Duluth Mayor Emily Larson announced Thursday afternoon her picks of a dozen people to serve on an affordable housing task force.
“We know that we have a need for more affordable housing units in the community,” said Larson in a written statement. “This group will steer the city in a direction that has a funding compass attached to it so that we can solve this problem.”
The task force will assess the local housing supply, including its affordability and quality. It also will explore potential funding sources to address the need. The group will begin meeting in September and is expected to present a report with recommendations by early 2020.
Those individuals named to the task force are:
Laura Thorsvik from Essentia Health
Deb Otto from Bremer Bank
Stephanie Cummings from Wells Fargo
Michael Boeselager from St. Luke’s
Dan Markham from Kraus-Anderson
Lynn Nephew from the Duluth Housing and Redevelopment Authority Board
Lee Stuart of CHUM
City Councilor Joel Sipress
Sarah Wisdorf from the Lake Superior Association of Realtors
Laura Birnbaum from the St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services Division
Jeremy Hoglund from Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota
Don Ness of the Ordean Foundation
