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.
Awal was among the councilors who supported restoring annual funding for Duluth’s mental-health crisis response team after Mayor Roger Reinert proposed eliminating the city’s share of the program’s budget.
DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth residents woke up Wednesday to widely varying snow totals, with depths ranging from about four inches of compacted snow to more than ten inches in areas where drifting occurred. The heaviest snowfall came during the early morning hours. Snow continued moving east by daybreak, and the National
Local Government Aid alone covers nearly $35 million, about one-third of the budget. It’s the difference between black ink and red. Lose even 5 percent of that aid, and Duluth’s “balanced” budget implodes by millions. That’s not financial strength — that’s dependence disguised as stability.
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.
In 2025, for instance, they raised the levy by 1.85 percent but declared it a “0 percent” year for current taxpayers because new development supposedly absorbed the increase. But that’s a shell game. The levy still grew by nearly $800,000.
The city expects test results over the weekend and will share updates when available.
“From streets and utilities to parks and libraries, housing, public safety and economic development, the inaugural resident survey will shape decisions that impact every Duluthian.” -- Mayor Roger Reinert
"After reviewing the City’s finances, community needs, and individual economic realities, I have proposed a 2.7% inflation-only maximum levy for 2026." -- Reinert
Duluth will spotlight jobs and training this week as Mayor Roger Reinert proclaims Wednesday Workforce Development Day in the city. The declaration comes during Workforce Development Month, a statewide effort to highlight the programs and partnerships that connect Minnesotans to careers. Reinert will read the proclamation at a 1 p.
A windfall of state aid helped soften the edges. Local Government Aid jumped by $4.4 million in 2024, the largest increase in more than two decades and the equivalent of a double-digit property-tax hike. The city collected $35.2 million in aid in 2025, nearly one-third of its General Fund.
Public ceremonies like this one don’t always make the evening news. But they should. They are checkpoints in the life of a department that few of us notice until a siren wails down our street or a medic kneels over a loved one.
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.