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Then came the donuts
The Duluth News Tribune reports that a Central Entrance liquor store is being demolished right now to make way for the city’s first Dunkin’ Donuts franchise. This event is replete with the symbolism of the end of a business that supports active alcoholics and the beginning of a business that supports recovering alcoholics. Will Dunkin’ Donuts complete…
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Big names circling Duluth mayor’s race
Though it’s been slow in starting as Don Ness wraps up his final term, Duluth’s 2015 mayoral race is showing signs of intrigue. So far, only one candidate has announced a campaign for mayor: City Councilor Emily Larson. And while Larson is a strong contender, she’ll likely face challenges for the important DFL endorsement in this…
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Port of Duluth opens season amid uncertainty
First, the good news. Today, the Port of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, kicks off the 2015 Great Lakes Shipping season with the departure of the S.S. John G. Munson and its 24,000 tons of iron ore. The start of the Duluth shipping season represents the region’s de facto spring, a time when the industrialists definitively conclude…
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Duluth’s ‘cribs’ sinking out of sight
It’s an interesting phenomenon when abandoned skeletons of industry become endearing local landmarks. Part of the their appeal is that these ruins endure without human aid; in fact, they survive active hostility. So it’s a strange, sad feeling when these vestiges of the past succumb to natural causes. This has been the case as Duluth’s…
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Looking ahead for Duluth as Ness gives final State of the City
Monday night, Duluth Mayor Don Ness gave his final State of the City address as he looks ahead to his last year in office. In a Peter Passi Duluth News Tribune story today, Ness is quoted advocating for a new library at First Ave. E. and Superior Street and discussing improvements to trails and other…
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Duluth’s modernist library faces existential crisis
In November, we spoke about the unsettling news that the city of Duluth, Minnesota, faced with two unpleasant options — spend many millions to repair the Duluth Public Library, or many similar millions to demolish and replace the 35-year-old building. A few weeks ago, the steering committee formed to make a recommendation announced it favored rebuilding…
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Oh captains, my captains, swarm Duluth
With the Great Lakes shipping season on its annual winter furlough, the port of Duluth, Minnesota, is hosting a national convention of ship captains starting today. The International Ship Masters’ Association is “North America’s largest fraternal organization of vessel Captains, Crewman and Executives, with local lodges in the primary ports of the Great Lakes.” The…
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Anderson edges Schroeder in 2015 Beargrease sled dog race
The 2015 John Beargrease sled dog marathon is in the books. Past champion Ryan Anderson of Ray, Minnesota, out-dueled defending champion and three-time winner Nathan Schroeder of Chisholm (by way of “the big city’a” Warba), pulling in at 2:53 a.m. Wednesday. Schroeder pulled in about half an hour later at 3:21. One of these two…
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56 years after Buddy Holly in Duluth, new Winter Dance Party
One of the interesting arts projects going on in Northern Minnesota is the proposed renovation of the Duluth Armory as a renewed concert and public event place in the heart of Lake Superior’s “Zenith City.” The Armory, like many armories, was once a bustling concert hall where many famous performers once played. Buddy Holly played…
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Duluth airport gets Oberstar name; Hibbing gets plaque or something
The new Duluth International Airport terminal will be named for the late Rep. Jim Oberstar, a transportation and aviation titan during his 36 years in Congress. Duluth had been in competition with the Range Regional Airport in Hibbing for the rights to name their new terminal after Oberstar. Oberstar was instrumental in the development of…
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Duluth’s ‘Boy Mayor’ plans interesting book project
Uber-popular Duluth Mayor Don Ness might not be running for re-election, but he is writing a book of essays and photos about Duluth that sounds atypical of most books by politicians. “Boy Mayor and His City: Snapshot Essays” by Don Ness isn’t done yet. Ness launched a Kickstarter to pay for the production costs of what…
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I’ve decoded mystery of Duluth Tall Ships 2016 ‘surprise’
Last week, organizers announced that the enormously popular Tall Ships festival will return to the Port of Duluth, Minnesota in the summer of 2016. In teasing the event, promoters said there would be some kind of “special surprise” as part of Tall Ships 2016. My thought at the time was that this must be some kind of…
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Duluth named among top U.S. cities for finding a job
According to the job search and recruiting site Zip Recruiter, Duluth, Minnesota, is the #2 city in the nation for finding a job. From the post: A 4.3 unemployment rate and a rock-solid healthcare sector with roots in the two regional medical centers in the city, Duluth has rebounded from a post-industrial crash to become a job…
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Tall Ships will return to Duluth in 2016
Nothing quite excites the people of Duluth, Minnesota, and its surrounding area like the Tall Ships. These tall-masted, wooden ships that harken the 1800s now tour the lakes and seas as a tourist attraction and recreational sailing exhibition. After another successful Duluth event in 2013, officials are now planning the next Tall Ships event in Duluth…
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Last salty leaves Port of Duluth-Superior
The winter solstice brings another kind of change to Northern Minnesota, the end of the 2014 shipping season in the Port of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The last “salty” (ocean-going vessel) left on Dec. 20, and they’ll be running as many “lakers” (ships confined to the Great Lakes) as they can unless it becomes too…