During her State of the City address this week, Mayor Emily Larson, decided it was appropriate to call out a longtime local business and large employer, Spectrum (Charter), for “holding the community hostage” during the pandemic. Larson said “Spectrum even raised prices in a pandemic – and this community, held hostage, had no choice but…
Anything Goes at Camp Larson
This past week a few photos of a homeless encampment near the Fitger’s Complex created a stir on social media. In the photos, you see the small grassy area surrounded by concrete littered with tarps, cardboard boxes, blankets, garbage, and a pretty official-looking sign that says “Camp Larson”. The sign, a joke, calling out the…
McEwen’s Minimum Wage Murders Business
Earlier this month, Duluth area State Senator for District 7, Jen McEwen introduced Bill SF 2031 to the Minnesota House. The bill is a reworked version of the bill that was used to increase Minnesota’s minimum wage to $9.50 a few years back. McEwen’s version of the bill states that large employees with an annual…
Words to Fight for
The other day the national news reported that a private school in New York City presented an 18-page list of words that are no longer acceptable in their school. Of course, there were also replacement words included in the listing. Among the no longer acceptable words were gender-specific words like MOTHER, FATHER, SON, DAUGHTER, GRANDFATHER,…
Cuomo: Oops! Time for [Another] Scandal
The consistent presence of Andrew Cuomo on the news throughout the pandemic and especially in the last few months might give the impression that he is more than “just” the Governor of New York. An interesting side effect of the pandemic and Trump Administration is that so many barely known political names are now prominent…
Danger Downtown
Last Friday, a Duluth woman experienced an all too common close call at Fond-Du-Luth Casino in Downtown Duluth. As she was leaving the casino around 10 pm, she shared that she “was nearly robbed of [her] purse” in the parking lot on the 2nd-floor ramp, adjacent to the building. She explained in a Facebook post,…
The Boy Who Cried Profiling
Almost as quickly as the phrase “fake news” popped up into our vocabulary four years ago, in the last month it has seemed to have disappeared. The snarky comeback to any news story one doesn’t agree with may have faded away, but actual “fake news” is still making headlines. Social media has given a soapbox…
Minnesota is Failing Kids
Last week, the Minnesota House Representative for Blaine, Minnesota, Nolan West, shared a series of tweets made by Minneapolis-based writer, Ann Bauer. Ann had observed a Zoom meeting between parents in an unnamed, well-off Minnesota school district and their DFL MN Senator. The screenshots of the tweets can be seen below, but the gist is…
Dealing with Pandemic Pain
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 Day in the Life of a Downtown Property Owner
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…