Duluth's homegrown columnist. Since 1971.
Editor & Publisher of HowieHanson.com
I write about power, business, sports and civic life in Duluth and across Minnesota. My columns examine the people making decisions, the organizations behind those decisions and what their choices mean for the communities they serve.
My journalism career began in 1971 at the Cloquet Pine Knot. More than five decades later, I'm still reporting and writing from Duluth. I publish HowieHanson.com, an independent site built around original columns, local reporting and Minnesota sports coverage.
My work combines reporting, analysis and commentary. I believe in checking facts, asking direct questions and giving readers enough information to make up their own minds. My reporting and opinions are mine, and I stand behind the words I publish.
I welcome story ideas, questions, corrections and tips from readers. Email is the best way to reach me.
Email: GuyHowieHanson@gmail.com
The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce has named Jim Roche its interim president while the organization searches for a permanent leader. Roche recently retired
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a 10-part series examining the Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey program entering the 2026-27 season.
The most important result of the Indoor Football League’s championship weekend was settled before the Arizona Rattlers and Green Bay Blizzard took the
Hibbing/Chisholm defenseman named 2026-27 Howie Prep Hockey Preseason Player of the Year
St. Louis County Public Works and the city of Duluth are partnering on the project, which will eventually reconstruct nearly a half-mile of 40th Avenue West and add a mini roundabout at Grand Avenue. The city also will replace utilities beneath 40th Avenue West as part of the project.
Duluth does not have one governmentwide financial crisis. It has a school district in a precarious position and a city government that is beginning to encounter some of the same cost-versus-revenue pressures.
Plante has already given UMD a great season, another Hobey and a place back among the country’s serious programs. What he has not yet delivered is the one thing that would separate his Bulldogs career from nearly every other individual masterpiece.
The Bulldogs’ championship window is open because they have Max Plante, high-end talent and unusual roster continuity. It is believable because Sandelin is still standing behind the bench.
Championship opportunities are temporary, particularly now. Max Plante will not remain at UMD forever. Neither will Zam Plante, Shaugabay or Hanson. Professional hockey will come calling, and the roster eventually will be pulled apart by the realities of the sport.
Through his first two varsity seasons, Swanson has amassed 49 goals, 68 assists and 117 points. He will enter his junior season as a centerpiece of a Bluejackets program expected to contend for another deep postseason run.
GOOD READ / The Trump Order Was Donald Trump merely a president — or did he fundamentally reorder American politics? For nearly a decade, much of
The agency lowered the Duluth's issuer rating and several debt ratings from A3 to Baa2. Moody’s also reduced the rating on the district’s annual appropriation certificates of participation from Baa1 to Baa3. The district had about $184 million in outstanding debt as of October 2025.
"All signs, including the huge turnout in Tuesday's DFL primary, point to a strong year for Democrats in Minnesota. If that proves to be the case, then Senator Klobuchar should have a smooth path to the governor's office." -- Former Duluth city councilor Joel Sipress
Murray, who turned 29 on Friday, signed a one-year contract with Minnesota in March after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
GOOD WATCH: Duke Skorich's Personal Meeting Room, talking regional politics. . . . BREAKING SPORTS: St. Scholastica athletics director Jessica Cherry announced Kyle Yost as
Jim Oberstar understood that roads connected workers to jobs, airports connected employers to markets, ports connected Minnesota resources to the world and research connected traditional industries to new possibilities -- that northern Minnesota could remain strong only if it remained connected.
Financial need alone will not carry two operating referendum questions across the finish line Nov. 3. The district must confront a trust issue that has accumulated over two decades and explain why voters should believe the next 10-year, $103 million plan be better than the plans that preceded it.
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.
That is the broad Hermantown picture entering training camp starting Aug. 17. Football and girls cross-country should expect to contend for section championships. Boys soccer and volleyball return enough proven talent to make deep playoff runs realistic.
The council is not an advisory committee to the mayor. It is a separate branch of city government, obligated to scrutinize administrative proposals, protect public money and represent residents whose voices cannot be heard from behind the closed doors of City Hall.
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 Sentinels now have returning captains, increasing roster depth and a championship-tested young core. The next objective is to prove that last spring’s breakthrough in Alexandria was the beginning of something sustainable.
The tournament has carried Anderson's legacy forward by bringing together many of the people he influenced as a coach, golf professional, teammate, competitor and friend. His wife, Nancy, and children Aaron, Jennifer and Julie are included in the first group on this year’s pairing sheet.
DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center will celebrate its 60th anniversary by opening its waterfront campus for free public tours from 5 to
