Thursday Community News
Edit storyThe Minnesota Monsters have named Daron Clark head coach for their first season in the Arena Football One (AF1) league. Clark brings extensive playing
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: The 340B Lifeline Under Attack
Edit storyDr. David Herman, President & CEO of Essentia Health in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, has become the calm in the middle of this storm — a measured advocate who can walk senators through the compliance forms, the pharmacy audits, the real-world consequences.
Howie: Inside Rural Minnesota’s 96-Hour Trap
Edit storyThe 96-hour rule may have once been a guardrail. Now it’s a barrier. If Congress wants to help rural America without another task force or photo op, it can start with one simple act: stop the clock.
Wednesday Community News
Edit storyThe St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a wave of scam calls in which callers falsely claim to be law
Howie: Hennepin County is the warning
Edit storyIf Hennepin fails, it’s not just a county left behind. It’s every county watching, knowing this is a glimpse of its own future. Fentanyl doesn’t care about ZIP codes. Neither does a gun in the wrong hands. The time to coordinate isn’t after the obituary runs — it’s now.
Howie: The Broadband Health Gap
Edit storyTelehealth, Dr. David Herman insists, is not a shortcut but a lifeline. The proof is already visible: fewer hospitalizations, lower costs, and improved patient outcomes. What’s missing is the will — and the infrastructure — to finish the job. “Broadband is the new stethoscope,” Herman said.
Minnesota Star Tribune introduces MN Rising – sharing stories of community good
Edit storyThe Star Tribune, founded 158 years ago, is Minnesota’s largest news organization and has earned seven Pulitzer Prizes. Its parent company describes its mission as “building the leading model for local news in America.”
Howie: How Minnesota is quietly rewriting the rules of rural health care
Edit storyThe 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
Edit storyWe 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
Edit storyThe 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
Edit storyThey 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
Edit storyYou 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
Edit storyIt’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
Edit storySophomore forward Jayson Shaugabay scored twice and added an assist as Minnesota Duluth powered past Bemidji State 5-1 on Saturday night at Amsoil
Howie: Independent. Unbought. Unafraid.
Edit storyI 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.
Edit storyThe 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
Edit storyMinnesota Duluth turned an early two-goal deficit into a rout Friday night, exploding for seven unanswered goals to roll past Bemidji State 7-
Howie: The 20 Greatest Bulldogs Ever
Edit storyFrom 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
Edit story“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
Edit storyThe 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
Edit storyThe 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
Edit storyCLOQUET — Cloquet swept Hermantown 25-20, 25-23, 25-19 in a nonconference high school volleyball match Tuesday night, led by a dominant performance
Emily Martinson joins Duluth's Essentia Urgent Care team
Edit storyMartinson’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.
Turn on a green light — it’s time to show up for the veterans again
Edit storyThe St. Louis County Board passed a proclamation to keep Operation Green Light as an annual November tradition — a moment when the community’s gratitude actually glows.
PAVSA to host Annual Autumn Event, honor community allies
Edit storyDULUTH — The Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault will hold its annual Autumn Event fundraiser Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Clyde Malting
Star Tribune expands Strib Voices
Edit storyStrib Voices is our commitment to reflect Minnesota in all its richness and complexity. These columnists combine sharp analysis with a lived connection to their communities, ensuring our opinion pages are informed not only by ideas, but by experience.” -- Phil Morris
Duluth Rotary Rose Day at Super One locations
Edit storyThe 40th annual Duluth Rotary Rose Day will take place Friday, Oct. 17, continuing one of the community’s longest-running fall traditions of
Deadline nears for Bridge to Health Survey responses
Edit storyConducted every five years since 1995, the Bridge to Health Survey aims to answer a key question: How healthy is the Northland? It covers a wide range of topics including physical and mental health, nutrition, exercise, tobacco and alcohol use, dental care, insurance coverage, and social connection.
Monday Sports Notebook
Edit storyThe Hermantown Hawks boys soccer team closed the 2025 season with a 9-5-4 overall record and a 7-1-3 mark in
Howie: Downtown Duluth's hardest lift is turning a lake into an economy
Edit storyCanal Park became the lakefront playground, but it siphoned energy from Superior Street. Other cities never had this “split personality.” Duluth must stitch them together.
Howie: Cloquet can’t build its future on the past
Edit storyThe mills still give Cloquet its pulse, but they're also the anchors that keep it from moving. Try building a new identity when everyone asks, “How are the mills doing?”
Howie: Even without Sleen, Hawks blitz Rock Ridge
Edit story“Holding Martin (Sleen, Minnesota's leading rusher) out allowed some of our younger guys to get valuable experience, especially since our JV game was canceled this past week. It was great to see some of them step up and contribute.” -- Hermantown coach Mike Zagelmeyer