Howie: Downtown Duluth’s longtime concrete embarrassment finally meets its fate
For now, give Reinert his due. The Auto Shoppers Ramp is finally going away, brick by stubborn brick, because he made it a priority. And if you squint past the dust, you can almost see a downtown Duluth that isn’t held together by plywood, nostalgia, and wishful thinking. Almost.
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Howie: The library isn’t the story. It never was.
This time, the leverage isn’t casino revenue. It’s downtown frustration — visible poverty, safety complaints, business dissatisfaction and the persistent sense that downtown Duluth has not lived up to decades of promises.
Howie: Fix downtown before you try to sell it
You can’t sell people on “vibrancy” if they don’t feel safe walking to their cars. You can’t advertise “connection” when the skywalks are dark and half-locked. You can’t preach “momentum” when storefronts still sit empty after a decade of ribbon cuttings.
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: 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.
Latest
Howie on Duluth Tourism: How a local yes turned Duluth into a destination
Legendary Canal Park entrepreneurs Andy Borg and Mick Paulucci bet on Duluth before betting on Duluth was fashionable. They could have wished Scott Keenan luck and gone back to worrying about lunch service. That their restaurant brand didn’t need a long-distance running experiment attached to it.
Hawks hockey, boys basketball coast to victories
It was a productive Friday night for Hermantown High sports teams, who picked up convincing victories on the ice and the basketball court. In boys hockey, Beau Christy recorded a hat trick as Hermantown shut out host East Grand Forks 5-0. After a scoreless first period, Christy put the Hawks
Howie on Duluth Tourism: Why Duluth is taking back its tourism story
Supporters of the shift believe a homegrown approach allows for better targeting, faster response to trends and closer collaboration with local businesses and institutions. It also keeps more tourism-related spending circulating locally, rather than flowing out of state.
Howie: Vetean GM Eliot Wolf is the classic correction hire
The Vikings don’t need comfort. They need a general manager who understands that this roster is not one tweak away. It is several foundational players away. Anyone who doesn’t see that immediately is lying — or worse, believes otherwise.