438 POSTS

John Ramos

Struggling operations routinely max out lines of credit

In addition to providing direct subsidies and emergency bailouts to struggling operations, the city of Duluth has another financial tool at its disposal: line of credit (LOC) disbursements. These...

Monaco Air owner proposes new city-financed airplane hangar

Monaco Air was established at the Duluth airport in 2005, when Don Monaco purchased North Country Aviation and renamed it. Monaco was from Chicago; he had become interested in...

Hiking the Skally Line

The Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad (LSMR) opened for business on August 1, 1870, when the ceremonial last spike was driven in at Thomson, near the great falls that today are...

Zoo spends 17.5 percent of emergency bailout money on lobbyist

On Oct. 9, 2017, by a vote of 6-2, the Duluth City Council approved a second $200,000 bailout for the Lake Superior Zoo. This money was in addition to...

School Board considers opening agenda sessions

Concerns about transparency have long simmered within the Duluth school district, but several recent events have brought the issue squarely into public view. In August, citizens learned that the school district had...

U.S. Steel cleanup project inches forward

At the Nov. 12, 2019, meeting of the Duluth Planning Commission, commissioners approved an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for the Spirit Lake Sediment Remediation Project, moving the long-planned project one small step closer...

Subscribe to our magazine

━ popular

Village Place Apartments without water for four days and counting

On Saturday night, July 25, 2026, the Monitor was notified by a tenant of the Village Place Apartments (located at 602 East 5th Street)...

County emails reveal concerns with Community Action Duluth began in 2023

Executive Director Classie Dudley began working for Community Action Duluth (CAD) on June 7, 2022. Even though 29-year-old Dudley had no experience running a...

Do subsidized single-family homes address Duluth’s housing needs?

On a 2.5-acre site in Morgan Park, the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) is building 12 modest single-family homes on 50-foot-wide lots. The...

State Auditor reports red flags, discrepancies in Beaver Bay financial records

Beaver Bay citizens have been concerned about the town’s finances since 2023, when City Clerk Kristy Gregory was hired. After Beaver Bay resident Ellie...

Duluthian defrauded in Lakewood variance scam

When Duluthian Erik Lindgren was looking for property to build his hunting camp, he found a promising ten-acre parcel in Lakewood Township. The tax-forfeited...