"Watch what Harrison Smith decides to do. If he thinks the team is a legitimate contender, he will come back to help out. If he does not, he will retire. His appraisals of talent and the Purple's immediate potential are far more informed than all the fans and journalists combined." -- Fred Friedman
DULUTH, Minn. — Malik Henry stood outside the visitors' locker room Monday night sounding like a quarterback whose team had finally figured something out. The Michigan Arsenal had just walked into Amsoil Arena and beaten the Minnesota Monsters 41-34 in one of the biggest games of the Arena Football
Ness convinced Duluth to stop speaking about itself like a city waiting for the next economic funeral and start speaking about itself like a place with a future worth competing for nationally. Not perfectly. Not without backlash. Not without legitimate criticism. But undeniably.
Player of the Year frontrunner Malik Henry of Michigan tops my 2026 AF1 Dream Team, as teams battle for six playoff spots. Offense QB — Malik Henry, Michigan League leader in passing yards and touchdown passes. Nashville's Tyler Kulka and Albany's Sam Castronova are close, but Henry
The first five names on this list will generate most of the headlines. That's how the draft works. The real story, however, often emerges years later. Somewhere between picks 25 and 50 sits a future NHL star. Every draft has one.
The rankings begin this way: Hermantown, Grand Rapids, North Branch, Cloquet, Duluth Denfeld, Duluth East and Rock Ridge.
Recruiting services rank Duluth Marshall's Chloe Johnson among the top players nationally in the Class of 2028, and ESPN has rated her among the elite prospects in her class.
CLOQUET, Minn. — Jamie Langenbrunner, a Cloquet native, two-time Stanley Cup champion and former captain of the U.S. Olympic hockey team, has been hired by the Nashville Predators as a special assistant to general manager Chris MacFarland. The move places one of northeastern Minnesota's most accomplished athletes
The race attracted 2,525 finishers, narrowly missing the event record of 2,548 participants set in 2025. The William A. Irvin 5K serves as one of the traditional kickoff events for the annual Grandma's Marathon weekend, drawing runners from across the region and beyond to Duluth's waterfront.
The event represented something larger than a summer exhibition. It was a reminder that basketball remains one of the city's most powerful community connectors, capable of bringing together people from different neighborhoods, backgrounds and generations for a common purpose.
This project is rooted in a belief that local prep sports matter. They matter because they teach discipline, resilience, teamwork and leadership. They matter because generations of families share experiences together. Most importantly, they matter because they help define who we are as communities.
As the sport continues to grow overseas, figures such as Zach Edwards and Jack Del Rio provide evidence that Minnesota's influence on football extends far beyond the state's borders.
Years after Last Chance U introduced Thompson to a national audience, he is still playing professional football, still chasing championships and still searching for the next opportunity. The Netflix cameras helped tell the first chapter of his story. The most enduring chapters have come since.
The awards, judged by journalists from outside Minnesota, recognize outstanding work published during 2025. The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists, founded in 1956, advocates for press freedom, journalism ethics and professional development throughout the state.
The awards represent a significant achievement for the Duluth-based online news outlet, which has built a reputation for watchdog reporting on local government, development projects and public policy issues in northeastern Minnesota.
The moves reflect an aggressive approach by the Monsters as the regular season enters its final stretch. Rather than standing pat, Minnesota has continued to reshape its roster in pursuit of a postseason berth.
