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Howie: Fred Friedman, one of Minnesota's Greatest Giants

I’ve met many people eager to be called heroes. Fred is the opposite. He shrugs away attention. He’d rather talk about his students than himself. But the truth is this: Fred Friedman is the greatest man I’ve ever met in my career — a hero who never wanted the title.

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Howie: Duluth’s new motto is 'Cost of Living'
Roger Reinert. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Duluth’s new motto is 'Cost of Living'

If Mayor Roger Reinert wants to prove he was worth the risk, he better deliver more than slogans. Because otherwise, the next election’s motto writes itself: We voted for change, and all we got was “cost of living.”

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Howie: Duluth's next chapter can’t be written in St. Paul

We can either keep patching potholes with pennies, or we can get bold — not reckless, but bold — about what we already have: a city on the edge of the world’s largest freshwater lake, in a century when water, livability, and resilience will decide which cities thrive.

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Howie: Chloe Johnson’s NIL payday awaits
Chloe Johnson. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Chloe Johnson’s NIL payday awaits

They’re already whispering about Chloe Johnson the way Minnesotans used to whisper about Gophers hockey legends who walked out of Iron Range barns like they owned the world. Only this isn’t the 1970s and Johnson isn’t some elitely-talented kid headed to a smoky college fieldhouse. She’s

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Howie: Fix the house, not the cabin
The DECC is Duluth's house, its living room. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Fix the house, not the cabin

The numbers are stacked against the status quo, and the clock is ticking. In 2025, Duluth shoveled $1.2 million in tourism tax money into Spirit Mountain, propping up a ski hill meant to stand independently. That annual subsidy has turned into an open-ended drain, all while one of the

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Howie: Duluth firefighters honored in ceremony of service

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.

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Howie: Downtown Duluth doesn’t need another study. It needs a pulse
Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Downtown Duluth doesn’t need another study. It needs a pulse

In Milwaukee, people struggling with addiction or mental illness weren’t being cycled through ERs or dumped onto downtown sidewalks. Instead, they had real places to go, real people to meet them, real pathways to stability. That shift gave residents confidence to come back.

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Howie: A summer night, a legacy pavilion and park, and the Fish Heads’ gift of music
Kim Monson. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: A summer night, a legacy pavilion and park, and the Fish Heads’ gift of music

The newly renovated Renee Kathy Van Nett Pavilion was built for nights like this. On Tuesday, the gentle slopes of the hillside became an amphitheater, the legacy pavilion framed the stage, and hundreds of Duluthians — families, neighbors, and friends — gathered for a free Music in the Park concert that felt

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Howie: Yes to our hometown kid, Pionk

I’ve seen enough of these USA Hockey Olympic rosters to know the ending before the credits roll. Forty-four names were dropped Tuesday for what they’re calling an “orientation camp” in Plymouth. Translation: a few days in a hotel ballroom, no ice, no sticks, just endless PowerPoint slides and

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Howie: Don't forget the people who struggle

Hubert Humphrey wouldn’t mince words. He’d say: Don’t forget them. Don’t forget the little guy. Don’t forget the people who don’t have lobbyists, who don’t have PACs, who don’t write $5,000 checks at fundraisers. Don’t forget the seniors who built our towns and now count pills at the kitchen table.

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Howie: Strib Varsity aims to own Minnesota’s Friday nights
Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Strib Varsity aims to own Minnesota’s Friday nights

“This is more than just coverage. It’s a place for fans to connect, celebrate, and experience the thrill of high school sports like never before.” -- Chris Carr, who’s running point on Strib Varsity

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