Francisco's greatest investment may have been in the future of his own community. The finest evidence of that investment is not found in an old hockey record book, a client portfolio or a Hall of Fame plaque. It can be heard inside the Heritage Sports Center on a winter afternoon.
The Duluth Heritage Sports Center did not begin with a consultant’s study, a formal government resolution or a carefully staged news conference. The project that transformed a scarred industrial property into one of Duluth’s most important community gathering places began, in large part, with a Saturday morning telephone call and Pat Francisco’s immediate willingness to act. Read more.
Francisco's greatest investment may have been in the future of his own community. The finest evidence of that investment is not found in an old hockey record book, a client portfolio or a Hall of Fame plaque. It can be heard inside the Heritage Sports Center on a winter afternoon.
If replacement ice could not be secured at Amsoil Arena or another regional rink, the tournament might have to eliminate teams, reduce divisions or reconsider its four-game guarantee. Any of those outcomes would weaken one of the event’s greatest selling points.
“The guys are expected to play fast, know what they're doing, communicate, make sure they stay in the weight room, eat well, and take care of their bodies because you can't make the club in the tub.” -- Minnesota Monsters head coach Daron Clark Jr.
By HOWIE HANSON Editor & Publisher DULUTH, Minn. — If there was ever a moment to lean into Duluth’s momentum as a regional youth sports capital, it’s now. The City of Duluth — under the proven, forward-thinking leadership of Mayor Roger Reinert — should immediately begin plans to finally build
GOOD WATCH: Duke Skorich's Personal Meeting Room, talking regional politics. . . . BREAKING SPORTS: St. Scholastica athletics director Jessica Cherry announced Kyle Yost as the Saints’ next women’s basketball coach. Yost takes over as CSS prepares for the 2026-27 season after earning the program’s first Minnesota Intercollegiate
Jim Oberstar understood that roads connected workers to jobs, airports connected employers to markets, ports connected Minnesota resources to the world and research connected traditional industries to new possibilities -- that northern Minnesota could remain strong only if it remained connected.
