By DANA KAZEL

St. Louis County's three newest Public Works facilities - in Culver and Kugler Townships, and near the Whiteface Reservoir - are now equipped with a 40-kilowatt solar array on each roof.

The solar panels were produced locally by Heliene in Mountain Iron, and made possible thanks to $336,000 in grants ($112,000 for each building) from the Minnesota Department of Commerce's Statewide Solar on Public Buildings Program.

Each solar array is capable of producing 55 megawatts of electric energy annually, which is expected to cover 73% of the facilities' electrical energy usage. This estimation takes into account average snowy and cloudy days at each location. 

Additionally, the non-fossil fuel energy generated equates to a reduction in approximately six metric tons of carbon emissions for each system annually, or 18 metric tons for all three. Over a typical life expectancy of 25 years, that is a reduction of 450 metric tons of carbon emissions.

"Everything about this project is a win," said County Board Chair Mike Jugovich. "We are using domestically produced solar panels installed by local trade labor. And they are generating renewable energy, and reducing utility costs, which will save money for our taxpayers for decades to come."

These three Public Works garages were completed in 2024, and the roofs were designed with the intent to add solar panels once funding was available.

Solar on Public Buildings is designed to provide incentives for installation of solar energy systems on Minnesota local government buildings. The program offers benefits to communities across Minnesota by reducing energy costs and electricity-based greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the local economy benefits from investments made in expanding energy infrastructure, and from adding clean energy jobs, like solar installations.

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.

To learn more about the Solar on Public Buildings Program, visit Solar on Public Buildings / Minnesota Department of Commerce - Energy.

Hermantown will begin the 2026 fall sports season with championship expectations, not rebuilding excuses.

The Hawks have one of Minnesota’s best running backs, a football team capable of winning Section 7, Class 4A, a girls cross-country program returning nearly everyone from a section championship lineup and enough proven talent in soccer and volleyball to make another busy postseason seem more likely than hopeful.

Official practices begin Monday, Aug. 17, for Minnesota State High School League fall sports. Girls tennis can begin competition Aug. 20, most other sports Aug. 27. Hermantown’s football opener is Sept. 4 at Duluth Denfeld. 

Every preseason evaluation requires a qualifier. Rosters are not final, younger players will emerge during practice and injuries or other circumstances can change the outlook quickly. The returning players listed here are athletes who were underclassmen last fall and remain publicly expected to be eligible this season.

Football will command the most attention because Hermantown has the pieces to take back its section. The Hawks finished 8-2 last fall, scored 430 points and reached the section championship before Grand Rapids ended their season with a decisive 41-0 victory. The Thunderhawks defeated Hermantown twice by a combined 75-20, leaving little question about which program owned the section in 2025.

That is precisely why the Oct. 2 rematch at Grand Rapids is the game everyone will circle.

Senior halfback Martin Sleen returns after rushing for 1,908 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, averaging nearly 12 yards per carry despite being the first player identified in every opponent’s defensive game plan. He is one of the best high school running backs in Minnesota, with the speed to score from anywhere and enough strength to run through poor tackling angles.

Owen Simonson gives Hermantown another physical back, while Ethan McCubbin, Jordan Wilcox, Nathan Haedrich and Fletcher Wrazidlo are proven two-way contributors. Wrazidlo recorded 125 tackles last season and should again be the centerpiece of the defense. Lane Holden, Neo Carlson, Grant Sharrow, Lek Paczynski and Jacob Marquardt provide size and experience along the line of scrimmage. 

The significant uncertainty is senior quarterback Sawyer Senst, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. Senst completed 45 of 83 passes for 709 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions last season and added six rushing touchdowns. He hopes to return for the opener, but hope and medical clearance are two different things. His recovery should not be rushed to satisfy a football calendar. 

If Senst returns healthy, Hermantown should be considered a legitimate section championship contender. Until the Hawks prove they can match Grand Rapids physically, however, the Thunderhawks remain the favorite. Hermantown has the star power, experience and improved line play to close that gap. Its challenge is developing the edge required to finish the job.

The strongest Hermantown team may be girls cross-country.

The Hawks won the Lake Superior Conference and Section 7AA championships last fall before placing 10th among 16 teams at the Class AA state meet. Better yet, their leading runners were all underclassmen. Ferrah LaLone, Nora Lucarelli, Kenzie Davis and Zoey Lucarelli finished among the top 10 at sections, while Kara Holst, Avery Beranek and Morgan Panichi completed a remarkably deep lineup.

LaLone placed 50th at state in 19 minutes, 47.5 seconds. She enters her senior season as a three-time All-Lake Superior Conference first-team selection. Nora Lucarelli was only a seventh-grader last fall, while Davis and Zoey Lucarelli were eighth-graders. This is not merely a team positioned to defend its conference and section championships. It is a group capable of climbing substantially from last year’s 10th-place state finish.

On the boys side, Cooper Lucarelli returns for his senior season after qualifying for state for the second consecutive year. He finished fourth at sections in 16:28.6 and 42nd at state in a personal-best 16:26. Matthew Strukel provides another experienced senior runner, and the Hawks have a young group that could begin turning individual strength into improved team results.

Boys soccer must replace significant production, but the Hawks are hardly starting over. Hermantown finished 9-5-4 overall and 7-1-3 in the Lake Superior Conference before losing 4-2 to eventual champion Duluth Marshall in the Section 7A semifinals.

Hunter Nelson graduated after producing 14 goals and 13 assists, an enormous departure from the attack. Defender Quinn Andrews, Brennan Malmstrom and several other experienced seniors also are gone. The good news is that Quinn Raukar returns after matching Nelson with 14 goals and adding five assists. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Aysta also returns after making 151 saves with an .839 save percentage in 18 appearances.

Jack Johnson had five assists last season, Parker Clennon contributed two goals and four assists, and Eyan Winkelman, Liam Sundell, Keegan Bradley, Kestan Bradley, Owen Dennee and Emmett McDonald provide experience throughout the lineup. The Hawks will not replace Nelson with one player, but Raukar and Aysta give them established standouts at the two most important ends of the field.

The girls soccer team presents a different evaluation. Its 7-9-2 record looked ordinary, but its postseason was anything but ordinary. The fifth-seeded Hawks defeated North Branch 3-1 and stunned top-seeded Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 1-0 before losing 1-0 in overtime at Grand Rapids in the Section 7AA championship. It was Hermantown’s second consecutive appearance in the section final.

Graduation removed a strong senior group led by Avea Harriman, Brooke Wiese, Cambriia Thomas, Danika Bolf, Claire Niksich, Gianna Schinigoi and Mya Gunderson. The rebuild begins with senior forward Bryden Giesen, who scored six goals last season and delivered the winner against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton. Vienna Kolenda returns after recording three goals and a team-high six assists.

Goalkeeper Lucy Critchley received valuable experience while sharing the position with Thomas and made eight second-half saves in the section semifinal. Riley Holmgren, Audrina Daniels, Eilee Gunderson, McKenna Johnson, Payton Holt and promising young attacker Harper Nelson give the Hawks enough returning structure to remain competitive. Still, replacing that many experienced seniors will require patience, particularly early in the season. 

Volleyball may be positioned for the largest improvement. The Hawks were young and inconsistent last fall, showing flashes of high-level play but never sustaining it long enough. Their season ended with a 3-1 loss at Cloquet in the Section 7AAA quarterfinals.

Most of the important pieces return. Senior Sophie Schulz was a second-team All-Lake Superior Conference selection, while junior Lilah Conley received honorable mention. Conley emerged as a productive two-way player who could score at the net and handle substantial defensive responsibility. Setter Anna Bergerson, Audra Schott, Kylee Stokke, Kadyn Kimpling, Kenzie Zagelmeyer and Riley Woinarowicz also gained extensive varsity experience.

The question is no longer whether Hermantown has enough talent. It does. The question is whether a year older will mean a year more consistent. If the Hawks pass well, reduce empty rotations and develop another reliable finisher alongside Schulz and Conley, they should advance beyond last season’s early playoff exit. 

Girls tennis faces a more substantial transition after a senior-heavy roster ended its season with a section playoff loss to Hibbing. Evie Sullivan, Rylee Kalkbrenner, Sophia Piede and other veteran players occupied prominent positions in the singles and doubles lineups, leaving coach Jessica Worden with several important openings.

The Hawks are not without experience. Alee DeVlieger and Nevie Homich played regularly in singles, while Chloe Gustafson and Jillian Ritsche formed a productive doubles combination. Rylie Giesen, Cadence Godmare and several younger players also received varsity opportunities late in the season. Hermantown may not possess last year’s senior depth, but its younger players will not be encountering varsity tennis for the first time. 

Hermantown athletes also compete with Proctor in girls swimming and diving. Grand Rapids won the 2025 Section 7A championship with 313 points, followed by Two Harbors with 297, and the section appears more open after several leading swimmers graduated.

Proctor-Hermantown returns senior Laney Gunderson, who placed fourth in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly at sections. Senior Samantha Herron placed sixth in the 200 and 500 freestyle races. They give the co-op two dependable scorers, although additional depth must develop for it to challenge Grand Rapids, Two Harbors and Mesabi East. 

That is the broad Hermantown picture entering 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. Girls soccer must replace a substantial senior class but has become a postseason problem nobody should dismiss. Boys cross-country, girls tennis and the swimming co-op have established leaders around whom younger lineups can develop.

Duluth voters should approve both Duluth Public Schools operating referendum questions on Nov. 3. The district’s finances are strained, its unrestricted reserves are dangerously thin, and another sequence of large reductions would reach more deeply into classrooms, student services and the people who deliver them.

The financial evidence supporting the referendum is not clean or comforting. Duluth Public Schools finished fiscal 2025 with General Fund expenditures and other financing uses nearly $15 million above its final budget, its fund balance declined by $11.5 million, and auditors repeated material weaknesses involving account reconciliations and financial-statement preparation. The School Board then approved a 2026-27 budget projecting another deficit of approximately $3.9 million after the district identified more than $4.2 million in reductions and reallocations.

Those weaknesses cannot be dismissed, but neither will they disappear if the referendum fails. A no vote would not restore depleted reserves, reduce special education costs, lower insurance premiums or make transportation less expensive. It would require the district to attack the same structural deficit with fewer resources and less time, increasing the likelihood that the next reductions would fall directly on teachers, support staff, class sizes and programs.

The two questions represent a substantial commitment. Question 1 would authorize $438 per pupil in the first year and $933 per pupil beginning in the second year. Question 2, which would take effect only if Question 1 passes, would add $382 per pupil. Both authorizations would continue for 10 years and increase annually with inflation.

Using the district’s projected enrollment as a working measure, the questions could initially generate approximately $6.7 million, increasing to a base of about $10.75 million in the second year. Before inflation and enrollment changes, that produces a working estimate of roughly $103.5 million over the authorization period. Voters should be shown the district’s official combined 10-year calculation, but the size of the request should be acknowledged plainly: This is a major local investment, not a small one disguised by monthly figures.

The district estimates that Question 1 would cost approximately $8 per month on a $300,000 home and Question 2 would add approximately $7. Existing building debt is scheduled to decline, which is expected to moderate the second-year change on tax bills. That does not make the operating levy free. It means voters are being asked to preserve part of a tax burden that otherwise would recede and redirect that household capacity toward daily school operations.

That trade is worthy of support because the district’s operating problem is immediate and documented. The fiscal 2025 audit reported that General Fund expenditures and other financing uses exceeded the final budget by nearly $15 million, largely because of special education and transportation costs. The district entered a new 10-year transportation contract that increased fuel and employee costs, while special education continues to impose expenses that are not fully covered by state and federal revenue.

Asked about the expenditure variance, Superintendent John Magas wrote: “The district continuously monitors expenditures against our budget to ensure financial stability. The variances noted in the 2025 audit reflect the complexities of balancing rising operational costs with student needs, including special education, insurance and transportation requirements.”

That response does not provide a line-by-line reconciliation, which the district still should publish. It does, however, identify cost pressures consistent with the audit and with the district’s current budget reporting. Special education, insurance and transportation are not optional services that can be eliminated without consequences for students or without violating contracts and legal obligations.

The district also must account for the deterioration of its 2025-26 projection from a planned $249,000 surplus to a projected $4.1 million deficit. That reversal is too large to explain only through generalities, and taxpayers deserve a schedule showing each revenue change, expenditure increase and revised assumption.

Magas wrote: “The shift in our budget projections—from a planned $249,000 surplus to the current $4.1 million deficit projection—is driven by several factors, including inflationary pressures, adjustments in state and federal funding, and unexpected shifts in operational costs, such as those listed above.”

The missing reconciliation remains an accountability issue, but it does not erase the deficit. It establishes the urgency of improving the district’s forecasting while giving administrators and the School Board enough financial room to make responsible adjustments. Requiring better financial reporting and supporting sufficient operating revenue are complementary positions, not contradictory ones.

The audit findings require the same distinction. Duluth received an unmodified audit opinion, meaning its financial statements were fairly presented in all material respects after the necessary adjustments. The audit did not report theft, fraud or illegal spending, but it identified material weaknesses involving unreconciled accounts, year-end adjustments and the district’s reliance on its outside auditor to prepare generally accepted financial statements.

Magas wrote: “We take all audit findings seriously and have been working to address identified weaknesses. Correcting these involves improving internal controls regarding account reconciliation and financial statement preparation. MDE receives a corrective action plan for any findings. Material weaknesses are common throughout the state as most schools never have enough staff.”

The weaknesses cannot be minimized because they may occur elsewhere. Repeated findings must be corrected, deadlines should be public, and the School Board should receive regular reports documenting progress. But stronger internal controls will not generate the millions of dollars needed to close the structural gap, just as new revenue by itself will not correct weak controls. Duluth needs both.

The district’s credit position also requires a measured reading. Moody’s maintained Duluth’s A3 underlying rating and Aa1 state-enhanced rating in October 2025. Those are not the ratings of an insolvent school system, but Moody’s also noted that available fund balance remained below the firm’s 30% benchmark. The district can meet its obligations and continue borrowing, but its day-to-day operating position is stressed and its unrestricted flexibility is extremely limited.

The referendum projections should therefore be judged against the scale of the problem. Magas wrote: “The revenue projections for the referendum are based on conservative enrollment estimates to ensure fiscal responsibility. The figures mentioned in our presentations have prioritized local tax impact analysis to provide clarity for voters. (See Baird's grid. 1st year $3,900,000 and 2-10 $8,300,000.)”

The Baird figures cited by Magas appear to address Question 1 rather than the combined value of both questions. The district should publish one table showing the first-year revenue, later annual revenue, inflation assumption, enrollment assumption and complete 10-year total for each question. Even without that final presentation, the available figures show that the referendum is sized to confront a recurring multimillion-dollar gap rather than finance an unrelated expansion.

The district has reported approximately $12 million in reductions over three years, representing about 8% of expenditures. Its 2026-27 plan included a 16% reduction at the administrative level and reductions of approximately 5% at school sites, affecting 48 teaching and support positions. Those are not theoretical efficiencies. They are evidence that the district has already begun reducing operations and that the remaining choices will become progressively more damaging.

Magas offered the clearest description of what passage would and would not accomplish: “The proposed referendum is intended to be a stabilization plan, not an immediate cure-all, as we work to right-size district operations. Even with the passage of the levy, we must continue to identify efficiencies. Currently, we are evaluating all programs, services, and staffing models, with an emphasis on protecting student learning priorities. Since we have already cut $12 million in the past three years, we will need to consider more serious options as we implement deeper reductions. Any specific reductions considered for 2027-28 will be part of our public board budget discussions.”

That is not a promise that new revenue will make every problem disappear. It is an acknowledgment that passage buys stability, protects more of the classroom and gives the district time to align staffing and services with enrollment and recurring revenue. The continuing reductions are not evidence that the referendum is unnecessary; they show that the district is attempting to combine new revenue with lower spending rather than place the entire burden on taxpayers.

Question 1 deserves approval because it addresses the immediate operating deficit and reduces pressure for another round of abrupt classroom reductions. Question 2 deserves approval because the district’s problem extends beyond a single fiscal year. Approving only the first question would provide partial stabilization while leaving the district closer to the same financial edge when costs rise again.

The alternative carries consequences that should not be treated as a negotiating tactic. Once a district enters statutory operating debt, it must submit a multiyear recovery plan to the Minnesota Department of Education, operate under increased state scrutiny and eliminate its negative balance. State oversight imposes financial discipline, but it does not arrive with new money to protect programs or employees.

Magas wrote: “The warning regarding "significant state oversight" refers to the regulatory requirements mandated by Minnesota law should a district fall into statutory operating debt (SOD). We are currently at 1.8%, posted at MDE.”

The district should clarify whether the 1.8% figure is negative, identify the fiscal year and expenditure denominator used, and show the precise distance from Minnesota’s negative 2.5% statutory threshold. The essential point is already clear: Duluth’s remaining operating margin is narrow. Waiting until state intervention becomes mandatory would transfer control over the timetable for reductions without creating the revenue needed to soften them.

Support for both questions does not require approval of every past budget, contract or administrative decision. It requires a judgment about the choice now before voters. The district has thin spendable reserves, a recurring deficit, rising mandated costs and additional reductions ahead even if the referendum passes. Rejecting the revenue would accelerate the damage without correcting the underlying management weaknesses.

Passage should carry firm expectations. The district should publish monthly budget-to-actual reports, complete its reconciliation of the 2025-26 reversal, identify every corrective action for the audit findings, disclose the combined 10-year referendum value and present the 2027-28 reductions through open School Board deliberations. Taxpayers providing long-term support are entitled to long-term transparency.

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. The documented condition of the district makes that request legitimate, and the educational cost of refusing it would be greater than the tax savings.

Vote yes on Question 1. Vote yes on Question 2. Then require Duluth Public Schools to account publicly for the investment it has asked the community to make.

Duluth’s legendary video streamer has returned to a familiar stage, standing before a television camera to explain that the city’s expenses are climbing, its revenues are not and taxpayers should prepare themselves for another miserable budget season.

Mayor Roger Reinert is working the naive local television media early. He would much rather define Duluth’s projected 2027 budget deficit in July than allow city councilors, department heads, union leaders and angry taxpayers to define it for him in September.

Reinert told WDIO that city revenue is expected to grow by about 1% next year while expenses climb 5.5%, producing a projected $5.5 million deficit. Approximately half of the general fund goes to police and fire, with another large share supporting streets and other public works. The city must establish its maximum preliminary property tax levy in September and adopt a final budget by the end of December. WDIO reported that Reinert remains committed to keeping property taxes affordable.

He should be. The average Duluth home increased in value from $185,000 in 2018 to approximately $295,000 in 2025, while its property tax bill grew from just over $2,000 to nearly $4,000, according to the mayor’s own December budget statement. Duluth property owners do not need another lecture about inflation. They live it every time they open a tax statement, utility bill or grocery receipt.

The mayor wants to sound the alarm before the budget fire reaches the roof. But a television interview is not a financial recovery plan. Duluth cannot video-stream its way out of a structural deficit. Eventually, Reinert must put down the microphone, open the ledger and identify exactly what city government will stop doing.

The 2026 general fund is $113.2 million. Salaries and wages account for $63.2 million, while employee benefits add another $30.6 million. That means nearly 83 cents of every general fund dollar is consumed by compensation before the city buys road salt, gasoline, library books, police equipment, software or practically anything else.

That is where the budget story begins. It is also where most elected officials would prefer the story not go.

Duluth does not have a $5.5 million mystery. It has a structural spending problem built largely into wages, benefits, overtime, staffing requirements and contractual obligations that grow faster than the revenues supporting them. Cutting fireworks, travel and coffee at City Hall might make taxpayers feel momentarily better, but it will not close this deficit.

The city’s largest bargaining unit received a 4.5% wage increase in 2025. In 2026, the increase was 6.5%, with eligible employees also receiving a 4% step increase. Another 6% increase follows in 2027. Other city bargaining units received similar, though somewhat smaller, increases. The city estimates its recently negotiated labor agreements will increase personnel costs by approximately $9.9 million over three years, according to the 2026 city budget.

There is your deficit, dressed in a collective bargaining agreement and scheduled to arrive on time.

That does not mean city employees are overpaid, unnecessary or unworthy of competitive compensation. Police officers, firefighters, snowplow drivers, inspectors, librarians and maintenance workers perform important jobs. It means Duluth agreed to compensation increases its recurring revenues cannot comfortably support. Once those agreements are signed, the money is no longer theoretical. It becomes a legal obligation.

The city’s salary and benefit costs are budgeted to increase by approximately $5.2 million from 2025 to 2026 — almost the entire projected 2027 deficit. Reinert can talk about inflation, gasoline prices and limited tax-base growth, and all are legitimate pressures. But the structural problem is sitting in plain sight. Duluth’s personnel costs are growing faster than Duluth itself.

Public safety must also be placed under the budget microscope. Police and fire together consume $55.3 million, or 49% of the general fund. Police account for $30.5 million and fire for $24.8 million. Those departments cannot be exempted from financial reform simply because elected officials fear being accused of weakening public safety.

The Fire Department exceeded its 2025 overtime budget by $1.3 million. Northern News Now reported that total fire overtime topped $1.6 million. The city responded by adding three firefighters and placing an $850,000 cap on 2026 overtime. That may prove to be a sensible investment if the additional employees actually reduce overtime, but taxpayers deserve monthly public reporting showing whether it is working.

Duluth should publish overtime by department, reason and month. It should identify how much is caused by vacancies, medical leave, military leave, vacations, minimum staffing requirements and special events. It should examine station deployment, shift scheduling, mutual-aid agreements, leave policies, emergency medical reimbursements and whether duties now handled by sworn police officers or firefighters could safely be performed by lower-cost civilian employees.

Those are not anti-police or anti-fire questions. They are the questions any responsible employer asks when two departments consume half of its operating budget.

The City Council complicated the message in June when it voted 7-2 to increase Police Chief Mike Ceynowa’s salary by about $19,000, to $207,489. The increase will not sink a $113 million budget, but it is the kind of tone-deaf decision taxpayers remember when politicians later tell them every dollar has been squeezed. WDIO reported that the chief’s pay has risen more than $46,000 since 2022.

Then there is administrative overhead. Legislative and executive operations, administrative services, finance, and planning and economic development together account for approximately $20.8 million. Those divisions include functions such as legal services, information technology, human resources, inspections and budgeting. But requiring each to produce credible 5% and 10% reduction scenarios would identify between $1 million and $2 million in potential savings.

The city reduced its general fund workforce by only 3.8 full-time-equivalent positions from the 2025 budget, falling from 624.65 to 620.85. Many reductions involved eliminating vacant positions instead of laying off existing employees. That was a start, but a government facing recurring multimillion-dollar deficits cannot pretend eliminating fewer than four net positions represents a historic restructuring.

Duluth also budgets $605,500 for contract services, $279,000 for other professional services, $234,200 for travel and training, $150,000 for lobbyists, and $101,800 for dues and subscriptions. Every one of those accounts should be reviewed. Combined, however, they total about $1.37 million. Eliminating every dollar would cover only about one-quarter of the projected deficit.

The tourism accounts provide more tempting political targets. The 2026 allocation includes $1.8 million for a tourism marketing firm, $695,000 in Visit Duluth discretionary funding, $663,000 for Visit Duluth event and convention sales, $510,000 for the Lake Superior Zoo, $400,000 for Spirit Mountain operations, $310,000 for the Great Lakes Aquarium and $280,000 for Downtown Duluth.

Those recipients should be required to produce measurable returns on the public investment. The zoo, in particular, should not receive an automatic $510,000 annual subsidy without a public accounting of attendance, tourism-tax generation, local economic impact, executive compensation, future capital needs and the cost of every realistic alternative — continued city support, regionalization, private operation, sale or closure.

Tourism taxes are restricted by state law, local ordinance, debt commitments and their legislatively authorized purposes. The city’s own tourism resolution says those dollars cannot be unilaterally redirected to unrelated municipal needs. More than half of projected collections are already tied to debt and previously mandated commitments. Tourism taxes also contribute $1.5 million to the general fund for police, fire, street, bridge and administrative services connected to visitors and special events.

Cutting the zoo subsidy and tourism marketing may be overdue. Neither action automatically deposits the savings into the unrestricted general fund. Reinert and the council would need to restructure the allocations within tourism purposes or seek legislative authority for greater flexibility.

Libraries and parks, meanwhile, should not become the convenient hostages of another budget crisis. Park maintenance accounts for $4.1 million of the general fund. The library system accounts for $6.2 million, including $346,000 for materials. Together, they cost substantially less than the Police Department alone. Duluth also carries approximately $113 million in deferred park maintenance. Cutting maintenance now merely creates a larger repair bill later.

The honest solution will require several actions at once: continued vacancy reductions, consolidation of administrative functions, aggressive overtime controls, regional public-safety partnerships, civilianization of appropriate police and fire duties, performance audits of outside contracts, return-on-investment requirements for tourism subsidies and a labor strategy that aligns future compensation increases with recurring revenue growth. One-time reserves should not be used to pay permanent salaries, and property taxes should be the last tool reached for, not the first.

Reinert says one percentage point on the city levy produces approximately $455,000. Covering a $5.5 million deficit entirely through property taxes would therefore require an increase of roughly 12 percentage points. That would be politically explosive and financially punishing for residents already squeezed by rising assessments, utility charges, insurance and everyday living costs.

The mayor must get underneath this problem. A video can tell Duluth that a deficit exists. Leadership requires telling Duluth which spending will stop, which services will change, which contracts will be challenged and which politically protected interests will finally be told no.

The red light is on, Mr. Mayor. This time, bring the budget knife.

The HowieHanson.com is powered by Lyric Kitchen · Bar

DULUTH — For more than a century, Duluth's economy has been built around moving things: iron ore, coal, grain, lumber, steel. The story of this city has largely been the story of raw materials arriving by rail, being loaded onto ships, and departing through one of the world's great freshwater ports.

But what if the next major economic opportunity arriving in Duluth isn't something you can touch at all? What if it is information?

That question surfaced recently as developers in Minneapolis explored whether portions of the historic Dayton's redevelopment project might someday be converted into a data center. The idea may sound futuristic, but it reflects one of the most significant economic shifts taking place in America today. As artificial intelligence rapidly expands, companies are scrambling to build the digital infrastructure necessary to power it. Data centers, once obscure industrial facilities tucked away on the outskirts of cities, have become some of the most sought-after real estate investments in the world.

The reason is simple. Every ChatGPT request, every streaming movie, every cloud-based business transaction, every medical record and every AI-generated image requires enormous computing power. That computing power lives inside buildings filled with servers, networking equipment, cooling systems and backup power infrastructure. The demand is growing so quickly that utilities, developers and economic development officials across the country are racing to identify locations capable of supporting the next generation of digital infrastructure.

Which raises a question that deserves serious discussion in Duluth. Could the city become a regional hub for data centers? At first glance, the answer might surprise people.

Duluth possesses several characteristics that data-center developers actively seek. The climate is cooler than much of the country, reducing cooling costs that can consume a substantial portion of a facility's operating budget. Industrial land remains available. The city sits at the crossroads of major transportation and communications networks. Fiber-optic connectivity continues to expand. And perhaps most importantly, Duluth has a long history as an energy-intensive industrial community.

The challenge, however, is not land. It is power.

Modern artificial intelligence has changed the economics of data centers. A generation ago, a data center was essentially a large office building filled with computers. Today's AI facilities resemble industrial complexes. Some require as much electricity as small cities. Developers increasingly evaluate potential locations based on one question above all others: How quickly can substantial amounts of power be delivered to the site?

That reality places communities in direct competition with one another. The winners will not necessarily be the biggest cities. They will be the cities capable of delivering reliable power, modern infrastructure and supportive regulatory environments.

Duluth deserves consideration in that conversation. This community understands large-scale industry. It understands infrastructure. It understands how to build and maintain complex facilities that operate around the clock. Those are advantages that cannot be overlooked as the economy continues its transition into a more digital future.

At the same time, nobody should mistake data centers for traditional manufacturing facilities. They are not major job creators after construction is completed. A billion-dollar facility may employ only a few dozen highly skilled workers once operational. The economic benefits are real, but they differ significantly from the thousands of jobs historically associated with mining, paper production or steel manufacturing.

That distinction matters. Economic development leaders must ask whether pursuing data-center investment complements broader efforts to attract housing, technology firms, healthcare expansion and traditional industrial development. The answer may ultimately be yes, but it deserves careful examination.

The more interesting question may be whether Duluth's industrial districts could someday be repurposed for entirely new uses. Throughout its history, the city has repeatedly adapted to changing economic realities. Lumber gave way to ore. Ore gave way to shipping and tourism. Tourism expanded alongside healthcare and education. Each transition required local leaders willing to recognize emerging opportunities before they became obvious.

Artificial intelligence may represent the next transition. No one is suggesting that towering server farms will suddenly appear along the waterfront next year. The economics, infrastructure requirements and power demands remain formidable. Yet it is worth remembering that many of the industries that ultimately transformed Duluth initially seemed improbable.

A century ago, few residents could have imagined giant ore docks dominating the harbor skyline. Decades later, few predicted tourism would become one of the region's economic pillars. Today, many people view artificial intelligence as something that happens elsewhere — in Silicon Valley, Seattle or Northern Virginia.

That may prove to be a mistake. The communities that benefit most from the AI revolution will not simply be the places where software is developed. They will also be the places where the infrastructure that powers the technology is built.

Duluth has spent generations moving the raw materials that fueled America's industrial economy. The question now is whether it can play a role in powering America's digital one. The answer may help define the city's next century.

Howie's daily column is powered by Lyric Kitchen Bar in Downtown Duluth. Contact Howie at HowieHanson@gmail.com

Fifty years ago, Duluth stood at a crossroads. The city's industrial economy, built on shipping, manufacturing, railroads and natural resources, faced mounting challenges. Population growth had stalled. Major employers were disappearing.

Like many Great Lakes cities, Duluth faced difficult questions about its future. The answer would not come from a single mayor, business leader or civic organization. It would emerge through the collective efforts of visionaries who saw possibilities where others saw decline.

This list is not a ranking of the most famous Duluthians, the wealthiest residents or the most powerful elected officials. Instead, it seeks to answer a different question: Who did the most to transform Duluth from a struggling industrial port city into the tourism, healthcare, education, outdoor recreation and business center it has become today?

The individuals on this list built companies, launched institutions, guided public policy, supported philanthropy and helped create the modern identity of Duluth. Together, they helped write one of the most remarkable civic comeback stories in the Upper Midwest.

1. Joel Labovitz

Few individuals have exerted a greater influence on modern Duluth than Labovitz. As a businessman, civic leader and philanthropist, Labovitz helped shape the economic and cultural foundation upon which much of contemporary Duluth was built. His impact extended through retailing, real estate development, higher education, philanthropy and community leadership, touching nearly every aspect of civic life.

The Labovitz family's influence on retailing became legendary through Maurices, which grew from a small women's clothing store founded in downtown Duluth into one of the nation's most successful specialty apparel chains. The company expanded across the United States while maintaining deep roots in Duluth. Maurices demonstrated that a nationally recognized retail brand could be built and managed from northeastern Minnesota, creating jobs and economic opportunity while enhancing the city's reputation as a center of business innovation.

Labovitz also understood that successful communities require strong institutions. His support for education, healthcare, cultural organizations and civic initiatives helped strengthen the city's social infrastructure. Whether through philanthropy, board leadership or community partnerships, he consistently invested in projects that improved the quality of life for future generations.

Perhaps his greatest contribution was helping instill confidence in Duluth itself. At a time when many communities were losing corporate headquarters and struggling to attract investment, Labovitz demonstrated that major enterprises could thrive in the Northland. His legacy remains visible in the businesses, institutions and community organizations that continue to shape Duluth today.

2. George Goldfarb

If Labovitz helped establish Maurices, Goldfarb helped transform it into a national powerhouse. During his decades of leadership, Maurices grew into one of America's largest women's specialty retailers while maintaining its headquarters in Duluth. Few executives have had a greater impact on the city's private-sector economy.

Goldfarb's success came during a period when many corporations were abandoning smaller cities in favor of major metropolitan areas. Under his leadership, Maurices continued to expand nationally while remaining firmly committed to Duluth. The company provided thousands of jobs and became one of the city's most important economic engines.

Beyond Maurices, Goldfarb emerged as one of the most respected voices in the regional business community. He served on corporate boards, advised nonprofit organizations and participated in economic development initiatives that helped shape Duluth's future. His influence often occurred quietly, away from public attention, but his counsel was widely sought by civic and business leaders.

Goldfarb helped prove that Duluth could compete in a modern, knowledge-based economy. His leadership strengthened confidence in the community and reinforced the idea that world-class companies could succeed while remaining headquartered on the shores of Lake Superior.

3. Jeno and Lois Paulucci

Few names are more closely associated with civic generosity than Jeno and Lois Paulucci. Their influence extends across the city through parks, public spaces, charitable giving and countless community improvements that continue benefiting residents decades later.

Jeno Paulucci built one of America's great food-industry success stories, transforming a small business venture into an international enterprise. Rather than distancing himself from his hometown, he chose to invest heavily in Duluth's future. Lois became an equally important partner in that effort, supporting numerous philanthropic and civic initiatives.

Their most visible contribution may be Bayfront Festival Park, which transformed a portion of the waterfront into one of the city's most beloved public gathering spaces. The park hosts concerts, festivals and community celebrations that attract thousands of residents and visitors each year.

The Pauluccis understood that quality of life matters. Their investments helped make Duluth more attractive to families, businesses and visitors alike. Their legacy remains woven into the city's physical landscape and civic identity.

4. Don Ness

Ness inherited a city facing significant challenges and left office having helped redefine its future. During his tenure as mayor, Ness championed a vision of Duluth centered on growth, innovation and opportunity.

One of his most important accomplishments involved addressing longstanding financial challenges, such as the unfunded $300-plus million retiree health care obligation, that threatened the city's stability. Difficult decisions regarding budgets and public spending helped position Duluth for future investment and growth. Those decisions were not always popular, but they provided a stronger foundation for the years ahead.

Ness also became one of Duluth's most effective ambassadors. He promoted the city nationally, encouraged entrepreneurship and worked to attract young professionals. His message was simple: Duluth was not merely surviving; it was becoming a destination for talent, investment and innovation.

Even after leaving office, Ness remains one of the city's most influential civic leaders. His relationships across government, healthcare, business and education continue to shape discussions about Duluth's future.

5. John Fedo

Modern Canal Park begins with Fedo. Long before waterfront redevelopment became commonplace, he recognized the potential of Duluth's shoreline and championed efforts to transform underutilized industrial land into a thriving destination.

The redevelopment initiatives launched during his administration created opportunities for private investment that would eventually reshape the city's economy. Hotels, restaurants, attractions and public spaces followed, creating one of the most successful waterfront districts in the Midwest.

Fedo's vision required persistence. Many residents questioned whether tourism could ever become a major economic driver. Yet he continued advocating for projects that connected residents and visitors with Lake Superior and the harbor.

Today, Canal Park stands as one of the defining features of modern Duluth. Millions of annual visitors experience a waterfront district that owes much of its existence to Fedo's leadership and long-term vision.

6. Andy Borg

Borg helped build more than a successful restaurant company. He helped create a cornerstone of modern Canal Park and Duluth's visitor economy.

As co-founder of Grandma's Restaurants, Borg recognized the growing potential of waterfront tourism and invested accordingly. Grandma's became one of Duluth's most recognized brands, drawing visitors from across the Midwest while helping establish Canal Park as a destination.

The company's success encouraged additional private investment in the district and demonstrated that locally owned businesses could thrive by embracing Duluth's unique identity. Grandma's became synonymous with hospitality, community and the North Shore experience.

Through decades of leadership, Borg helped strengthen the tourism economy that now supports thousands of jobs and generates significant economic activity throughout the region.

7. Scott Keenan

Few individuals have promoted Duluth more effectively than Keenan. Through Grandma's Marathon, he created an event that introduced countless visitors to the city while generating millions of dollars in annual economic activity.

What began as a modest road race evolved into one of North America's premier marathons. Under Keenan's leadership, the event grew in stature and became an annual tradition that draws participants from around the world.

The marathon's impact extends well beyond race weekend. Thousands of runners return to Duluth repeatedly, bringing family members, supporting local businesses and becoming ambassadors for the community.

Keenan's achievement demonstrates how a single idea, pursued with persistence and vision, can reshape a city's reputation and economic future.

8. Monnie and Erv Goldfine

The Goldfine brothers were among the earliest champions of a tourism-based future for Duluth. Through business leadership, civic involvement and community advocacy, they helped position the city for long-term success.

Monnie became one of Duluth's most effective promoters, championing projects ranging from Spirit Mountain to waterfront development. His ability to bring people together around common goals helped advance numerous initiatives that remain important today.

The brothers understood that Duluth's greatest assets were its natural beauty, harbor and unique character. Their efforts helped shift the community's focus toward tourism, hospitality and visitor experiences.

Many attractions and institutions that now define Duluth's visitor economy benefited directly from the Goldfines' leadership, support and vision.

9. Sister Kathleen Hofer

Few individuals have influenced both healthcare and higher education in Duluth as profoundly as Sister Hofer. Her leadership helped guide major institutional changes during critical periods of growth and transformation.

Through her work with St. Mary's Medical Center and later healthcare partnerships, Sister Kathleen helped strengthen one of the sectors that now serves as a cornerstone of the regional economy. Her ability to bridge mission, leadership and organizational change proved invaluable during periods of significant transition.

Her influence also extended to The College of St. Scholastica, where she served in key governance and leadership roles. Her commitment to education helped strengthen one of Duluth's most important institutions and contributed to workforce development throughout the region.

Sister Kathleen's legacy reflects the power of servant leadership. Through faith, vision and collaboration, she helped build institutions that continue serving thousands of residents throughout northeastern Minnesota.

10. Bruce Stender

Stender's contributions to Duluth span education, business, philanthropy and civic leadership. Few individuals have influenced as many sectors of community life over such an extended period.

As the first lay president of The College of St. Scholastica, Stender guided the institution during a period of growth and modernization. His leadership helped strengthen academic programs, expand facilities and elevate the college's profile throughout the region.

Stender later became a leading figure in the business community through Labovitz Enterprises, ALLETE and numerous civic organizations. His leadership helped strengthen relationships between the private sector, higher education and community institutions.

Like many of the individuals on this list, Stender's greatest contributions often occurred behind the scenes. Through thoughtful leadership, strategic vision and a lifelong commitment to community service, he helped shape the modern Duluth that residents know today.

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.

Some built businesses. Others guided public policy. Some created events, strengthened institutions or invested philanthropic resources. Together, they transformed Duluth into a city known for tourism, healthcare, higher education, entrepreneurship and quality of life.

History may debate the precise order of these rankings. What is far more difficult to debate is their collective impact. Without these individuals, the story of modern Duluth would be dramatically different.

Howie's daily column is powered by Lyric Kitchen Bar in Downtown Duluth. Contact Howie at HowieHanson@gmail.com

Summer always arrives with energy in Duluth, but this year it feels more like relief. There is a different emotional tone hanging over the city as June begins, and it is not difficult to understand why. People are exhausted. Not dramatic. Not defeated. Just tired from carrying the financial and emotional weight that has steadily built over the past several years.

Gasoline prices are climbing again just as tourism season begins filling highways with traffic headed north. Grocery bills continue hammering working families and retirees alike. Insurance costs continue climbing. Utility bills remain stubbornly high. Property owners already are bracing for another round of difficult conversations involving local government budgets and the growing pressure to hold the line on residential and commercial property taxes.

Small businesses continue facing uncertainty about labor, operating costs and consumer spending habits. Meanwhile, another Duluth mayoral election quietly waits around the corner, bringing with it the early signs of another long political season filled with messaging campaigns, strategic positioning and arguments over the future direction of the city.

But perhaps the greatest pressure is being felt quietly inside homes occupied by seniors and lower-income residents trying to survive on fixed incomes that no longer stretch far enough to cover ordinary life. Many older residents spent decades doing exactly what society asked of them. They worked long careers, raised families, paid taxes, maintained homes and lived responsibly. Now many of those same people sit at kitchen tables trying to figure out how to absorb another property tax increase, another utility bill increase, another prescription cost and another grocery trip where basic necessities suddenly feel almost unaffordable.

Proud people often suffer quietly in Duluth. Many seniors do not complain publicly. They simply adjust. They stop dining out. They delay home repairs. They cut back driving. Some quietly worry about whether they can continue living independently inside the homes they spent decades paying off. Others are delaying retirement entirely because inflation and rising costs have eroded the financial cushion they believed would protect them during their later years.

That emotional fatigue matters because it helps explain why summer feels different here than it does in many American cities. In Duluth, summer is not simply a tourism season. It becomes an emotional reset for residents who have spent eight long months enduring gray skies, brutal cold, icy streets, darkness and the constant grind of ordinary financial stress.

Then June arrives and the city exhales.

Grandma’s Marathon returns. Bayfront Festival Park fills with music and crowds again. Restaurant patios reopen. The Lakewalk comes alive with tourists, runners, bicyclists and families pushing strollers near the lake. Boats begin moving through the harbor again. Children stay outside until nearly 10 p.m. Visitors pour into Canal Park from Minneapolis, Chicago, Iowa, the Dakotas and beyond, reminding local residents that the place they sometimes criticize and worry about still remains one of the most naturally beautiful and unique small cities in America.

That outside perspective matters because people who live inside a city year-round often become conditioned to seeing only the frustrations. Potholes. Property taxes. Construction projects. Political arguments. Parking headaches. Bureaucracy. Public safety concerns. Visitors often see something completely different. They see the hills. The lake. The lift bridge. The ore boats. The rocky shoreline. The sunsets that still stop strangers in their tracks. They see a city with identity and authenticity in an era when much of America increasingly feels interchangeable.

Tourism season also carries enormous economic importance for Duluth itself. Hotels, restaurants, breweries, retailers, attractions and entertainment venues rely heavily on these few critical summer months. Many businesses generate a substantial percentage of their annual revenue between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That revenue supports jobs, stabilizes businesses and helps sustain amenities residents themselves enjoy during the remainder of the year. Summer visitors are not separate from the local economy. In many ways, they help hold large portions of it together.

Certainly, tourism season comes with frustrations. Canal Park traffic can become aggravating. Parking becomes difficult. Downtown crowds occasionally test local patience. But those inconveniences are manageable compared with the economic damage that would follow empty hotel rooms, struggling restaurants and declining visitor activity during a period when economic uncertainty already hangs over much of the country.

The deeper truth is many Duluth residents simply need this summer emotionally. They need packed sidewalks and crowded patios. They need concerts at Bayfront and families along the Lakewalk. They need baseball games, festivals, harbor activity and tourists asking for directions near the lift bridge. They need reminders that life cannot become an endless cycle of bills, politics, inflation, anxiety and survival.

Duluth has always been a resilient city. It has endured mining downturns, manufacturing losses, harsh winters, economic reinventions, political divisions and population concerns. The city has survived because generations of residents learned how to adapt during difficult periods. But resilience alone eventually becomes exhausting. People also need joy, optimism and reminders that daily life still can contain beauty and enjoyment alongside responsibility.

There will be plenty of time for arguments again this fall. Budget debates will intensify. Property-tax discussions will dominate public meetings. The mayoral race will slowly begin consuming local political oxygen. Candidates will promise solutions. Critics will demand accountability. Social media will overflow with certainty and outrage. That cycle is not going away.

But first comes summer.

And after several years of inflation, economic pressure, political fatigue and the relentless grind of modern life, perhaps the healthiest thing Duluth can do right now is simply enjoy itself for a while. Not blindly. Not irresponsibly. Just gratefully. Because for many residents, summer in Duluth is not merely tourism season. It is a relief.

By DANA KAZEL

St. Louis County's three newest Public Works facilities - in Culver and Kugler Townships, and near the Whiteface Reservoir - are now equipped with a 40-kilowatt solar array on each roof.

The solar panels were produced locally by Heliene in Mountain Iron, and made possible thanks to $336,000 in grants ($112,000 for each building) from the Minnesota Department of Commerce's Statewide Solar on Public Buildings Program.

Each solar array is capable of producing 55 megawatts of electric energy annually, which is expected to cover 73% of the facilities' electrical energy usage. This estimation takes into account average snowy and cloudy days at each location. 

Additionally, the non-fossil fuel energy generated equates to a reduction in approximately six metric tons of carbon emissions for each system annually, or 18 metric tons for all three. Over a typical life expectancy of 25 years, that is a reduction of 450 metric tons of carbon emissions.

"Everything about this project is a win," said County Board Chair Mike Jugovich. "We are using domestically produced solar panels installed by local trade labor. And they are generating renewable energy, and reducing utility costs, which will save money for our taxpayers for decades to come."

These three Public Works garages were completed in 2024, and the roofs were designed with the intent to add solar panels once funding was available.

Solar on Public Buildings is designed to provide incentives for installation of solar energy systems on Minnesota local government buildings. The program offers benefits to communities across Minnesota by reducing energy costs and electricity-based greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the local economy benefits from investments made in expanding energy infrastructure, and from adding clean energy jobs, like solar installations.

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.

To learn more about the Solar on Public Buildings Program, visit Solar on Public Buildings / Minnesota Department of Commerce - Energy.

Duluth’s legendary video streamer has returned to a familiar stage, standing before a television camera to explain that the city’s expenses are climbing, its revenues are not and taxpayers should prepare themselves for another miserable budget season.

Mayor Roger Reinert is working the naive local television media early. He would much rather define Duluth’s projected 2027 budget deficit in July than allow city councilors, department heads, union leaders and angry taxpayers to define it for him in September.

Reinert told WDIO that city revenue is expected to grow by about 1% next year while expenses climb 5.5%, producing a projected $5.5 million deficit. Approximately half of the general fund goes to police and fire, with another large share supporting streets and other public works. The city must establish its maximum preliminary property tax levy in September and adopt a final budget by the end of December. WDIO reported that Reinert remains committed to keeping property taxes affordable.

He should be. The average Duluth home increased in value from $185,000 in 2018 to approximately $295,000 in 2025, while its property tax bill grew from just over $2,000 to nearly $4,000, according to the mayor’s own December budget statement. Duluth property owners do not need another lecture about inflation. They live it every time they open a tax statement, utility bill or grocery receipt.

The mayor wants to sound the alarm before the budget fire reaches the roof. But a television interview is not a financial recovery plan. Duluth cannot video-stream its way out of a structural deficit. Eventually, Reinert must put down the microphone, open the ledger and identify exactly what city government will stop doing.

The 2026 general fund is $113.2 million. Salaries and wages account for $63.2 million, while employee benefits add another $30.6 million. That means nearly 83 cents of every general fund dollar is consumed by compensation before the city buys road salt, gasoline, library books, police equipment, software or practically anything else.

That is where the budget story begins. It is also where most elected officials would prefer the story not go.

Duluth does not have a $5.5 million mystery. It has a structural spending problem built largely into wages, benefits, overtime, staffing requirements and contractual obligations that grow faster than the revenues supporting them. Cutting fireworks, travel and coffee at City Hall might make taxpayers feel momentarily better, but it will not close this deficit.

The city’s largest bargaining unit received a 4.5% wage increase in 2025. In 2026, the increase was 6.5%, with eligible employees also receiving a 4% step increase. Another 6% increase follows in 2027. Other city bargaining units received similar, though somewhat smaller, increases. The city estimates its recently negotiated labor agreements will increase personnel costs by approximately $9.9 million over three years, according to the 2026 city budget.

There is your deficit, dressed in a collective bargaining agreement and scheduled to arrive on time.

That does not mean city employees are overpaid, unnecessary or unworthy of competitive compensation. Police officers, firefighters, snowplow drivers, inspectors, librarians and maintenance workers perform important jobs. It means Duluth agreed to compensation increases its recurring revenues cannot comfortably support. Once those agreements are signed, the money is no longer theoretical. It becomes a legal obligation.

The city’s salary and benefit costs are budgeted to increase by approximately $5.2 million from 2025 to 2026 — almost the entire projected 2027 deficit. Reinert can talk about inflation, gasoline prices and limited tax-base growth, and all are legitimate pressures. But the structural problem is sitting in plain sight. Duluth’s personnel costs are growing faster than Duluth itself.

Public safety must also be placed under the budget microscope. Police and fire together consume $55.3 million, or 49% of the general fund. Police account for $30.5 million and fire for $24.8 million. Those departments cannot be exempted from financial reform simply because elected officials fear being accused of weakening public safety.

The Fire Department exceeded its 2025 overtime budget by $1.3 million. Northern News Now reported that total fire overtime topped $1.6 million. The city responded by adding three firefighters and placing an $850,000 cap on 2026 overtime. That may prove to be a sensible investment if the additional employees actually reduce overtime, but taxpayers deserve monthly public reporting showing whether it is working.

Duluth should publish overtime by department, reason and month. It should identify how much is caused by vacancies, medical leave, military leave, vacations, minimum staffing requirements and special events. It should examine station deployment, shift scheduling, mutual-aid agreements, leave policies, emergency medical reimbursements and whether duties now handled by sworn police officers or firefighters could safely be performed by lower-cost civilian employees.

Those are not anti-police or anti-fire questions. They are the questions any responsible employer asks when two departments consume half of its operating budget.

The City Council complicated the message in June when it voted 7-2 to increase Police Chief Mike Ceynowa’s salary by about $19,000, to $207,489. The increase will not sink a $113 million budget, but it is the kind of tone-deaf decision taxpayers remember when politicians later tell them every dollar has been squeezed. WDIO reported that the chief’s pay has risen more than $46,000 since 2022.

Then there is administrative overhead. Legislative and executive operations, administrative services, finance, and planning and economic development together account for approximately $20.8 million. Those divisions include functions such as legal services, information technology, human resources, inspections and budgeting. But requiring each to produce credible 5% and 10% reduction scenarios would identify between $1 million and $2 million in potential savings.

The city reduced its general fund workforce by only 3.8 full-time-equivalent positions from the 2025 budget, falling from 624.65 to 620.85. Many reductions involved eliminating vacant positions instead of laying off existing employees. That was a start, but a government facing recurring multimillion-dollar deficits cannot pretend eliminating fewer than four net positions represents a historic restructuring.

Duluth also budgets $605,500 for contract services, $279,000 for other professional services, $234,200 for travel and training, $150,000 for lobbyists, and $101,800 for dues and subscriptions. Every one of those accounts should be reviewed. Combined, however, they total about $1.37 million. Eliminating every dollar would cover only about one-quarter of the projected deficit.

The tourism accounts provide more tempting political targets. The 2026 allocation includes $1.8 million for a tourism marketing firm, $695,000 in Visit Duluth discretionary funding, $663,000 for Visit Duluth event and convention sales, $510,000 for the Lake Superior Zoo, $400,000 for Spirit Mountain operations, $310,000 for the Great Lakes Aquarium and $280,000 for Downtown Duluth.

Those recipients should be required to produce measurable returns on the public investment. The zoo, in particular, should not receive an automatic $510,000 annual subsidy without a public accounting of attendance, tourism-tax generation, local economic impact, executive compensation, future capital needs and the cost of every realistic alternative — continued city support, regionalization, private operation, sale or closure.

Tourism taxes are restricted by state law, local ordinance, debt commitments and their legislatively authorized purposes. The city’s own tourism resolution says those dollars cannot be unilaterally redirected to unrelated municipal needs. More than half of projected collections are already tied to debt and previously mandated commitments. Tourism taxes also contribute $1.5 million to the general fund for police, fire, street, bridge and administrative services connected to visitors and special events.

Cutting the zoo subsidy and tourism marketing may be overdue. Neither action automatically deposits the savings into the unrestricted general fund. Reinert and the council would need to restructure the allocations within tourism purposes or seek legislative authority for greater flexibility.

Libraries and parks, meanwhile, should not become the convenient hostages of another budget crisis. Park maintenance accounts for $4.1 million of the general fund. The library system accounts for $6.2 million, including $346,000 for materials. Together, they cost substantially less than the Police Department alone. Duluth also carries approximately $113 million in deferred park maintenance. Cutting maintenance now merely creates a larger repair bill later.

The honest solution will require several actions at once: continued vacancy reductions, consolidation of administrative functions, aggressive overtime controls, regional public-safety partnerships, civilianization of appropriate police and fire duties, performance audits of outside contracts, return-on-investment requirements for tourism subsidies and a labor strategy that aligns future compensation increases with recurring revenue growth. One-time reserves should not be used to pay permanent salaries, and property taxes should be the last tool reached for, not the first.

Reinert says one percentage point on the city levy produces approximately $455,000. Covering a $5.5 million deficit entirely through property taxes would therefore require an increase of roughly 12 percentage points. That would be politically explosive and financially punishing for residents already squeezed by rising assessments, utility charges, insurance and everyday living costs.

The mayor must get underneath this problem. A video can tell Duluth that a deficit exists. Leadership requires telling Duluth which spending will stop, which services will change, which contracts will be challenged and which politically protected interests will finally be told no.

The red light is on, Mr. Mayor. This time, bring the budget knife.

At approximately 3:30 p.m., Monday, June 9, Duluth Police responded to Klang Park for a report of a person with a weapon. Upon arrival, Officers located a juvenile male who stated he was on a swing set when juveniles approached him and threatened him with a knife. The juvenile male wasn’t injured in the altercation and these individuals were known to each other.

A short time later, a 14-year-old male and 17-year-old male were located, and knives were located on their persons. They were lodged at Arrowhead Juvenile Center for 2nd Degree Assault, 2nd Degree Riot, and Threats of Violence. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.

The Duluth Police Department is attempting to locate 41-year-old David Storbakken, who was last seen on Monday, May 5 in Downtown Duluth. He is described as a Native American male, 6 foot, 160 pounds, with a faded eagle tattoo on the back of his left hand. If anyone has any information on his whereabouts, you’re encouraged to call 911.

Duluth voters should approve both Duluth Public Schools operating referendum questions on Nov. 3. The district’s finances are strained, its unrestricted reserves are dangerously thin, and another sequence of large reductions would reach more deeply into classrooms, student services and the people who deliver them.

The financial evidence supporting the referendum is not clean or comforting. Duluth Public Schools finished fiscal 2025 with General Fund expenditures and other financing uses nearly $15 million above its final budget, its fund balance declined by $11.5 million, and auditors repeated material weaknesses involving account reconciliations and financial-statement preparation. The School Board then approved a 2026-27 budget projecting another deficit of approximately $3.9 million after the district identified more than $4.2 million in reductions and reallocations.

Those weaknesses cannot be dismissed, but neither will they disappear if the referendum fails. A no vote would not restore depleted reserves, reduce special education costs, lower insurance premiums or make transportation less expensive. It would require the district to attack the same structural deficit with fewer resources and less time, increasing the likelihood that the next reductions would fall directly on teachers, support staff, class sizes and programs.

The two questions represent a substantial commitment. Question 1 would authorize $438 per pupil in the first year and $933 per pupil beginning in the second year. Question 2, which would take effect only if Question 1 passes, would add $382 per pupil. Both authorizations would continue for 10 years and increase annually with inflation.

Using the district’s projected enrollment as a working measure, the questions could initially generate approximately $6.7 million, increasing to a base of about $10.75 million in the second year. Before inflation and enrollment changes, that produces a working estimate of roughly $103.5 million over the authorization period. Voters should be shown the district’s official combined 10-year calculation, but the size of the request should be acknowledged plainly: This is a major local investment, not a small one disguised by monthly figures.

The district estimates that Question 1 would cost approximately $8 per month on a $300,000 home and Question 2 would add approximately $7. Existing building debt is scheduled to decline, which is expected to moderate the second-year change on tax bills. That does not make the operating levy free. It means voters are being asked to preserve part of a tax burden that otherwise would recede and redirect that household capacity toward daily school operations.

That trade is worthy of support because the district’s operating problem is immediate and documented. The fiscal 2025 audit reported that General Fund expenditures and other financing uses exceeded the final budget by nearly $15 million, largely because of special education and transportation costs. The district entered a new 10-year transportation contract that increased fuel and employee costs, while special education continues to impose expenses that are not fully covered by state and federal revenue.

Asked about the expenditure variance, Superintendent John Magas wrote: “The district continuously monitors expenditures against our budget to ensure financial stability. The variances noted in the 2025 audit reflect the complexities of balancing rising operational costs with student needs, including special education, insurance and transportation requirements.”

That response does not provide a line-by-line reconciliation, which the district still should publish. It does, however, identify cost pressures consistent with the audit and with the district’s current budget reporting. Special education, insurance and transportation are not optional services that can be eliminated without consequences for students or without violating contracts and legal obligations.

The district also must account for the deterioration of its 2025-26 projection from a planned $249,000 surplus to a projected $4.1 million deficit. That reversal is too large to explain only through generalities, and taxpayers deserve a schedule showing each revenue change, expenditure increase and revised assumption.

Magas wrote: “The shift in our budget projections—from a planned $249,000 surplus to the current $4.1 million deficit projection—is driven by several factors, including inflationary pressures, adjustments in state and federal funding, and unexpected shifts in operational costs, such as those listed above.”

The missing reconciliation remains an accountability issue, but it does not erase the deficit. It establishes the urgency of improving the district’s forecasting while giving administrators and the School Board enough financial room to make responsible adjustments. Requiring better financial reporting and supporting sufficient operating revenue are complementary positions, not contradictory ones.

The audit findings require the same distinction. Duluth received an unmodified audit opinion, meaning its financial statements were fairly presented in all material respects after the necessary adjustments. The audit did not report theft, fraud or illegal spending, but it identified material weaknesses involving unreconciled accounts, year-end adjustments and the district’s reliance on its outside auditor to prepare generally accepted financial statements.

Magas wrote: “We take all audit findings seriously and have been working to address identified weaknesses. Correcting these involves improving internal controls regarding account reconciliation and financial statement preparation. MDE receives a corrective action plan for any findings. Material weaknesses are common throughout the state as most schools never have enough staff.”

The weaknesses cannot be minimized because they may occur elsewhere. Repeated findings must be corrected, deadlines should be public, and the School Board should receive regular reports documenting progress. But stronger internal controls will not generate the millions of dollars needed to close the structural gap, just as new revenue by itself will not correct weak controls. Duluth needs both.

The district’s credit position also requires a measured reading. Moody’s maintained Duluth’s A3 underlying rating and Aa1 state-enhanced rating in October 2025. Those are not the ratings of an insolvent school system, but Moody’s also noted that available fund balance remained below the firm’s 30% benchmark. The district can meet its obligations and continue borrowing, but its day-to-day operating position is stressed and its unrestricted flexibility is extremely limited.

The referendum projections should therefore be judged against the scale of the problem. Magas wrote: “The revenue projections for the referendum are based on conservative enrollment estimates to ensure fiscal responsibility. The figures mentioned in our presentations have prioritized local tax impact analysis to provide clarity for voters. (See Baird's grid. 1st year $3,900,000 and 2-10 $8,300,000.)”

The Baird figures cited by Magas appear to address Question 1 rather than the combined value of both questions. The district should publish one table showing the first-year revenue, later annual revenue, inflation assumption, enrollment assumption and complete 10-year total for each question. Even without that final presentation, the available figures show that the referendum is sized to confront a recurring multimillion-dollar gap rather than finance an unrelated expansion.

The district has reported approximately $12 million in reductions over three years, representing about 8% of expenditures. Its 2026-27 plan included a 16% reduction at the administrative level and reductions of approximately 5% at school sites, affecting 48 teaching and support positions. Those are not theoretical efficiencies. They are evidence that the district has already begun reducing operations and that the remaining choices will become progressively more damaging.

Magas offered the clearest description of what passage would and would not accomplish: “The proposed referendum is intended to be a stabilization plan, not an immediate cure-all, as we work to right-size district operations. Even with the passage of the levy, we must continue to identify efficiencies. Currently, we are evaluating all programs, services, and staffing models, with an emphasis on protecting student learning priorities. Since we have already cut $12 million in the past three years, we will need to consider more serious options as we implement deeper reductions. Any specific reductions considered for 2027-28 will be part of our public board budget discussions.”

That is not a promise that new revenue will make every problem disappear. It is an acknowledgment that passage buys stability, protects more of the classroom and gives the district time to align staffing and services with enrollment and recurring revenue. The continuing reductions are not evidence that the referendum is unnecessary; they show that the district is attempting to combine new revenue with lower spending rather than place the entire burden on taxpayers.

Question 1 deserves approval because it addresses the immediate operating deficit and reduces pressure for another round of abrupt classroom reductions. Question 2 deserves approval because the district’s problem extends beyond a single fiscal year. Approving only the first question would provide partial stabilization while leaving the district closer to the same financial edge when costs rise again.

The alternative carries consequences that should not be treated as a negotiating tactic. Once a district enters statutory operating debt, it must submit a multiyear recovery plan to the Minnesota Department of Education, operate under increased state scrutiny and eliminate its negative balance. State oversight imposes financial discipline, but it does not arrive with new money to protect programs or employees.

Magas wrote: “The warning regarding "significant state oversight" refers to the regulatory requirements mandated by Minnesota law should a district fall into statutory operating debt (SOD). We are currently at 1.8%, posted at MDE.”

The district should clarify whether the 1.8% figure is negative, identify the fiscal year and expenditure denominator used, and show the precise distance from Minnesota’s negative 2.5% statutory threshold. The essential point is already clear: Duluth’s remaining operating margin is narrow. Waiting until state intervention becomes mandatory would transfer control over the timetable for reductions without creating the revenue needed to soften them.

Support for both questions does not require approval of every past budget, contract or administrative decision. It requires a judgment about the choice now before voters. The district has thin spendable reserves, a recurring deficit, rising mandated costs and additional reductions ahead even if the referendum passes. Rejecting the revenue would accelerate the damage without correcting the underlying management weaknesses.

Passage should carry firm expectations. The district should publish monthly budget-to-actual reports, complete its reconciliation of the 2025-26 reversal, identify every corrective action for the audit findings, disclose the combined 10-year referendum value and present the 2027-28 reductions through open School Board deliberations. Taxpayers providing long-term support are entitled to long-term transparency.

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. The documented condition of the district makes that request legitimate, and the educational cost of refusing it would be greater than the tax savings.

Vote yes on Question 1. Vote yes on Question 2. Then require Duluth Public Schools to account publicly for the investment it has asked the community to make.

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They said it would bring jobs, innovation, and a bright digital future.

What rolled in instead were trucks, chain-link fences, and a low mechanical hum that never stops. The machines are here now — hundreds of thousands of servers blinking away inside windowless fortresses on the edge of Minnesota towns that once dreamed of something better.

We’ve seen this movie before. Same script, different salesman.

They call it “the cloud,” as if it floats harmlessly above us. Truth is, it squats on farmland, burns more juice than 50,000 homes, and guzzles water like a drunk at closing time. And somehow, we’re supposed to call it progress.

Developers appear in pressed suits talking about “the digital backbone of America.” City officials beam like they’ve just landed the Twins’ spring training site. The handshake’s barely dry before someone slides an NDA across the table and says, “You didn’t see this.”

We saw it. We’ve been seeing it for decades. Different industry, same hustle.

The cloud, it turns out, is just a warehouse full of heat. And we’re the ones paying the power bill.

They call it a partnership. Sure. The same way a mosquito partners with your arm.

After construction wraps — and the out-of-town contractors head back to wherever they came from — a data center might employ forty, maybe fifty locals if you count the janitor and the guy who fixes the soda machine. But the ribbon-cutting speeches will still brag about “hundreds of jobs created,” because math bends when politics enters the room.

Ask Chaska how that turned out. Three data centers at West Creek brought in about $1.3 million in city property taxes in 2022. Sounds good until you realize the total investment runs in the hundreds of millions. That’s like buying a new F-150 and getting back a $12 rebate.

Even Chaska’s own testimony to lawmakers admits it: a $750 million project might kick out three to six million bucks during construction and maybe $600,000 to $1.4 million a year after that. I’ve seen Girl Scout cookie fundraisers pull better margins.

Meanwhile, those blinking boxes are slurping up enough electricity to brown out the grid if someone sneezes. Utilities are racing to build new natural-gas lines just to feed these beasts. And then there’s the cooling — millions of gallons of clean water turned into warm steam so some social-media ad farm can load a cat video faster in Phoenix.

But hey, it’s “green technology.” Just ask the PR guy with the carbon-neutral PowerPoint.

The worst part isn’t the heat or the hum — it’s the secrecy.

Local councils sign nondisclosure agreements before they can even tell residents what’s being built behind the fence. “Competitive reasons,” they say. Translation: You might not like the deal we’re making on your behalf.

By the time the public catches wind, the zoning’s changed, the subsidies are inked, and the same folks who preach transparency are posing with golden shovels and hard hats. If this is openness, I’d hate to see a cover-up.

Over in Rosemount, the state stood shoulder to shoulder with Meta to announce an $800 million “digital campus.” You’d think a project that size would warrant a few basic facts — maybe how much the city will actually collect each year in taxes. Instead, the press release just promised “millions.” Millions of what? Smiles? Headaches?

That vagueness isn’t an oversight. It’s a strategy. These companies know once real numbers hit daylight, the spell breaks. Nobody likes realizing they’ve traded a decade of tax relief for a windowless cube that doesn’t even buy a cup of coffee at the local diner.

I’ve lived long enough to know a hustle when I see one. And this one’s got the whole choreography down. Promise jobs. Whisper “sustainability.” Hide behind an NDA. Watch the mayor grin for the cameras. Then build your data fortress, lock the doors, and send the profits straight to Silicon Valley.

Cities call it “economic development.” That’s generous. It’s more like a high-tech storage unit we’re paying to keep.

A data center doesn’t sponsor the youth hockey team. It doesn’t grab a burger after the Friday game. It doesn’t walk into City Hall unless something breaks. It just hums — forever — while locals keep footing the tax bill for schools, parks, and potholes.

And when the numbers don’t add up, there’s always a new word for the same old game. Minnesota lawmakers even created a “fee” for big data centers — two to five million bucks a year based on peak power demand. It’s not a tax, mind you. Heaven forbid. Just a “fee.” You can waive a fee. You can negotiate a fee. That’s why they love it.

If these projects were the jackpots we’re told, they wouldn’t need lawyers to rename the taxes.

Let’s be honest: we’re not competing with Iowa. We’re competing with our own gullibility.

Developers dangle a future full of servers and sensors, and we drool like it’s 1956 and U.S. Steel’s hiring again. We can’t resist the old line: “This time, it’s different.”

No, it’s not.

We’ve seen taconite. We’ve seen timber. We’ve seen call centers and ethanol and every shiny thing that came with a consultant’s promise of “jobs, growth, and stability.” The moment the subsidies dry up, they ghost.

And when they do, we’re left with another sealed building and a fading sign that says “NextEra Data Solutions” or “Northern Cloud Campus.” Then we start the next dance with the next suitor.

So here’s a simple suggestion. The next time someone shows up in your council chambers waving an artist’s rendering and saying the word “innovation” every other sentence, ask them four questions:

How many permanent jobs after construction?

What’s the annual property-tax payment, in dollars?

What breaks are you getting, and for how long?

And how much water and power will you drain from my town every year?

If they won’t answer straight, show them the door.

Because here’s the truth the brochures won’t print: these things can hum anywhere. They pick us because we’re polite, cheap, and eager to feel important again. We’ve spent decades trying to replace the factory whistles that used to tell us who we were. The tech guys figured that out and turned it into a business model.

The irony? The “cloud” they sell us is just somebody else’s server rack running on our dime. The electricity comes from our grid. The roads to reach it are our asphalt. The silence afterward — that’s ours too.

What we’re buying isn’t progress. It’s the illusion of relevance.

And when the last server light flickers off — maybe thirty years from now, when the next miracle technology comes along — the suits will move on, leaving us with another empty box and another story about what might’ve been.

The old fellas at the café won’t need a study to understand it. They’ve seen this dance too many times before.

They’ll sip their burnt coffee, shake their heads, and say what they always say when the next “big thing” blows through town:

“Should’ve just built another rink.”

DULUTH — ALLETE Inc. and its acquisition partners have reached an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce that promises immediate cost savings for Minnesota Power customers and expanded benefits for communities, the company announced Thursday.

The settlement agreement comes as ALLETE seeks regulatory approval for its proposed sale to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). With the deal in place, the Department of Commerce, which represents the public interest in utility matters, has determined the acquisition is “consistent with the public interest” and is recommending approval by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

“We are steadfast in our commitment to providing excellent service to our customers, supporting our communities and meeting the policy goals of the State of Minnesota, and we are pleased to have reached an agreement that will deliver enhanced benefits for our customers, our employees and the communities we serve,” said ALLETE Chair, President and CEO Bethany Owen. “This agreement demonstrates our commitment to listening and working collaboratively with our stakeholders, and we’ve appreciated the close collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to address matters raised by the Department and others through this process.”

Owen added, “The strong and growing local support we’ve received reflects a shared understanding that this transaction is the right step forward for Minnesota Power. With increasing clean energy and infrastructure needs now and well into the future, partnering with the two experienced, long-term investors we’ve chosen is crucial to advancing our company’s commitment to building a clean-energy future and achieving the state’s carbon reduction goals, while safeguarding reliable power and keeping customer bills as low as possible.”

The Department of Commerce joins a roster of organizations supporting the transaction, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 31, several other labor unions, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, local Duluth and Hermantown chambers, Energy CENTS Coalition and Head of the Lakes United Way.

“We are pleased with today’s announcement by the Minnesota Department of Commerce in support of the proposed transaction, which further ensures the needs of customers, communities and employees will continue to be at the center of ALLETE’s mission,” said Jonathan Bram, founding partner of Global Infrastructure Partners. “Given our long-term track record of successfully investing in high-performing critical infrastructure, we look forward to partnering with ALLETE’s management team to build a stronger foundation for Minnesota’s energy future.”

“The Minnesota Department of Commerce’s endorsement affirms that our partnership will create lasting value for customers and communities,” said James Bryce, managing director and head of infrastructure at CPP Investments. “By combining our long-term capital and sector expertise with ALLETE’s strong management team, we will help ensure Minnesota Power continues to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity today while advancing its transition to a sustainable, clean energy future.”

According to the settlement agreement, Minnesota Power customers would see a one-year base rate freeze and a reduction in the utility’s authorized Return on Equity from 9.78% to 9.65% following the transaction close, moves intended to deliver direct savings on bills. The pact also includes enforceable service quality and system reliability metrics, guaranteed funding for the company’s five-year capital plan, and the creation of a $50 million investor-funded Clean Firm Technology Fund to advance local energy projects.

ALLETE and its partners also agreed to establish a holding company structure that will help protect customers from risks tied to non-utility business ventures. Under the new arrangement, six members of the 14-seat board of directors will be independent, with several directors from Minnesota and Wisconsin to ensure strong regional influence.

The settlement builds on previously announced commitments by ALLETE, CPP Investments and GIP to retain ALLETE’s workforce and current compensation levels, honor and extend union contracts with IBEW Local 31, maintain ALLETE’s headquarters in Duluth with Bethany Owen continuing as CEO, and keep the existing management team in place. Additionally, CPP Investments and GIP plan to fund up to $3.5 million in residential customer arrearage forgiveness to help eligible low-income households.

Following the transaction close, Minnesota Power will remain locally managed and regulated by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, and transaction costs are not expected to impact customer rates. The proposed acquisition, which has already received approval from ALLETE shareholders, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, is expected to close in 2025, pending MPUC review.

More details are available at www.alleteforward.com.

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Playhouse will bring the hit Broadway production "Legally Blonde The Musical" to the NorShor Theatre from July 10-26.

Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the popular film, the musical follows Elle Woods, a fashionable sorority student who enrolls at Harvard Law School after a breakup and discovers her own strengths while challenging stereotypes about who she is and what she can achieve.

Stevie Deaun stars as Elle Woods, leading a cast that includes Aaron J. Dumalag as Emmett Forrest, Alex McLemore as Warner Huntington III, Grace Brinkert as Vivienne Kensington, Zoe Koep as Paulette Buonofonte and Sean Ryan Naughton as Professor Callahan.

Directed and choreographed by Ali Morooney with music direction by Amanda Weis, the production features music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin and a book by Heather Hach.

Performances are scheduled Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the NorShor Theatre. Audio-described and American Sign Language-interpreted performances also are planned.

Tickets are on sale through the Duluth Playhouse box office and online at DuluthPlayhouse.org.

Founded in 1914, Duluth Playhouse is one of the nation's oldest nonprofit theaters and produces year-round theatrical programming in northeastern Minnesota.

Duluth Playhouse is thrilled to present the Minnesota premiere of Home, I’m Darling, running May 23 - June 1, 2025 at the NorShor Theatre. This razor-sharp, Olivier Award-winning comedy by Laura Wade pulls back the gingham curtains on one couple’s seemingly perfect life. 

The house is immaculate, the martinis are chilled, and Judy’s dress is freshly pressed–just in time to greet Johnny at the door with a smile. Life in their 1950s dream home is sweet, stylish, and carefully curated. There’s just one catch… it’s not actually the 1950s. As Judy and Johnny devote themselves to a lifestyle straight out of a vintage magazine–complete with deviled eggs, mid-century furniture, and picturesque domestic bliss–the cracks begin to show. This delightful yet dark comedy will have audiences laughing while reflecting on the complexities of relationships and the risks of longing for a bygone era in the modern world.

“Home, I’m Darling does a wonderful job of asking its audience to still be engaged in these characters’ lives even after the curtain call—which I find incredibly compelling,” says director Mary Fox. “I believe this show opens up a lifeline—or a portal, a REMINDER if you will—on how to reconnect, what it means to feel human, and how to rediscover love and self-worth. It’s about identity, happiness, and the drastic choices we make to feel whole. How far would you go for happiness?”

Jess Hughes, recently seen on the NorShor stage as Madame in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella, will bring sharp comedic timing and emotional depth to the role of Judy. Her husband Johnny is played by Sean Naughton, who also happens to be Hughes’s husband offstage–bringing an added layer of intimacy and complexity to this sharply drawn portrait of a marriage under pressure. They’re joined by an ensemble of Duluth favorites, including Alyson Enderle as Fran, Zachary Stofer as Marcus, Olivia Nelson as Alex, and Julie Ahasay as Sylvia.

Wade’s play brilliantly captures the tension between personal choice and societal expectation, asking audiences to consider what we gain—and what we lose—when we try to live in a world that no longer exists.

-- Press release

Rising country music star Sydney Hansen of Duluth posted the following on her Facebook page today: "To be a part of the 9th Annual Josie Music Awards at the Grand Ole Opry this year was absolutely incredible! Although I didn't win, I won big time!! To be a nominee for 'Modern Country Vocalist of the Year' was an honor on its own, being recognized among all of the talented indie artists in my category. A wonderful experience to say the least from the red carpet to being in the pews of the Opry."

Hermantown will begin the 2026 fall sports season with championship expectations, not rebuilding excuses.

The Hawks have one of Minnesota’s best running backs, a football team capable of winning Section 7, Class 4A, a girls cross-country program returning nearly everyone from a section championship lineup and enough proven talent in soccer and volleyball to make another busy postseason seem more likely than hopeful.

Official practices begin Monday, Aug. 17, for Minnesota State High School League fall sports. Girls tennis can begin competition Aug. 20, most other sports Aug. 27. Hermantown’s football opener is Sept. 4 at Duluth Denfeld. 

Every preseason evaluation requires a qualifier. Rosters are not final, younger players will emerge during practice and injuries or other circumstances can change the outlook quickly. The returning players listed here are athletes who were underclassmen last fall and remain publicly expected to be eligible this season.

Football will command the most attention because Hermantown has the pieces to take back its section. The Hawks finished 8-2 last fall, scored 430 points and reached the section championship before Grand Rapids ended their season with a decisive 41-0 victory. The Thunderhawks defeated Hermantown twice by a combined 75-20, leaving little question about which program owned the section in 2025.

That is precisely why the Oct. 2 rematch at Grand Rapids is the game everyone will circle.

Senior halfback Martin Sleen returns after rushing for 1,908 yards and 29 touchdowns as a junior, averaging nearly 12 yards per carry despite being the first player identified in every opponent’s defensive game plan. He is one of the best high school running backs in Minnesota, with the speed to score from anywhere and enough strength to run through poor tackling angles.

Owen Simonson gives Hermantown another physical back, while Ethan McCubbin, Jordan Wilcox, Nathan Haedrich and Fletcher Wrazidlo are proven two-way contributors. Wrazidlo recorded 125 tackles last season and should again be the centerpiece of the defense. Lane Holden, Neo Carlson, Grant Sharrow, Lek Paczynski and Jacob Marquardt provide size and experience along the line of scrimmage. 

The significant uncertainty is senior quarterback Sawyer Senst, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. Senst completed 45 of 83 passes for 709 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions last season and added six rushing touchdowns. He hopes to return for the opener, but hope and medical clearance are two different things. His recovery should not be rushed to satisfy a football calendar. 

If Senst returns healthy, Hermantown should be considered a legitimate section championship contender. Until the Hawks prove they can match Grand Rapids physically, however, the Thunderhawks remain the favorite. Hermantown has the star power, experience and improved line play to close that gap. Its challenge is developing the edge required to finish the job.

The strongest Hermantown team may be girls cross-country.

The Hawks won the Lake Superior Conference and Section 7AA championships last fall before placing 10th among 16 teams at the Class AA state meet. Better yet, their leading runners were all underclassmen. Ferrah LaLone, Nora Lucarelli, Kenzie Davis and Zoey Lucarelli finished among the top 10 at sections, while Kara Holst, Avery Beranek and Morgan Panichi completed a remarkably deep lineup.

LaLone placed 50th at state in 19 minutes, 47.5 seconds. She enters her senior season as a three-time All-Lake Superior Conference first-team selection. Nora Lucarelli was only a seventh-grader last fall, while Davis and Zoey Lucarelli were eighth-graders. This is not merely a team positioned to defend its conference and section championships. It is a group capable of climbing substantially from last year’s 10th-place state finish.

On the boys side, Cooper Lucarelli returns for his senior season after qualifying for state for the second consecutive year. He finished fourth at sections in 16:28.6 and 42nd at state in a personal-best 16:26. Matthew Strukel provides another experienced senior runner, and the Hawks have a young group that could begin turning individual strength into improved team results.

Boys soccer must replace significant production, but the Hawks are hardly starting over. Hermantown finished 9-5-4 overall and 7-1-3 in the Lake Superior Conference before losing 4-2 to eventual champion Duluth Marshall in the Section 7A semifinals.

Hunter Nelson graduated after producing 14 goals and 13 assists, an enormous departure from the attack. Defender Quinn Andrews, Brennan Malmstrom and several other experienced seniors also are gone. The good news is that Quinn Raukar returns after matching Nelson with 14 goals and adding five assists. Senior goalkeeper Ethan Aysta also returns after making 151 saves with an .839 save percentage in 18 appearances.

Jack Johnson had five assists last season, Parker Clennon contributed two goals and four assists, and Eyan Winkelman, Liam Sundell, Keegan Bradley, Kestan Bradley, Owen Dennee and Emmett McDonald provide experience throughout the lineup. The Hawks will not replace Nelson with one player, but Raukar and Aysta give them established standouts at the two most important ends of the field.

The girls soccer team presents a different evaluation. Its 7-9-2 record looked ordinary, but its postseason was anything but ordinary. The fifth-seeded Hawks defeated North Branch 3-1 and stunned top-seeded Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 1-0 before losing 1-0 in overtime at Grand Rapids in the Section 7AA championship. It was Hermantown’s second consecutive appearance in the section final.

Graduation removed a strong senior group led by Avea Harriman, Brooke Wiese, Cambriia Thomas, Danika Bolf, Claire Niksich, Gianna Schinigoi and Mya Gunderson. The rebuild begins with senior forward Bryden Giesen, who scored six goals last season and delivered the winner against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton. Vienna Kolenda returns after recording three goals and a team-high six assists.

Goalkeeper Lucy Critchley received valuable experience while sharing the position with Thomas and made eight second-half saves in the section semifinal. Riley Holmgren, Audrina Daniels, Eilee Gunderson, McKenna Johnson, Payton Holt and promising young attacker Harper Nelson give the Hawks enough returning structure to remain competitive. Still, replacing that many experienced seniors will require patience, particularly early in the season. 

Volleyball may be positioned for the largest improvement. The Hawks were young and inconsistent last fall, showing flashes of high-level play but never sustaining it long enough. Their season ended with a 3-1 loss at Cloquet in the Section 7AAA quarterfinals.

Most of the important pieces return. Senior Sophie Schulz was a second-team All-Lake Superior Conference selection, while junior Lilah Conley received honorable mention. Conley emerged as a productive two-way player who could score at the net and handle substantial defensive responsibility. Setter Anna Bergerson, Audra Schott, Kylee Stokke, Kadyn Kimpling, Kenzie Zagelmeyer and Riley Woinarowicz also gained extensive varsity experience.

The question is no longer whether Hermantown has enough talent. It does. The question is whether a year older will mean a year more consistent. If the Hawks pass well, reduce empty rotations and develop another reliable finisher alongside Schulz and Conley, they should advance beyond last season’s early playoff exit. 

Girls tennis faces a more substantial transition after a senior-heavy roster ended its season with a section playoff loss to Hibbing. Evie Sullivan, Rylee Kalkbrenner, Sophia Piede and other veteran players occupied prominent positions in the singles and doubles lineups, leaving coach Jessica Worden with several important openings.

The Hawks are not without experience. Alee DeVlieger and Nevie Homich played regularly in singles, while Chloe Gustafson and Jillian Ritsche formed a productive doubles combination. Rylie Giesen, Cadence Godmare and several younger players also received varsity opportunities late in the season. Hermantown may not possess last year’s senior depth, but its younger players will not be encountering varsity tennis for the first time. 

Hermantown athletes also compete with Proctor in girls swimming and diving. Grand Rapids won the 2025 Section 7A championship with 313 points, followed by Two Harbors with 297, and the section appears more open after several leading swimmers graduated.

Proctor-Hermantown returns senior Laney Gunderson, who placed fourth in both the 200-yard individual medley and 100 butterfly at sections. Senior Samantha Herron placed sixth in the 200 and 500 freestyle races. They give the co-op two dependable scorers, although additional depth must develop for it to challenge Grand Rapids, Two Harbors and Mesabi East. 

That is the broad Hermantown picture entering 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. Girls soccer must replace a substantial senior class but has become a postseason problem nobody should dismiss. Boys cross-country, girls tennis and the swimming co-op have established leaders around whom younger lineups can develop.