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Howie: The 10 people who helped reinvent Duluth
The modern Duluth enjoyed by residents and visitors did not emerge by accident. It was built by people willing to invest their talent, resources and leadership in a city they believed could become more than its industrial past.
8 MIN READ
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Moody’s downgrades Duluth school district’s credit rating as reserves decline
The agency lowered the Duluth's issuer rating and several debt ratings from A3 to Baa2. Moody’s also reduced the rating on the district’s annual appropriation certificates of participation from Baa1 to Baa3. The district had about $184 million in outstanding debt as of October 2025.
3 MIN READ
Howie: Minnesota’s primary map points to Klobuchar, but gives Demuth a path
"All signs, including the huge turnout in Tuesday's DFL primary, point to a strong year for Democrats in Minnesota. If that proves to be the case, then Senator Klobuchar should have a smooth path to the governor's office." -- Former Duluth city councilor Joel Sipress
5 MIN READ
Vikings name Kyler Murray starting quarterback for 2026 season
Murray, who turned 29 on Friday, signed a one-year contract with Minnesota in March after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
3 MIN READ
Howie: Jim Oberstar kept northern Minnesota on the federal map
Jim Oberstar understood that roads connected workers to jobs, airports connected employers to markets, ports connected Minnesota resources to the world and research connected traditional industries to new possibilities -- that northern Minnesota could remain strong only if it remained connected.
8 MIN READ
Howie: Duluth Schools’ referendum will rise or fall on trust
Financial need alone will not carry two operating referendum questions across the finish line Nov. 3. The district must confront a trust issue that has accumulated over two decades and explain why voters should believe the next 10-year, $103 million plan be better than the plans that preceded it.
5 MIN READ
St. Louis County installs solar renewable energy systems on three Public Works facilities
With Minnesota currently importing 100% of its fossil fuels, solar power adds “homegrown” renewable sources of energy to the building and the state’s electrical grid.
1 MIN READ
Howie: Duluth should vote yes on both school referendum questions
Duluth Public Schools is not asking voters to finance a cure-all. It is asking for enough stability to protect student learning while the district continues the harder work of controlling costs, correcting financial procedures and reshaping operations.
7 MIN READ
DECC to celebrate 60th anniversary with free public tours
DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center will celebrate its 60th anniversary by opening its waterfront campus for free public tours from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. The event will give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the nearly 1 million-square-foot complex, which has
1 MIN READ
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Most Read Stories This Month
The stories drawing the largest audiences at HowieHanson.com this month.
Howie: Reinert must answer Duluth’s $4.5 million budget question
The City of Duluth administration cannot warn taxpayers about a projected $5.5 million deficit while refusing to explain a recurring $4.5 million funding stream redirected from general operations. The account now has nearly $9 million.
5 MIN READ
Don Ness and the reinvention of Duluth
Ness convinced Duluth to stop speaking about itself like a city waiting for the next economic funeral and start speaking about itself like a place with a future worth competing for nationally. Not perfectly. Not without backlash. Not without legitimate criticism. But undeniably.
8 MIN READ
Howie: John Fedo turned Duluth toward the lake
Modern Duluth continues wrestling with the same tensions Mayor Fedo governed through decades ago. Tourism success created new economic pressures. Summer weekends increasingly made portions of Canal Park feel disconnected from the working-class identity that shaped Duluth for generations.
6 MIN READ
Hawks coverage
Hermantown Sports Notebook
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Hawks enter fall with contenders, questions and unfinished business
That is the broad Hermantown picture entering training camp starting Aug. 17. Football and girls cross-country should expect to contend for section championships. Boys soccer and volleyball return enough proven talent to make deep playoff runs realistic.
6 MIN READ