Politics Posts

Listening to Steve O’Neil

More than 15 years ago, Minnesota Public Radio aired a half-hour documentary about Loaves and Fishes here in Duluth. This was not long after Steve O’Neil and Angie Miller had started the first Loaves and Fishes house.

Stephen Smith produced the story. It includes lots of audio from Steve and Angie. You can listen to or download it here.

2013 Duluth Primary Election Primer

The filing period to run for city and school board offices in Duluth has closed. There were a handful of familiar names tossed into the hat at the last minute today in the Duluth School Board At-large race.

The primary election will be held on Sept. 10 and include the following contests:

Duluth At-large City Councilor
Four candidates advance to general election; two will be elected
Zack Filipovich, 219 S. 21st Ave. E., Upper Apt.
Barb Russ, 322 N. 22nd Ave. E.
Ray (Skip) Sandman, 2602 W. Sixth St.
Ryan Stauber, 4723 Pitt St.
Ray Whitledge III, 202 N. 24th Ave. W.

Duluth District One School Board
Two candidates advance to general election; one will be elected
Rosie Loeffler-Kemp, 2902 Bald Eagle Trail
Joseph Matthes, 5319 Colorado St.
Marcia Stromgren, 6179 Lakewood Rd 55804

Duluth District Four School Board
Two candidates advance to general election; one will be elected
David Bolgrien, 1306 N. 57th Ave. W.
Art Johnston, 37 N. 93rd Ave. W.
Justin Perpich, 4211 W. Seventh St.

Duluth At-large School Board
Four candidates advance to general election; two will be elected
Henry Banks, P.O. Box 16811, 55816
Joshua Bixby, 2809 E. First St.
Annie Harala, 1129 N. Seventh Ave. E.
Loren Martell, 623 E. Seventh St.
Nancy Nilsen, 446 N. 85th Ave. W.
Harry Welty, 2101 E. Fourth St.

There will be two other races on the general election ballot Nov. 5. Patrick Boyle is unopposed in the race for Second District City Council. In the Fourth District, incumbent Garry Krause will face Howie Hanson. There will also be a School District operating levy on the ballot.

2013 Duluth Election: The Candidates

The filing period to run for city and school board offices in Duluth runs from July 2 to July 16. This page will update as the candidates file.

The primary election will be held on Sept. 10; the general election will be Nov. 5.

Duluth Second District City Councilor
Patrick Boyle, 2201 E. First St.

Duluth Fourth District City Councilor
Howie Hanson, 2864 Wellington St.
Garry Krause, 1220 Stanford Ave.

Duluth At-large City Councilor
Four candidates advance to general election; two will be elected
Zack Filipovich, 219 S. 21st Ave. E., Upper Apt.
Barb Russ, 322 N. 22nd Ave. E.
Ray (Skip) Sandman, 2602 W. Sixth St.
Ryan Stauber, 4723 Pitt St.
Ray Whitledge III, 202 N. 24th Ave. W.

Duluth District One School Board
Rosie Loeffler-Kemp, 2902 Bald Eagle Trail
Joseph Matthes, 5319 Colorado St.
Marcia Stromgren, 6179 Lakewood Rd 55804

Duluth District Four School Board
David Bolgrien, 1306 N. 57th Ave. W.
Art Johnston, 37 N. 93rd Ave. W.
Justin Perpich, 4211 W. Seventh St.

Duluth At-large School Board
Top two candidates are elected
Henry Banks, P.O. Box 16811, 55816
Joshua Bixby, 2809 E. First St.
Annie Harala, 1129 N. Seventh Ave. E.
Loren Martell, 623 E. Seventh St.
Nancy Nilsen, 446 N. 85th Ave. W.
Harry Welty, 2101 E. Fourth St.

The Two Faces of Al Franken

watch?v=rnWKagBdpco

Minnesota Senator Al Franken loves Big Brother.

Hell Yeah!!!

Vote on same-sex marriage bill scheduled for Thursday

This is actually happening! Call or e-mail your representative now!

07A Huntley, Thomas (DFL) 651-296-2228 [email protected]

03B Murphy, Mary (DFL) 651-296-2676 [email protected]

07B Simonson, Erik (DFL) 651-296-4246 [email protected]

Vikings Fumble

Well, I don’t really follow football, and now here’s another reason to despise the world 0f big, corporate sports. Message sent and received–athletics is a place where freedom of speech will kick your football on down the field. Boo team Vikings!

Chris Kluwe’s release by Vikings sends message that gay-marriage talk is not tolerable in NFL

Rockridge Elementary Rezoning

The Rockridge Elementary school property’s proposed rezoning reminds me of the age-old phase “you sleep in the bed you made.” The school district knew from the get go what building zones the schools are in. It also knew the market has its ups and downs. We are now in a down cycle. Why didn’t the district’s budget include a more conservative estimate just in case the market went down?

2013 State of the City

Well aren’t you Mr. Popularity, Mayor Ness?

[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]

And to think that only yesterday you were a hate monger.

Note: KARE 11’s approval rating drops after failing to correctly spell the names of Jason Wussow and Peter Passi.

Open House

Umm.

Ask the City of Duluth to use eminent domain to claim vacant houses for our affordable housing stock.

openhouseduluth.blogspot.com

Concerns surrounding the American Indian Community Housing Organization

I am a community member of the Duluth area and I wanted to voice a couple of things that have been concerning me as well as some things that have been brought to my attention surrounding the American Indian Community Housing Organization.

I know that the community was really excited when AICHO’s Gimaajii Building at 202 W. Second St. opened this past spring.  I had very high hopes as to what this venue could do for the people, especially the urban Native Americans within Duluth. 

As time has passed and the excitement and buzz about what this “could” be has since faded, I have heard from several current and former tenants of the Gimaajii Building that they have felt there is a lack of spiritual understanding from many of the staff members including the current executive director.  They have felt that anything “cultural” that has taken place there has been more for show than for the people it serves.

Muckety Mucks

Don Ness had his birthday party at Tycoons the same night Al Franken dined there. DFL FTW!

(Photo by Maxwell McGruder)

I’m as lefty as most …

… but am I correct that the City Council agreed to forgive $305,000 in overpayments to retirees, then agreed to a 2.82 percent tax levy increase?

Upper Chester: Not so fast there people!

Duluth took a beating this past year. But thanks to everyone pulling together we’ve made a remarkable comeback. For proof, you don’t have to look any further than Chester Park. Thanks to the indefatigable Dan Proctor and others the Lower Chester trails are probably in better shape than they were before the floods of June, and that’s saying a lot considering the scope of the mudflows and washouts that ravaged pretty much every inch of the ravine.

Upper Chester, however, is another story. Despite good intentions, there’s been a lot of jumping the gun to clean up or improve things that one could make the argument has ended up doing more harm than good. I’m not going to run down the list, but the latest chapter seems to have taken place largely under the radar, and I think it deserves a public airing.