News

Former Duluth City Councilor Barb Russ Dies

DULUTH, Minn. — Former Duluth City Councilor Barb Russ passed away at the age of 74. Russ served on the City Council for 5 and a half years before she resigned in April of 2020 due to health issues. According to a press release from her family sent Monday morning, Russ died of natural causes. Her husband Neil Glazman said…

New Video Production Studio Open In Hibbing

HIBBING, Minn. — A new video production studio is now open in Hibbing. Leedrick Studios helps bring their customers ideas to life by providing the latest technology and resources to make videos. The female and veteran owned business puts together all kinds of work from educational and explainer videos to general commercials. The studio is available for rent and includes…

DXC Hosts Youth Ski Festival

DULUTH, Minn. — The recent snowfall and winter temperatures are giving skiers the chance to get some final runs in before Spirit Mountain expects to close later this month. Sunday, Feb. 5, Duluth’s Cross Country Ski Club had its annual Youth Ski Festival at Spirit Mountain Chalet.  Kids had the chance to participate in a “Fish Scale Frenzy” to see…

Bloody Mary Festival Raises Money for Life House

DULUTH, Minn. — People are gathered here Sunday at Clyde Iron Works for a Bloody Mary Festival where all moneys for the festival will benefit Life House and their mission to support at-risk teens and young adults in the twin ports Life House has provided mental health and substance abuse services in the Twin Ports for 30 years now. They…

Tour Duluth Candlelight Ski

DULUTH, Minn.– At the Lester- Amity Chalet the Duluth Cross Country Ski Club hosted Tour Duluth Ski Festival, giving people a chance to ski surrounded by candlelight. There was a raffle raising money for DXC, including a ski package worth 700 dollars. Ski Hut and Continental Ski and Bike were lending equipment to demo on the lit trials. The Duluth…

Tweed Museum Family Day

DULUTH, Minn.– The Tweed Museum of Arts at UMD hosted a family day event with guided tours and plenty of fun activities. The museums current exhibition is by the Duluth Fiber Guild created by founder Janet Meany and other artisits of the guild. People could try their hand in creating art based on the current artwork in the gallery. The…

Adaptive Skiing at Spirit Mountain

DULUTH, Minn.– Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute has partnered with Spirt Mountain to bring adaptive skiing programs to the Northland since 1979. Saturday was the first time that kids from Gillette Children’s Clinic were able to participate in the program in Duluth. A couple of kids were able to go down the snowy hills with big smiles while riding on sleds…

Tourism in Minnesota Coming Back

Duluth, Minn — After taking a step back for a couple of years, the tourism industry is starting to rebound again. In 2022, Minnesota had over 77 million people visit the state, bringing in over 13 billion dollars to the economy.  To keep the tourism momentum going, governor Walz recommended increase covers all industries including the outdoors, parks, attractions, and…

Robotics Tournament at the DECC

Duluth, Minn. – More than 4,000 high school students with more than 100 robots were at the DECC for two different tournaments this week. Both the Northern Lights Regional and the Lake Superior Regional Tournament were held at the same time. Photojournalist Adam Jagunich visited the tournaments and filed this report. Categories: Education, Minnesota, News, News – Latest News

Singing with the Stars Raises Money for Duluth Playhouse

DULUTH, Minn. — The NorShor Theatre held its “Singing with the Stars” event. Ten local celebrities’ sang their hearts out on stage for entertainment and a good cause. All money raised went toward the Duluth Playhouse. Songs like Frank Sinatra’s “Something Stupid” and “Popular” from the Broadway musical Wicked were performed. FOX 21’s Dan Hanger sang his own version of…

Superior Water Light & Power Phone Outage

Superior, Wisc. — Superior Water Light and Power customers may have difficulty reaching the company by phone. The company’s communications department tells Fox 21 that there is an intermittent phone outage probem happening. The outages are affecting both SWL&P’s local phone number and its 800 number. In the event you are a SWL&P customer and have a natural gas or…

Doctor: Lesion Removed From Biden’s Chest Was Cancerous

WASHINGTON (AP) — A skin lesion removed from President Joe Biden’s chest last month was a basal cell carcinoma — a common form of skin cancer — his doctor said Friday, adding that no further treatment was required. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the White House doctor who has served as Biden’s longtime physician, said “all cancerous tissue was successfully removed” during…

One Dead After Snowmobile, Groomer Crash In Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — A man is dead after crashing his snowmobile into a groomer Thursday in Grand Rapids. The Itasca County Sheriff’s Office says it happened just before 5:30 p.m. on the Driftskipper/Blandin Snowmobile Trail. The snowmobiler was passing around a corner when he crashed into an oncoming groomer, resulting in the man to be pinned under the groomer….

Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life Without Parole For Murder Of Wife, Son

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — A judge sentenced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh to life without parole Friday, a day after he was convicted of murder in the shooting deaths of his wife and son. The Colleton County jury deliberated for less than three hours Thursday before finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his 22-year-old son, Paul, with a shotgun and his…

Singing With The Stars: Ness, Hanger Are Nervous But Excited

DULUTH, Minn. — FOX 21’s Dan Hanger and former Duluth Mayor Don Ness discussed their nerves Thursday night about the Duluth Playhouses’ ‘Singing With The Stars’ event happening Friday night at the NorShor Theatre. Needless to say, they are both nervous but excited to help raise money for the Playhouse.  Click the video for a listen. For tickets, click here. …

Robotics and the Brains Behind Them at the DECC

Multi-State High School Competition Brings Out the Best

If you’ve ever wondered who all the smart people are who design the machines around us…they are at the DECC for the next two days. One hundred and twenty teams have gathered for an electronic gladiator competition of sorts. It is called the FIRST Robotics Regional Competition and it is part of an international program involving high school students. This…

Fitger’s Has a New Mascot

DULUTH, Minn. – Fitger’s has announced their first official mascot, and his name is August. Augie as they are calling him, is a nine-week-old retriever collie mix that receptionist Amy Snell adopted just over a week ago. So, after being introduced to the Fitger’s team, it was determined that Augie would make the perfect mascot. Some stores like A Place…

Creativity in the Kitchen at the Harrison Community Center

DULUTH, Minn. – The Harrison Community Center puts on weekly programs to engage families in the community through artistic play. Thursday, kids and their parents got to spend the evening taste-testing girl scout cookies. The program called Creativity in the Kitchen was put on for the first time to teach families about nutrition and healthy eating. After taste testing each…

Trump Can Be Sued For Jan. 6 Riot Harm, Justice Dept. Says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot. In court papers, the Justice Department urged a federal appeals court in Washington to…

Biden Pushes For $1.6B Funding For Pandemic Fraud Measures

(AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is asking Congress to approve more than $1.6 billion to help clean up the mess of fraud against the massive government coronavirus pandemic relief programs. In a strategy announced Thursday, the administration called for money and more time to prosecute cases, to put into place new ways to prevent identity theft and to help…

Hyundai, Kia Thefts: Twin Cities Mayors, AG Call For Safety Recall

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison are calling on Kia and Hyundai to issue a recall and outfit all vehicles with industry-standard anti-theft technology to curb the spike in vehicle thefts in the Twin Cities metro. In a joint letter to the North American CEOs of Kia and Hyundai dated March 2,…

Coffee Conversation: DPD to hold Women in Law Enforcement Open House

DULUTH, Minn. — In efforts to draw in more women to the workforce, the Duluth Police Department is holding a Women in Law Enforcement Open House event on Saturday, March 18. DPD Public Information Officer Mattie Hjelseth joined FOX21 on the morning show to talk about the event and its purpose. The event is taking place Saturday, March 18 from…

UMD Hosts Summit On Equity, Race & Ethnicity

DULUTH, Minn. — UMD hosted its annual Summit Wednesday on Equity, Race and Ethnicity with the goal of inspiring change for greater equality for all. The Summit’s theme was “Decolonizing Our Institutions and Communities.” It included workshops and a play inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. UMD’s Commission on Equity, Race and Ethnicity put on the conference and is…

Special Report: Heart And Hope, From Ukraine To Duluth

Russia continues to destroy parts of Ukraine, killing innocent men, women and children. In a special report – Heart And Hope – we’re bringing you the story of a Ukrainian family that found refuge in Duluth. Kupriichuk and Gasele families The family arrived this summer, and a Northland couple opened their home and hearts – offering hope when it was…

BCA Says At Least 8 Minnesota Schools Hit By “Swatting” Calls This Week

MINNESOTA —  “Swatting” calls were made to eight schools in Minnesota in just the past two days, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Four schools in the St. Louis County area were targeted by those threats on Tuesday. The BCA says the calls all came from one person who made the calls through technology known as voice over…

City Of Duluth Issues Storm Update On Snow Plow Operations

DULUTH, Minn. — The city of Duluth issued a storm update Wednesday afternoon about its snow plow operations..  See the full release below. City of Duluth plow operators have been out all day keeping main roads clear for access to hospitals, schools, for emergency vehicles, buses, etc. Due to the storm system shifting, lingering longer than forecasted, and an increased…

BCA Releases Name Of Man Fatally Shot By Duluth Police

DULUTH, Minn. — The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released the name of the man shot and killed by Duluth police last week. He’s Zachary Shogren, 34, of Duluth. The BCA said Shogren died from “multiple” gunshot wounds. They said one officer fired their handgun, another fired less-lethal rounds and Officer Jared Blomdahl, a 24-year veteran of the department, used his…

Financial Issues in Town of Gordon, Wisconsin

Gordon, Wisc. — The Douglas County Sheriff’s office is investigating concerns about how some funds are being handled in the town of Gordon. A judge has agreed to issue subpeona’s in the effort to learn more about questions involving finances for a popular town event. Joy Rogers was the treasurer of the committee that put together the annual Gordon Good…

Snow Conditions Cause Delays For Duluth School Buses

DULUTH, Minn. — The snow conditions have caused driving delays for many, including school buses trying to get students home. According to a tweet from Duluth Public Schools buses were running on plowed roads only as of 3:50 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. It says students were dropped off as close to their stop as possible and expected to get home later….

$32-Million Referendum Clears Way For Education Overhaul At Chisholm Public Schools

CHISHOLM, Minn. — School will be out in a few months, but in Chisholm, a lot of people are already thinking about the fall of 2025. If all goes as planned, that is when a new elementary school will open. There will also be extensive renovations of the current facilities, including the high school. Inside the bowels of the 100-year-old…

Greek Transport Minister Resigns Over Train Crash; 36 Dead

TEMPE, Greece (AP) — Rescuers delved Wednesday through flattened, burned-out carriages for survivors and bodies after a passenger train and a freight train crashed head-on in central Greece overnight, killing at least 36 people and injuring scores. Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned Wednesday, saying he felt it was his “duty” to step down “as a basic indication of respect for…

SNAP Benefits Set to Drop in March

DULUTH, Minn. – The extra money from pandemic emergency funding that was going into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits will expire this March. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will sunset for all states Wednesday, but 18 states have already ended the pandemic funding program. The 2023 farm bill in Congress could be one way SNAP benefits…