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John Ramos

Raucous Ridge: Minnesota’s newest school board silences citizens, crushes dissent, throws meetings into chaos

“Fiercely United.”   Official Motto of the Rock Ridge School District  Part I: The Censuring of Sorcan  On Nov. 14, 2022, at the school board meeting of the Rock Ridge School District, 16-year-old...

Spirit Mountain water line increases maintenance burden, fails to deliver savings

On Aug. 16, 2022, at the monthly meeting of the Spirit Mountain board of directors, Spirit Mountain Executive Director Ann Glumac informed the board that the ski hill is...

Manslaughter charges not justified in Moats case, former prosecutor opines

In August, the Monitor wrote about the case of Ryan Moats, who died in Virginia in June of 2021, after a fight with a man named James Edwards. The...

Judge Cuzzo upholds one restraining order, dismisses three against Monitor publisher

On Oct. 10, 2022, in Lake County District Court, Judge Michael Cuzzo upheld a harassment restraining order which former Two Harbors Mayor Chris Swanson had filed against Duluth Monitor...

DECC sponsored $10,000 retreat, $1,500 Vista cruise for board of directors

When it comes to local board meetings, few venues offer surroundings as comfortable as the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC). The state authority’s monthly board meetings are most often...

Family of Ryan Moats, Virginia police chief seek independent review of 2021 homicide

By John Ramos On June 26, 2021, outside a townhome in Virginia, Minnesota, James Edwards, age 31, and Ryan Moats, age 41, were involved in an altercation. When it was...

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Remaining two residents ordered to leave beleaguered Hermantown trailer park

In December of 2024, due to ongoing building code violations at Hermantown’s Maple Field Trailer Park, the owner, Steven Schneeberger, was charged with six...

Five companies file mechanics liens against Urbane 218 as building nears completion

On Dec. 18, 2025, Duluth Economic Development Authority Director Tricia Hobbs issued a Notice of Breach to Urbane 218 LLC, the developer of the...

Two wrongful death lawsuits against Cirrus Aircraft moved to St. Louis County

Within the past year, two active lawsuits against Cirrus Design Corporation have been transferred to the St. Louis County District Court. Both lawsuits allege...

Firefighting airplane struck multiple times by gunfire, alleged sovereign citizen arrested

On May 20, 2026, St. Louis County deputies arrested Portage Township resident Daniel Pettit on suspicion of shooting at a firefighting airplane as it...

Convicted murderer appeals sentence, receives longer sentence

A man convicted of murdering three Duluth men in 1994 appealed his sentence in 2025, on the grounds that it was illegal. St. Louis...