Minnesota

Duluth’s ‘Stepping On Up’ Launches ‘Safe Bay’ For Homeless Living In Vehicles

DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth homeless organizations launched a first Monday night by creating a designated location for people who are living out of their vehicles to safely park overnight. The “Safe Bay” is an initiative through “Stepping On Up.” The Safe Bay is located in the Domiano Center’s parking lot.  It will be operating daily from 8 p.m. until 8…

Monday Update: Closed Roads In St. Louis County

DULUTH, Minn. — The following is information from St. Louis County regarding closed roads. This list was released at 4:00 p.m. Monday. St. Louis County Public Works teams have been busy working on two fronts: clearing snow – as much as 6-8 inches fell in parts of the county – while also monitoring road conditions and making repairs when possible….

Chauvin Murder Conviction Upheld In George Floyd Killing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday upheld former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s second-degree murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd, and his 22 1/2-year sentence remains in place. Chauvin’s attorney had asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s convictions for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. He also argued that legal…

JUUL Trial: Minnesota Settles E-Cigarette Lawsuit

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minnesota has settled its lawsuit with JUUL and Altria a day before closing arguments were scheduled to begin, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a news release on Monday. Minnesota was the first to go to trial with JUUL and Altria for its e-cigarette marketing tactics, which Ellison said were deceptive and appealing to youths. Ellison sued JUUL in…

Sheriff’s Deputy And Suspect Killed In Minnesota Shootout

(AP) — One sheriff’s deputy died on his 44th birthday and two other law enforcement officers were injured after a shootout in west-central Minnesota that also killed the suspect in a domestic assault call Saturday night. Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Owen died at the hospital Saturday after the shooting that happened around 7:30 p.m. at an apartment in Cyrus, authorities…

Sunday Update: Closed Roads in St. Louis County

DULUTH, MINN — The following is information from St. Louis County regarding closed roads. This list was released at 5:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. St. Louis County Public Works has closed four more roads due to flooding issues, for a total of 11 newly closed roads today. One road, App Road near the Lake County border, was able to reopen this…

Closings, Delays, E-Learning: April 17, 2023

The following schools are closed, delayed or holding classes virtually for Monday, April 17, 2023: Ashland Schools: Closed Bayfield School District: Closed Bessemer Area School District: Closed Floodwood School District: Closed Solon Springs School District: Closed / Remote Leaning South Shore Schools: Closed / Remote Learning Washburn Schools: Closed / Remote Learning   Categories: Minnesota, News, News – Latest News,…

Minnesota Power: Local Dams Handling Rising St. Louis River As Built To Do

CARLTON, Minn. — Minnesota Power has activated its emergency action plans at four of its hydro facilities along the St. Louis River, like the Thomson Dam in Carlton. The emergency action plans are enforced to put the public and emergency management agencies on high alert of the higher-than-normal flows. They’ve developed plans of action to identify which neighborhoods are most…

Rising St. Louis River Closes Swinging Bridge At Jay Cooke State Park

CARLTON, Minn. – The St. Louis River within Jay Cooke State Park is raging so high that park officials have closed the Swinging bBridge to pedestrians for the time being. Visitors braved the snowy conditions Sunday to check out Mother’s Nature at her best there. Signs and tape blocked off the famous bridge over the St. Louis River until conditions…

Sleeping Bags, Tents Wanted As Duluth’s Warming Shelter Closes For Season

DULUTH, Minn. — The CHUM drop-in shelter in Duluth is asking for donated sleeping bags and tents as more of the homeless population will be out in the elements with Duluth’s Warming Shelter closing for the season on Monday. This comes as CHUM and MnDOT are planned to clean up a growing homeless encampment in Duluth sometime this week. The…

Lodge 9 Fundraises for Local Law Enforcement

HERMANTOWN, Minn.–If you would like to help support your local police force, the Lake Superior Lodge 9 held their annual Fraternal Order of Police Spring Fundraiser. The fundraiser was held over at the AAD Shrine Meeting and Event Center in Hermantown. They had games, prizes, raffles, and a silent auction where items available were all donated by local businesses and…

The AAD Shrine Circus Performs At The DECC

DULUTH, Minn.– Over the weekend, three shows from the big tent were live again at the DECC. The AAD Shrine Circus has been Duluth’s longest-running show for the last 101 years. This year saw clowns, acrobatics, and a whole lot of other thrills. “We have a lot of acrobatic thrill shows,” said Potentate Chief Rabbin Gary Bubalo. “We stopped having…

‘Discover Pro Wrestling’ Hosts Event At Clyde

DULUTH, Minn.–Get ready for a smackdown!  Fighters took to the stage inside a pack Clyde Iron Works to see who would ring out as the new or current defending champion. Fighters from all over the Midwest gathered to compete in Sunday’s showdown. “This is the third event that Discover Pro Wrestling is doing,” said DPW Heavy Weight Defending Champion Sierra….

Minnesota Deputy Shot, Killed Responding To Domestic Assault Call; Officer, Deputy Also Hurt

CYRUS, Minn. (Fox 9) – A Pope County Sheriff’s Deputy was killed along with a suspect in a domestic assault call Saturday. Two other law enforcement officers were also shot during the incident. Around 7:30 p.m. the deputy along, with another deputy from Pope County and a police officer from Starbuck, Minnesota responded to a domestic assault call in the town of Cyrus on…

Otters at Great Lakes Aquarium Turn 10 Years Old

DULUTH, MINN. — What better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon, than celebrating the birthday of the otters at the Great Lakes Aquarium? The two otters, who are both female, are named Agate and Ore. They came to the aquarium from Louisiana when they were just six months old. Now nine and half years later they’ve reached the one-decade mark….

Spring Garden Extravaganza

DULUTH, MINN. –The St. Louis County Extension Service held its Spring Garden Extravaganza Saturday at the Depot in Duluth. There were a lot of people on hand to learn about many different aspects of gardening, including flowering shrubs and trees and small fruits. There were presentations from experts in pruning fruit trees, pollinators, and vegetable gardens as well as tomatoes….

Gov. Walz Takes Part in Spring Turkey Hunting Opener

NEAR NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz began his day bright and early Saturday for the state’s kickoff of turkey hunting. Walz joined by National Wild Turkey Federation Director of Development,Tom Glines, Minnesota DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen, and two legislators along with members of the Learn-to-Hunt program. The hunting party hunted on private land near Northfield owned by Jerry…

Northland Robotics Teams Prepare for Worlds

DULUTH, Minn. — With three local high school robotics teams headed to the world’s championship of robotics, the Arrowhead Robotics Coalition arranged for a practice arena for the Denfeld, Hermantown and Babbitt teams. The DNA 4009 team from Denfeld is appearing in its first Worlds Championship since 2017, although they qualified in 2020, there was no event because it was…

Essentia Health Hoists A Flag Raising Ceremony As Part Of National Donate Life Month

DULUTH, Minn. — A new flag near the entrance to the Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center was raised Friday, it’s the Donate Life Flag. April is National Donate Life Month; it is meant to honor organ donors who have given the hope of life to someone in need. The flag-raising ceremony was accompanied by speakers from Essentia who talked about…

Minneapolis OKs Dawn Muslim Prayer Call, 1st For Big US City

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — Minneapolis will allow broadcasts of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours, becoming the first major U.S. city to allow the announcement or “adhan” to be heard over speakers five times a day, year-round. The Minneapolis City Council unanimously agreed Thursday to amend the city’s noise ordinance, which had prevented dawn and late evening calls at certain…

April 13th is Ethel Ray Nance Day in Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. — April 13 in Duluth is officially Ethel Ray Nance Day. Who is that you may ask? Nance was an important civil and women’s rights activist, and she was born and lived in the Central Highlands of Duluth. Thursday morning Duluth city council president, Janet Kennedy read the official city proclamation that proclaims it as Nance’s Day. April…

Homeless Encampment, Debris Grow Near Bayfront Park; Cleanup Effort Planned Next Week

DULUTH, Minn. — A homeless encampment across the street from Bayfront Park has grown into a public health hazard, and a CHUM official confirms MnDOT will be cleaning the property sometime next week. There are two growing sections along Railroad Street with about five tents and other items across from Playfront Park next to I35. The second section that’s most…

Dept. By Dept. Breakdown Of 2023 Duluth Budget Cuts, City’s Reason Why

DULUTH, Minn. – FOX 21 has gathered new details involving city wide budget cuts in Duluth worth $383,000. City administration says the cuts involve this year’s status-quo budget. The Duluth Police Department, which has the largest portion of the city’s budget, is being asked to cut $98,402. The Duluth Fire Department holds the city’s second-largest portion of the yearly budget….

Duluth Business Owners Helping Each Other

West Duluth Business Club Working to Make Things Happen

A group of Duluth business owners is welcoming new members as it works to help the area prosper. Members of the West Duluth Business Club gather the second Wednesday of every month at Mr. D’s. Wednesday was no exception. There is usually a guest speaker, and this month it was Amber Burns with the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. One…

Preparing For Floods in St. Louis County

DULUTH, MNN. — Four public agencies from St Louis County held a news conference on Wednesday to talk about the spring snow melt and spring flooding. The agencies explained what they have planned and already done to prepare for any flooding that may occur. The warm weather over the past couple of days has greatly reduced the snowpack in the…

2023 District 1 Construction Projects

DULUTH, Minn. – With Spring in the air MnDOT is getting ready for more construction projects to get underway in Northeast Minnesota in 2023. They include roads and bridges, with six carryover projects that include work on I-35, I-535, and the Highway 53 interchange as well as bridge work on the Silver Creek Bridge. 16 new projects will kick off…

Two Harbors Voters Choose Their Next Mayor

TWO HARBORS, Wis. — The people of Two Harbors headed to the polls Tuesday to vote for their next mayor. This comes after now-former embattled mayor Chris Swanson was recalled by more than 1,000 votes last august. The unofficial results Tuesday evening from the Clerk’s Office showed Lew Conner as the city’s next mayor. Conner is a retired educator who…

City Of Proctor: ‘Immediately Reduce Water Usage’; Sanitary Sewers, Manholes ‘Full’

PROCTOR, Minn. — The city of Proctor is asking citizens and businesses to immediately reduce water usage, according to a news release just before 8 p.m. Tuesday. This is not a boil notice. “At approximately 4:20 PM Tuesday, April 11, 2023 City of Proctor wastewater staff notified city administration the city sanitary sewer lines and manholes are full because of…

Fitger’s 5-K Goes Zero Waste

DULUTH, Minn. — With warm weather comes race season as the Fitger’s 5-K is right around the corner, and this year it brings a new sustainable plan. This years race lands on April 22nd which happens to be Earth Day, so in honor of the green day Grandma’s Marathon-Duluth plans on making the race zero-waste. In partnership with a company…

St. Luke’s Honors Organ Donation

DULUTH, Minn. — Tuesday St. Luke’s hospital held their annual ceremony honoring the life saving gift of organ donation and the families of donors. The hospital raised a “Donate Life” flag and held a moment of silence for those who have given the gift of life through organ donation. Recipients also recognized the gift of their donors at the ceremony….

Broken Water Main Floods Home in Duluth

DULUTH, MINN. — Generally, a water main break causes pooling of water in the street and perhaps in adjoining yards. But in this case, the water main broke on a slight hill, and that allowed it to flow on Paul Zwak’s property and into his garages and home. Paul and his wife and two of their children spent much of…

Report: U Of Minnesota ‘Committed Genocide’ Of Native People

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota should hire more Native American faculty, offer students additional financial support and give back land to atone for its historic mistreatment of the state’s tribes, a report conducted through a collaboration with the school concluded Tuesday. The report said that the university’s founding board of regents “committed genocide and ethnic cleansing of Indigenous…

Duluth Public Library Security Assessment

DULUTH, Minn. — The Duluth Public Library continues to review safety within its downtown branch after a rise in violence and disturbances since the pandemic. Guidepost Solutions recently completed the assessment, which included getting input from library staff. It found more than 90% of staff have experienced a unsafe situation at the library. The assessment also studied the crime around…

Duluth Fire Union: Budget Cuts Will Compromise Safety, Services

DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth Firefighters Local 101 is speaking out against budget cuts they say are being ordered by Mayor Emily Larson. Union V.P. Pete Johnson said the cuts will “have a negative impact on our firefighters’ safety and their ability to provide the level of service that the citizens of Duluth deserve.” The department is being asked to cut…

Two More Candidates Announce Run For Duluth City Council

DULUTH, Minn. — Two more people have announced they’re running for Duluth City Council seats. Wendy Durrwachter is running for Dist. 1. She says she will “focus on doing the work to ensure Duluth stays a great place to call home.” Durrwachter was a single mother of two who supported her family mostly as a restaurant server. She’s now a…

Twin Ports Pet Sitters Expanding To Superior

TWIN PORTS — For all the pet lovers out there, a local business is expanding its operations to help take care of even more animals. Twin Ports Pet Sitters is a 9-year-old company providing pet care to animals all around the Duluth area. Now, they’ve expanded their operations to Superior. The company now offers dog walks, cat bonding, and critter…