The Cloquet community has a long history of having family-friendly events around major holidays in their community. Labor Day is no exception where the city has a large parade and family-friendly events at Veterans Park. Except this is 2020 and like all things 2020 this year would be different. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic,…
Veterans Honor First Responders, ask for Unity at 9/11 Event
A local Duluth veterans group, Veterans United for Freedom, hosted a 9/11 event honoring first responders at the American Legion on Grand Avenue on September 11th. Neill Atkins, Head of Ceremony, lead the event which featured speakers, food, and a musical performance by popular Duluth musician, Sydney Hanson. The event brought together Duluthians looking to…
Emily: Unmasked
On a sunny Duluth day, St. Louis County Commissioner Frank Jewell and Mayor Emily Larson found themselves in behind the DECC, aboard the Russian tall ship Pilgrim from Duluth’s sister city, Petrozavodsk located in NW Russia. Jewell immortalized and shared the moment with a photo of Emily and the Russian crew on his Facebook page….
Local Veteran Group Plans First Responder Event for 9/11
Veterans United for Freedom, a group of local veterans, have announced a thank-you event for first responders at the West Duluth American Legion Post 71 parking lot on Friday, September 11. The family-friendly event starts at 6 PM and is open to the public. BBQ will be available from Post 71 to support area veterans….
Duluth: So Quiet You Can Hear a Pistol Pop
When it comes to the City of Duluth leaders speaking out about the recent gun violence in our city, you can almost make out the sound of crickets between the pistol pops. In the last week, 5 shots fired/shootings have been reported in Duluth, with the most recent happening last night. In the past month…
Snow Emergency Signs and Safety bypassed for ½% Road Tax Signs.
Last fall the Duluth City council passed an ordinance to add 2,800 Snow Emergency Route signs to 120 miles of Duluth’s roadways to fix what the Duluth’s Director of Public Works & Utilities, Jim Benning, said in a Duluth News Tribune article last December was, a “broken snow emergency system… so confusing and ineffective that…
Cloquet School Board Spends Big on Nepotism
During their regularly scheduled board meeting, the Cloquet School Board had an agenda item that was seemingly benign, but upon further inspection doesn’t bode well for one board member up for re-election. The agenda item in question was about spouses of board members working for the district. According to the rule provided during the school…
No Party for Non-Partisan Races
Endorsements are an important part of running for office, but local races – like those for city council, mayor, and county commissioner in most places, (including Duluth/St. Louis County) are supposed to remain non-partisan. The National League of Cities explains that proponents for non-partisan local elections feel political parties are irrelevant to providing services and…
Local Teacher Unions May Try to Hold School Openings Hostage
As students and families prepare to go back to school this fall around the country there is much uncertainty surrounding back-to-school during the COVID pandemic. Across the nation, different school districts are adopting different plans on how to go back to school. Some schools will resume in-person learning, some schools will continue distance learning via…
Half Asleep in a “Woke” World?
In a “woke” world, was Mayor Emily Larson half asleep last week when she tweeted a link to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1965 message to congress, “The American Promise”? The message preceded the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark federal legislation that prohibits racial discrimination in voting and while the speech was certainly one…