News & Articles

What next for Central?

Now that Duluth has nixed its agreement to subsidize the proposed construction on the former Central High School hilltop, citizens should demand more reasonable expectations for what happens next. With the Tax Increment Financing deal, the city would not have gotten any new net property tax receipts for many years, but would still have been on the hook for the additional public safety responsibilities. The drumbeat is for housing, but housing for who? The luxe condos that were to be the first units built on the hilltop would likely have been secondary residences for some of their owners.  Wealthy persons whose primary home is in the Twin Cities or Rochester could have afforded a getaway pad with million-dollar views they can’t get back home in flatland.  And, as has happened in other cities, well-off owners often have personal connections that enable them to offer black-market short-term rental of their property to acquaintances.  I guess those things are “housing” in some sense of the word.  But any new units that non-residents snap up for their own part-time use would not cause additional existing houses or apartments to become available for local residents.
David Schimpf
Duluth, Minnesota

Newfound fans

What a great and entertaining publication. My wife & I traveled to Duluth last week to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our first date (it was at the Marc Drive In Theater in Green Bay Wisconsin, and we saw Mary Poppins) obviously a more innocent time in the grand scheme of things. What drew us to Duluth was the Tall ships coming into the harbor. The last time we saw tall ships was in July 1976 in Green Bay, so kind of appropriate. We were staying at the Econo Lodge by the Miller Hill mall, and had the best Mexican food we’ve experienced in quite awhile at the Maya restaurant right behind it. My wife happened to pick up a copy of your wonderful newspaper and we are still reading through it. The diverse stories, history articles, cartoons, and timely reporting are right on target.

 While we now consider ourselves Minnesotans, having moved here in February 1977, alas we are not dwelling with the “real people” of the northland where truth, honesty and integrity still reign supreme, instead, we’re imbedded in the quagmire of the Twin Cities and at the mercy of the politically correct/corrupt news media. 

Thanks for the fresh breath of good northern air and perspective. It’s good to know that there are still great journalists alive and willing to do what journalists are supposed to do, bring unfiltered unbiased true information to the attention of the public so we have something to actually discuss and debate with our friends and neighbors.

 We’ll be logging in to your online publication regularly.
 Long live freedom of the press.
Bill & Betty Byrnes
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

It wouldn’t surprise me

Donald Trump is acting like a spoiled child. When he doesn’t get his way he throws a tantrum and threatens those he feels hurt him. First it was colleges, then cities, people by saying that he’s revoking their citizenships even though their families have been citizens for generations, a football team unless they change they’re name back to the old racist one. Now he wants to fire a state attorney general because they didn’t appoint the judge he wanted them to. The latest is former President Obama with false claims and that he should be arrested. The list goes on and on and who knows who will be next. Maybe those who participated in the rallies across the country.  It wouldn’t surprise me.
Cecilia Hill
Duluth, Minnesota