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Minneapolis is currently inundated with two kinds of iceboth of which make it hard for residents to move about the city. The bone-chilling winter cold has left icy deposits on streets and sidewalks, while the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has run roughshod over them in what the Department of Homeland Security calls “the largest DHS operation ever.” As anyone whos ever set booted foot in Minnesota in winter can attest, gravity and overconfidence are no match for one of the worlds most slippery surfaces. Given the abundance of cameras that tend to follow ICE agents, it was perhaps inevitable that there would be multiple viral videos of agents absolutely biffing it on literal ice throughout the Twin Cities. The surging popularity of these videos, though, suggests ICEs critics are getting a lot more out of them than cold comfort. Midwestern progressives may have cheered such content no matter the context, but given recent events, the videos have taken on deeper resonance. Minneapolis has been at the center of a political firestorm since December, when President Trump seized on reports of social services fraud in the city, perpetrated in part by Somali Americans, to denigrate the areas entire deeply rooted Somali community. On January 6, DHS announced it was deploying as many as 2,000 agents into the city to crack down on fraud and, of course, undocumented immigrants. By the following afternoon, an agent had shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in broad daylight. In the days since Goods killing, tensions have erupted in Minneapolis and rippled across the country. Massive protests have sprung up throughout the Twin Cities, as well as from New York City to Portland, Oregon. Local politicians and national figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called out Trump for lying about what happened to Good, while Minnesota and Illinois have sued his administration to block the surge of federal agents. For now, though, the DHS incursion into Minnesota continues, disrupting the normal flow of day-to-day life in the Twin Cities. ICE is reportedly conducting door-to-door raids in some areas, and in one highly publicized incident, agents violently detained two U.S. citizens, one of whom is 17 years old, while they were working a shift at Target. (Both were later released, reportedly with injuries.) After agents started showing up at local schools, several districts have switched to remote learning. Some restaurants have closed their doors indefinitely, while touring acts have postponed shows in the city, citing the welfare of attendees. In fact, the only people who seem to want to visit Minneapolis at the moment are MAGA influencers hoping to squeeze some content out of the carnage. Given the dark, authoritarian overtones of DHSs citywide siege, its no wonder viewers are rejoicing in videos of ICE agents busting ass. @typicalelliott ThislllllIce attacks Ice making ice fall. Ice proceeds to shoot ice #ice Richard Strauss-Valzer from Der Rosenkavalier – First, came the clip in which a pair of agents ate it on an icy sidewalk together, causing one of their rifles to dischargethankfully hurting no bystanders. Then there was the video of an agent running down the street at full speed before hitting a slick thicket of ice, as captured from multiple angles. And lets not forget the agents who apparently could not get any locals to help them unstick their car from a snowy curb and wobbled around doing so themselves. Its all classic slapstick, practically begging for the Benny Hill theme song to be dubbed over it. As these clips proliferate online, another genre of viral video has emerged out of Minneapolis in tandemone that helps explain just what else the ice-fail videos are accomplishing. These videos could be called a learning series, since they depict agents approaching protesters and asking if they havent learned anything yet from recent events. (Learned what? a protester responds in one of the videos, before an agent smacks the phone out of her hand.) These videos appear to illustrate ICE agents expectations: that anyone disapproving of them shuld be cowed into respect and obedience. If protesters remain unfazed instead and continue mouthing off, the agents seem to suggest, well, who knows what could end up happening? Perhaps the same fate that met Good when she proved insufficiently respectful and obedient. The president suggested as much in comments he made aboard Air Force One on Mondayevidence that the blasé attitude ICE agents have toward use of force comes right from the top. Beyond doling out barely veiled threats, the agents in these videos also toe the party line that ICE is made up of hypercompetent heroes unfairly victimized by violent rioters. All they want is to surgically expunge criminal scum from the city, which they would accomplish easily, if only a well-coordinated domestic terrorist network would stop weaponizing vehicles at them. This is where the falling-down videos, and attendant memes, come in handy. These videos decidedly do not make ICE look like hypercompetent heroes. They make them look like the buffoons they are. They undercut the agents warrior self-mythology, reducing them to doofuses who dont realize winter ice might mean an attack of the killer sidewalks. The gleeful spread of these embarrassing clips sends the same message as the D.C. sandwich-thrower last summer and the wave of inflatable animals at the “No Kings” protests last fall. They help defang the vast threat represented by masked agents of state, rendering them eminently fallible. And the popularity of the videos also contradicts the preposterous notion that, as Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said on Fox News this week, “90% of the public are happy to see us.” Sure, its a small victory, but one that offers a strong reminder to the public to believe their eyes, not the spin from the administration. It might also help ensure thatwhether from Minnesotas natural elements or its fired-up citizenryICE agents will continue getting a chilly reception as long as they remain in the state. Have they not learned this lesson yet?
Category:
E-Commerce
Andy Sauer is no stranger to making waves in the beverage business. As the CEO of Garage Beer, he defied the odds by turning a small craft brewery into a national name, despite competing in an industry dominated by legacy players. Now hes looking to shake things up in another popular beverage category: the soda aisle. Sauers latest venture is a product called Roxberry, which hes dubbing the first modern kids soda. The brand launched earlier this month at more than 2,200 Walmart stores, 450 Krogers, Meijer and Harris Teeter locations nationwide, and a handful of independent grocers. This soda is unlike the sugary drinks most consumers remember from childhood: Its made primarily of carbonated water and fruit and veggie juice, contains just 5 grams of sugar from natural sweeteners, and has no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. A four-pack costs $5.99. In an era when a new category of better-for-you (BFY) soda brands for adults, like Poppi and Olipop, has exploded in popularity, Sauer says the options for kids have largely remained siloed in two main categories: Either they can drink the same brands we grew up with, like Capri Sun or Kool-Aid, which are packed with ingredients many parents would rather skip; or theyre stuck with healthier, less visually exciting options, like seltzer water. Roxberry aims to be a third option thats a win-win for kids and parents. Two-hit wonder Sauer has experience turning a nascent RTD brand into a household name. Garage Beer, which he acquired in 2021 and relaunched in 2023, has shown triple-digit year-over-year growth, with sales increasing more than 500% in the 12 months ended in early April 2025, he says. Its now valued at around $200 million and is continuing to grow, despite an overall slump in the beer industry, according to a September report from The Wall Street Journal. In large part, Garage owes its success to a savvy marketing strategy: Its sleek branding, consistent dialogue with its target audience, and catchy slogan (beer-flavored beer) make it feel like an approachable craft beer for the everyman. Sauer is taking those lessons to Roxberry, which is prioritizing an in-depth brand story and centering everything on the phrase Fizz for kids. That old phrase, Marketing is saying one thing a hundred times rather than a hundred things one time is very true for this brand as well, Sauer says. The idea for Roxberry struck back in 2022. With four kids of his own at home, Sauer noticed that his family frequently butted heads in the beverage aisle. His kids were interested in classic sweetened fruit drink brands like Kool-Aid, but he was hesitant to buy them due to their high quantities of sugar. And so Roxberry came to lifefirst as a powdered mix-in before pivoting to a canned ready-to-drink format that mimics the soda brands kids already covet the most. The sodas initial launch comes in the three most popular flavors in kids beverages overall: strawberry lemonade, citrus, and fruit punch. We did a lot of work to find out which fruits and veggies come naturally with a better mouthfeel, better sweetness, Sauer says. Working with raw strawberries, raw lemon, raw carrotthose things are going to give you more of a sweet flavor naturally so that you don’t have to add a lot to it. Kool-Aid Man energy The first thing parents might notice when they see Roxberry on store shelves is that it looks nothing like the modern BFY brands theyre used to. According to Emily Heyward, chief brand officer at the agency Red Antler that led Roxberrys design, thats the point. When we built the brand for Roxberry, it was before the explosion of the Poppis and the Olipops, but I think they’ve tapped on something similar, which is that a lot of better-for-you brandsespecially in the kids spacesignal that theyre healthier just by being more boring, Heyward says. They strip out color, theyre matte instead of glossy, theyre very plain, to show that theyre different from the old-school brands that we grew up with. The result, Heyward says, is that most of the healthy options for kids on grocery store shelves just dont look very exciting. To combat this trend, Sauers brief was to bring back that Kool-Aid Man energy to the space. Red Antlers answer to that prompt is a brand that looks like it came straight from a sci-fi kids cartoon. From the quirky flavor names Ocean Potion, Pink Lava, and Galaxy Gulp to the anthropomorphic characters and alien landscapes on the packaging, everything about Roxberrys look suggests that its not just a beverage, but also its own universe. All of those characters that you seeand you just see them in little spots on the canthey have backstories, they have personalities. We went so deep, not because we’re planning to launch a TV show tomorrow, but because we wanted to ensure that we really had that richness,” Heyward says. For example, Heyward adds, one character named Chomp Chomp is described as loud, erratic, and entrepreneurial; an instigator who lives in the skies, makes deliveries, and creates crop circles. Even if this character is never officially named, she believes the lore gives the brand depth. While the majority of the Roxberry package is designed to entice shoppers with its bright, character-based imagery, smaller cues, like the phrases No fake stuff and 5g sugar signal to parents that the beverage is not a typical soda. In essence, both Heyward and Sauer agree: Roxberry is designed with kids in mind first and parents second. We were looking at the love we all had for these character-driven brands growing up, and how they felt like part of our pop culture universe,” Heyward says. “Well, why has that gone away? There are brands for adults that have tapped into that nostalgia a little bit, but I think that the kids brands have really played it safe.” Roxberry’s high-octane look gives the healthier-for-you kids beverage category a much-needed branding sugar rush.
Category:
E-Commerce
Hiring in 2026 won’t look much like hiring even two years ago. If you don’t pay attention, you will get left behind. I was a retained search consultant for 25-plus years. I’ve written executive and board résumés for the last 10 years. I’ve never seen so much change in candidate sourcing happen so quickly. CEO priorities and expectations have shifted. AI is reshaping how candidates get surfaced. Résumé sameness has skyrocketed. Candidate shortlist cycles have accelerated. For you to be visible, your résumé has to do more than describe your work. It has to hit leaders’ priorities, satisfy automated systems’ tests, and make sense. The following five trends show you what that means and how to stay ahead of it: Trend 1: Résumé Content Must Address CEO Priorities Late-2025 surveys found four top-of-mind priorities for CEOs as we head into 2026. Those topics map to compelling information for your résumé’s experience section. I list them below. Then, I frame the question that decision-makers want your résumé to answer. Finally, to inspire you, I share examples of subjects you might use in impact bullets. CEO Priority: AI Adoption & TransformationThe question: Can this person operationalize AI and meet ROI hurdles?Impact Examples: Introduced AI-assisted steps into a workflow. Led a cross-functional effort to apply AI to a core business process. Built an AI governance framework. CEO Priority: Geopolitical & Economic UncertaintyThe question: Can this person make decisions that protect shareholder value during volatility?Impact Examples: Used business intelligence tools to identify and report risks. Redesigned a process to protect profit margins. Repositioned the organization in response to geopolitical, regulatory, or economic shifts. CEO Priority: Talent ManagementThe question: Can this person shape and prepare our teams for an AI future?Impact Examples: Implemented AI-driven talent sourcing methods. Adopted the 4B workforce model (buy, build, borrow, bot) to design a future-ready team. Owned the talent workstream for enterprise AI adoption. CEO Priority: Business Model ReinventionThe question: Can this person drive adaptation and growth to keep us competitive?Impact Examples: Contributed insights that improved a product, service, or customer experience. Developed or scaled a new offering. Determined where the organization should invest, expand, or exit to maintain long-term viability. Trend 2: The Rise of the Reader Trio (ATS, AI, Human) For years, you’ve written for applicant tracking systems, recruiters, and hiring managers. And you still will. But in 2026, more organizations will use AI to source candidates and expand talent pools. While an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) looks for keywords, AI looks for patterns.To benefit from AIs ability to expand talent pools, you’ll need to learn those patterns and embed them in your résumé. Examples include: showing you’re ready for promotion to the next level; writing about repeated records of success; and describing challenges you’ve handled that also exist in other industries. Trend 3: Work Context Becomes Critical Beyond CEO concerns, your trio of readers wants to know where you’ve operated. If you havent already, now is the time to add company descriptions to your résumé. Basics include size, ownership, industry, footprint, and systemic challenges. Readers need to see adjacencies to their worlds to predict your effectiveness. Trend 4: Generic, AI-Written Résumés Next, I talked with many recruiters over a few days at the Unleash World HR conference in Paris in October. I wanted to learn how they use AI to find people. They wanted to talk about the crushing tsunami of generic résumés they receive. While AI might up-level a bad résumé to average, always keep a human in the loop to stand out. Make it yours. Otherwise, your readers’ eyes will glaze over from the sameness. Plus, AI continues to generate word salad and logical inconsistencies. The narrative sounds good on the surface, but it doesnt hold up to scrutiny. Recruiters catch those faux pas, so dont make them. Trend 5: Candidate Shortlist Velocity and Résumé Readiness Finally, a Siemens recruiter claims that LinkedIns AI cut his time-to-shortlist by at least 20 times. That means an accelerated recruiting cycle, with prepared candidates getting first looks. If you need time to update your résumé, you might get left behind. Career visibility in 2026 won’t happen by accident. It will be because you built a résumé that meets the moment: substantive, AI-savvy, and ready before anyone asks for it.
Category:
E-Commerce
The housing market just crossed an important thresholdone thats especially good news for anyone who might be planning on buying a home any time soon. The massive wave of COVID-19-era mortgages with ultra-low rates were a huge boon for many homebuyers, but the housing market hasnt been the same since. A huge swath of homeowners in the U.S. suddenly had mortgage interest rates well below 4%and very little incentive to sell their homes for less affordable options with todays higher rates. That dilemma has created a nightmarish scenario for the U.S. housing market. Many potential buyers and aspiring first-time homeowners remain priced out due to high home prices and higher interest rates. With more homeowners staying put whether they want to or not, housing inventory dried up considerably, shrinking the pool of options for home shoppers. Thats beginning to change. According to new data from Realtor.com, the share of U.S. homeowners with mortgage rates over 6% is now greater than the share hanging onto those ultra low sub-3% rates. In the third quarter of 2025, 21% of outstanding mortgages carried a rate above 6% compared to the 20% of mortgages with rates below 3%. That change signals a meaningful shift from the gridlock thats defined the last few years in the U.S. housing market. Mortgage rates above 6% now represent a larger share of outstanding loans than the ultra-low rates that defined the pandemic-era housing boom, Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale said in a press release. This crossover reflects a gradual resetting as some households trade in low-rate mortgages for higher-rate loans or enter the market for the first time, even as rate lock-in continues to limit the pace of inventory recovery. Lasting impact of low rates and lock-in Those ultra-low rates are on their way out, but many homeowners still have rates well below what theyd be offered today. According to the new data, over 50% of mortgages still have rates at or below 4% and almost 70% have rates of 5% or lower. As long as that remains the case, the average homeowner might see their monthly mortgage payment spike by as much as $1,000 if they sold their home and took on a mortgage with todays rates. Still, the new mortgage data is a promising sign. Rates are very unlikely to get as low as they did during the early days of COVID-19 again in our lifetimesparticularly now that we know just what a lasting disruptive impact the low rate homebuying frenzy had on the market at large. The period between July 2020 and September 2021 is the only time that the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rate has gone below 3% since those records began being kept in the early 1970s. The high cost of buying a home is more salt in the wound for many Americans, who have seen the price of everything from groceries to used cars soar in recent years. With little relief in 2025, the unaffordability crisis seems to be on everyones mind lately. If interest rates settle down and the present trends continue, at least the housing market might be getting back to something a little closer to normal this year. Even with rates still elevated, modest mortgage rate decreases into the low-6% range could encourage additional home buying activity, Hale said. Further easing in inflation and mortgage rates would be key to unlocking more seller participation, helping to relieve price pressure and competition in an under-supplied market.
Category:
E-Commerce
Leaders typically spend January prepping for the year ahead. But thats difficult when youre eight months pregnant, and your baby has zero concern for your deadlines. Ive lost count of how many times people have asked how long Ill be away, whether Ill be checking my emails, or what support Ill need when I return. People often expect leaders to have all the answers, but the truth is: I dont know yet. Lucky for me, that uncertainty worked to my advantage. It forced me to change my approach from setting goals to building flexibility. This has resulted in a team that is autonomous and adaptable, whether Im in the room or away on leave. You dont have to have all the answers According to a report by Careers After Babies, 98% of moms want to return to work after having a child. However, less than a quarter actually do. Early parenthood is unpredictable, and theres no way of knowing how itll unfold. While Im committed to my career, Im under no illusions that March might bring me sleepless nights, and the months ahead may be full of doctors appointments. I might have no time to work at all. That isnt a challenge you can plan your way through. Sure, you might end up returning after six weeks. But if you set yourself that deadline and you end up delaying, you may end up feeling like youve failed and start to question your leadership when youre actually managing two of the most demanding roles there are. But you do have to be ready for anything When you dont know the outcome, you need to prepare for every possibility. That means focusing on building flexibility and developing resilience, because systems that can cope with volatility and deal with change dont rely on a single timeline or person. At Woofz, were focused on setting out clear decision ownership, so everyone understands where to turn for support, and also how to train our teams to handle pivots and take on new responsibilities when we need to. We aimed to create a team capable of thriving even when conditions change, without constant oversight. Resilience doesnt just help organizations get through difficult moments. It actively improves long-term performance. Research from software and consultancy firm MHR Global found that 82% of the most resilient organizations rank highly for customer satisfaction, while 76% score highly for employee engagement. Overall, resilient businesses are far more confident in their ability to outperform competitors across growth, profitability, reputation, innovation, and adoption. And the flexibility that this culture of autonomy and adaptability provides will allow me to be flexible too, as I deal with the birth of my child. How to embed flexibility within your organization If you dont have flexibility embedded in your organization, the following can be helpful: Encourage cross-training: Let your team experiment and explore new skills, or take on “side quests” as we like to call them, even if it doesnt support their primary role. If only one person knows how something works, thats a risk. Theres high value in having people who can step in when a problem arises, and the person whose job it is to fix it is unavailable. Give your team some slack: Its okay to set deadlines and timelines, but if you dont leave room for issues to arise and situations to change, thats a problem. When theres no time to adjust (and you inevitably miss deadlines), you start to associate change with failure. Plan for scenarios, not certainties: You cant set one plan and expect the universe to deliver. There are many potential outcomes to any given situation, so it helps to agree in advance how you would respond to each one. When you anticipate change rather than react to it, it becomes way less scary. Take a momentary step back: Make yourself unavailable for a day and see where the system wobbles. Its useful to identify where dependencies lie, what gaps exist, and where there isnt a clear sense of ownership. Pinpointing issues while the stakes are low gives you time to fix them before the system breaks down and youre not there to step in. Not knowing is part of the job The concept of the all-knowing leader is such a myth. Many leaders talk big, but the fact that 44% of founders suffer from imposter syndrome says it all. Were human, and nobody has it all figured out. Most of the time, were putting on a brave face and hoping for the best. If the experience of managing pregnancy and leadership has taught me anything, its that admitting I dont know yet isnt a weakness. Like early parenthood, startups are full of unknowns. What separates good leaders isnt their ability to eliminate uncertainty, but how they equip their teams to respond when difficulties arise and circumstances inevitably change.
Category:
E-Commerce