At long last, City Councilor Emily Larson has an opponent in the open 2015 Duluth mayor’s race. Chuck Horton, a boxing trainer and promotor, announced his campaign this week. Larson, a DFLer, would still considered a favorite against the more conservative Horton in the generally liberal city of Duluth. But Horton is (pun intended) a fighter. His… Read More →
New NFL team in Duluth, Minnesota?
May 15, 2015 by 6 Comments
This week in deeply implausible ideas, a Proctor city councilor has announced he’s bringing a resolution to Monday night’s meeting launching a bid to attract an NFL franchise to the nearby Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin. Proctor City Councilor Travis White is also bringing a resolution calling for the building of a stadium for this purpose. You can read… Read More →
The distant barons of Duluth and the Iron Range
May 4, 2015 by Leave a Comment
As readers here know, we in Northern Minnesota are living in a time of speculation and bewilderment over the machinations of distant industrial powers. The regional economy of the Iron Range is dangling on a bouncing string pulled by unseen actors. But this is nothing new. Same now as it ever was. Zenith City Online, a… Read More →
Larson cruising in Duluth mayor race
April 29, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Duluth City Councilor Emily Larson continues to clear the field in the race to succeed Duluth Mayor Don Ness in this fall’s election. On Tuesday, former Lt. Gov. and State Sen. Yvonne Prettner Solon announced she would not run for Mayor, and endorsed Larson in the process. Earlier in April, St. Louis County Commissioner Chris… Read More →
City mulls animal layoffs at Duluth zoo
April 28, 2015 by 4 Comments
The Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, Minnesota, is a place of special memories for those of us who grew up in Northern Minnesota. On one hand, it was “our zoo,” the first place where we laid eyes on exotic animals like you see in the storybooks and subject of our youthful curiosity. On the other,… Read More →
Duluth Mayor opens Homegrown with pothole rock anthem
April 27, 2015 by 1 Comment
That’s right, the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival opened last night and runs all week in the Zenith City of Lake Superior, home to so many people who are in bands that the 2020 census might create the first Member of Congress elected by multi-band bass players and shiftless drummers experiencing creative differences. By all means,… Read More →
Some icons, surprises in Labovitz award-winning businesses
April 22, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Several Northern Minnesota entrepreneurs were honored today as the University of Minnesota-Duluth Center for Economic Development named this year’s winners of the Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards. You might recognize some of the businesses on the list, while others might surprise you. Among the honorees was Bergquist Imports, proprietor of the iconic orange Swedish horse… Read More →
On fate and one last good deed
April 17, 2015 by 2 Comments
The city of Duluth is still shaken up by a deadly bus accident that occurred on Superior Street last Tuesday. The driver of one Duluth Transit Authority bus experienced a medical emergency which caused that bus to careen out of control on Superior Street, striking another DTA bus. One man was killed and nine were injured in the… Read More →
Ugly ship probably has a nice personality
April 13, 2015 by 2 Comments
Great news, everyone! The first ocean-going vessel, or “salty,” of the season was slated to arrive in the Lake Superior Port of Duluth today. The Maltese grain ship, the Kom, passed beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge and it was just … … stunning. Sure is … yellowish. I, uh, gotta check if I got my dip/tet… Read More →
KUMD ‘NorthFest’ welcomes April in style
March 31, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The independent public station 103.3 FM KUMD in Duluth will launch its first ever “NorthFest” on Wednesday, April 1 with live music all day on the campus of the University of Minnesota at Duluth. The lineup features excellent representatives of the growing Duluth music scene, including several past (and future?) guests of my Great Northern… Read More →
