Skip to content

HowieHanson.com Section

Howie

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

4 Minute Read
Members Public

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.

4 Minute Read
Members Public
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.

4 Minute Read
Members Public
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

4 Minute Read
Members Public

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

3 Minute Read
Members Public

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.

6 Minute Read
Members Public
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

2 Minute Read
Members Public
Howie: Bulldogs men's hockey nation restless for more W's
Bulldogs Men's Hockey, 2024-25 season. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Bulldogs men's hockey nation restless for more W's

The same folks who used to grumble when the Bulldogs only made the Frozen Four are now pretending a seventh-place finish in the NCHC is just the league being “tough.” That’s not tough. That’s losing dressed up in an alibi.

3 Minute Read
Members Public
Howie: Sandelin bets local to lift Bulldogs back on their feet
Bulldogs men's hockey coach Scott Sandelin. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Howie: Sandelin bets local to lift Bulldogs back on their feet

And that’s Sandelin’s magic trick. No slogans, no gimmicks. Just a quiet confidence that the right kids — his kids — can still win the biggest games on the biggest stage. You just have to trust the process. And, maybe more importantly, trust your backyard.

3 Minute Read
Members Public
Ryan Kern’s vision took flight — and Duluth’s sky hasn’t been the same since
Duluth Airshow founder Ryan Kern. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Ryan Kern’s vision took flight — and Duluth’s sky hasn’t been the same since

At a time when the city was searching for ways to reinvent itself beyond shipping and snow, Kern dared to see Duluth as a destination. The airshow he created has now become a staple of the summer tourism calendar, injecting millions into the local economy year after year.

4 Minute Read
Members Public
Travis Whitlock — The Harbor Monsters' center, enforcer and fan favorite
Travis Whitlock. Howie / HowieHanson.com

Travis Whitlock — The Harbor Monsters' center, enforcer and fan favorite

Whitlock might be the league’s last blue-collar folk hero — playing for free so his younger teammates can earn more. “I just want the other guys to get paid and have a shot at their dreams,” he said. “I play because I like it.”

3 Minute Read
Members Public