Category: Real Stories North

There is a proverb that says “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and some days it seems as if we’ve arrived at our destination.  For decades we’ve seen innovations and recommendations to protect us and our children from physical pain, from seatbelts and bike helmets to mouthguards and knee pads to crib…

A local commercial property owner, frustrated and ignored by the City of Duluth, reached out to share their story.  The property owner owns and manages several properties in Duluth, as well as throughout the Midwest. Again and again, it’s the properties in their hometown of Duluth that create the most issues. As the sunrises, so…

It’s an all too familiar story.  A new child at school is ruthlessly harassed by bullies time and again.  No matter who the child tells, no action is taken – no discipline doled out.  No one in an authority position cares. Of course, the new kid isn’t perfect: they call names, exaggerate, get loud, but…

2020.  The year opened with such potential – the first year in a new decade… the country on an economic high… even 20-20 is synonymous with “perfect vision” – how could anything go wrong? You know how they say “Make plans and God laughs”? He must have really been rolling on the floor with this…

2020 has been rough on everyone and Duluth is certainly feeling the effects.  If the big man in red could find Duluth on the “good list” this is what we’d ask for: A reprieve from COVID from those who have lived and breathed it for the last 9 months – the doctors, nurses, long-term care…

Rumors abound that the President of the Minneapolis City Council, Lisa Bender, the voice and face of the Defund the Police movement (whether she likes it or not), is moving to Duluth.  The instant gut reaction this burps up is something I learned from an experience while fundraising for an elementary school walk-a-thon decades ago,…

This week a group of leaders in Duluth’s hospitality industry drafted a letter to the DECC and Visit Duluth Boards of Directors to share their concerns with the boards’ push to merge the DECC and Visit Duluth (VD). Both organizations are struggling due to the pandemic and members of the Board of Directors for both…

Remember when “you’ve been exposed” meant someone found out you messed up and the most you had to worry about was dying of embarrassment?  Now when “you’ve been exposed” your life comes to a screeching halt and the worst-case scenario could be a battle with the deadly version of the Coronavirus.  As the case count…

Nearly 75 years ago, following a rash of labor protests that turned violent between laborers and the police/private security, the United States Congress came together to approve the Taft-Hartley Act (also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947), over the veto of President Truman.  The bi-partisan act presented by a Republican-controlled Congress and significantly…

You’ve seen the memes, the doormats, and the hand-painted wall décor reminding you to be grateful. You’ve seen the #blessed social media posts, maybe you even attempted a gratitude journal. Being actively grateful can be a challenge and it’s definitely something you have to practice.  Add a year like 2020 to the mix and feeling…