School District
Hayward
Hayward school district covers up basketball coach’s complaints
For three years, Matthew Lobitz was involved with the Hayward, Wisconsin athletic program. As Junior Varsity boys basketball coach and an assistant soccer coach,...
DULUTH
Chair of Title VI Committee accuses Monitor of “hound[ing] Indian parents”
The American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC) is one of three parent committees which advises the Duluth school district how best to spend federal,...
Proctor
City of Proctor failed to disclose $850,000 discount on sports dome land sale
In the summer of 2024, project developer NGP LLC approached the City of Proctor to propose the development of the NXS National Sports Complex....
DULUTH
Grievance hearing exposes dysfunction on American Indian Parent Advisory Committee
A Nov. 19, 2025 post on the Facebook page for the Duluth Public Schools Indian Parent Committees read, “If you are interested in participating...
Airports
Bills moving through Minnesota Legislature would deliver hefty tax breaks to Cirrus Aircraft, other aviation companies
Two bills currently moving through the Minnesota House of Representatives (and their Senate companion bills) would give millions of dollars in tax cuts to...
DULUTH
Family of Maxton Gudowski relieved to see charges filed against Tyler Edwards
On April 23, 2025, in St. Louis County District Court, 25-year-old Tyler Walter Edwards was charged in the July 2024 death of Lakeside resident...
Douglas County
Former Superior Teachers Union president charged with drunk driving, resisting arrest
At 11 p.m. on March 22, 2025, the Superior Police Department received a report of a red Jeep Cherokee driving erratically and striking curbs...
DULUTH
Credit card statements suggest booster club president used club funds for personal expenses
On Aug. 29, 2024, the St. Louis County Attorney's office formally announced that the county would not be pursuing criminal charges against the East...
DULUTH
Report: Former East hockey coach Mike Randolph created ‘intimidating and hostile’ environment for players
Shortly before now-former Duluth East boys hockey coach Mike Randolph resigned, in the spring of 2021, an investigator hired by Duluth Public Schools concluded...
DULUTH
No charges after probe into hockey booster club’s finances
After a years-long investigation, Jennifer LaMaster will not be facing criminal charges. As president of the now-defunct East End Hockey Boosters, LaMaster managed the...
Eveleth
Rock Ridge School Board member charged with DWI
On Sept. 27, 2024, Eveleth resident Pollyann Sorcan was arrested by Eveleth police officers for Driving While Intoxicated, after officers received a report that...
DULUTH
HRA to refund more than $1.6 million to city, county, and school district
In 2004, the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) secured a $7.4 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) loan and assembled 55 acres of land...
Silver Bay
Silver Bay mayor sought key land acquisition before public disclosure of Boathouse Bay project
On July 1, 2024, the Silver Bay City Council chambers were packed to capacity with residents interested in a selection of agenda items pertaining...
DULUTH
Formerly confidential warrants show progress of Duluth hockey booster investigation
Court documents uncovered earlier this month by the Monitor outline the progress of an ongoing investigation into the finances of a now-defunct Duluth hockey...
Eveleth
Rock Ridge student charged with three felonies for making terroristic threats at school
At 9:40 in the morning on April 3, 2024, Rock Ridge High School issued a “hold in place alert” to students and faculty. According...
DULUTH
Duluth News Tribune demands $167 to publish letter to editor
In 2018, the Duluth News Tribune instituted a new policy: During election season, letters to the editor written in support of particular candidates will...
DULUTH
School district failed to enforce booster club compliance for years
The East End Hockey Boosters (EEHB) is the former booster club for the Duluth East boys hockey team. In 2015, the booster club stopped...
DULUTH
Promoters of half-billion-dollar project struggle to answer questions
On Feb. 8, 2024, at the Duluth City Council’s regular agenda-setting session, Director of Planning and Economic Development Chad Ronchetti provided councilors with an...
DULUTH
911 dispatch report reveals more details on Hietala incident
On Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, Duluth police responded to a 911 call that Duluth East High School football coach Joe Hietala was drunk on...
Carlton County
Vendor estimates suggest hockey booster club overcharged parents for apparel
With additional reporting by Sean McGee
As part of the Monitor’s investigation into the financial dealings of the East End Hockey Boosters (EEHB), we analyzed...
DULUTH
Duluth school district evasive in booster club inquiry
The Monitor’s investigation into former Duluth East Hockey Coach Mike Randolph and the East End Hockey Boosters (EEHB) began in June of 2023. When...
DULUTH
Invoices suggest East hockey booster club overcharged parents for captain’s practices
In high-school hockey, prior to the regular season beginning, hopeful hockey players participate in what are known as “captain’s practices,” which are run by...
DULUTH
12 of 15 Duluth booster clubs out of compliance with the law
During the Monitor’s investigation of the East End Hockey Boosters, we were amazed the organization had operated for ten years without the school district...
DULUTH
Mike Randolph’s peculiar expenses
In June of 2021, longtime Duluth East High School hockey coach Mike Randolph resigned from his position. His reasons for doing so were unclear,...
Rock Ridge School District
Raucous Ridge, Part III: School board denied 61 percent of public speaking requests in 2021-22
The Rock Ridge School District was created in 2019, when the Virginia and Eveleth/Gilbert school districts merged. As the Monitor recently reported, for as...
Rock Ridge School District
Raucous Ridge, Part II: Stacey calls for backup
On July 1, 2020, when the Rock Ridge School Board held its first meeting, they had no official policies in place. Over the following...
Rock Ridge School District
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...
Lake County
Swanson News Roundup
As the Monitor enters its sixth week investigating Two Harbors, our switchboard operators are having trouble keeping up with all the news tips and...
Lake County
Mayor Swanson promoted own businesses 97 times on city Twitter account
The first tweet on the official Twitter account of Two Harbors Mayor Chris Swanson is a pun. It appeared on April 5, 2017, shortly...
DULUTH
The Great 990 Hunt, Part 2
On Feb. 24, 2020, I visited 11 nonprofit organizations within the City of Duluth to see how well they could comply with their federal...
DULUTH
Say anything to get it built
Every new project that comes along in Duluth is supported by specific interest groups—for example, the Great Lakes Aquarium was vigorously supported by environmental...
DULUTH
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...
DULUTH
Publisher’s Desk
Hello, readers.
As the Monitor arrives at its four-month anniversary, we are pleased to note that our last 14 stories have been scoops—stories we reported...
Duluth School District
Mysterious RFP revealed
“I can’t be responding to seven different people with seven different requests,” School District 709 Human Resources Director Tim Sworsky complained to the School...
DULUTH
School district stonewalls board’s request for information, again
The Duluth School District has recently come under fire for hiring an assistant superintendent with a criminal record, without informing the School Board of...
DULUTH
Planning Commission not impressed with Board of Trade TIF application
On
June 11, 2019, the Duluth Planning Commission considered an item to move an
application for tax increment financing (TIF) forward for the Board of Trade
Building.
The
Board...
