Politics
Duluth 2025 General Election Results
With all precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results for Duluth municipal and school district races. (more…)
Duluth 2025 General Election Sample Ballot
General Election Day for the city of Duluth and Independent School District #709 is Tuesday, Nov. 4. The sample ballot above does not reflect what an actual ballot will look like in any part of the city. Some voters will not see any district races; others will see either District 1, 2 or 4 races on their ballot.
Climate>Duluth: Kelley Skumautz
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Kelley Skumautz, executive director of Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate. The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio.
Climate>Duluth: Polly and Peter Edmunds of Border Partners
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Polly and Peter Edmunds about their work with Border Partners. The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio.
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Results
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting, here are the vote totals.
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two will be elected
Terese Tomanek – 3,192
Jordan Johnson – 2,468
Derek Medved – 2,129
Asher Estrin Haire – 811
Zachary Davis Moder – 721
Duluth Second District City Councilor
Diane Desotelle – 1,055
Christopher Adatte – 224
Pierre Tournier – 41
Duluth At-large School Board Member
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two will be elected
Amber Sadowski – 3,036
Kelly Durick Eder – 2,680
Harry Welty – 1,477
Loren Martell – 1.027
Jane Hoffman – 970
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Jordon Johnson, Derek Medved and Terese Tomanek. Empty-chair statements were submitted by candidates Asher Estrin-Haire and Zachary Moder and read by the moderator, Mary Katherine Faulkner.
The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 28.
Candidate Forum: Duluth School Board At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for ISD 709 Duluth School Board At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Kelly Durick Eder, Jane Hoffman, Loren Martell, Amber Sadowski and Harry Welty.
Pat Castellano is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 22.
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council District 2
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council District 2 candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Chris Adatte and Diane Desotelle. Candidate Pierre Tournier was unable to attend.
Katherine Kane is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 21.
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Primer
The filing period for candidates vying for Duluth City Council and Independent School District #709 School Board runs from May 20 June 3. The primary election is Aug. 12; the general election is Nov. 4. (more…)
Video: Duluth State of the City Address 2025
Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert gave his second State of the City address on Tuesday at the Ordean East Middle School Little Theater. The speech highlighted accomplishments in 2024 and previewed challenges and opportunities the community can expect in 2025.
Duluth deserves better than a mismanaged tourism marketing contract
The city of Duluth is at a crossroads with its tourism marketing. After years of underwhelming performance from an out-of-town marketing firm, city leaders promised a better process and outcome this time.
City mismanagement, however, undermined that commitment. A poorly-planned and hastily-executed request-for-proposal process, confusing guidance and unnecessary delays have left Duluth with a troubling outcome: A recommendation to hire another out-of-town agency with no knowledge of the city’s tourism industry and significant client conflicts to lead Duluth tourism marketing for the next two years. (more…)
PDD Geoguessr #30: Minnesota and the Presidential Election
Minnesota 2024 presidential election results by county.
Minnesota’s electoral college votes have gone to the Democrats since 1976, longer than any other state. But unlike Washington D.C., which went 90% for Harris and has given its three electoral votes to the Democrats since 1964 (but is not a state), Minnesota’s politics are a bit more complicated. In its most simplistic form, the strongly left-leaning Twin Cities metro area counters the right-leaning Greater Minnesota population, with a few urban areas creating pockets of blue. But that’s the simplistic version. This post looks at the Minnesota results at the precinct level and includes three Greater Minnesota Geoguessr challenges. One visiting the precincts where Trump had the highest margins of victory, another for the precincts that went most strongly to Harris, and a third for precincts split right down the middle. (more…)
Duluth 2024 General Election Results
With 4,103 of 4,103 precincts reporting, here are the statewide general election results for races relevant to Duluth.
—FEDERAL OFFICES—
President and Vice-President of the United States
Kamala D. Harris and Tim Walz – 1,653,657
Donald J. Trump and JD Vance – 1,514,261
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan – 24,426
Jill Stein and Samson Kpadenou – 16,669
Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat – 15,620
Write in – 13,269
Cornel West and Melina Abdullah – 3,508
Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia – 3,423
Shiva Ayyadurai and Crystal Ellis – 3,226
Rachele Fruit and Dennis Richter – 857 (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Results
With 4,102 of 4,102 precincts reporting, here are statewide primary election results for races relevant to Duluth. (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Perhaps the most important thing to note about the Aug. 13 primary ballot is what isn’t on it. There are no city of Duluth or Duluth School Board races in this election cycle. There are several state, county and judicial offices that have no primary, so those candidates go straight to the general election on Nov. 5. And there is nothing on the primary ballot related to the U.S. Presidency because that is up to party delegates to determine. (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Primer
The filing period for candidates running for federal, state and county offices in Minnesota is from May 21 to June 4. The primary election is Aug. 13; the general election is Nov. 5. (more…)
The Peoples Temple: A Unique Duluth Resource
My friend and colleague Elizabeth Nelson has donated some remarkable materials to the archives at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
The Elizabeth Nelson Peoples Temple Collection contains items relevant to the alternative religious organization founded by Jim Jones, best known for a mass suicide/murder in 1978 at its “Jonestown” settlement in Guyana. (more…)
R. I. P. Florian Chmielewski
Florian Chmielewski, leader of the Chmielewski Funtime Band and a Minnesota state senator from 1971 to 1976, died last week at his home in Sturgeon Lake at the age of 97. (more…)
Duluth Mail Bag: Safe Streets, Tabling
As a two-time former Duluth city councilor, one of my goals is to make city government more accessible, or at least help citizens become more informed. I figure there are many Duluthians who would like some simple answers to some simple questions. I learned in school that if there is something you don’t understand it’s likely there are many others who feel the same way. Hence the idea of the Duluth Mailbag column.
I won’t divulge who is asking the questions, but I’ll answer them in this format about once a month. Feel free to put a question in the comments for next month’s “Duluth Mailbag” or tweet me via @Hobbs_Duluth or email me at hobbsforduluth @ gmail.com.
Also, if you want to have a longer conversation, you can sign up for a 45-minute cup of coffee through my 100 Cups of Coffee project.
OK, here we go! (more…)
Attention Billionaires: Get Bent
“And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human.”
― William Gibson, Count Zero
Attention billionaires: get bent. As the recent “Cheerios” kerfuffle illustrates, Minnesota billionaire Karen Kathy Cargill is acting like a terrible neighbor in Duluth. Google her name to see the universally bad press she has unleashed upon herself. Basically, Mayor Roger Reinert had the temerity to point out that Cargill was not actually being helpful, and she ran crying to the Wall Street Journal, like ya do. It was there Cargill laid bare her toxic billionaire’s view of the world: “The good plans that I have down there […] forget it […] I think an expression that we all know — don’t pee in your Cheerios — well, [Reinert] kind of peed in his Cheerios right there, and definitely I’m not going to do anything to benefit that community.” Imperious much? Get bent. (more…)
Minnesota Presidential Primary Election Primer 2024
Minnesota’s Presidential Nomination Primary Election is on Tuesday, March 5. The state’s three major parties have an array of candidates to choose from. Each party has a separate ballot; voter’s must request the ballot of the party of their choice. (more…)
Roger Reinert sworn in as mayor of Duluth
Roger J. Reinert was officially sworn in today as Duluth’s mayor during an inauguration ceremony at Duluth City Hall. City leadership and staff, community members and various elected officials gathered at noon in the first-floor rotunda to mark the occasion. (more…)
Duluth Mail Bag: Lower Taxes, Viewsheds and Roundabouts
As a two-time Duluth city councilor, now in my final year of service, one of my goals is to make city government more accessible, or at least help citizens become more informed. I figure there are many Duluthians who would like some simple answers to some simple questions. I learned in school that if there is something you don’t understand it’s likely there are many others who feel the same way. Hence the idea of the Duluth Mailbag column.
I won’t divulge who is asking the questions, but I’ll answer them in this format about once a month. Feel free to put a question in the comments for next month’s “Duluth Mailbag” or tweet me via @Hobbs_Duluth or email me at hobbsforduluth @ gmail.com.
Also, if you want to have a longer conversation, you can sign up for a 45-minute cup of coffee through my 100 Cups of Coffee project.
OK, here we go! (more…)
Duluth Mail Bag: Tourism Taxes, Bike Lanes and Bonding
As a two-time Duluth city councilor, now in my final year of service, one of my goals is to make city government more accessible, or at least help citizens become more informed. I figure there are many Duluthians who would like some simple answers to some simple questions. I learned in school that if there is something you don’t understand it’s likely there are many others who feel the same way. Hence the idea of the Duluth Mailbag column.
I won’t divulge who is asking the questions, but I’ll answer them in this format about once a month. Feel free to put a question in the comments for next month’s “Duluth Mailbag” or tweet me via @Hobbs_Duluth or email me at hobbsforduluth @ gmail.com.
Also, if you want to have a longer conversation, you can sign up for a 45-minute cup of coffee through my 100 Cups of Coffee project.
Apologies for the delay in this column, I’ve been chasing Springsteen across the country and watching the Twins clinch the AL Central. OK, here we go! (more…)