HowieHanson.com has always been built around a simple promise: Give local readers independent local journalism they can trust, and never allow money, politics or institutional pressure to determine what can be reported or written.
Today, I am inviting readers who value that work — and who can comfortably afford it — to strengthen its future by becoming paid subscribers for $9 a month.
This is a direct request, but it comes with enormous gratitude. Thousands of people receive the Howie Daily eNewsletter and visit the website to read columns about Duluth City Hall, public schools, property taxes, downtown, the DECC, UMD athletics, high school sports and the people whose stories help define this community.
Every one of those readers matters.
Some have followed my work for decades. Others discovered HowieHanson.com only recently. Many forward columns to friends, send story suggestions, provide information, offer criticism or simply take a few minutes each morning to see what Howie has to say. That loyal readership has helped build this publication into an independent daily voice in Duluth and across northeastern Minnesota.
Now I am asking those who are able to help sustain it.
The price is $9 a month, or about 30 cents a day. I understand that $9 is not insignificant. Duluth households are already dealing with higher property taxes, grocery bills, utilities, insurance, rent and other expenses. Many retirees are living on fixed incomes, and working families are being asked to stretch every paycheck further than it was designed to go.
Some loyal readers simply cannot add another monthly expense. If that describes you, please continue reading, sharing columns and recommending HowieHanson.com to others. That support has real value, and you will always be treated as an important part of this readership.
Those who can afford to become paid subscribers will help make independent local journalism available to everyone.
A subscription supports far more than words appearing on a screen. It provides the time required to read budgets, examine contracts, study public records, make telephone calls, develop sources, ask follow-up questions and challenge official explanations that do not withstand scrutiny. It supports the website, the daily newsletter and an expanding archive of Duluth and Northland history that deserves to be preserved.
It also supports independence.
There is no corporate newsroom behind HowieHanson.com. There is no national chain deciding which Duluth stories are worth covering. There is no distant editor worried about whether a column might make an influential person uncomfortable. There is only a promise to readers that the work will be honest, thoroughly reported and guided by what matters to this community.
A paid subscription does not purchase agreement. No serious columnist should expect readers to agree with every conclusion. Subscribers may occasionally finish a column convinced that Howie is wrong. What they are supporting is the experience, effort and independence necessary to reach an honest conclusion—and the willingness to defend it with facts.
I have worked at this craft since 1971. The technology has changed dramatically during those years. Newspapers have consolidated, local newsrooms have grown smaller and many community stories now disappear without anyone having the time or resources to report them. The fundamental relationship between a columnist and the reader, however, has not changed.
The columnist does the work, tells readers what he finds, separates reporting from opinion and corrects mistakes when they occur. Readers decide whether that work has earned their attention, confidence and support.
Advertising remains an important part of HowieHanson.com, and I am deeply grateful to the local businesses that invest in this publication. But advertising alone should not determine whether independent journalism survives. A publication becomes stronger and more accountable when its readers also have a stake in its future.
My immediate goal is to add 100 paid monthly subscribers.
Those subscriptions would provide a stronger foundation for deeper reporting on Duluth’s 2027 budget, the possible school referendum, rising property taxes, downtown redevelopment, public land decisions and the contracts and subsidies involving major community institutions. They would also support the sports reporting, historical columns and profiles of local legends that larger news organizations increasingly lack the time or staffing to produce.
This is not an appeal for sympathy. It is an invitation to invest in a locally owned publication that you already know.
If HowieHanson.com is part of your daily routine, if you appreciate having an independent set of eyes watching Duluth’s money and institutions, or if you believe our athletes, coaches, civic leaders and community legends deserve to have their stories preserved, I hope you will consider becoming a paid subscriber for $9 a month.
If $9 is beyond your budget, please remain part of this community. Keep reading. Keep sharing. Keep sending story ideas and holding me accountable.
If you are able to subscribe, your support will help make that continued accessibility possible.
I will keep doing the work, asking the questions and telling you what I find. If you believe that work makes Duluth better informed, please click Subscribe in the upper right-hand corner of the front page at HowieHanson.com and become one of the 100 readers helping keep independent Duluth journalism strong.
