Duluth Mayor Emily Larson on Thursday is expected to announce the Love Your Block mini-grant recipients for the remainder of 2023.
The Love Your Block program supplies small mini-grants to support resident-led projects that reduce blight in the Lincoln Park and Central Hillside Neighborhoods.
Love Your Block is part of a rich tapestry of current efforts by agencies, organizations and individuals to improve the health, safety, and quality of life for all Duluthians.
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.
The City of Duluth now spends roughly $1 of every $7 in the general fund on debt service. That’s money that can’t pave streets, fund libraries, or expand housing programs. And yet the answer to each new challenge is the same: another bond.
"As with any wild animal, we want to remind the community that you should exercise caution in their presence and never approach them." -- Duluth Police Department
She most recently served as chief administrative officer for the City of San Antonio’s Council District 6, overseeing constituent services, zoning, public works and community outreach. She supported the district’s review of the city’s $4 billion annual budget and worked across multiple departments.
Minnesota’s strength, historically, has been its preference for problem-solving over posturing. That tradition is being tested now. This is not the moment for reflexive outrage or performative reassurance. It is the moment for clarity.
Minnesota does not need more outrage. It needs clearer accounting. It needs fewer slogans and more follow-through. It needs to revisit old assumptions with open eyes and accept that a reputation earned decades ago does not guarantee results today.
Something significant is being examined, something consequential has gone wrong inside the process, and the people most familiar with that process decided they could not continue as if nothing had changed. In federal law enforcement, that is as close to an alarm bell as it gets.
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