ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – Governor Tim Walz is proposing $700 million in direct payments to Minnesotans from the state’s $7.7 billion surplus as part of his budget plan. According to the governor, the budget, if approved, would include sending checks of $175 to single tax filers earning up to $164,400 while couples earning up to $273,470 would get…
(photo: Twitter) (FOX 9) – Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann has announced her plans to retire on Feb. 2, concluding more than 30 years of service in various public health roles. According to the announcement, Ehresmann has become a respected leader for her COVID-19 response work, as well as, more than three decades of service…
(AP) – The Biden administration’s new infrastructure package will pump more funding into two high-profile Great Lakes projects. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it will devote $479 million to the construction of a new shipping lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The money will be enough to finish the long-sought lock, which will boost the passage of cargo…
CARLTON, Minn. – A mask mandate has once again been issued at Black Bear Casino Resort in Carlton and Fond-du-Luth Casino in Duluth. The Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee on Thursday posted to its Facebook page that it had approved a mask mandate at the establishments along with Fond du Lac Gas & Grocery. The mandate goes into effect…
DULUTH, Minn. – City of Duluth Utility Operations crews are responding to a water main break in the Woodland neighborhood. The break was reported Thursday morning and is located on the 100 block of Farley Lane. City officials say water has been turned off on Farley Lane from Coleman Avenue to West Austin Street and on Coleman Avenue from Farley…
MINNEAPOLIS – Hundreds of Minnesotans are taking advantage of the state’s offer to cover the cost of training to become a certified nursing assistant. The state has used $3.5 million in federal relief funding to pay for students’ tuition, textbooks, and certification exams in hopes of alleviating staffing shortages in long-term care facilities and veterans’ homes during the coronavirus pandemic….
DULUTH, Minn. – Former Duluth School Board Member Annie Harala announced her run Thursday for the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners District 1 seat. Harala, a local entrepreneur and longtime Hillside resident says she understands the important intersection between mission-driven non-profits, innovative businesses, and the value of the public sector because she’s built her career around all of them….
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the federal case against three former Minneapolis police officers who were with Derek Chauvin when he pinned George Floyd to the street. J. Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao are charged with depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights while acting under government authority. Starting Thursday, jurors will be questioned by…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth’s fire chief and its top homeless advocate reacted to Wednesday’s homeless encampment fire under I-35 near downtown — almost three months to the day since fire erupted in the exact spot from squatters. “People find their way to have shelter, to try to stay warm, literally to try to stay alive at this time of the…
DULUTH, Minn. –At the Frosty Ridge Alpaca Farm in Duluth, the owners tell us that the challenge to keep their alpacas warm isn’t the subzero temperatures in the winter, but actually keeping them comfortable with the humidity level. Alpacas are native to the Andes Mountains in South America, where it’s actually far less humid than Minnesota, even in the winter….
DULUTH, Minn. — The North Star Academy of the Duluth Edison Charter Schools is having some of its grades switch to virtual learning for a few weeks. It’s happening for two reasons: one, COVID has caused staffing issues and teacher shortages, and two, the number of COVID cases within the schools doubled between the first and second week of January…
DULUTH, Minn. — A fire destroyed a home in West Duluth on Wednesday, leaving a family displaced. It happened around 3:30 p.m. on the 600-block of South 65th Avenue West. The Duluth Fire Department says the fire started in the basement after a bed caught fire. Fortunately, all the people and pets inside the home were able to get out…
CLOQUET, Minn. — It’s been nearly a week after Duluth mandated masks around the city, and a neighboring town is now doing the same. Last week the Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital was “crisis planning”, for a wave of covid patients, and now this week, they were sending letters to the mayor supporting a mask mandate. The Community Memorial Hospital in…
DULUTH, Minn. — The Niiwin Indigenous Food Market, formerly known as the Fourth Street Market, opened its doors this afternoon for AICHO’s bi-weekly food distribution and they are giving out something for the first time which they feel will really benefit people. The food giveaway provides 200 pairs of bags for families and people who need it. The food is…
DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth city council’s new president, Arik Forsman, spoke to FOX 21 about some of his priorities for the year ahead. Having served in the council for three and a half years, this presidency allows Forsman to serve another full year from the front of the helm. Forsman said he’s been a long-time Duluth resident and has…
DULUTH, Minn. — Many businesses have felt the impacts of covid and have had to re-assess operations but the live performance industry might be one of the few that has needed to keep adjusting the most. The Duluth Playhouse has had to change their plans many times now. And with transmission rates being so high with the omicron variant lately,…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday he has filed a lawsuit against two COVID-19 testing sites that allegedly failed to deliver test results or delivered inaccurate or falsified results. The two Illinois-based companies named in the suit are Center for COVID Control, LLC and Doctors Clinical Laboratory, Inc. According to Ellison’s office, there have been…
DULUTH, Minn. – Fire ignited under I-35 in downtown Duluth Wednesday in the exact location a homeless encampment caught on fire just three months ago. Duluth firefighters were called to the scene during the 1 o’clock hour Wednesday near Exit 256-A for Mesaba Avenue and Superior Street. A spokesperson for the fire department said the bulk of the fire was…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A state court trial for three former Minneapolis police officers charged with the death of George Floyd has been rescheduled for June 13, after both the defense and prosecutors requested a postponement. Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao face charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter. Their trial was supposed to start on March…
DULUTH, Minn. – City of Duluth Utility Operations crews are responding to a water main break in the Goat Hill neighborhood. The break was reported Wednesday afternoon and is located on the 1700 block of West 3rd Street. City officials say water has been turned off on West 3rd Street between 17th and 18th Avenue West. It is not known…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week. The step comes after federal officials emphasized the masks’ better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings. The White House said Wednesday the masks will come from the government’s Strategic National Stockpile, which has more…
(courtesy: Minnesota Department of Transportation) ST.PAUL, Minn. – Voting is now open for MnDOT’s 2022 “Name a Snowplow” contest. MnDOT says they received almost 11,000 creative name submissions in December and have narrowed the list down to 50 finalists for public voting. Factors that were taken into consideration when selecting finalists included creativity, uniqueness, frequency of submissions, Minnesota-specific ideas, and…
CLOQUET, Minn. – On Wednesday, the Mayor of Cloquet announced a local state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Cloquet Proclamation and Declaration of Emergency states the decision to declare a state of emergency was made due to cases of COVID, including all variants, continuing to rise to levels unsafe for public gatherings and meetings in…
DULUTH, Minn.- Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s bonding recommendations for 2022 amounts to $2.7 billion. The largest in the state’s history includes much-needed funding for Duluth and the surrounding area. “They’re very geo-balanced across the state of Minnesota and these are projects that local folks requested. But there are projects in there that enhance our quality of life,” Gov. Walz said…
DULUTH, Minn. – Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has put aside $1 million in his bonding proposal to help Lake Superior College develop plans to expand its Integrated Manufacturing program. LSC officials said demand has outgrown the current facility in downtown Duluth. So in the coming years, the program will be moved and expanded back onto the main campus on Trinity…
DULUTH, Minn.- There were projects that didn’t make the cut on the governor’s list of entities and projects he’d like to see get bonding money, which includes the historic Armory on London Road in Duluth. Mark Poirier, Executive Director of the Armory Arts and Music Center said he is disappointed but not surprised they didn’t get the $7.5 million funding…
DULUTH, Minn.- As the new Vision Northland building for Essentia Health goes up in Duluth the decades-old St. Mary’s Hospital will come down. Essentia Health says the Medical Center will be demolished on East Third Street after the new building is ready for care in the third quarter of 2023. The oldest part of St. Mary’s hospital is almost 100…
DULUTH, Minn. – Essentia Health announced on Tuesday that after construction is complete on the Vision Northland project the current St. Mary’s Medical Center building will be demolished. The current St. Mary’s building will remain open into 2023 with demolition starting after the new SMMC hospital tower is fully operational and all services have been relocated. “The decision to demolish…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz asked the Legislature on Tuesday to back a $2.7 billion “local jobs and projects” plan that’s considerably larger than the record package that lawmakers passed two years ago. The Democratic governor unveiled his wish list at a news conference outside the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development, which is getting a major rebuild…
DULUTH, Minn.- On Tuesday Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz released his bonding recommendation of $2.7 billion, which highlights several Northland and regional entities including Spirit Mountain and the St. Louis County Depot in Duluth. For Spirit Mountain, the Governor recommended $12 million in general fund cash to the City of Duluth “to renew, replace, and improve aged infrastructure.” The total cost…
SANDSTONE, Minn. – A starving and injured African serval found in Massachusetts has made it safely to his new home at the Sandstone Wildcat Sanctuary. Bruno was captured by the MSPCA-Angell after residents in Lincoln, MA reported spotting him in distress in their neighborhood. Bruno was found starving and with a severely broken leg trying to survive extreme weather. “Sadly,…
MORCOM TOWNSHIP, Minn. – The juvenile-aged girl who allegedly shot her mother on Sunday afternoon in the Cook area, has now been formally charged. According to police, dispatch received a 911 call from 40-year-old Stephanie L. Straw around 4:26 p.m. Sunday who said she was on her way to the Cook Hospital with a gunshot wound. The woman identified her…
CLOQUET, Minn. – A 32-year-old Cloquet man is hospitalized following a road rage incident over a parking issue in Cloquet on Friday. According to Cloquet Police, officers responded to reports of a man lying on the side of Hwy 45. When officers arrived at the location they learned that the man had been struck by a vehicle. After further investigation,…
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth police have identified the victim in Duluth’s first homicide in 2022. On Saturday, authorities were dispatched to the 100 block of N 54th Avenue East around 12:50 a.m. for a medical/assault call. Dispatchers told responding officers a male was punched in the head and unconscious. At the scene, the unconscious 42-year-old man, now identified as Ryan…
DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth Playhouse is making adjustments to its current season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a Monday Facebook post, the Playhouse said it had made the difficult decision to not produce The Spongebob Musical, The Revolutionists, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night during the 2021-2022 season. CLUE has also been postponed…
DULUTH, Minn.- Plenty of families took advantage of the warm Monday off to hit the slopes at Chester Bowl. The hill was packed with skiers and snowboarders, some new and some more experienced. Management there says with their rental program it’s a good place for people just trying the sport out and the weather’s never been better for it too….
DULUTH, Minn.-Today, Destination Duluth photographers took on the slopes of Spirit Mountain. Destination Duluth is a non-profit organization that is made up of more than 200 photographers that volunteer their work for select social media platforms. These photos are used to show how unique and beautiful the city of Duluth is, and some have received more than 7 million impressions…
DULUTH, Minn.- It’s the last week open for Old Town Antiques and Books on Superior Street in Duluth, one of three businesses in that location forced out by the company that owns the building. Hall Equities, out of California, sent a letter to Old Town, Hucklebeary, and Chinese Dragon restaurant last month saying they all needed to be out by…
DULUTH, Minn.- Betty White would have turned 100 Monday. After the screen icon passed on New Year’s Eve, animal humane organizations are receiving donations from her fans in her honor, including ones here in the Northland. The Facebook page Missing Pets In The Northland raised roughly $1,800 in one day for its Betty White Challenge soaring past her thousand dollar goal….
WARROAD, Minn. (AP) — A 37-mile ice highway in Minnesota that takes motorists across the mammoth Lake of the Woods to the northernmost point in the contiguous United States is open for the second straight year, with a toll of $250 per vehicle. The road, which costs an estimated $1,500 per mile for plowing and other upkeep, begins in Warroad…
(AP Photo/Jim Mone,File) (FOX 9) – Changes are coming to the Minnesota State Fair, fair officials announced after concluding the 163rd annual meeting of the Minnesota State Fair Agricultural Society. The two main changes are an increase in admission prices and a change in hours. Starting in 2022 the entry fee for an adult will be $17. An increase of…
(courtesy: Fox 9) COON RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) – A man who has been suffering from a severe case of COVID-19 and was being kept alive by a ventilator has been moved from a Minnesota hospital to a Texas facility after a judge issued a restraining order stopping the hospital from turning off his machine. Fifty-five-year-old Scott Quiner, of Buffalo, was…
DULUTH, Minn. – Congressman Pete Stauber on Monday formally announced his run for re-election. U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber (R) who represents Minnesota’s 8th District won his second term against Democratic challenger Quinn Nystrom in 2020. “I am running for re-election because northern Minnesota needs a voice in Washington who will champion our causes built on the foundation of our values…
ST. LOUIS CO., Minn. — A juvenile-aged girl allegedly shot her mother on Sunday afternoon in the Cook area, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities were sent over after a 911 call was made while the 40-year-old mother was brought to the hospital around 4:30 p.m. While law enforcement was on the way, the daughter got into…
DULUTH, Minn.- After 19 years the Red Bull Heavy Metal Rail Jam came back bringing extreme street snowboarding stunts right to many Duluthians’ backyard – Cascade Park. It’s not a sport for the faint of heart, but the thrill is what fuels these athletes. “Definitely scary,” snowboarder Melissa Riitano said. “Had butterflies dropping in for that first hit.” Last held…
DULUTH, Minn.- Putting the Red Bull Heavy Metal Rail Jam together required a team effort from the City of Duluth and even some local businesses. From the clerk’s office issuing permitting, to the Duluth firefighters on scene providing medical attention, 5 city departments were involved. Spirit Mountain crews set up the obstacles, while Damage Board Shop in Lincoln Park shut…
DULUTH, Minn. — A one-of-a-kind local sauna experience hit its 2 year anniversary this month and continues to help people decompress, reduce stress, and feel rejuvenated on the shores of Lake Superior. The Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna in Canal Park is a traditional Nordic sauna inspired from Duluth’s Finnish history. It’s an indoor wood fired sauna that runs between…
DULUTH, Minn. — A recent fatal accident on the ice involving a 16 year old Connecticut hockey player is bringing a renewed attention in the north land to the importance of neck guards in the sport of hockey. On January 6th, Teddy Balkind was sliced on the neck from a skate blade during an on-ice collision, he passed away later…
CARLTON COUNTY, Minn.- A fire that started at a detached garage spread to and destroyed the nearby residence in Thomson Township Sunday. According to the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, around 2:00 a.m., crews from the Esko, Carlton, and Wrenshall Fire Departments discovered the garage at 21 Ridge Road fully engulfed with fire. It was only a few feet from the…
DULUTH, Minn. — Fans have gotten used to wearing masks here at Amsoil arena, but in a few weeks, they’re going to have to bring one extra thing to allow them to come support the Bulldogs. Friday, the President of the University Of Minnesota System announced a new temporary change across their 5 campuses — proof of vaccination or a…
