Business

Knowing Your Neighbor: Morgan Music

SUPERIOR, Wis. — Whether you’re playing the Amsoil or just learning the chords, Morgan Music on Banks Avenue in Superior is here for you. “We employ friendly gear gurus,” said Tal Morgan, owner of Morgan Music. “Noncommissioned. They’re just here to help you on your journey.” Opening their doors in November they’ve already seen a healthy flow of local musicians….

Agreement Reached For Sale of KQDS-TV, FOX21

Duluth, MN – The owners of KQDS-TV, FOX21, have entered into an agreement for the sale of the station. Red River Broadcast Co., LLC has signed an asset purchase agreement with Coastal Television. Coastal Television operates ten television stations in seven states; Alaska, Wyoming, New York, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Indiana. “We think Coastal will be a good fit for…

‘Essentia East Market’ Healthcare Workers Want To Unionize

DULUTH, Minn. – Essentia healthcare workers have announced their filing to join the Minnesota Nurses Association. The healthcare workers wanting to unionize include nurse practitioners, physician associates, nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists. They’re part of what’s called the Essentia East Market, which extends from Brainerd north to International Falls and Duluth, and east to Ashland and Hayworth, Wisconsin. The…

Construction Returns To Duluth Housing Project With ‘Cash,’ No Financing

DULUTH, Minn. – FOX 21 learned Tuesday that construction crews are back on site of a delayed housing development (Urbane 218) in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. But the final piece of funding from LISC, which halted the project in August, is still not in the developer’s hands. Merge Urban Development told FOX 21 Tuesday the company is “currently paying for…

Cyber Monday Deals At Duluth Pack

DULUTH, Minn. — Cyber Monday sales are happening everywhere but here in Duluth one local store is making sure you can score the perfect deal. Duluth Pack begins preparing as early as June for what they call the store’s biggest sales period of the year. The offerings are up to 50% off holiday sweaters, popular apparel is anywhere from 15…

Cyber Monday Marks The Year’s Biggest Online Shopping Day, And One More Chance To Save On Gifts

(AP) — Consumers are scouring the internet for online deals as they begin to cap off the five-day post-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza with Cyber Monday. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of our everyday lives and much of the holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday –- a term coined back in 2005 by the National Retail Federation –- continues to…

A Chat/GPT And AI Discussion

  DULUTH, Minn. –Chat/GPT and AI are some things we are hearing more about every day, but what is it in a nutshell? To get a better understanding, earlier this week FOX 21 talked with Thomas Fellows, an expert in the field. Here’s what he had to say about Chat/GPT and AI.   Categories: Business, Minnesota, News, News – Latest…

New Digs for Apricot Lane

Boutique re-opens after two months of preparation

DULUTH, Minn. — Who doesn’t like a fresh start…not to mention a new place for a familiar face? Wednesday was a soft launch of sorts for the new home of Apricot Lane Boutique. It’s been off the radar for a couple months while they moved from their Miller Hill Mall location to West Central Entrance. Owner Wendy Myers could not…

Canal Bark Giving Dogs Thanksgiving Dinner

DULUTH, Minn. — Holidays are a time to be with family and friends.. but what about your pets? Canal Bark in Duluth is making sure dogs are able to celebrate Thanksgiving as well. Any dog staying at the facility that has opted into their special meal will get a full Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. That includes a turkey treat, wet food…

Goat Hill Marketplace In Duluth Has All Your Holiday Essentials

DULUTH, Minn. — One store in Duluth is making sure people are fully prepared for their Thanksgiving dinners. Goat Hill Marketplace, located in the Lincoln Park Craft District has all of the holiday essentials including potato mashers, roasting pans, butchers twine, turkey bags. There are even food ideas like stroopwaffel pie crust, cocktail mixers, and flavored sugars. The market’s general…

Snowmaking Begins At Spirit Mountain, Mont Du Lac

DULUTH, Minn. — Snowmaking season began at Spirit Mountain Tuesday evening.   This comes after frustrations from staff because of the unseasonably warm weather for much of November.  Usually the ski hill opens on Black Friday, but that won’t be happening this season.  None the less, opening day will arrive soon, as temperatures are forecast to continue to be well below…

Cruising Industry Brings $600k Of Economic Impact To Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — The cruising industry created nearly $600,000 of economic impact in Duluth this year. The DECC announcing this Tuesday. In 2023 over 4,000 passengers visited Duluth aboard 4 different cruise ships. Regionally almost 25,000 people made 800 visits to Great Lakes ports, which is a 20% increase from last year. The cruise passenger spending supports shops, restaurants, transportation…

Clinton Fire Dept. Accepts 2,352 Cans Of Drinking Water From Anheuser-Busch

CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Minn. – The Clinton Volunteer Fire Department & EMS received thousands of cans of drinking water from Anheuser-Busch. Fire Capt. Eric Monson said the 2,352 canned waters will help first responders stay hydrated when they battle wildfires and other disasters. “This generous donation will significantly enhance our emergency response capabilities and ensure that we can better serve and…

Super One Foods Donation Provides 145,000 Meals To Families In Need

DULUTH, Minn. — In a generous donation from Super One Foods, over 145,000 meals will be provided to families, children, and seniors this holiday season. Super One donated $48,457.94 to Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. The effort in part of its Bag Hunger Campaign where customers at stores in Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin rounded up or donated a…

Duluth Starbucks Workers Participate In One-Day Strike

DULUTH, Minn. — Thursday thousands of Starbucks workers participated in a one-day strike called the Red Cup Rebellion. The strike included Duluth Starbucks workers. The workers say the company is illegally refusing to bargain with baristas over staffing, scheduling, and other issues. Starbucks Workers United says they are unionizing because employees have been overworked and have been ignored when it…

Cenovus Superior Refinery Responds To Third-Party Railcar Leak

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Cenovus Superior Refinery responded to an emergency railcar leak Tuesday. Cenovus Energy told FOX 21 the railcar was not theirs but belonged to a railroad company with cars at the plant. On Wednesday, Cenovus said the issue had been resolved and no external emergency response was required. Superior Fire Chief Cam Vollbrecht told FOX 21, it’s his…

Superior Mayor, Some Councilors Now Against Proposed Natural Gas Plant; Labor Not Happy

Mayor Jim Paine first supported the project in 2017

SUPERIOR, Wis. – If Superior Mayor Jim Paine has it his way, Minnesota Power and its partners will not be allowed to build a natural gas plant (Nemadji Trail Energy Center) near the Enbridge Energy Terminal and Cenovus Energy. “All this project will do is raise our utility rates, pollute our city, and desecrate a cemetery. I don’t know who…

A Thanksgiving Staple Back At Burrito Union In Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — A much anticipated holiday staple is back at Burrito Union in Duluth. It’s the Thanksgiving Burrito! The burrito is stuffed with mashed potatoes, roasted white and dark turkey, sweet corn, and stuffing with a side of gravy and cranberry salsa. The holiday food has been around for 14 years and over 4,000 burritos were sold last November….

‘Godfather’s Pizza Express’ Opens in Gary-New Duluth KornerStore

The fan-favorite pizza place makes its return to Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — A favorite local pizza place made its return to Duluth Wednesday. We’re talking about Godfather’s Pizza Express. FOX 21 was there as the first pizzas came out of the oven. The new location is inside the Gary-New Duluth KornerStore. Derek Medved, who owns the local convenience store company, announced in December it would be bringing back the…

Fairlawn Mansion Decorated As House In Mourning For Halloween

SUPERIOR, Wis. — Over in Superior kids explored all things spooky at the Fairlawn Mansion Tuesday. Fairlawn was originally built as the family home for lumber and mining baron, Martin Pattison, along with his wife and 6 kids. The executive director says Victorian’s were very ritualistic when it came to mourning the passing of a loved one. So, the mansion…

Welder Generator Helps Northwood Technical College Hit the Road

Joint effort made it possible.

SUPERIOR, Wisc. — In March, Northwood Technical College unveiled its 53-foot mobile welding lab that has eight individual welding booths. However, to make the lab work anywhere other than on campus, a generator was needed. And, it had to be a large generator–one that costs $90,000. The college didn’t have the money and needed help from others. So, two local…

Barges, Equipment Move In On $18M DECC Seawall Reconstruction Project

DULUTH, Minn. – The $18 million reconstruction of the seawall behind the DECC is officially underway. Rendering of what the reconstruction project will look like when complete Construction crews have moved in on land and by barge. The rebuilding will happen throughout the winter. The new seawall is expected to be complete by the end of next year 2024. The…

“Bridging” Health in Duluth

Goal is to bring everyone together for healthiest community possible.

If it takes a village to raise a child, then there are those who feel the same about what it takes for a community’s health care. That is what brought over one hundred and thirty people together in Duluth Wednesday. It was titled “Bridging Health Care,” and the goal is just that: bringing like-minded people and organizations together to make…

Duluth Lions Club Celebrates 75 Years of Service

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Lions Club is celebrating their 75th anniversary with a day of service. The non-profit organization supports sight and hearing-impaired programs, diabetes awareness, and youth projects. And Tuesday groups of Lions were helping with different projects they have around the community. That included collecting used eyeglasses to recycle them for those who do not have access…

Free Highway Construction Training Starts In January

DULUTH, Minn. — A local hiring agency is helping people start their careers in construction. SOAR Career Solutions is teaming up with MnDOT to offer a free 16-week training program. Training starts January 9th and goes till May 3rd and includes learning math and safety skills, blueprint reading, and more through online classes and hands-on experiences. The training is open…

Enger Golf Course Closes After Good Season

DULUTH, Minn. –Golfers have just one more day to get out and play this season at the Enger Course in Duluth. The course closes on Wednesday afternoon at Five. Tomorrow will be the end of what has been a very good season according to the Enger Course General Manager Craig Smith. Despite the dry summer, golfers continued to play and…

Duluth Airport Prepares For Fort Myers Return, Control Tower Replacement

DULUTH, Minn. — This has already been a record-breaking year for the Duluth International Airport. In each month of 2023, the number of take-offs and landings exceeded last year’s numbers. The number of flyers has also increased, and that’s one measure an airline looks at in deciding whether to enter or expand in a city.  One reason for the increase…

Women’s Care Center In Duluth Celebrates 10 Years Of Helping Mothers In Need

DULUTH, Minn. — The Women’s Care Center in Duluth is celebrating 10 years of supporting mothers, babies, and families in need. One in five babies in St. Louis County start at the center. The non-profit organization provides free resources which includes pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, counseling, parenting classes, and more. Monday there were brand new coats given out for kids during…

Canadian Labor Strike Halts Duluth-Superior Port, Seaway Operations

DULUTH, Minn. — A historic halt in seaway operations has sent a ripple effect throughout the system, including the Duluth-Superior Port. “Definitely a cascading series of effects throughout the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system. It’s a system that it prides itself on reliability. And right now that reliability is being impaired by this unfortunate issue,” said Jayson Hron, communications…

Local Solar Panel Installer Expands Service Footprint with Merger

TWO HARBORS, Minn, — Local solar panel installation company Wolf Track Energy announced Monday that they have merged with Real Solar out of Backus Minnesota. Each of these companies have been around less than 10 years with Two Harbors-based Wolf Track Energy starting in 2018. The merge comes as solar power continues to increase in popularity as a renewable energy…

Harbor Drive Temporarily Closes For DECC Seawall-Waterfront Reconstruction

DULUTH, Minn. — Harbor Drive behind the DECC is temporarily closing for the next 12 months. It’s all part of the seawall-waterfront reconstruction project. Crews will work through the winter to build the new seawall. When all is said and done in early 2025, the public space between the wall and the DECC will be transformed into a new plaza…

DLH: Direct Flights To Phoenix Not Returning, But Nonstop To Fort Myers Will

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth International Airport has announced direct flights from Duluth to Phoenix are not returning this winter. But Sun Country service is returning with direct service to Fort Myers, Florida. The non-stop flights will start back up Feb. 2 and end April 24. Sun Country service to Fort Myers will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays….

Essentia Health Donates Medical Equipment to University of Minnesota Medical School

DULUTH, Minn. — Essentia Health is helping further the education of medical students. The hospital is donating medical equipment to UMD’s Medical School for students to use in simulation labs. All the equipment was used at the old St. Mary’s and will give the students access to the latest technology helping them further their education. “It is up to date,…

Better Bus Blueprint at Two Months

DULUTH, Minn. –It’s been nearly two months since the Duluth Transit Authority made major changes to its system. It added two new “GO” routes and consolidated many of its local stops. On October 29 the DTA will announce updates to its system. But, it’s not been Easy Street. Detours and keeping track of where the detours are have been a…

Planet Fitness Opens First Location In Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — A fitness center focusing on being judgement free and inclusive is now open. Planet Fitness located in Duluth near the Miller Hill Mall offers over 22,000 square feet of fitness. That includes cardio and strength machines, as well as express circuit, tanning beds, and massage chairs. There are over 2,500 locations in the U.S., and this is…

Whole Foods Co-op Denfeld Location Adds Solar Panels

DULUTH, Minn. — Whole Foods Co-op is going a little greener with the completion of a solar array on the rooftop of their Denfeld location. Grocery stores are known for using a high amount of energy through keeping food refrigerated, frozen, or warm, according to an employee at the Co-op. The 145 panels will significantly offset the electricity consumption needed…

Seawall-Waterfront Reconstruction Behind DECC Officially Begins

DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth city leaders, the Chamber, project managers and labor representatives were among the many taking the shovel to the dirt Monday for the official start of the seawall-waterfront reconstruction project behind the DECC. Mayor Emily Larson described the area behind the DECC “tired” and “old.”  But she said after years of planning, it’s now time for that…

Essentia Health Hiring For St. Mary’s Medical Center

DULUTH, Minn. — Essentia Health is looking to hire more employees for the new St. Mary’s Medical Center. The organization hosts job fairs on a quarterly basis and the most recent one was at The Garden in Canal Park. Attendees were able to learn more about Essentia, network, and hear about the current career opportunities open. Those include RNs, respiratory…

West Duluth Business Club Hosts Duluth Candidate Forum, Promotes Civility

DULUTH, Minn. – The November election is less than a month away in Duluth, and the president of the West Duluth Business Club, Susan Coen, is promoting civility over divisiveness. Coen hosted a public form Wednesday for the West Duluth community involving the mayoral race between incumbent Emily Larson and opponent Roger Reinert, and the council races. Coen said she…

WI Sen. Agard’s Cannabis Bill: Prohibition Not Working With Marijuana

Wisconsin State Sen. Melissa Agard is continuing her push to legalize recreational marijuana for adults through a bill in the state legislature. Sen. Agard (D-Madison) told FOX 21 Wisconsin is living on a disserting island when it comes to cannabis.  Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan have laws on the books allowing adult-use of cannabis. Agard said the state is losing out…

Duluth Housing Development Stalled For 2nd Month At Former Seaway Hotel Site

DULUTH, Minn. – It was in the middle of August when FOX 21 broke the news about construction temporarily halted on a new housing development in Duluth’s Lincoln Park. Now two months later, the structure remains just a frame of wood. Merge Urban Development is behind the 45-unit apartment building (Urbane 218) on the former West Superior Street site of…