Jen McEwen, a Duluth attorney, won the Senate District 7 DFL endorsement today after party officials tabulated online balloting. She outpaced incumbent State Sen. Eric Simonson (DFL-Duluth) with more than 70 percent of the vote on the first ballot, a stunning margin for an endorsement challenge. Of 435 eligible delegates, 374 cast votes. “I am… Read More →
Refugee debate strays from reality
January 19, 2020 by 17 Comments
I recently spoke with a Northern Minnesota military veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In casual conversation he described his efforts to help an Iraqi translator and his family get to America. This Iraqi man took enormous personal risk to work alongside U.S. forces. Now, he and his loved ones face even greater threats… Read More →
Mayor Larson wins in Duluth while council sees changes
November 5, 2019 by 15 Comments
Mayor Emily Larson cruised to re-election over challenger David Nolle in Tuesday’s municipal elections. Larson won by more than 5,000 votes, about 63 percent to Nolle’s 36 percent. Larson heads an administration that has largely continued the progressive policies begun under former mayor Don Ness. She also inherited the challenges that have bedeviled Duluth for… Read More →
Festival of Sail enters Duluth harbor
August 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Tens of thousands of people pile along the lakeshore as the 2019 Duluth Festival of Sail returns with vintage ships and an enormous rubber duck. Here’s some video from today’s parade of sails as vintage replica ships like the U.S.S. Niagara enter the Duluth-Superior Harbor: The family and I took in the Tall Ships festival… Read More →
Northern Minnesota can take a hike
May 19, 2019 by Leave a Comment
I don’t go “hiking.” I have, however, been lost in the woods for several hours. You tell me the difference. In both cases, the goal is to not die. By the end, your feet ache with every step. The feeling when you finish? Accomplishment! And a good excuse to eat something imprudent. Maybe hiking’s not… Read More →
What if Bob was one of us? Dylan Fest features music, culture and Joan Osborne
May 13, 2019 by 2 Comments
What if Bob was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Well, he pretty much is. Duluth’s Dylan Fest will hold its annual celebration of its native son Bob Dylan May 18-26, 2019. Meanwhile Dylan’s Iron Range hometown of Hibbing continues efforts to commemorate its complex influence on one of the world’s… Read More →
In Duluth, spring returns with national champs and international shipping
April 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment
After a temporary setback with last week’s winter storm, spring seems to have finally arrived … again … in Northern Minnesota. One sure sign includes the arrival of the first “saltie” into the Port of Duluth-Superior The Maltese-flagged Maria G arrived in the Port of Duluth to take on a load of grain early this… Read More →
The stunning cost of keeping what we already have
March 27, 2019 by 7 Comments
The Minnesota Department of Transportation recently announced that Duluth’s John A. Blatnik Bridge, known locally as the “High Bridge,” would need to be replaced in 2028, less than seventy years after it opened to traffic in 1961. Brady Slater of the Duluth News Tribune reported March 14 that Minnesota would be on the hook for… Read More →
Bankruptcy claims remaining ShopKo stores, including Duluth
March 18, 2019 by 1 Comment
ShopKo announced today that bankruptcy would force it to close all its remaining stores, including six in Northeastern and Central Minnesota, by June 16. Stores in Duluth, Ely, Two Harbors, Aitkin, Mora and Moose Lake are among those that will close. ShopKo’s woes are nothing new, and are in keeping with general problems in the… Read More →
Just our duck; the quack is back
March 4, 2019 by Leave a Comment
You’ll just have to go to the festival yourself to see if the duck is everything it’s … QUACKED UP TO BE! Ha ha ha! Ha. ha. ha … OK, can we talk about this?
