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DULUTH, MINNESOTA
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Howie

Duluth's homegrown columnist. Since 1971.

Pen-and-ink portrait of Howie Hanson

Howie Hanson

Editor & Publisher of HowieHanson.com

What I Cover

I write about power, business, sports and civic life in Duluth and across Minnesota. My columns examine the people making decisions, the organizations behind those decisions and what their choices mean for the communities they serve.

My Background

My journalism career began in 1971 at the Cloquet Pine Knot. More than five decades later, I'm still reporting and writing from Duluth. I publish HowieHanson.com, an independent site built around original columns, local reporting and Minnesota sports coverage.

My Approach

My work combines reporting, analysis and commentary. I believe in checking facts, asking direct questions and giving readers enough information to make up their own minds. My reporting and opinions are mine, and I stand behind the words I publish.

Contact Me

I welcome story ideas, questions, corrections and tips from readers. Email is the best way to reach me.

Email: GuyHowieHanson@gmail.com

Latest

Howie: Here comes Duluth Public Schools Red Plan Jr.

Debt service already consumes about 60 percent of the school levy. With this addition of $38 million in bonding debt, Duluth is entering a decade in which the school system will spend more paying off debt than teaching future students.

Howie: George Thorogood still bad to the bone

Thorogood isn’t one of those legacy acts coasting on streaming royalties and casino circuits. He’s a lifer — one of the last truly American showmen still pounding the boards the old-fashioned way: loud, sweaty, and swinging like rock & roll still matters.

Howie: Division I rural health teaching

This isn’t science fiction; it’s how rural medicine is already evolving. Duluth could simply be the first to turn it into curriculum — a digital rural residency, training doctors to serve wider geographies with smarter tools.

Howie: The Gift From the North

If the nation is wise enough to listen north, it will find the answers waiting. Because up here, health care isn’t just a profession. It’s a promise. And we keep our promises close to home.

Howie: Policy from the North

If Washington has the humility to learn from Dr. Herman and Essentia's story, it might just rediscover what leadership in health care looks like — steady, patient, and powered by people who measure progress one healed life at a time.

Howie: Un-burdening the healers

Nationally, analysts note that Duluth’s homegrown health system has achieved what many academic centers still struggle with: integrating digital health records, preventive outreach, and local trust into a cohesive care network.

Howie: The doctor will text you now

Health systems from across the country — and even from Canada — have begun studying Essentia Health's model of “rural integration,” which marries technology with value-based care contracts that reward prevention over procedures.

Howie: Darren Danielson, WDIO's statesman

That perfectionism has made WDIO what it is — the region’s dominant newscast for years running. Viewers know exactly what they’ll get: no chaos, no stunts, just clean, confident journalism. Danielson’s the face of that brand, but also its conscience.

Howie: When hospitals become economic engines

Dr. David Herman sees hospitals as ecosystems — living, breathing networks that keep small towns from disappearing. Duluth’s skyline now offers proof in steel and glass. The new St. Mary’s Medical Center doesn’t just treat patients. It sends a message: downtown Duluth still matters.

Howie: Duluth's rental fever

A city’s health isn’t measured by population spikes or press releases. It’s measured by whether the people who teach your kids, clean your clinics, plow your streets, and serve your coffee can afford to live within its limits.

Howie: The Gold Seal of Trust

“We are so fortunate and proud to have not one but two AMS-certified meteorologists. Justin and Sabrina have the passion and dedication needed to provide incredible forecasting to our community.” -- Debra Messer, WDIO's Vice President and General Manager

Chamber dinner sold out

Organizers say APi Group President and CEO Russ Becker’s remarks in his keynote address will highlight how the region’s strengths in talent and industry can shape global markets.

Howie: The Color of Rural Health

In the heart of northern Minnesota, Essentia Health and Tribal leader Samuel Moose are proving that equity isn’t a promise — it’s a practice. By turning sovereignty into shared governance and empathy into measurable outcomes, they’ve created the model Washington now tries to copy.

Howie: Lot D optics in motion

Duluth’s short-term goal is tactical — keep Inland’s exclusivity alive, hit the paperwork milestones, and convince the Legislature to fund the $10.85 million in site-prep money the city calls the key that unlocks $250 million in private investment.

Howie: Food, Heat and Hope: The Social Side of Medicine

“Connecting to other social services is a critical part of population-health improvement,” Dr. David Herman, President and CEO of Essentia Health, told the Senate. “Access to healthy food, transportation, and housing must be seen as part of health care.”

Howie: From Fee for Service to Fee for Results

For once, a health-care revolution isn’t coming from Silicon Valley or Washington, but from the north shore of Lake Superior. And if it succeeds, the light in the pharmacy window — the one Herman says tells you whether a town is still alive — might stay on a little longer.