Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce president Matt Baumgartner on Chamber VP of Strategy and Policy Daniel Fanning resigning earlier this week – "I want to sincerely thank Daniel for his more than two years of dedicated service to the Chamber. His leadership played an important role in the Chamber’s growth and repositioning following our 2021 strategic planning process, and we appreciate his contributions. I wish him the very best in his next chapter and look forward to opportunities to collaborate in the future.
As we prepare to fill this role, the Board and I are taking a thoughtful approach, assessing both the Chamber and the Chamber Foundation to ensure we have the right team in place to drive our mission forward. This moment of reflection allows us to build on the strong growth we’ve experienced over the past four years while positioning us for long-term success.
Northeastern Minnesota has the potential to be a national leader in innovation and technology —from foundational industries like natural resources, shipping, and manufacturing to emerging fields such as AI, robotics, and computing. Our region is uniquely positioned for success, with world-class research opportunities, an ideal location for data centers, and a thriving business ecosystem that spans healthcare, education, and aerospace.
As we continue working on key challenges like housing, childcare, and workforce development, we must also champion a bold vision for the future. Without it, we risk stagnation, silos, and missed opportunities.
Following this review, we will post a revised position — one that may include elements of Daniel’s former role while also adapting to the Chamber’s evolving needs. The position will be publicly posted, and we encourage qualified candidates to apply when the time comes."
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Hermantown boys basketball coach Andy Fenske on his young team – "As we wind down the 2024-25 season, we're hoping to keep the growth mindset at the forefront of our thoughts. We keep taking strides and talk about eliminating the lapses on the court, or at least shortening their duration. We have two big sections games left out of our final four games with Rock Ridge tonight at home and at North Branch next Thursday. Both have a big impact on seedings for us as it could vault to anywhere between the 5-7 seeds. We know that, as a younger squad, the deck is stacked against us most nights, however, the growth these boys have shown at all levels from November until now has been tremendous. There's a lot that we continue to build upon each day that's going to hopefully keep us on the right track for playoffs and heading into the off-season."
Hermantown girls basketball coach Eric Borndal before his team's 40-point, regular season-ending victory at nonconference North Wood on Thursday night – "We had a tough game on Tuesday against Duluth East (a 51-39 road loss). The reality is that you can't shoot 16% and expect to win at this level. I give Coach Windt and his girls a ton of credit for making our offense life miserable. However, we have an opportunity to learn from this as though we shot so poorly we still had a chance to win. That is the positive. When we shoot well, we are going to be a very tough team come playoff time. We look forward to rebounding tonight against North Woods and are excited to play in that gym for the first time, and are hoping to use this as a good way to prepare for the playoffs next week. Fingers crossed that we are more consistent putting the ball in the hoop tonight and all of next week. We're looking forward to March Madness for sure."
