Howie Hanson is Minnesota’s Columnist, writing about power, money, sports and civic life across the state. This column is sponsored by Lyric Kitchen . Bar of Duluth.
Starting soon, longtime Duluth architect and community builder Tim Meyer (email Tim) will begin contributing a regular guest column for HowieHanson.com — and if you know Tim at all, you already understand why this matters.
Tim doesn’t just live in Duluth. He has spent decades sketching it, arguing over it, defending it, reshaping it, loving it — sometimes in the same afternoon.
His Meyer Group Architecture offices sit in Downtown Duluth. Not on the sidelines. Not in some suburban office park with safe parking and filtered distance. Downtown. Where the sidewalks crack, where the cranes rise, where the politics hum in back rooms and over coffee counters. He sees it every day.
And he cares.
That combination — proximity and passion — is rare.
Tim’s column will dive into the issues that shape this city in real time: housing, community development, downtown reinvestment, sports, politics, business decisions that ripple through neighborhoods, and the constant tug-of-war between nostalgia and progress. He will write as someone who understands what happens when an idea leaves the planning table and hits the street.
He knows what a zoning change actually means. He knows what financing gaps feel like. He knows which projects almost happened — and why they didn’t.
But this won’t be a dry architecture seminar.
Tim loves Duluth. And that affection shows up in the way he talks about the Lake, about old brick buildings, about high school games, about small business owners trying to make payroll in February when the wind off Superior feels personal.
He believes in this place.
And belief — grounded belief, not boosterism — is powerful.
If you’ve followed HowieHanson.com, you know what we’re building here. Independent. Authoritative. Focused on power, money, sports and civic life across Minnesota — starting in the Northland.
Adding Tim strengthens that mission.
He will bring an insider’s lens to Downtown Duluth — not the postcard version, but the lived version. The hard conversations about infrastructure, housing, vacancy, financing, momentum, setbacks. The political undercurrents that rarely make the press release. The optimism that still exists beneath the skepticism.
And yes, he’ll weigh in on sports. Because in Duluth, sports are never just sports. They’re civic glue. They’re identity. They’re shared language.
Tim understands that.
This platform has always been about voices with skin in the game. People who show up. People who risk being wrong. People who are willing to put their names behind ideas.
Tim Meyer fits that standard.
You won’t always agree with him. I don’t expect you to. That’s not the point.
The point is informed perspective. Experience. A viewpoint shaped by decades of watching this city rise, stall, pivot and try again.
Duluth is in one of those moments right now — where big decisions are looming and downtown’s future is again up for debate. You can feel it in City Hall. You can feel it in coffee shops. You can feel it in the quiet conversations about investment, safety, tourism, housing and who gets to define “progress.”
Tim will step into that space regularly.
He’ll write from his office overlooking the heart of the city. He’ll write from job sites. He’ll write from meetings where ideas collide.
He’ll write because he cares.
And that’s the only reason to do this work.
I’m excited about this. Genuinely. Tim brings thoughtfulness, institutional memory and a builder’s mindset to HowieHanson.com. He sees not only what is, but what could be — and he’s spent a lifetime trying to close that gap.
Soon, we begin.
Duluth deserves serious voices in serious times.
Meyer Group Architecture offices sit in Downtown Duluth. Not on the sidelines. Not in some suburban office park with safe parking and filtered distance. Downtown. Where the sidewalks crack, where the cranes rise, where the politics hum in back rooms and over coffee counters. He sees it every day.
And he cares.
That combination — proximity and passion — is rare.
Tim’s column will dive into the issues that shape this city in real time: housing, community development, downtown reinvestment, sports, politics, business decisions that ripple through neighborhoods, and the constant tug-of-war between nostalgia and progress. He will write as someone who understands what happens when an idea leaves the planning table and hits the street.
He knows what a zoning change actually means. He knows what financing gaps feel like. He knows which projects almost happened — and why they didn’t.
But this won’t be a dry architecture seminar.
Tim loves Duluth. And that affection shows up in the way he talks about the Lake, about old brick buildings, about high school games, about small business owners trying to make payroll in February when the wind off Superior feels personal.
He believes in this place.
And belief — grounded belief, not boosterism — is powerful.
If you’ve followed HowieHanson.com, you know what we’re building here. Independent. Authoritative. Focused on power, money, sports and civic life across Minnesota — starting in the Northland.
Adding Tim strengthens that mission.
He will bring an insider’s lens to Duluth — not the postcard version, but the lived version. The hard conversations about infrastructure, vacancy, financing, momentum, setbacks. The political undercurrents that rarely make the press release. The optimism that still exists beneath the skepticism.
And yes, he’ll weigh in on sports. Because in Duluth, sports are never just sports. They’re civic glue. They’re identity. They’re shared language.
Tim understands that.
This platform has always been about voices with skin in the game. People who show up. People who risk being wrong. People who are willing to put their names behind ideas.
Tim fits that standard.
You won’t always agree with him. I don’t expect you to. That’s not the point.
The point is informed perspective. Experience. A viewpoint shaped by decades of watching this city rise, stall, pivot and try again.
Duluth is in one of those moments right now — where big decisions are looming and downtown’s future is again up for debate. You can feel it in City Hall. You can feel it in coffee shops. You can feel it in the quiet conversations about investment, safety, tourism, housing and who gets to define “progress.”
Tim will step into that space weekly.
He’ll write from his office overlooking the heart of the city. He’ll write from job sites. He’ll write from meetings where ideas collide.
He’ll write because he cares.
And that’s the only reason to do this work.
I’m excited about this. Genuinely. Tim brings thoughtfulness, institutional memory and a builder’s mindset to HowieHanson.com. He sees not only what is, but what could be — and he’s spent a lifetime trying to close that gap.
Duluth deserves serious voices in serious times.
Tim Meyer is one of them.
