News and Current Affairs
Duluth 2025 General Election Sample Ballot
General Election Day for the city of Duluth and Independent School District #709 is Tuesday, Nov. 4. The sample ballot above does not reflect what an actual ballot will look like in any part of the city. Some voters will not see any district races; others will see either District 1, 2 or 4 races on their ballot.
Climate>Duluth: Kelley Skumautz
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Kelley Skumautz, executive director of Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate. The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio.
Climate>Duluth: Polly and Peter Edmunds of Border Partners
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Polly and Peter Edmunds about their work with Border Partners. The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio.
DuLilith Fest brings fem-forward spirit to Duluth’s Chester Bowl
Gaelynn Lea is a featured performer at DuLilith Fest, Oct. 4 at Chester Bowl Park.
Yoga in the grass, guitars echoing off the ski slopes, the smell of food trucks drifting through Duluth’s Chester Bowl Park and voices rising together in song are the vision behind DuLilith Fest, a one-day celebration of women in music happening Saturday, Oct. 4. The local event draws its name and inspiration from a traveling music festival popular in the late 1990s. (more…)
PDD Quiz: September 2025
Wrap up another month with this week’s current events quiz!
A Halloween-y quiz creeps your way on Oct. 12; please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 9. (more…)
R.I.P. Lakeside Professional Building
Demolition of the Lakeside Professional Building began in August. (Photo by Gina Temple-Rhodes)
The Lakeside Professional Building, formerly St. Michael’s School, is no more. St. Michael’s Catholic Church announced in December that the building at 4915 E. Superior St. had been deemed structurally deficient and would be demolished. The tenants, which included Gabriel’s Used Bookstore and the Sami Cultural Center, cleared out in the spring. Gabriel’s had operated out of the building’s basement since 1994.
Historic property tour showcases Duluth’s west side
The Duluth Preservation Alliance will feature the west side of the city during its annual Historic Properties Tour on Sunday, Sept. 21.
An annual historic home tour that typically showcases turn-of-the-century mansions anchored in Duluth’s eastern hillside will instead feature small-scale, hidden gems lovingly restored on the west side of town.
The 2025 Duluth Preservation Alliance Historic Properties Tour highlights four private homes and two public buildings during its Sunday, Sept. 21 event called “West Side Story.” Ticket holders will be able to roam each property and take in its history, architecture and restoration work from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (more…)
The Secret Life of Data Centers
Agate reports that cities around Minnesota — including Farmington and Hermantown — have signed non-disclosure agreements with developers for projects that might be data centers. The article notes the Hermantown facility is “multiple buildings totaling nearly two million square feet” and the description of the project is “so vague that the Minnesota DNR objects that citizens would have trouble offering any comments because it’s unclear what the proposal is.”
Agate is an online magazine covering nature, science and conservation.
PDD Quiz: August 2025
Close out summer with this edition of the PDD Quiz, which reviews the month’s headlines and happenings.
A quiz about repurposed school buildings comes your way on Sept. 14. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 10. (more…)
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Results
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting, here are the vote totals.
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two will be elected
Terese Tomanek – 3,192
Jordan Johnson – 2,468
Derek Medved – 2,129
Asher Estrin Haire – 811
Zachary Davis Moder – 721
Duluth Second District City Councilor
Diane Desotelle – 1,055
Christopher Adatte – 224
Pierre Tournier – 41
Duluth At-large School Board Member
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two will be elected
Amber Sadowski – 3,036
Kelly Durick Eder – 2,680
Harry Welty – 1,477
Loren Martell – 1.027
Jane Hoffman – 970
Grand Portage Ferry Terminal Flag Raising Ceremony
A redevelopment of the ferry terminal at Grand Portage, where vessels shuttle passengers to Isle Royale, was recently completed. Among the changes are a rebuilt ferry dock and public docks, a new ticketing and restroom building, and parking lot improvements. The project at Hat Point Marina and Ferry Terminal was 10 years in the making.
A flag raising ceremony was held there on Aug. 1. This video was produced by M. Baxley for WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Duluth’s primary election ballot on Aug. 12 includes citywide races for at-large seats on the city council and school board, and a school district referendum question. Citizens in the Endion, Congdon, Chester Park and Kenwood neighborhoods will also vote on the Second District City Council race.
The general election on Nov. 4 will include three more races — Fourth District City Council, District One School Board and District Four School Board.
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Jordon Johnson, Derek Medved and Terese Tomanek. Empty-chair statements were submitted by candidates Asher Estrin-Haire and Zachary Moder and read by the moderator, Mary Katherine Faulkner.
The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 28.
Candidate Forum: Duluth School Board At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for ISD 709 Duluth School Board At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Kelly Durick Eder, Jane Hoffman, Loren Martell, Amber Sadowski and Harry Welty.
Pat Castellano is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 22.
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council District 2
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council District 2 candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Chris Adatte and Diane Desotelle. Candidate Pierre Tournier was unable to attend.
Katherine Kane is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 21.
PDD Quiz: July 2025
Beat the heat with this week’s current events quiz, which tests your knowledge of local headlines.
A soccer-themed PDD quiz rolls your way on Aug. 17. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 14. (more…)
R.I.P. Loiselle Liquor / Lake Superior Liquor Cabinet
The former Loiselle Liquor store in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood was demolished last week. It was the oldest liquor store in Duluth, established in 1934. The store was sold in 2022 and took a new name — Lake Superior Liquor Cabinet — but eventually closed. The building was sold to Essentia Health in April. (more…)
Historic Duluth Woman’s Club building will become B&B
The Duluth Woman’s Club, 2400 E. Superior St., was constructed in 1910 by Duluth Edison Power company founder Alexander W. Hartman. It had been owned and maintained by the Duluth Woman’s Club since 1936. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A Superior Street mansion that long served as a meeting place for the Duluth Woman’s Club has been sold to a Washington couple with plans to establish a bed and breakfast in the Turn-of-the-Century property. (more…)
PDD Quiz: June 2025
Go the distance with this week’s current events quiz!
An outdoorsy quiz treks your way on July 13. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 10. (more…)
Lincoln Park salad shop moves to Lakeside; adds dining room
Ritual Salad owner Cori Zastera poses in the doorway of her new restaurant location in Lakeside. Zastera and friend Jenna Wersal, left, were prepping the building for paint June 11. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A year after opening in Lincoln Park, a popular grab-and-go lunch counter and mystic shop is moving to a bigger building in Lakeside.
Ritual Salad & Apothecary plans to open a new restaurant in a former driving school at 4501 E. Superior St. this month. The business debuted last spring in a tiny, renovated building on the corner of Superior Street and 18th Avenue West. The move will increase indoor seating capacity from five to 25. (more…)
New loan program designed to save historic Duluth buildings
Demolition of the former Pastoret Terrace on First Street and Second Avenue East has led to a new city fund supporting historic downtown Duluth building preservation.
Historic downtown Duluth buildings are now eligible for city-funded improvement loans after a legal battle over a fire-damaged-but-treasured 19th century townhouse demolition established the assistance program.
The city of Duluth recently added a $1.4 million Historic Fund to its long-running economic development initiative known as the 1200 Fund. To launch the new project, the city plans to make $400,000 in low-interest, partially forgivable loans to historic building owners for property work in 2025. The application process opened May 5. (more…)
PDD Quiz: May 2025
Get your brain in gear with this week’s PDD quiz, which reviews May 2025 headlines and happenings!
The next PDD quiz, in honor of Father’s Day, will be published on June 15. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 7. (more…)
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Primer
The filing period for candidates vying for Duluth City Council and Independent School District #709 School Board runs from May 20 June 3. The primary election is Aug. 12; the general election is Nov. 4. (more…)
More Cross City Trail detours expected in Lincoln Park
This portion of the Cross City Trail in Lincoln Park follows Michigan Street near Interstate 35. It reopened in 2024 after the original trail there was demolished in 2021 during the Twin Ports Interchange project, which redesigned what was known at the time as the I-35 “Can of Worms.” (Photo by Paul Lundgren)
Temporary detours for a section of the Cross City Trail in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood are expected later this year when the West Superior Street Reconstruction Project begins. (more…)
We’ll always have Duluth
Today’s Daily Cartoon in The New Yorker references Duluth. The comic is by Jason Adam Katzenstein.