still net the 17 seats needed to flip the chamber. But privately, some party strategists concede it’s a much grimmer picture, with as many as 20 Republican seats at risk of falling into Democratic hands.

Far from going on offense, the GOP could be forced to retrench in order to limit their losses. There's a growing fear that Trump’s plummeting popularity in the suburbs could threaten their candidates in traditionally favorable districts, and that their party's eagerness to go on offense might leave some underfunded incumbents and open GOP-held seats unprotected.

Internal Democratic surveys in recent weeks have shown tight races in once-solid GOP seats in Indiana, Texas, Michigan, Ohio and Montana that President Donald Trump carried handily 2016 — data that suggest the battleground is veering in a dangerous direction for the GOP.

"Republicans were jolted by the fact that a lot of white suburban voters abandoned them. The question now is whether that trend will continue," said former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), who lost reelection in 2018. "If it does, it could endanger some of those districts, particularly in the Midwest."



https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/29/republicans-house-seats-385760