Duluth Mayor Emily Larson on Thursday is expected to announce the Love Your Block mini-grant recipients for the remainder of 2023.
The Love Your Block program supplies small mini-grants to support resident-led projects that reduce blight in the Lincoln Park and Central Hillside Neighborhoods.
Love Your Block is part of a rich tapestry of current efforts by agencies, organizations and individuals to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for all Duluthians.
In 2025, for instance, they raised the levy by 1.85 percent but declared it a “0 percent” year for current taxpayers because new development supposedly absorbed the increase. But that’s a shell game. The levy still grew by nearly $800,000.
The city expects test results over the weekend and will share updates when available.
“From streets and utilities to parks and libraries, housing, public safety and economic development, the inaugural resident survey will shape decisions that impact every Duluthian.” -- Mayor Roger Reinert
"After reviewing the City’s finances, community needs, and individual economic realities, I have proposed a 2.7% inflation-only maximum levy for 2026." -- Reinert
Duluth has a plan. The question now is whether it has the guts — and the will — to knock down the roadblocks standing in the way.
Downtown won’t be saved by consultants, binders or cheerleaders. It will be saved when Duluth faces its most challenging problem — the needles, the psychotic breaks, the encampments in doorways — and chooses to act rather than avert its eyes.
The Imagine Downtown Duluth plan admits that downtowns are not guaranteed. Across the Midwest, cities are racing to reinvent themselves, and Duluth risks falling behind.
