A portion of Highway 5 south of Side Lake is temporarily closed after a culvert failed causing a partial washout.
Highway 5 is closed from approximately 0.8 miles south of Side Lake to about 1.5 miles north of Green Rock Road. Detour signs are being posted directing travelers to use Green Rock Road, Sturgeon Road and McCarthy Beach Road as an alternate route.
St. Louis County Public Works expects repairs may take about a week and will provide an update when the road is able to reopen.
Nearly 37% of residents in the Arrowhead region, which includes St. Louis County, qualified for a property tax refund in 2023, the most recent year for which information is available.
Under the leadership of Chamber President Matt Baumgartner, Duluth and St. Louis County Days has become a respected presence at the Capitol. Legislators expect it. Policymakers notice it. And participants leave knowing their region’s voice has been heard.
For now, the political formula in Minnesota’s 8th District remains remarkably consistent. Duluth votes. The Iron Range votes. Then the rest of northern Minnesota votes. And the rest of northern Minnesota is usually enough.
Duluth and St. Louis County are not asking for luxury investments. They are asking for help maintaining systems — water treatment plants, shoreline protection, waste management infrastructure — whose costs exceed what local taxpayers alone can reasonably sustain.
“Downtown Duluth has needed attention for a long time. It’s become worse every year and I really don’t think it’s going to get any better.” -- Longtime Downtown Duluth businessman Nick Patronas, who pointed to regulatory and financial barriers that, in his view, continue to limit redevelopment.
The lesson of Sandstone is not nostalgia for a past that cannot fully return. It is a reminder of what is possible when people choose to engage with one another — when they know their neighbors, watch out for each other’s children and build something larger than themselves.
“I want to be the greatest D lineman to ever play arena football. So that's why I'm still out here crafting and getting better every day because that's my goal, to be the best ever.” -- Claude Davis, former New York Jets practice squad player
