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6 vie for O’Neil St. Louis County Commissioner seat
Six candidates have filed for the special election to replace the late Steve O’Neil as the St. Louis County Commissioner for District 2. They include: Patrick Boyle Adam P. Jaros Scott Keenan Nick Patronas Jim Stauber Cary A. Thompson-Gilbert Boyle is the current Duluth City Council president. Stauber is retiring from the city council and…
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‘Odd’ poll suggests silent coup at NoMinn newspaper
What silent protest is going on at the Duluth News Tribune? The newspaper’s Sept. 3 online poll asks the question “Do you keep the volume on your TV or car stereo at an even or odd number?” The options include the following: Even Odd Doesn’t matter You have to log in to the DNT site…
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148th Fighter Wing loses alert status at Duluth base
Duluth’s 148th Fighter Wing has lost its 24-hour alert status, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. The Air National Guard base had been one of the units ready to deploy action-ready air defense capabilities at a moments notice. The base remains open and will continue operating as a part of air defense. Nevertheless, this…
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St. Louis County might avert major strike
St. Louis County has offered concessions to its AFSCME workforce which might avert a nearing strike. The sticking point was over the accumulation of sick leave hours and payment for those hours upon retirement. The County had hoped to cap those hours for new workers, but the union didn’t want different benefits for different aged…
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Strike looms for St. Louis County in northern MN
Burgeoning labor troubles in the state’s largest geographic county are coming to light. The St. Louis County unit of AFSCME has authorized a strike as contract negotiations appear stalled after a meeting with a state mediator on Friday. There is a 10-day “cooling off” period before a strike would begin. The hope is that negotiations…
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Metrodome roof enjoys second life as many, many bags
The “Domer” bags, Duluth Pack Minnesotans of my GenX/Y vintage have distinct memories of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, an historical oddity in sports stadiums. It is, essentially, an inflatable stadium. It’s loud. The roof is the exact same color as a baseball. The Twins would move out to Target Field in 2010. It was…
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Prettner-Solon may not run for Lt. Gov. again, so let’s speculate
Minnesota’s DFL Gov. Mark Dayton is running for re-election next year, and four Republicans are running to challenge him. But this MinnPost story shows that Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner-Solon, a former state senator from Duluth, doesn’t seem very interested in running for her job again. A combination of proximity to retirement age and what seems…
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Emerald ash borer at the gates of northern MN forests
Creative Commons, Duane Tate Emerald ash borer, Creative Commons, USDA The emerald ash borer has been found in Superior, Wisconsin, across the bridge from Duluth, Minnesota. This ash tree parasite has been slowly making its way north where forest ecologists have long feared it could seriously damage the ash tree populations of northern Minnesota. The…
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Dylan sculpture in Duluth falls well short of goal
Last week, the Kickstarter project to fund the Bob Dylan sculpture in downtown Duluth fell well short of its $159,000 goal. Sculptor Tom Page, of Cohasset, is going back to the drawing board to consider a “Plan B” for bringing the image to life. I honestly thought the project would draw more backing, what with…
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Tall Ships depart from Duluth, Minnesota
Tall Ships at Bayfront Park, Duluth, MN The Tall Ships Festival ends today with the tall masted ships set to depart from the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, this morning. It was a mostly cold and wet Tall Ships weekend, though yesterday was nicer. My family and I made the two-hour trip down to Duluth on Friday.…
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MN House select committee on jobs to visit Hibbing, Duluth
This looks kind of interesting. Press release from Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley): Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs to hold hearings in Duluth and Hibbing ST. PAUL, MN – The Select Committee on Living Wage Jobs will be making their first outstate stops of their interim tour where they will ask workers across the…
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RIP Steve O’Neil
St. Louis County Commissioner Steve O’Neil died today after battling a rare, aggressive form of cancer. O’Neil was known as one of northern Minnesota’s strongest advocates for the poor, the mentally ill, the homeless and the desperate. If you were the kind of person who had no connections, Steve was your connection. Prayers of peace…
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‘Lark of Duluth’ crashes off Park Point
The Lark of Duluth replica / Duluth Aviation Institute A project to replicate one of the first planes to fly over Duluth, Minnesota, in 1913 has taken a dip. This afternoon, the Lark of Duluth had a “mishap” in Lake Superior off of Park Point. The replica plane has been in the works for a…
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Track the tall ships approaching Port of Duluth, MN
U.S. Brig Niagara arrives in 2010 – Dennis O’Hara, via Visit Duluth Like many in northern Minnesota, my family awaits the arrival of the “tall ships” later this month in the Port of Duluth on Lake Superior. These masted wooden ships were a huge hit in 2010 and hundreds of thousands of people are expected…
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Dylan lets music do the talking in his native Duluth, MN
Bob Dylan performs July 9, 2013 at Bayfront in Duluth. Iris Kolodji Last night Bob Dylan played his birthplace of Duluth, Minnesota, with Wilco, My Morning Jacket and the Richard Thompson Trio. More than 7,000 people attended the show at Bayfront Festival Park, though there was capacity for up to 12,000. Despite my longtime Dylan…