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DECC Prepares for All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner

DULUTH, Minn. – There are many traditions to Grandma’s Marathon, and one of them is tastier than others. The kitchen staff at the DECC is getting ready for their annual Michelina’s All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner. A 10-person crew is preparing 2,400 pounds of spaghetti, 5,000 pounds of sauce, 2,500 pounds of meatballs, 360 pounds of lettuce, and 25 pounds of basil. “I…

Scott Anderson Leadership Forum Taking Place

DULUTH, Minn. – An annual program is teaching leadership skills to a select group of high school students this week. The Scott Anderson Leadership Forum has brought 120 students from 14 Minnesota schools to the College of Saint Scholastica, taking part in building exercises, listening to speakers, and performing community service projects. The forum is named after Anderson, a Duluth resident…

Park Point Beach To Have Full Lifeguard Crew This Summer

DULUTH, Minn. – Park Point Beach will have a full lifeguard crew through the summer season. “We’re starting with a clean slate,” says Cheryl Podtburg, Risk and Safety Manager for the Duluth Area Family YMCA. There were concerns if there would be any lifeguards in early April when the YMCA announced no one had applied. This changed after additional searching was…

145 Years Strong: Celebrating June Dairy Month at Four Cubs Farm

GRANTSBURG, Wis. – June is Dairy Month in Wisconsin, an annual recognition for those who help feed people all over the world. For one farm near Grantsburg, Four Cubs Farm, their livelihood of raising cows has been in the family since 1877.  The same year they were homesteaded is the same year Thomas Edison invented the phonograph. “We’re farming some of…

Duluth Monarch Buddies Host Workshop

DULUTH, Minn. – A community event was held today in support of pollinators and helping to increase their numbers in the northland. The Duluth Monarch Buddies hosted a marketplace at First United Methodist Church in Duluth. Several booths offered information and plants for sale that will help attract butterflies and other species that help pollinate them. The group was formed in…

Fill-A-Truck, Feed a Family Food and Fund Drive Underway

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth-Superior Transportation Association is running their “Fill-a-Truck, Feed a Family” Food and Fund Drive. Richie Rochel, Vice President of DSTA, says it’s the first time this is taking place since 2019 due to COVID.  “We’re hoping to make it the biggest year yet.  In the past we’ve raised $9,000 and 9,000 pounds of food.  We’re hoping to…

Local School District Acting to Prepare, Prevent Shootings Inside Buildings

DULUTH, Minn. – The recent mass shooting inside an elementary school building in Uvalde, Texas, the deadliest since Sandy Hook in 2012, has school districts across the country reviewing their own ways to prevent and react to similar situations.  That is also the case in the Northland. “I think it’s a heartbreaking situation for staff, for students, for families alike,” says…

Community Picnic Returning at Bong Center, Part of Memorial Day Weekend Activities

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The arrival of the Memorial Day weekend brings a reboot of a popular event at the Richard I Bong Veterans Historical Center. Their annual community picnic and military vehicle show will start at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 28.  The first one-thousand people will get a free hot dog lunch.  There will also be music, games and activities for…

St. Louis County Continues Monitoring Flooding

DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County officials are continuing to monitor the worst flooding some parts have not seen since 2014. A combination of above average spring rainfall and a late snowpack melt has led to water covering roads, buildings, and resorts along Kabetogama Lake, Crane Lake, Island Lake and the Cloquet River reservoir. “Sandbagging continues up in Kabetogama, and also…

Duluth Receives $1 Million to Remove Hazardous Materials From Former St. Louis County Jailhouse

DULUTH, Minn. – Plans to renovate the former St. Louis County Jail into housing got a financial boost from the Environmental Protection Agency. One-million dollars will be going to remove asbestos, lead paint, and other contaminants.  It part of four-and-a-half million dollars the EPA is allocating to Minnesota for Brownfields projects, most of it coming from the infrastructure bill passed last…

More Federal Funding to Help Clean Up of Spirit Lake, St. Louis River

DULUTH, Minn. – Clean up of the former U.S. Steel Duluth Works site is getting a boost in funding. $113 million from the federal infrastructure bill passed last year will go towards the complete restoration of Spirit Lake, Munger Landing, and Scanlon Reservation. A key part of the project through next year is the dredging and removal of 406-thousand cubic yards…

Italian American Club of Duluth Resume Events, Host Spaghetti Dinner

DULUTH, Minn. – Members of the Italian American Club of Duluth celebrated their first spaghetti dinner in three years Wednesday. The event at American Legion Post 71 featured plenty of spaghetti, meatballs, and salad, as well as a cash raffle.  People also had the chance to order out and take the dinner home with them. “There’s some of the members of…

Construct Tomorrow Happening at the DECC

DULUTH, Minn. – Hundreds of high school students are getting the chance this week to learn more about jobs in the trades industry at the DECC. Construct Tomorrow brings together organizations that are looking to hire young workers in fields ranging from excavating, to roofing, to painting and carpentry.  The need for new workers in the trades has been a top…

Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths Host Annual Duluth Workshop

DULUTH, Minn. Last year saw the highest number of traffic deaths in Minnesota since 2007.  One program is taking a deeper dive into the data to figure out why. More than 70 groups and people part of Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths gathered in Duluth Wednesday for the northeast region’s 12th annual workshop.  The event featured speakers with knowledge on the issues…

Former Cloquet Labor Temple Nearly Transformed Into Lofts, Office Space

CLOQUET, Minn. – The transformation is nearly complete for the former Cloquet Labor Temple into new housing units. GCL Development Group has been working on the building for the past eight months to create Union Lofts, with 10 high-end studio and one-bedroom apartments and three office spaces. This is the developer’s first project, and they appreciate the community’s support as they…

Northern Lights Express Remains Optimistic After Minnesota Senate Votes for No Funding in Next Budget

DULUTH, Minn. – Supporters of the Northern Lights Express rail project were not shocked by Monday’s vote by the Minnesota Senate to not include finding for it in the next state budget. “What happened in the Senate this week was not unexpected,” says Ken Buehler, Chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for Northern Light Express.  “We saw this coming, we’re prepared…

STARBASE Minnesota Celebrates Duluth Expansion

DULUTH, Minn. – Two years after doubling their space, STARBASE Minnesota celebrated the expansion of their Duluth facility. COVID prevented community and business partners from seeing it until Tuesday, which included a ribbon cutting and a dedication from the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce.  The over 7,000 square feet at the 148th Fighter Wing includes four classrooms and staff office space….

Drought Conditions End in Northland

DULUTH, Minn. – The persistent spring days of cold temperatures, scattered with rain and snow showers, may not be the most pleasant.  However, they have helped to eliminate all drought conditions across the Northland. For the first time in nearly two years, only a few parts of the region are abnormally dry, the lowest ranking in the drought monitor report….

Second Harvest Receives $20,000 Donation from Miller Hill Subaru

DULUTH, Minn. – Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank will be able to provide around 60-thousand meals thanks to a donation from Miller Hill Subaru. The dealership picked them as the latest local recipient of their annual “Share the Love” campaign.  When a person purchases or leases a vehicle through them, the dealership will donate $250 to one of five charities…

UW-Superior Holds 8th Annual Day of Giving

SUPERIOR, Wis. – UW-Superior’s 8th annual Superior Day of Giving took place Wednesday, one of their biggest fundraising days of the year. Alumni and anyone who wanted to help financially support the university’s various programs had the option to do so online over the 24-hour period. “This year we have a $50,000 challenge that has been offered up by a 1972…

Bus Bike Walk Month Underway in Twin Ports

DULUTH, Minn. – Earth Day was the start of the annual Bus Bike Walk Month in the Twin Ports. For over a decade Zeitgeist and their partners have been hosting a number of activities focused on these three modes of transportation. “We’re able to offer a whole bunch of different fun activities for people of all ages and abilities,” says Andrea…

Minnesota Civil Engineers Give Statewide Infrastructure a “C” Grade

DULUTH, Minn. – Minnesota’s infrastructure is mediocre and requires attention.  That’s according to members of the American Society of Civil Engineers who are from Duluth and Minnesota. They unveiled their latest report card during an event Tuesday next to the Can of Worms Infrastructure project along Lower Michigan Avenue, as well as in St. Paul.  ASCE releases these report cards every…

Duluth Public Schools Begins New Strategic Plan Process

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth School District is ready to begin the process to create a new comprehensive strategic plan. Superintendent John Magas says they hired TeamWorks International to assist them.  The approach they are taking is known as ‘schoolroom to boardroom’. “This process focuses more on first assessing on our current reality,” says Magas.  “What is our history? What are…

The Rambler Food Truck Begins New Season

DULUTH, Minn. – Another sign of spring in the Northland as The Rambler food truck had its first stop of their season Wednesday outside Cirrus. Event Coordinator Kesley Auran says they are one of the oldest food trucks in the Northland, starting in 2012.  “We love our regulars.  We love people are still finding out about us, fresh and new, so…

Decontamination Trailer Donated to Superior Fire Department, Will be Used Across Northwest Wisconsin

SUPERIOR, Wis. – A new piece of equipment will help firefighters in Superior get clean faster and easier when they are out on certain calls. Enbridge has donated a $400,000 53-foot decontamination trailer to the city.  Jeff Foster Trucking is also assisting by storing the trailer at their location, and having people available to move it to a scene when needed….

Homegrown Preparing for In Person Return, Needs More Volunteers

DULUTH, Minn. – The Twin Ports’ largest music festival is getting ready to return in person. Homegrown begins May 1 and will feature around 200 musical acts over eight days across several dozen venues in Duluth and Superior.  Executive Director Melissa LaTour says bands and performers responded well to their call for acts, which also connects to the excitement across the…

Superior Public Library to Hold Genealogy Event

SUPERIOR, Wis. – The Superior Public Library is holding their annual genealogy event April 1, this year called “Foolin’ Around With Your Family Tree.” It will feature information from Douglas County Register of Deeds Tracy Middleton and professional genealogist Marie Mattson.  It’s also a chance for people to learn more about what services the library can offer people who are researching…

Duluth Selected for Communities LEAP, Will Get Federal Assistance in Climate Change Efforts

DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth’s efforts to combat climate change is getting a boost from the U.S. Department of Energy. The city was one of 22 locations selected to take part in the Communities LEAP pilot program.  Federal officials will be working with the city to provide guidance on how they can reduce air pollution, increase energy resiliency, and lower energy costs…

MNA to Essentia: Don’t Hamper Possible Union at Miller Hill Outpatient Surgery Center

DULUTH, Minn. – When Essentia Health opens their new outpatient surgery center at Miller Hill Mall this summer, the Minnesota Nurses Association does not want them to stop nurses from possibly unionizing. They want the medical provider to publicly pledge neutrality on this matter, since the current bargaining agreement between the two would not cover the new facility. “We believe that…

Movies on Michigan Returns To The Depot

DULUTH, Minn. – After a two year hiatus, Movies on Michigan is returning to The Depot. What was supposed to be a series back in the spring of 2020 that was cancelled after one movie due to the pandemic, they will be showing “Miracle” inside the Great Hall April 1. Depot Director Mary Tennis says it coincides with an exhibit that…

Lincoln Park Art Walk Unveiled

DULUTH, Minn. – There’s a new way to experience the murals in Lincoln Park with the installation of an art walk. Info plates with a QR code on them are being set up next to each mural that the public can access.  When the code is scanned by a smartphone, it will open up a webpage that details the process for…