Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 20-21
- Plenty of Northlanders were watching as the Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints 39-14 Sunday afternoon, while the Indianapolis Colts overcame an 18-point deficit in the evening to beat the New England Patriots 38-34. The Bears and the Colts will meet in the Superbowl in Miami Feb. 4. That game will mark the first time a team coached by a black head coach (actually, both head coaches are black) will be in the Superbowl.
- The University of Minnesota Duluth's women's hockey team beat Bemidji State 3-1 in Sunday's Western Collegiate Hockey Association game. UMD also beat Bemidji on Saturday, by a score of 5-0.
- A 28-year-old Richfield man, Andrew Robert LeGrande, died in a skiing accident at Spirit Mountain. He ran into a tree and wasn't wearing a helmet. The last skiing fatality at Spirit Mountain, according to the Duluth News Tribune, may have happened 11 years ago when Daniel Martin hit a tree on the Gandy Dancer run.
Monday, Jan. 22
- Gov.. Tim Pawlenty released his 2008-09 budget Monday, with good news for Duluth. Pawlenty included $37.9 million for the proposed DECC expansion, which would pay for half the expected costs of the project.
That's a good beginning, local lawmakers said, noting that the budget process is far from over. The other half of the funding is being raised locally.
The local half uses three sources: The DECC would contribute $461,000; a total of $455,000 would come from the University of Minnesota Duluth (which would use the new hockey arena for its games), and $1,300,000 would come from a proposed City of Duluth Entertainment tax, which was approved in a special referendum last year.
- The Knight Foundation announced that the Duluth-Superior area will be one of three regions in the country to receive a $195,000 "Knight Creative Communities" grant. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, in partnership with the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and forward-thinking social theorist Richard Florida, has launched the Knight Creative Communities Initiative, a venture that aims to pull together the ideas and talents of all parts of the community in building a more creative environment for economic growth. (See editorial on Page 24)
Tuesday, Jan. 23
- The Minnesota Timberwolves fired their head coach, Dwane Casey, after starting the season 20-20. Casey will be replaced by assistant coach Rany Wittman.
Casey was with the team for less than two years. Kevin McHale, Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations, said inconsistency was one of the reasons for Casey's dismissal, according to a McClatchy news report.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
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- It was announced that the world's first commercial iron nugget plant may be built on the Iron Range. Steel Dynamics Inc. is currently looking into the resurrection of the $210 million Mesabi Nugget plant near Aurora, according to the Duluth News Tribune.
A deal in November of last year, to build the plant, evaporated when the original partners couldn't reach specific terms.
Thursday, Jan. 25
- A crime meeting Thursday night addressed methamphetamine in the Northland. Speakers at the meeting said that "super labs" from the Southwest United States are bringing large amounts of meth to the area.
According to a Duluth News Tribune article, Sgt. Scott Jenkins, special investigations supervisor for the Lake Superior Drug Task Force, said "mom-and-pop-labs," where users and small time dealers make meth, have greatly diminished in the area.
Friday, Jan. 26
- The Great Lakes Pond Hockey Adult Classic will be held at Barker's Island in Superior.
The first game will begin at 6 p.m. There will also be games on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 10 a.m.
For more information call 715-394-6015.
