HERMANTOWN, Minn.– Coronavirus is taking the time and attention of healthcare facilities everywhere but what about people who are dealing with other respiratory illnesses? Now, St. Luke’s has opened a new respiratory clinic in Duluth. With everyone caught up in the Coronavirus pandemic, other health issues can feel like they are pushed to the side. Now St. Luke’s is offering…
DULUTH, Minn. – Giving birth or even the thought of starting a family can be a difficult topic to deal with during the stress of the coronavirus pandemic. Thankfully, local professionals and area mothers are teaming up to help expecting parents. Stacy Holden is the creator of the Birth and Baby Fair Duluth. “We have an amazing birth community here…
DULUTH, Minn.- Businesses that have been deemed essential are trying to find the balance between protecting its workers while staying open for customers. Wal-Mart announced it’s going to start taking employees’ temperatures at stores and warehouses everyday before their shifts start. Any employee with a temperature over 100 degrees will be sent home. Wal-mart will supply face masks and gloves…
CLOQUET, Minn.- Cloquet Public Schools launched their Distance Learning Plan for the rest of the year. Elementary School-aged children will receive paper packets weekly to work on at home. Staff will be in charge of picking up finished packets, while dropping off packets for the following week. Middle and High Schoolers will complete work online. The District has plans for…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Minnesota National Guard arrived in St. Louis County Tuesday morning to deliver hundreds of cots for a potential COVID-19 shelter. According to officials, while they’ve planned for pandemics in the past, none come close to the magnitude of planning required for Coronavirus. The Minnesota National Guard assisted St. Louis County by delivering 250 cots, bringing their total…
CLOQUET, Minn.- As one positive case is confirmed at the Moose Lake Prison in Carlton County, the City of Cloquet and County Health officials are taking stronger precautions to try and minimize the virus’s presence. “We are preparing for the worst, and hoping for the best, and expecting something in-between,” Community Memorial Hospital CEO Rick Breuer said. The Hospital is…
CLOQUET, Minn.- As more people are staying at home, some appliance stores have seen more customers. Owners of Daugherty Appliances in Cloquet said their fridges and freezers have been selling like hotcakes as people look for more storage to stock up more food. They also add that more people have been buying full kitchen suites to update their kitchen. The…
DULUTH, Minn. – Essentia Health announced Monday a plan to reduce non-medical staffing levels by 500 employees next week as the company prepares for a surge of COVID-19 patients in the communities it serves. The employees affected are not involved in direct patient care, according to hospital officials. “These plans include redeploying our workforce to best position Essentia Health to…
DULUTH, Minn.- St. Louis County saw a jump in COVID-19 cases over the weekend. Five new presumptive cases were confirmed, doubling the total number of cases to 10 in the county, in just one day. The newest cases include a woman in her early 60s who is being hospitalized for treatment–the first case severe enough to require hospitalization in the…
BRULE, Wis.- Since solitary outdoor activities in state parks are considered essential in Governor Tony Evers’s Safer-at-Home order, some anglers took advantage of that, casting their rods on the Brule River. The babbling brooks feeding into the rushing river are the only sounds that greet you out along the Brule. “This is about as isolated as we can get,” Eric…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Health on Saturday confirmed the state’s fifth death from the coronavirus. The recent health department report shows that COVID-19 cases have increased to 441, up 43 from Friday, with 30 patients hospitalized. The state has conducted 16,129 tests. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is under a 14-day quarantine and is working from the…
IRON COUNTY, Wis. — A person has died from coronavirus in Iron County, which is also the first known death caused by the virus in the Northland region. The Iron County Public Health Department did not name the city or town the victim was from. The person’s age and gender is also unknown. “We are saddened by this death and…
DULUTH, Minn. – Memorial Blood Centers has canceled all blood drives through April 30th, so an extreme shortage in the blood supply is expected. Memorial is the only supplier of blood to more than thirty hospitals across the region, including Essentia and St. Luke’s. They are still collecting donations at donation centers and encourage everybody to keep donating, even during…
DULUTH, Minn. – Local healthcare systems are preparing for a surge in coronavirus cases in the Northland. Healthcare officials warn that more than two million Minnesotans could get COVID-19 before the end of the pandemic, so enough hospital beds and equipment have to be ready to take in a surge of patients. Both Essentia Health and St. Luke’s are offering…
BAYFIELD CO., Wis. – On Thursday the Bayfield County Health Department confirmed a second case of COVID-19 in Bayfield County. This case is also considered the first known case related to community spread in the county. The lab-confirmed positive case received on March 26 did not have a history of travel or contact with a known positive case of COVID-19….
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken has temporarily amended the department’s grooming policy to not allow facial hair so officers can safely wear N95 masks if needed during the coronavirus outbreak. Tusken says having a smooth skin helps properly seal the mask to the face and keep the virus’ particles from getting past the seal and into…
DULUTH, Minn.- With discussions around the country about a potential vaccine or drug being developed to treat COVID-19, local experts are speaking out about the reality of treating the virus so soon. While President Trump has touched on different drugs that scientists have said might be helpful in fighting Coronavirus, UMD Applied Human Sciences Professor Jessica Hanson said testing them…
DULUTH, Minn.- Governor Tim Walz’s stay-at-home order came at the heels of St. Louis County announcing the discovery of its third case of Coronavirus on Wednesday. The woman is in her late 30s, and like the other cases, contracted the virus through domestic travel. Now county leaders are taking a stronger stance on limiting people coming and out of the…
DULUTH, Minn. – There’s now a designated drop-off site for the community to donate medical supplies to Essentia Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donors can drive up to a loading dock around the back of the Miller Hill Mall. They’re asked to stay in their cars, call one of the phone numbers on the nearby poster, and wait for Essentia…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Superior Mayor Jim Paine spoke out after Governor’s Shelter-in-Place order was announced. His main message: stay home and limit your trips unless absolutely necessary and that means even grocery stores. While Governor Evers has labeled grocery stores as essential, Mayor Paine wants residents to avoid those stores if you can. This comes after one of the four people…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- As more families deal with life stuck at home, video game stores have seen sales go up. But after Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s safer-at-home order, they hope those sales continue online. Last week the owners of Games Then and Now on Tower Avenue said they saw a huge jump in people buying games. It’s not just kids buying…
DULUTH, Minn.- As SuperOne grocery stores across the Northland remain packed with people shopping for essentials, the store has installed acrylic barriers at cashier stations to limit the spread of Coronavirus. At the end of Tuesday, the new barriers were outfitted at all 41 grocery and liquor store locations across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Products scan and carts screech by…
DULUTH, Minn. – Health and fitness studios are closed across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Now, local studios are offering online classes to promote healthy lifestyles and keep their businesses going during the coronavirus pandemic. Ignite Studio in Duluth has been offering live fitness classes on Facebook and their website for free to keep people moving and active while they’re stuck at…
DULUTH, Minn. – Blood donations are severely needed across the country because many blood drives have been canceled during the pandemic. The American Red Cross tells us the need for blood is not higher, but the amount of donations has gone way down. Red Cross workers are committed to make donating a safe experience for everybody involved. Both donors’ and…
The cases of Coronavirus continue to climb in the Northland. A second case has been discovered in St. Louis County, along with three others in Douglas County, bringing the total there to four–with one case in Superior. There remains one confirmed case in Bayfield County The newest case in St. Louis County is a woman in her early 60s who…
DULUTH, Minn.- With colleges and universities across the Northland moving all classes online for the rest of the year and asking students to leave dorms, many are heading to their nearest U-Hauls to pack up and head home. The only truck that Complete Auto Repair Service (CARS) has left is a cardboard model that sits on their front desk. Their…
DULUTH, Minn. – One Duluth-based company has found a way to help with the screening process of the COVID-19 outbreak in the hopes of flattening the curve. “Can you imagine having 100 new patients arrive that you would not normally see and not having a way to communicate directly with those patients because you don’t have masks, you can’t stay…
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) WASHINGTON (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was tested a week ago for the novel coronavirus, but continued working at the Capitol because he “felt that it was highly unlikely” he was sick since he had no symptoms of the illness, he said Monday. Paul also said he did not have direct contact with anyone…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- A popular Pizza place in Superior is making the most of having to close their business to dine-in customers. Pizza Man on Tower Avenue is using their time closed to remodel their dining area, allowing for more seating. The owner said some of his employees are helping out with the renovations, and he’s trying his best to keep…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Superior Family Restaurant, who started offering free meals to those in need last week, just received some help form other community organizations. Enbridge has paid for 300 meals to be given out. The Restaurant also received a $100 donation from an anonymous donor. In a Facebook post the Restaurant said the donations will help ensure they are able…
SUPERIOR, Wis. – Curling Olympic gold medalist and Chisholm native John Shuster, 37, is self-quarantined with his family in Superior while his wife, Sara, awaits test results to see if she is positive for the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus. This comes after she competed in the USA Curling Club Nationals in the Washington, D.C. area in early March before government…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Wisconsin has just gone through their first weekend with bars, restaurants and other public gathering places closed indefinitely by Governor Tony Evers. This pushes more customers to businesses considered essential, such as grocery and liquor stores. “We can’t complain here, yeah,” said Belknap Liquor and Lounge owner Alan Jaques. “There’s a lot of other people that have it…
DULUTH, Minn. — Fitness and wellness businesses in Duluth are fighting to keep revenue going as they have had to shut their doors to clients amid the coronavirus pandemic. Two of the businesses we spoke with are Movo Studio and Runa Yoga. Jessica Rossing, owner of Movo Studio, opened her business in its new home on East First Street just…
CASS COUNTY, Minn. – A coronavirus case has been confirmed in Cass County by the Minnesota Department of Health. The patient is older, and hadn’t traveled recently. They developed symptoms on March 9th, but did not seek treatment for their health until one week later, on the 16th. St. Louis County, Douglas County, and Bayfield County have each seen one…
DULUTH, Minn.- Officials have announced the first confirmed COVID-19 case in St. Louis County. Along with one in Bayfield County and one in Douglas County, the total cases in the Northland are now three. According to County officials, the patient in St. Louis County has not had contact with anyone outside her close relatives and is recovering at home. “While…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the state’s first death due to COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Officials say a Ramsey County resident in their 80s died on Thursday. Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said the death underscores the importance of protecting the most vulnerable residents in the state, especially those over 65…
DULUTH, Minn.- During the Coronavirus Pandemic, Duluth Fire Department has been in contact with St. Louis County Emergency Management and Homeland Security to prepare for COVID-19. The Fire Department tells us calls will proceed with more caution than ever before, allowing them to get as much information as possible during a call to best use their limited number of resources….
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed an executive order authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to provide assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Governor’s office, the Minnesota National Guard’s initial mission is to transport personal protective equipment (PPE) in storage at Camp Ripley to the Minnesota Department of Health warehouse in St. Paul. The National…
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn.- The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed the first case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) in St. Louis County. The individual is a woman in her late 60s who is currently recovering at home. Her infection is linked to domestic travel, and not the result of community transmission. “At this point, there has been no request for the…
DULUTH, Minn. – Dr. Daniel Loban, the owner of Loban Dental, is speaking out regarding the closure of dental offices unless procedures are for emergency purposes. “I can tell you my propensity is to help people and putting myself at home and understanding how serious this is kind of draws a line in the sand so I can be a…
DULUTH, Minn. – If you get your hair cut in Minnesota, you won’t be able to anymore – at least until March 27 at 5:00 p.m. Affective Tuesday, March 17 at 5:00 p.m., under orders from Governor Tim Walz, hair and nail salons as well as spas have been ordered to close due to concerns over COVID-19. This news is…
DULUTH, Minn.- CHUM Food Shelf at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in West Duluth is not letting the Coronavirus stop them from getting food to those in need. The food shelf is offering 20 to-go box meals everyday from 11-1:45 out of the West alley door. CHUM also received a large donation from the Holy Rosary School of 351 pints of…
DULUTH, Minn. – Ruby’s Pantry is not stopping its food distribution on Thursday at Duluth’s Coppertop Church, but the way it’s being handed out is much different. Normally people are welcomed into the church basement where they can select their food. For this month, Ruby’s will be operating outside the church in the parking lot with drive-thru service. Cars will…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Only one day after Wisconsin Bars and Restaurants were abruptly ordered to close, one restaurant in Superior is offering all they can to those in need. Superior Family Restaurant off Tower Avenue is offering free meals to anyone facing hardship who are figuring out where their next meal is coming from. The offer is not limited to children…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- One of Superior’s busier child care centers reacts to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’s decision to scale back staff and amount of children in child care settings. The order dictates that organizations are not allowed to operate with more than 10 staff and 50 kids present. Meanwhile in Minnesota on Tuesday, Governor Tim Walz offered support to child care…
DULUTH, Minn.- Grandma’s Marathon has not decided yet if the race of more than 9,000 runners will be cancelled because of the Coronavirus. Race officials told us they are right now discussing whether they need to cancel or postpone the race in June 19th. As for now, the race is still on. But officials are urging runners and spectators to…
SUPERIOR, Wis.- Wisconsin business owners had just three hours to get ready for a 5 p.m. hard shutdown of bars and restaurants ordered from the very top in Madison. “We all thought it was kind of a short notice, we all probably should’ve got a 24 hours notice,” said Superior Flame Nightclub owner Alvin Berg. “We’re gonna comply and we…
According to the Johns Hopkins University & Health Center Coronavirus Resource Center, there are 196,640 confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide as of Tuesday afternoon. Other worldwide confirmed coronavirus numbers include 80,840 recoveries, and 7,893 deaths. The United States has seen 5,894 cases so far, with 97 deaths and 17 recoveries. China still has the highest number of cases at…
DULUTH, Minn. – As the coronavirus continues to spread, businesses like Yarn Harbor in Duluth are implementing new ways to deliver products to customers. The business has introduced a new curbside pickup. Customers can order and pay ahead of time before picking up their supplies in front of Yarn Harbor. Leadership from the business say this new business model will…
DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth International Airport is also taking measures to keep its facilities safe, as Coronavirus spreads nationwide. Airport officials said that traffic through the airport has dropped a bit recently, though a steady flow of passengers are still coming through. While there are no plans to quarantine or screen passengers or even airline staff as they come from…
