OUR VIEW

Our view: Troubling questions persist in wake of UMD probe

Sexual harassment is not tolerated at the University of Minnesota Duluth, but fitness instructor Rod Raymond remains on the job, even after an investigation found he sexually harassed two female students.

November 06, 2009

Our view: Reinforced Duluth divide has silver lining

Anyone with any doubt going into Tuesday’s elections should be clear now: Duluth is a city divided, split over the best way to repair and improve school buildings and learning environments.

November 05, 2009

Our view: Taxpayers wouldn’t have been so polite

On the heels of a News Tribune report that Duluth has hit an historic debt level of $200 million — $2,372 for every man, woman and child in the city — Mayor Don Ness and Chief Administrative Officer David Montgomery faced the public yesterday.

November 04, 2009

Our view: Vote today!

Pick an election. Any election. Better yet, think back to an election in which a president was chosen. Or a governor. One of those big elections. Now recall the newspaper story that inevitably followed the next day. The one about high voter turnout in Duluth and how we were the envy of the state. Or of the nation.

November 03, 2009

Our view: Vote your head, not your anger; vote for progress, not for punishment

For weeks, their opinions filled the News Tribune’s editorial pages. Teachers, community leaders, retired educators, cheerleaders, principals and many, many others, all rallying around a call for a prosperous and positive future.

November 01, 2009

Our view: Fond-du-Luth Casino partnership is about more than money

There’s no denying Fond-du-Luth Casino’s mutual benefit to the city of Duluth and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

October 28, 2009

Our view: Find your way to help Duluth’s youths

Findings in the report — “Investing in our Children, Investing in our Future,” available beginning this afternoon at unitedwayduluth.org — are quite sobering. They include that half of Minnesota children entering kindergarten aren’t ready, that students of color and low income graduate at rates stunningly lower than the average, that by 2020 only a fourth of all Minnesotans will have bachelor’s degrees when 36 percent had achieved that level of education in 2006, and that Minnesota ranked 30th in per-pupil spending.

October 27, 2009

Our view: Flying even higher

The economic boost the Northland can expect from the December arrival of a new airline just keeps growing. In an editorial Monday, Duluth Airport Authority Executive Director Brian Ryks said the addition of just one regional jet operation equates to $4 million in annual economic impact for a region. Turns out that should have been a $4 million impact per daily flight — meaning that United Airlines’ launching on Dec. 17 of twice-daily direct service between Duluth and Chicago (with connections available from Chicago to virtually anywhere) will have an expected economic impact on the Northland of $8 million a year.

October 23, 2009

Our view: Deadline Tuesday for elections submissions

Election Day is 11 short days away — but only four days remain to submit a letter for publication consideration in the News Tribune.

October 23, 2009

Our view: For Duluth City Council, At Large: Stauber, Hartman

They couldn’t be more different.Jim Stauber is an entrenched City Council member of eight years. Dan Hartman is a council candidate for the first time. Stauber is Republican and a staunch conservative. Hartman is a DFLer with liberal leanings that belie his insistence of being moderate. Stauber has been a vocal critic of many of Mayor Don Ness’ initiatives. Hartman was endorsed by Ness.

October 22, 2009

Our view: For Duluth City Council, 4th District: Gauthier

Kerry Gauthier is no stranger to the Duluth City Council’s 4th District. He has lived the past 17 years not far from Lincoln Park, near where his grandfather once called home. And he has watched a neighborhood stare down fear from crime and rebound with projects like the Heritage Sports Center and Clyde Park.

October 21, 2009

Our view: For Duluth City Council, District 2: Patrick Boyle

Patrick Boyle quickly demonstrated a strong grasp of issues, a common-sense approach to problem-solving, and the importance of leadership.

October 20, 2009

Our view: Duluth can welcome back airline competition

Duluth International Airport is about to get a bit busier. And how can that be anything but positive? Positive for travelers, certainly, but the benefits will extend also to Northland economic development efforts and businesses that already are here when, in a little less than two months, United Airlines launches twice-daily direct service between Duluth and Chicago. The new-to-Duluth carrier will join Delta Airlines, the only carrier that has been providing daily scheduled flights in and out of our region.

October 19, 2009

Our view: Are H1N1 vaccine fears unfounded?

The headlines are telling a troubling tale. There was this on yesterday’s front page: “Flu cases accelerated four-fold.” Yet there was this atop Page 1 earlier in the month: “1 in 3 parents would decline swine flu shot.” Decline? Why would a parent refuse medical care to protect their child from illness, a shot in the arm or mist in the nose that could potentially save their child’s life?

October 16, 2009

Our View: Do the math, and get vaccinated

After six long months of H1N1 (swine flu) pandemonium, we finally have a vaccine (for the flu, not the pandemonium).

By Abel Gustafson , October 15, 2009