Howie: How Minnesota is quietly rewriting the rules of rural health care
The next era of rural health depends on designing systems that reward results rather than codes, that measure well-being rather than billing.
Howie: The Great Scanlon Data Center caper
We headed down to the bridge for what we called a “feasibility study.” Translation: three guys staring at the water with thermoses. “Looks cold enough to me,” Dale said. “Yep,” Roger nodded. “Perfect for servers.”
Howie: My Vacation Journal, Part 1 of 12
The truth is, rural health care isn’t dying—it’s evolving into something the rest of us can barely afford to witness. The doctors are trying, the nurses are saints, but the paperwork alone could clog an artery. Somewhere along the line, healing became a subscription service.
Howie: The Amsoil press box feels empty without John Gilbert
They say Herb Brooks was a visionary. Fine. But every visionary needs a translator, and that was John. Herb trusted him enough to actually talk — which, if you knew Herb, tells you everything.
Howie: Downtown Duluth embraces for another long winter
You can’t police despair. You can shuffle people from doorway to doorway, but that’s optics, not safety. The folks drifting between shelters and liquor stores aren’t statistics.
Howie: The Great Duluth Spin Parade: Everyone’s cheering, nobody’s buying it
It’s civic theater, and everyone knows their lines. The officials announce. The media nod. The television anchors beam. The advertisers clap. And the citizens — the actual audience — sit at home wondering if they’ve accidentally tuned into satire.
UMD sweeps Bemidji State, visits Minnesota next weekend
Sophomore forward Jayson Shaugabay scored twice and added an assist as Minnesota Duluth powered past Bemidji State 5-1 on Saturday night at Amsoil Arena to complete a nonconference sweep. After a scoreless opening period, the Bulldogs broke through midway through the second on a power-play goal from Shaugabay, who buried
Howie: Independent. Unbought. Unafraid.
I started building what I call Howie 5.0 long before the world ever heard of ChatGPT or Jasper or any of these so-called AI writing assistants. Long before the tech world decided to disrupt writing, I was quietly building something to restore it.
Howie: We’ve seen this movie before. Same script, different salesman.
The old fellas at the café won’t need a study to understand it. They’ve seen this dance too many times before. They’ll sip their burnt coffee, shake their heads, and say what they always say when the next “big thing” blows through town: “Should’ve just built another rink.”
Bulldogs hammer Bemidji State 7-3
Minnesota Duluth turned an early two-goal deficit into a rout Friday night, exploding for seven unanswered goals to roll past Bemidji State 7-3 in a nonconference men’s college hockey game in Bemidji. The Beavers jumped out fast when Noah Quinn and Vincent Labelle scored less than five minutes apart,
Howie: The 20 Greatest Bulldogs Ever
From Brett Hull’s cannon to Bill Watson’s Hobey, from Hunter Shepard’s iron-man streak to Mark Pavelich’s Miracle, these 20 players are the spine of a program that turned a scrappy hilltop school into a national power.
Hermantown blitzes North Branch, rematch Saturday in playoff semifinal
“I thought we were the most physical we have been to date. We did a pretty darn good job bottling up that power-T offense that North Branch runs — which has notoriously caused us problems in the past.” -- Hawks coach Mike Zagelmeyer
Third Street ramp back open — mostly
The Third Street ramp is back. Not perfect, but close enough. Pull in slow, nod to the crew finishing the last section, and take that skywalk like you own it — because for a couple months there, you didn’t.
Howie: Essentia’s tower is the beating heart of a rebuilding downtown
The Benedictine Sisters weren’t chasing miracles — they were building them. Standing on Superior Street at sunrise and looking east toward that glass tower, you can still hear their rhythm beneath the city’s heartbeat. The heart of downtown is beating again. And it carries a Benedictine rhythm.
Prep Sports Notebook
CLOQUET — Cloquet swept Hermantown 25-20, 25-23, 25-19 in a nonconference high school volleyball match Tuesday night, led by a dominant performance from senior outside hitter Ava Maslowski. Maslowski recorded a match-high 15 kills and three ace serves for the Lumberjacks. Ava Anderson added 12 kills and 13 digs, while setters
Emily Martinson joins Duluth's Essentia Urgent Care team
Martinson’s story is about coming full circle. She trained inside the same hallways and exam rooms where she’ll now care for patients — a homegrown addition to a system that clearly made an impression.