The Arena League, a new indoor football circuit scheduled to debut in Summer 2024, has announced its four inaugural teams.
Teams will operate in:
. Duluth
. Kansas City, Missouri
. Springfield, Missouri
. Waterloo, Iowa
The still-to-be-nicknamed Duluth team will play its home games at the DECC's Duluth Arena beginning in June. NFL Hall of Famer and former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown is chairman and commissioner of the grassroots league.
His stat line towered over the league: a .383 batting average, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs, 23 doubles, three triples, 48 runs scored, 28 walks, and 15 stolen bases over 52 games. His OPS landed at 1.252, powered by a .471 on-base percentage and a .781 slugging percentage.
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The awards, judged by journalists from outside Minnesota, recognize outstanding work published during 2025. The Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists, founded in 1956, advocates for press freedom, journalism ethics and professional development throughout the state.
The awards represent a significant achievement for the Duluth-based online news outlet, which has built a reputation for watchdog reporting on local government, development projects and public policy issues in northeastern Minnesota.
Ness convinced Duluth to stop speaking about itself like a city waiting for the next economic funeral and start speaking about itself like a place with a future worth competing for nationally. Not perfectly. Not without backlash. Not without legitimate criticism. But undeniably.
The moves reflect an aggressive approach by the Monsters as the regular season enters its final stretch. Rather than standing pat, Minnesota has continued to reshape its roster in pursuit of a postseason berth.
