I'm a 32 yr old (single) woman (with 1 child) and this article is absolute complete genius! Friggin' love it!

Dear John, just wanna say a big thank you Sir for your reporting on the humdrum of life here in Larsonville (formerly Donnybrooke) with excellent writing & the revelations that you expose in our city government & their use (or misuse) of our hard earned tax dollars in the wannabe democratic socialist republic of Duluthistan. The reporting, for example, on the funds ongoing to Spirit Mountain as some kind of "too big to fail" business in the area, is really outstanding, and if I dare say so-- quite brave of you to do. There is really very little reporting by the rest of the local media on many of these issues which you cover.
Another area which you may have reported on (I don't recall), is the city involvement in the local golf courses, and how much of these monies are being literally sunk into the sand traps around town. If you haven't reported on them yet, please do! I'd love to see a good article from you about those.
The amount of the yearly city budget on many of these failed businesses & 'experiments' (I don't know what other word to use) really boggles the imagination-- particularly when you drive around so many neighborhoods in Duluth & see an infrastructure which is in total disrepair & is really is dangerous honestly.
So thanks again, and I will continue reading here. Cheers, Pete Thompson (aka PeteAtomic).

A library is a totally appropriate receiver of city funds-- completely & totally over such adventures as ski hills, hockey rinks & golf courses. It's a "no brainer" type of decision, however-- these 'no brainer' types of very appropriate decisions seem to be a real challenge to the intellect of the Council & Mayor. I don't understand it whatsoever. The conspiracist in me would argue that if people were/are "good buddies" of those in City Hall, this thing would be a slam dunk.

Another topic I think that would be very instructional for all of us plebes out there is city road repair. Anecdotally it seems that the vast majority of city road repair occurs in specific areas of town, whilst, neighborhoods like my own (Lincoln Park) sees or benefits from very little to zero road repair. Personally I've seen nascent repair done here since 2003 when I became another "Duluth sucker" (aka Homeowner).
My gut feeling is is that if researched, road repair/replacement would expose the class differences in Duluth rather starkly-- and show a city that really is all about catering to only specific power groups.
From my own experience, when I've attempted to contact first Gary Krause, and now my current councilor for District 27 ( I think it is), about repairing the road right outside my front door, he simply said "can't do anything for you. There is no planning for that neighborhood in the future." Literally. It was an expression of hopelessness, in my opinion.
So, as a homeowner that was very less than reassuring.

I had a great phone conversation there Mr. Donny Ness close to 10 years ago about his fallacious arguments regarding his newfound philosophy revolving around Richard Florida's book "The Creative Class."
Florida via Ness argue that inner city investment & a reliance of hospitality & service jobs will turn rust belt cities around. Somehow, "feeling good" and "getting creative" will somehow be the magic pixie dust for post-industrial America. I don't understand how that's supposed to work, but many of the recent developments in city investment seem to point towards a complete buy-in of these philosophies.

Thanks for the video. It was wholly inappropriate for the Council to act towards Fosle in the manner it did. I don't see where that type of behavior in that type of setting, whether it be business done private or public, is appropriate. Completely ridiculous. I think that the Council & councilors involved in this type of behavior must feel comfortable enough to engage in it-- which to me, points towards a GroupThink and " in group/out group" type of mentality which is disturbing.

I wonder how much the Outdoors Magazine voting had to do with all the trail building-- and perhaps the City realizing that they needed more out there in the byways & ruins of old Duluth in a kind of retroactive fashion. I don't know.
The last time I ran into tourists on my daily walk in Lincoln Park, they asked me where the bike trail was. I had to sadly inform them that the trail thru the park was not safe for bikes, and they left disappointed. I see now what appears to be a spanking new trail has recently appeared almost overnight, and it also appears to handle bikes. So, who knows.

I'm not superstitious, though I am a little stitious.

"unamed antidepressant" too bad it wasn't named. I was and am still taking 200mg of Zoloft everyday and have been for twenty years. DX with PD 2002.

The biggest problem going to property tax vs fees is that all the non-profits will no longer be paying their fair share. Are the taxpayers going to pay the portion of fees that are eliminated? According to city staff the non-profits are about 50% currently paying the fees.
The city needs to come up with some other situation to have the non-profits pay their fair share. Evidently this was not discussed during the meeting?
Great article

One councilor, I think Fosle, brought up the point about nonprofits. I should have mentioned it. When the street fee was first instituted in 2014, there was a lot of discussion on that point. The big reason the Larson administration wants to switch to a levy now is because the courts recently ruled against a similar fee in St. Paul.

Well done sir.

Beautifully stated. Thank you

Exactly! So now, who will answer for the abuse of power here? Or the stomping of civil rights ? There should be justice for all!!

Praying for a peaceful outcome and safety for all our indigenous brothers and sisters, unity in numbers, nothing more powerful than prayers!

Good job. Good photos. Nice HS Thompson influence.

"There's a monster on the loose... He's got our heads into a noose...America! where are you now? Don't you care about your sons and daughters? Don't you know, we need you now. We can't fight alone against the monster." These are words of a song from the 1960's by Steppenwolf. Still very relevant today. The monster is the same monster and he's morphed into a world swallowing sort.

You have no idea unless you live here or work here, so your opinion is not necessary. Protesters are not all peaceful. They have threatened workers, farmers, and sheriffs. They have came at them with weapons. I was born in ND then moved to MN. I am personally so ashamed that this article came out of Minnesota. You don't see everything that's really going on. You do not know.

god damn. well-written, sir. thank you for showing the bravery to walk into what you already knew was a bad situation in order to bring this perspective back with you. that, i believe, is the essence of everything noble about journalism. thank you.

I have had the privilege of staying at the camp on more than one occasion and wholeheartedly agree. There is such a feeling of spiritual uplifting. This is a peaceful camp that is centered around prayer. I would suggest that everyone go and see for YOURSELF. If you haven't seen with your OWN eyes what is really going on and stating publicly that this is terrorism, then you are a sad fool. Open your eyes and leave prejudices behind. Don't believe the lies that the oil company and its cohorts (ND authorities) are spreading to bring fear to the community in the name of greed. Which side of history will YOU be on? I plan on going back to camp with my children so that they can experience what is happening there. I don't condone violence. EVER. EVER. I would never be a part of violence and I would never expose my children to it either. These Water Protectors are peaceful. These camps are peaceful. This movement is peaceful. Don't base your opinion on hearsay. That is dangerous and extremely foolish. Go see for yourself!

Insightful and compelling. More!
@Mackenzie, G. if you say one opinion is not necessary. If so, then neither is yours, or mine, or anyone's. Your statement is unamerican; Strike one.
Protest is conflict, given. But you provide no context, no example place or person or time, no specifics to support your claim of violence by protesters in this case. This smacks of disinformation; Strike two.
Nobody sees everything or knows everything. Again, absurd. We rely on first person, factual reports to understand our world. This article provides such facts and observations. Where are your facts? Strike three.

Independent journalism is a major factor in American freedom and stregth. We are all better for it, even when we disagree.

Thank you!