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Top Columns

  1. Howie: Duluth schools want $103 million, but voters deserve an accounting first
  2. Howie: Hermantown football has the enthusiasm. Now comes the evidence.
  3. Hermantown girls soccer turns section final disappointment into early-season motivation
  4. Scott Sandelin remains the foundation of Bulldog hockey
  5. Howie: Duluth Schools’ referendum will rise or fall on trust
  6. City of Duluth labor deals collide with 1% growth, squeezing the 2027 budget
  7. My latest book: Minnesota 2050
  8. Duluth searches for budget ‘bloat,’ but labor costs dominate projected shortfall
  9. Howie: The Monsters have unfinished business
  10. The newspaper that started it all
  11. The AI detector economy is chasing the wrong story
  12. Howie: Downtown Duluth's next chapter will be built with trust.
  13. Don Ness and the reinvention of Duluth
  14. Duluth's civic theatre at 6 and 10 p.m.

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Hermantown Sports Notebook

Hermantown delivered a three-sport statement Friday night, with the Hawks’ boys hockey, boys basketball and girls basketball teams all turning in convincing wins. The Class A top-ranked Hawks hockey team knocked off host Maple Grove 7-4. Defenseman Gabe Swenson had five assists. Bryce Francisco stopped 25 shots

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2 MIN READ

Michigan, Albany and Washington add players

Several teams across AF1 continued to reshape their rosters Thursday, adding depth through signings at multiple positions. Michigan led the activity, adding four players across offense and defense. The Wolverines signed Joel Blankenship, a 6-foot-1, 250-pound fullback and linebacker from Southern Illinois, and wide receiver Arron Foulkes,

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1 MIN READ

Obit: Tim MacDonald

Tim MacDonald, 68, of Duluth – lifelong resident of Lakewood, died peacefully in his home on December 15, 2015. Tim married Sharon (Jones), who he loved endlessly, on July 7th, 1979. Together, they raised two beautiful daughters, Jessica (Bob) and Mandi. Tim and Sharon just moved to their dream home on

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1 MIN READ

Michigan adds linemen, wide receiver

Michigan continued to add depth across its roster Wednesday, announcing the signings of four players who bolster the defensive line, linebacker corps and wide receiver room. Doug Malcolm, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound defensive lineman from Albion College, joins the Arsenal as one of the largest additions up front.

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1 MIN READ
Howie: Monsters to move to Amsoil
DECC Marketing Director Lucie Amundsen introduced Minnesota Monsters minority owner and general manager Steve Walters at a press event on Thursday at Amsoil Arena. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Monsters to move to Amsoil

Duluth has always supported teams that show up honestly and invest consistently. The formula hasn’t changed. Don’t overpromise. Don’t disappear when things get hard. Build something people can recognize as theirs. When that happens, this city responds — not with blind loyalty, but with earned trust.

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5 MIN READ
Howie: Hermantown blitzes Denfeld, 9-2
Hermantown senior assistant captain Ford Skytta. Guy Meeker / HermantownNews.com

Howie: Hermantown blitzes Denfeld, 9-2

Denfeld had seen this movie before. Hermantown coach Patrick Andrews reminded his team before the Lake Superior Conference game that the Heritage Center has been tricky for his team in recent years — ties, slow starts, even a three-goal hole a season ago. This time, there was no messing around.

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5 MIN READ
St. Louis County Board approves $564 million budget for 2026

St. Louis County Board approves $564 million budget for 2026

By Dana Kazel The St. Louis County Board today approved its 2026 budget at $564,403,199. The budget ensures stability in the delivery of the county's broad range of services, including public safety, roads and bridges, public health and human services and general government while also factoring

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2 MIN READ

Red-hot Hermantown to visit Duluth Denfeld on Tuesday night

Four-time Minnesota Class A boys hockey state champion Hermantown closed a demanding stretch of its schedule with its most complete performance Saturday night, scoring four unanswered goals in the third period to pull away for a 7-3 victory over nonconference Rosemount at Hermantown Arena. The Hawks led 3-

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3 MIN READ

Hawks Sports Events This Week

Monday, Dec. 15 Hermantown’s boys eighth-grade basketball team plays at Ordean East Middle School at 4:30 p.m. The girls C basketball team hosts Superior at Hermantown Middle School at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16 The Proctor/Hermantown boys varsity Nordic skiing team competes against Grand

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2 MIN READ
Howie: Will C.J. Ham retire after this season?
C.J. Ham and his wife Stephanie at a the 2024 Walter Peyton Man of the Year event, where he was a finalist. The Friendly West End native is a finalist again in 2025. C.J. Ham's Facebook page

Howie: Will C.J. Ham retire after this season?

Ham will show up somewhere that needs someone dependable, respected, and comfortable doing the hard work without applause. Which, if we’re being honest, means he’ll still fit right in around here.

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6 MIN READ

2026 Top-10 Not-Too-Early 50 Yard Football Rankings

1. Vegas Knight Hawks (IFL) 2. Albany Firebirds (AF1) 3. Green Bay Blizzard (IFL) 4. Nashville Kats (AF1) 5. Arizona Rattlers (IFL) 6. Minnesota Monsters (AF1) 7. Fishers Freight (IFL) 8. Orlando Pirates (IFL) 9. Quad City Steamwheelers (IFL) 10. Tulsa Oilers (IFL) "Vegas has to be considered the

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1 MIN READ
Howie: Hughes trade, DECC to host World Junior Championship exhibitions
Amsoil Arena. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Hughes trade, DECC to host World Junior Championship exhibitions

This is a bet that Hughes ages cleanly, that his body cooperates, that the cap continues to rise, and that the surrounding cast can be managed without suffocation. It’s a bet that Minnesota can finally pull off the superstar contract that doesn’t end in regret.

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6 MIN READ