DuluthCommunityNews

By DAYNA LANGREBE
DCN Correspondent

On the corner of Sixth Avenue East and Third Street sits a large, red-brick church with flashing stained glass windows that catch the sun at the center of their arcs. In the entrance to the building a small, rainbow windsock hangs. This is the Gloria Dei church and they are an openly a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender (GLBT)-inclusive congregation.

“It's been maybe officially ten years that Gloria Dei has been what we call a ‘reconciling in Christ congregation’ along with a collection of ELCA Lutheran Churches that offer a particular welcome to gay and lesbian and transgendered people to be full participants in the church,� Pastor David Carlson said.

Prevalent in the media that many church communities can’t settle religious values with GLBT communities, Gloria Dei has provided empathy in the heart of the Hillside for GLBT people.

Carlson said that GLBT members at Gloria Dei are welcomed to take active roles in the church like Sunday school teachers, members of the choir and the church council.

“It’s not like we’re keeping track of who’s where but we’re just saying that everyone can serve, everyone is welcome, everyone is a part of this church,� Carlson said. “But on the same side, I think it’s important that Gloria Dei have an explicit welcome.�

Often many GLBT individuals are rejected from their churches when found that they are gay.

“Most have had a bad experience with churches before. They were baptized and then told no. We are ‘officially reconciling,'� member of Gloria Dei, Carol Kelley said.

Families all over the country have experienced this type of rejection in churches, especially with children.

“Churches should be the place that welcomes the outcast,� Randi Reitans said, from an interview with Lavender Magazine, Minnesota’s leading GLBT magazine. Reitans is the mother of a normal, American and very Christian Minnesota family that had to reconcile their religions with their right-mindedness of having a gay child.

“Instead, churches are making people into outcasts,� Reitans went on to say.

When Susan Anderson, a resident of Duluth, found herself looking for a church she found it at Gloria Dei.

“I decided I would be an out and open lesbian and they were okay with that. They were more than okay. They were very supportive,� Anderson said.

Anderson was only a member of the church for a short time before she was asked to be on the church council. Then, three years ago, she became the president.

“Gloria Dei really practices what it preaches. Sometimes you go to churches and they say that they welcome the GLBT community but you never see them in positions in the church,� Anderson said.

When Anderson joined the church almost 12 years ago, only two other members were gay or lesbian besides her. Today, four gay couples and other people who identify themselves as GLBT have joined the church.

Several other churches in the Duluth community have made the commitment to be open, affirming and welcoming congregations. Such churches include the Peace United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth.

Web sites for these churches all openly advertise that diversity is celebrated through social justice and action through peace and liberty. They feature photos of hugging women and confirmation ceremonies or unions.

But it hasn’t been an easy road to get to the level of openness and compassion that these churches provide.

“During the time that I was a member and it became an issue whether the UCC Churches should become an open and affirming congregation, we did decide to do that and it wasn’t a unanimous decision,� Bruce Mork, a former member of the Peace Church for fifteen years.

Today Mork attends a church closer to his home in Lakeside. He does, however, remember the effects of the decision to become an openly GLBT church. People stopped coming to the church. Members quit.

“So it wasn’t just all peace and harmony, but after the change was made I would say the church has continued to thrive and we’ve had gay and lesbian families as well as gay and lesbian individuals,� Mork said.

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By ZACH OLSON
DCN Correspondent

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By VERONICA WILSON
DCN Correspondent

Just a few miles north of UMD, on the outskirts of Duluth, is where Woodland community can be found, a small neighborhood in a big town.

Most of the local businesses are owned by members of the community, and are kept in business, in part, because of support from local consumers.

“The ladies know most of [the customers] by name,� Steve Preston owner of Falk’s Pharmacy said.

Preston is a Duluthian and owner of all eight Falk’s Pharmacies in Duluth.

In a time when the economy is having its share of problems, the unemployment rate in Duluth is reaching 6.2 percent according to U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Because of this, Woodland business owners are appreciating the business from locals.

“Most of them have been coming here for probably about thirty years,� said Falk’s Pharmacy employee Nancy Ness. “Same day, same time.�

So how much of the Woodland Falk’s pharmacy business comes from locals?

“Pretty much all of it, 90 percent comes from the area,� Preston said.

Preston said that since prescriptions are a necessity, the store has not suffered as bad financially as other stores might during this economic downfall. However, consumers have cut back on purchasing other items that the store offers.

“Gifty stuff and novelty stuff, forget it,� Preston said. “You can see it is affecting people.�

Falk’s Pharmacy, along with other local businesses like Sammy’s Pizza and Denny’s Ace Hardware, are locally owned and continue to stay in business with help from the support of the Woodland community.

Steve Perrella, along with his four siblings, own four Sammy’s Pizzas across Duluth. He has owned the Woodland location for 16 years and lives only a few miles away. Perrella talked about the economic stress of his restaurant.

“It has slowed some, especially this last month,� Perrella said. “Half of [our] customers come from just the Woodland area.�

Denny Moran, owner of the local Ace Hardware, has also been a Woodland business owner for years.

“I bought it in 1974,� Moran said. The store has been in Woodland since 1929 and plans on staying for years to come. Moran is passing ownership over to his son, but plans on continuing work at the store according to Moran.

Moran hopes to “help out so he can have some time off,� he said.

According to Moran, a lot of Denny’s Ace Hardware customers are regulars that come in for things they need day to day, and are known by name to store employees.

Moran also said that Denny’s Ace Hardware is seeing business from Duluthians, who used to shop at the recently closed Daughtry’s Ace Hardware.

“We haven’t see it yet,� Moran said of the business downfall. “We are far enough away that people don’t want to drive to Menards.�

Going to the hardware store for home repairs has also helped business, according to Moran. “A lot of people are trying to fix stuff instead of buying it.�

Another source of business comes from women.

“Fourty to 45 percent [of customers] are women and they’re regulars," Moran said.

A lot of people don’t think women shop at hardware stores but they would be surprised to see how many women do go to hardware stores. They are working on “arts and crafts and projects,� Moran said.

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By ALEXANDER RISSE
DCN Correspondent

Cars bumping loudly over pockmarked, crumbling roads has become a familiar scene in Duluth. Perhaps no one has a better perspective on this situation than those who see the direct effects such roads can have on vehicles: Local mechanics.

Chad Alaspa is the owner of Chad’s Auto Shop at the intersection of W. Third Street and N. 28th Ave. W. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Duluth. He said that a lot of customers come into his shop with damages caused by Duluth’s ailing infrastructure.

“Customers complain, people hate the streets in this town,� he said.

Alaspa does admit that, for him, the poor roads are a mixed blessing.

“I look at a hole [in the road] and say, ‘that’ll make me a lot,’� he said laughing while shifting in his chair.

According to Alaspa, before the recent replacement of W. Third Street, there was a pothole in front of his shop that would literally tear cars apart, snapping ball joints and ruining tires.

“I got three jobs off that one,� he said. “People would come in and ask me, ‘did you put that [pothole] there?’�

Even though W. Third has since been repaired, Alaspa said that there are still plenty of other roads messing with motorists. He gave E. Superior and 27th Ave. E. as an example. Despite the business that he gets as a result of bad roads, he would like to see the city fix them. He expressed frustration over city funds used to operate things like the Great Lakes Aquarium. The aquarium’s accounting office said the city contributes $300,000 a year to its operation. According to an expense budget report on Duluth’s 2008 road repair, that’s about the same amount of money that the city has spent on blacktop this year, and totals nearly one third of the city’s total 2008 road budget to date. Alaspa would like to see that money invested in the city’s infrastructure.

With the serious budget situation that Duluth is experiencing, the city is considering cutting funds to the Great Lakes Aquarium in order to better afford things such as road repair. They will need all the money they can get. Darlene Campbell, a Lincoln Park resident, said that oftentimes the temporary repairs on the road in front of her house such as blacktop patches simply don’t hold up.

This may suggest that simply patching roads, as has been the most popular remedy due to lower cost, may not be enough. Duluth may need to scrape up the funds for a major revamping of its roads.

No matter what happens with the city’s budget, car owners can expect things to get worse before they get better, especially as winter sets in. Brian Fulda opened his own car repair shop about three weeks ago on the corner of Grand Avenue. and N. 34th St. W. He said that the poor roads have contributed to his steady business since opening. He expects his shop to get busier as the weather cools.

“Everything is made out of Aluminum now,� said Fulda. “If it’s cold, things are just going to snap.�

Posted by David Buckner at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ZACH OLSON
DCN Correspondent

The sound of a sharp, loud ring pierces your ear. It’s time to get up and begin your day. Groggily rolling over, you hit the snooze button to allow yourself to get a few more precious minutes of much needed rest. Before you know it, you instinctively force yourself from your peaceful sleep and realize that you’re running late... again. After quickly throwing on the first visible items of clothing, you give your teeth a once over and head for the door.

When you finally reach your destination, you pull into the closest parking space only to realize that if you plan on leaving your vehicle here, you better plan on feeding the meter.

Frantically you tear through your vehicle and pockets in hopes of finding some change. Finally, you come to the realization that this is taking too much time and it’s a losing battle. You have two options: risk getting a ticket by ignoring the meter or just call it quits and retreat home or to another distant parking place that isn’t metered.

You had come so close, but a couple of quarters stood in the way of your mission of punctuality.

This problem of a lack of spare change, which could result in the accumulation of parking violations, affects people on a daily basis and has become more difficult to deal with in Duluth.

The city recently made some changes in regards to its parking meters located in the downtown area.
In an article written in a 2008 Duluth News Tribune article, the city council approved an increase in meter fees. The article says that in previous years, 25 cents would buy 30 minutes for a parking space. With the new increase, 25 cents only buys 20 minutes of time now.

UMD Parking Area Supervisor Cheryl Love says one way to alleviate the problem would be the construction of parking ramps, but because of space and cost she thinks it would be difficult for this as a solution. Love did, however, say that an electronic alternative is completely feasible and have already begun to be utilized.

Change came in Davenport, Iowa, in the winter of 2006. To notify the community of the upcoming change, the city made a news release introducing the Smart Card. The card was designed to be simple, by just sliding it into the meter, money would be taken out of a parking account (that would need to be set up during the purchase of the card).

Along with Iowa, other parts of the U.S began experimentation with their meters.

Decatur, Ga., recently began to use an electronic form of payment at the meter. According to an article published this past November from the PR Newswire, the city began experimenting with SmartMeters.

StreetSmart is the company that is introducing these new meters. The process requires very little work. To begin, people call an automated line and decide how much time they want to put on their meter. Once this is done, they choose whether they want to pay with a credit/debit card. The entire process happens over the phone and live operators are also available in addition to the automated line.

These two cities are just a couple of examples of the evolution of parking meters in today’s society. But this trend is not confined to the U.S. In an article posted on the British Broadcasting Corporation, cities worldwide, like London, have also transitioned to the pay over the phone method.

Over time, other cities and communities may experiment and adopt some of these new electronic forms of payments, but change takes time; therefore, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep collecting change. Who knows, someday you may be running late and having just a few dimes, nickels and quarters may help secure a prime parking spot.

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BY KRISTEN KREBS
DCN Correspondent

Rather than being nestled in bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, some
holiday participants are seeing visions of the country’s subprime mortgage crisis,
unemployment, dwindling 401k’s and health insurance woes. The country’s current economic
status has some people reluctant for this year’s holiday season.

Recent Gallup polls show that Americans' projected average Christmas spending this year
is the lowest in Gallup’s 10-year history. Spending is projected at $616; down from last
year’s projected spending at this time of the year, which was $866.

How will holiday participants notice the economy’s impact on holiday traditions in their
own neighborhoods?

At the organizational level, The Union Gospel Mission is struggling to gather food
donations for Thanksgiving food baskets that they distribute to those in need in the
Duluth and surrounding community. The Union Gospel Mission is an organization located in
the East Hillside providing food shelter, and hope to impoverished individuals in the
Duluth and surrounding area. Brian Holmes, one of the mission’s coordinators, has an
inkling that the lack of donations is “all due to the way the economy is going this year.�
As of the afternoon of Friday, November 21, the organization still needed 128 turkeys to
be donated in order to have enough for each family who signed up.

“Money is tight with people,� Holmes said. “We’d normally have two freezers full of
turkeys at this point.�

Holmes is unaware at this point, of what the Gospel mission will do if the turkeys are
not donated in time.

As for the residents in Duluth’s East Hillside, “I’ll put up less lights, much less,�
Theresa Verkis said.

Theresea Verkis has lived with her sister, Carolyn, in the East Hillside, for more than 40
years. The single sisters imagine that their electricity bill will be between $160 and
$170 during this year’s holiday season, an expense that they are worried about paying.

In an effort to alleviate some of this year’s unique holiday stress, Order of St. Nick, a
national greeting card publisher, has released a line of “financial crisis Christmas
cards�

The line of cards feature verses such as "Have a Great Depression and a Subprime New
Year."

And how will the Verkis sisters make it through the holiday season this year?

“Christmas ain’t Christmas if I don’t have garland over every doorway,� Theresa said.
“Christmas is the one time of year you’re allowed to be gaudy.�

The combination of old and new gifted decorations helps to ease the cost of Christmas
décor and adds to Theresa’s “gaudy� theme.

Additionally, rather than exchanging presents, the Verkis family makes ornaments to
exchange.

Each child in their family got an ornament for Christmas up until they were eighteen
years old. In the days that the Verkis sisters hosted Christmas at their home, in the
East Hillside, more than 100 family members would pack into the house to celebrate;
that’s a lot of hand-made ornaments.

Although the Verkis sisters won’t be hosting that many people for Christmas this year,
the ornaments for this year’s exchange spread across the floor of their dining room-angels made with gold beads and wire.

The size of this expense, compared to buying gifts, is something that Theresa appreciates
this year.

Posted by dill0169 at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ALEX DE MARCO
DCN Correspondent

Public safety is a concern that nearly every city in the United States has in common. When asked what their main concerns are in downtown Duluth, residents and employees all echoed one response: crime. But when questioned about ways to decrease crime in the area, proposed solutions were limited.

“I don't know. I guess put more cops near the problem spots,� said Betty Tenkanen, manager of the Original Coney Island restaurant on Superior Street. “Everyone knows which parts are the worst.�

Tenkanen isn't the only downtown employee who is aware of particular areas that attract crime. In previous articles, business owners have commented on various kinds of crime in specific areas of downtown. Drugs are one concern in downtown Duluth, but property crimes show the highest figures in town.

The Duluth Police Department reports show that property crimes have increased over the last few years, and according to the FBI web site, Duluth had over four-thousand cases of property crimes in 2007; third in Minnesota, right after St. Paul and Minneapolis.

With the obvious need for a new approach to deterring crime, perhaps it is time for Duluth to look at what other cities have done in the past about the same problem.

In a 1998 article by Beth Wade entitled “Dealing with perception: Baltimore's cameras make citizens feel safer,� Wade writes about the installation of closed-circuit television cameras in a downtown neighborhood. Wade reported that crime--mainly property crimes--dropped ten percent the first year after the system was in place and thirty percent by the end of the second year.

“I don't think it's a bad idea,� said UMD senior Matt Foley, a resident of the downtown Duluth area. “If they set them up (cameras) in the right places I think it could help a lot. I've heard of other cities doing it, like I think L.A and a couple other places in California. I think it's worked for them.�

Foley is right. A 2004 article from the American City and Council states that within two months after police efforts were increased and cameras were installed near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles “...homicides had plunged by 45 percent, shootings dropped by 37 percent, robberies declined by 18 percent and total violent crimes decreased by 18 percent.�

Closed-circuit television may not be the ideal solution to Duluth's crime problem, but the addition of cameras in problem areas has proved to work in other communities in the past; it may be a reasonable option for our city as well.

“That's something maybe Duluth should start considering,� said Foley. “I don't know what else there is to do.�

Posted by Julia Davis at 9:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By KENDRA RICHARDS
DCN Correspondent

Anne Jones has a beautiful cat named Alaska. The big, fluffy, calico cat with “the most beautiful green eyes� has been her companion for the past four years, and Anne said she has never had a more agreeable cat.

Today, however, Anne's house is strangely quiet, for it is now void of the beautiful calico. A couple of weeks ago, Anne was forced to hand Alaska over to a volunteer at the Animal Allies Humane Society, with her eyes full of tears, because she could no longer afford to feed the cat.

“My first priority is my family,� said Jones. “When struggling to afford them, I will give up the animals first, and that's what I did; it was absolutely heartbreaking, but I had to do it.�

The Animal Allies Humane Society located on Courtland Street in Duluth said that the economy isn't just taking a toll on humans—pets are losing their homes as a result of financial struggles.

“When an owner surrenders their animal to us, we have them fill out a form and include as much information as they can as to why they are giving up their pet,� said Jo Paull, an adoption counselor at Animal Allies Humane Society. “Many, many of them are saying that they can't afford to feed them anymore, their house was foreclosed and they have no place for them, or that they had to sell their house and move into an apartment and their landlord won't allow them to have the animal anymore.�

The hurting economy is forcing many pet owners to hand their pets over to someone who can afford to feed them, but many of the animals are never adopted.

“People give up their pets, hoping that someone who can afford to feed them will adopt them, but often the animal isn't adopted,� said Paull. “There are so many pets that need homes and only so many homes able to take care of them.�

Animal shelters are always overloaded with animals, but during these hard times it's worse because, while many people are giving up their pets, others are refraining from adopting.

“The number of abandoned pets is increasing while donations and adoptions are decreasing,� said Paull. “People on both sides just can't afford it.�

Pet health is also being affected by this crisis. Pet owners who are keeping their animals may still be able to feed them, but they often can't afford proper medical treatment for them.

“We have seen cutbacks on routine vaccinations,� said Dr. Pirzah Pop, a veterinarian at Dougherty's Veterinary Clinic located on E 14th Street in Duluth. “There is a particular vaccination fore Lyme disease that has seen a pretty large cutback,� said Dr. Pop. “It is a very common disease in animals and therefore a very routing vaccination for prevention, but people are refusing it a lot lately to cut back on expenses.�

Being financially unable to properly feed and treat pets is a problem Americans are facing all over the country.

According to an article that ran on October 8 in the Denver Post, Greeley resident Paula Harding could no longer afford the vet bills for her sick 15-year-old dog. After failing to “euthanize� him by overdosing him on anti-anxiety pills, she shot him, apparently seeing no other choice.

“When an officer arrived, he found a distraught Harding who wept as she recounted shooting her pet,� according to the article.

Texas reports being overloaded with stray animals as well.

“The total number of dogs served by the Seagovelle Animal shelter this year is expected to reach 3,000, a figure three times what it was five years ago,� according to an article on www.examiner.com.

Many Americans are being forced into situations where they cannot afford to feed or take care of their pets, but there are also more options and resources than most people think that can help avoid conclusions like the one Harding came to. There are organizations out there giving what they can to those who need it; one such organization is the Humane Society of the United States.

“The Humane Society of the United States is pleased to offer grants of up to $2000 to animal shelters, non-sheltered rescue/adoption groups and animal care and control agencies,� said the Foundation's Web site, www.animalsheltering.org. “This is to help establish, expand, or publicize services and programs that assist individuals in caring for their pets during the current economic downturn.�

Another organization out there making a difference is the PETCO Foundation, the charity arm of PETCO. They are working with JAKKS Pets, to hold in-store adoption events, giving all adopting families a free month's supply of food for their adopted pet.

“JAKKS Pets and the PETCO Foundation seek to make a difference and alleviate the stress of caring for pets in these tough economic times,� said PETCO's Web site, www.petco.com.

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By JORDAN HANSON
DCN Correspondent

It is 4 p.m. and the usual crowd is gathered at Mr. D’s Bar and Grill in West Duluth. At one end of the bar, Jim and Judy LeDoux sit and talk, each with a beer in hand. The couple have been going to Mr. D’s for over 40 years. As he held his wife’s hand, Jim smiled, looked around the bar, and said that the bar was its own little community.

“It’s one of the cleanest bars in Duluth,� he said. “The people are all nice and friendly and there are lots of people we know.�

As a whole, bars can sometimes be seen as a negative aspect of a community. If this were true, then having four bars located within a block of each other could destroy a community. Some Spirit Valley area residents, neighboring businesses, and a community policeman, however, seem to disagree with this stereotype.

Sherry Larson, who works at the Quilters Co-op on Central Avenue in West Duluth, said that the area bars aren’t hurting anyone.

“They don’t really cause any trouble,� said Larson. “They seem to be pretty well in control.�

Across the street, Joel Russell at Central Sales was supportive of the bars.

“Any places with lunches as good as the four bars in the area are going to have a good draw,� said Russell. “The people drive by here and see my business, and it helps a lot. I’ve never seen anything happen with the bars. If anything it keeps more cops around the area.�

Casey Teschner has been bartending at Mr. D’s Bar and Grill for four years and suggests a different reason for the neighborhood support – Al Terwey, the owner of Mr. D’s.

“Al gives a lot back to the community,� said Teschner. “The bar hosts a lot of non-profits and benefits for people who have had severe accidents or who have cancer or something like that. Al will usually provide the room rental for free and even sometimes food.�

He says that the generosity and good will of the management has a trickle-down effect for the community.

“The owners treat the employees very well here. A lot of bars don’t do that,� said Teschner. “This helps to raise morale and carries down to the customers and people of the community.�

Some Spirit Valley residents agree. Don Elmore and Kip Mattison are both regulars at Mr. D’s. Elmore compares the bar to the television show “Cheers,� saying that the workers all treat their regulars as if they were their friends. Mattison, who has been coming to the bar for 20 years, says that the main draw of the bar is its atmosphere.

“It is a very nice place to sit and relax after a long day of work,� said Mattison. “At a lot of bars you have to worry about it getting too crazy, but here you don’t have to worry about fights or bad language or any of that.�

Sergeant Chuck O’Connor of the West Duluth Police Station grew up near the Spirit Valley area and knows the community intimately. He describes the locals as being very community-oriented and says they derive their identities from where they grew up and live.

“People who grew up here tend to stay here,� said O’Connor. “There has always been a strong rivalry between the people of West and East Duluth and that rivalry brings the people here together. This used to create a very strong sense of community, but now there is more diversity as far as people coming from different communities. It’s changing.�

The sense of community in West Duluth might be slowly fading, but anyone watching the Mr. D’s regulars gathering around the bar, sharing jokes and stories with some of their oldest friends, certainly wouldn’t know it.

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ABEL GUSTAFSON
DCN Correspondent

In an attempt to reconcile the $6.5 million city budget deficit, the sale of three of four parcels of Park Point city land was approved in a 6-3 vote at Monday night's city council meeting. The council also voted 5-4 that the fourth and final parcel not be sold due to the environmental concerns raised by Duluthians.

The approval of the sale has Park Point residents, as well as other Duluthians, up in arms. Dave Johnson, a longtime Park Point resident and former president of the Park Point Community Club, has long been petitioning the city to reconsider. He said that the land for sale is both unique and environmentally priceless.

"We aren't talking about saving every pothole and stump," Johnson said. "But the real gems, we have to protect."

He went on to say that the sale is "a threat to one of the more important areas of the Mississippi Highway for bird migration."

Janet Green, a former president of the Duluth Audubon Society and a former board member of the National Audubon Society, has been studying the birds of Northeastern Minnesota for more than 45 years. She said that the Park Point land is a valuable bird sanctuary that attracts tourism.

"It's not unusual to go down there during migration season and see 100 species of birds," Green said. "Many people come to Duluth for this reason only."

The land for sale has long been viewed as being part of the Park Point City Park, thus excluding the possibility of selling it. However, the city administration has recently proclaimed that the park boundary is actually a few hundred feet farther down the point, making these four parcels of city-owned land to be available for sale.

Johnson said the new boundary of the park is due to a clerical error in 1940 after the land 's allocation as a city park, which mistakenly recorded the park as being smaller than its original size.

"You can clearly see the sign that marks the boundaries of the park," said Johnson. "There is no question. This is city park land."

Jay Young, who lives in the farthest house down the point neighboring the for-sale lots. “They are selling property that was park property,� he said. “Somehow they now have the right to turn it into residential.�

After a controversial ruling that the strip of Park Point land is zoned as residential, two parcels of land will be sold to the Thralow family for $762,000, while the third piece of land will be sold to ELWA, LLC for $471,000. The total amount of more than $1.2 million will help to alleviate the city's immediate budget crisis.

Councilor Tony Cuneo said "I have no idea what we would use to fill that gap in the next 30 days."

In August, Johnson attended a city council meeting where Mayor Don Ness challenged him to find an alternative solution. Johnson promptly suggested that the city sell the land to the State of Minnesota as a State Park, or try to sell to the Nature Conservancy of Duluth. The money received would be comparable to the money made from a public sale, and the area would remain environmentally protected.

City administration rejected this proposal because it takes almost a year to process a state park sale. The speed of selling on the public market better facilitates the city's budget crisis. The Nature Conservancy passed on the offer, leaving the city with no option but to open up the bidding to the public sector.

"Selling the city's assets should always be a last resort," Cuneo said "Hopefully in 2009 we can look for other solutions."

Councilor Jim Stauber said "It’s not enjoyable for us to be cleaning closets and selling off what we can, but such are the times right now."

Posted by David Buckner at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By RYAN SWANSON
DCN Correspondent

It’s Friday night and people are getting ready for the weekend. A customer strolls through the liquor store until he finds the beer of his liking and brings it to the counter. “It comes to $15.98,� says the cashier. “Oh, and can I see your ID too.�

On most occasions that question does not pose a problem, but an issue has emerged recently. The problem is when underage consumers try to use false identification to purchase alcohol.

Pam Crotty, the owner of the Shanty Bottle shop, has noticed that in the past few years there has been an increase in the number of minors trying to buy alcohol with fake IDs.

“We usually get one a night,� said Kaj Mustonen, an employee at Last Chance Liquor and Wine Cellar.

With such a high number of underage drinkers, fake IDs will likely increase in demand.

A website discussing social problems with alcohol and maintained by State University of New York Socialogy professor David J. Hanson, says that “states are spending millions of dollars attempting to deter the production of millions of fake IDs. Yet officials admit that as soon as they improve security features, bright young people devise ways of duplicating them.�

One 19-year-old Duluthian who wished to remain anonymous has turned his creation of fake IDs into a small business. He makes upward of $100 per ID that he makes. He claims that his IDs are successful when used even though they are made without any high tech equipment. All he uses is the Microsoft Paint application on his computer, a picture of the person, a laminator, and a real ID to use as a reference.

Although these “bright young people� may find ways to make their fake identification look like the real thing, there still are ways to pick them apart from the real ones.

“We can tell pretty easy that some of them are fake,� said Jake Haugen, an employee at the Shanty Bottle Shop. “Some of them are really flimsy or made pretty bad.�

Mustonen uses a book that helps employees detect fake IDs. He said that alcohol companies like Budweiser produce books that show different ways to detect the fake forms of identification. Another method that the retailers can use to check the validity is to scan the magnetic strip on the back of the ID. The strip will register on the machine if it is real and will display the information that is on the card.

While this may seem like an easy and foolproof way to detect fake IDs, there is a downfall. Mustonen said that the scan machine does not work for some states. He said that it will work for Minnesota IDs but Wisconsin ones will not work when scanned.

Mustonen said that he sees all different types of identification. Some types that he sees other than Minnesota driver’s licenses are international, military and other state’s forms of identification.

The sophistication of some of the fake IDs is keeping the authorities around the country on their toes. Hanson’s website cites an official of Florida's Division of Alcohol Beverage and Tobacco stating that fake IDs are getting so good that the agency actually have to use laboratory equipment to detect them. The official, who teaches police how to identify counterfeit IDs, revises his training manual monthly to keep up with improvements in fake IDs.

Posted by dill0169 at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By CORY CLAESON
DCN Correspondent

The youth of Duluth may be losing some extracurricular programs in the near future, but a solution could be for a child to obtain a mentor.

In the recent election only one of the three operational levies passed, leaving the school district receiving the same amount of tax dollars as in previous years. The district needed a bump to at least the second levy to have enough money to keep class sizes down and keep extracurricular activities. But now some of those will more than likely be cut.

“The cuts won’t be as dramatic as they would’ve been if the levy didn’t pass,� said school board member Mary Cameron. “Unfortunately it may be the after school activities that may get cut.�

If the child is in search of new activities, one such way may be the Mentor Duluth Program. The community program serves children from age five to 18, which happens to also be the age of students from kindergarten to senior year of high school. Students can essentially be mentored from the first day of school in their lives to the day they are walking away with a diploma.

“The program is designed to improve self-esteem and provide kids with extra support,� said Callie Ronstrom, a YMCA Mentor Duluth program advocate.

Mentors are meant to be a good role model and do activities with the kids. The program primarily works with low-income or single parent households, which may also save money for the families by having their children participate in a low cost mentoring activity instead of the traditionally expensive extracurricular activities.

“We are looking for the mentor to develop a friendship and become a role-model for a child,� said Blair Gagne, a director of the Mentor Duluth Program.

The upcoming closure of Duluth Central High School is separating the students to Denfeld High or East High School. This could lead hillside students to look for activities because of the large number of students looking for more limited spots in extracurricular activities. The lower number of spots is a result of the closure of Central and the loss of extracurriculars there.

“A lot of families are living in the Hillside community,� said Ronstrom about the mentees who are part of the program.

The same principles that extracurricular activities are designed for, keep kids active and out of trouble, are essentially what the mentor program does. It could be considered a replacement or alternative for the possible extracurricular cuts down the road.

A seminal study conducted last year found that overall academic performance improved with students who had been involved with a mentor or a “big brother or big sister� as they are often called. The study also found that the students had fewer infractions in school and skipped class less often.

“The mentors work on homework together and school attendance seems to increase,� said Gagne.

Although people may be taking a recent notice to the mentoring program, it has actually been around since 1938, according to the mentor Duluth web site. The program also specializes in academic tutoring, making healthy lifestyle decisions and creating friendships between mentors and mentees. There are around 300 mentor and child matches currently. The school district will decide on cuts to academics and extracurricular activities in April.

Posted by Zach Olson at 8:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By LIZ ENKE
DCN Correspondent

Drugs, muggings, troubled teens, homeless bums and crime—lots of crime. These are words that are used as preconceived notions to describe Duluth’s Central Hillside. Many think these words truly describe the area, but if you ask a resident of the Central Hillside and you should be prepared for a pleasant surprise.

A crisp breeze of light flurries has made its presence known in the Northland again; a typical morning in the Central Hillside. Cars keep the roads company while passer-bys attend to the sidewalks. There’s no telling where people are headed as they trek through the area. Some just seem to be aimlessly walking, most with a smile on their face shouting out a friendly “hi� to the people they pass.

Abby Fleissner, who works with adult men who have drug addiction problems, was born and raised in Duluth. Fleissner lived in Minneapolis and the Woodland area also but prefers living Hillside.

“I love living in the Central Hillside,� said Fleissner. “It’s the love of living around action and all the people, and it’s the most varied. It’s a very multicultural area.�

Fleissner said that she comes across many different types of people in the hillside ranging from college students to single parents to the homeless.

Although she believes the Central Hillside is a great place to live she is not oblivious to the negative things others attach the area with.

“Some people are afraid of the area,� said Fleissner. “There is definitely crime, drugs and bad things going on. Some people are afraid to come here because they think it’s like coming to Chicago.�

She believes that living in the Central Hillside has given her a glimpse of the world. Fleissner stated that there is crime everywhere and acknowledges there is crime that goes on in the area but she doesn’t consider it a “high-crime area.�

“I remember when Congdon had some incidents of home invasions and everyone was in shock, but that’s reality,� Fleissner said.

Fleissner didn’t deny that there weren’t things to be aware of or the fact that crime does happen in the Hillside, but she believes that things like that are blown out of proportion.

“You’re not going to get mugged walking down the street,� said Fleissner. “If I walk down the street I see a lot of different people—a lot of them homeless. I say ‘hi’ and they always say ‘hi’ back.�

Fleissner lived in Woodland for a short period of time and did not enjoy it. She couldn’t stand the lack of diversity and said she wouldn’t live anywhere but the Hillside.

Claudette Huth was also born and raised in the Central Hillside. As a Fourth Street Market employee and mother she takes pride as being a Central Hillside resident.

“Everybody knows everybody,� said Huth. “Especially working here, it gives me a chance to get to know everyone.�

Even though Huth admitted to making sure her children are picked up by dark because she acknowledged crime does occur, she is displeased with the way the Central Hillside is seen or assumed to be by others.

“My husband is Black,� said Huth. “There have been times I’ve gotten pulled over when he has been riding in the car. When I’m alone that has never happened. He even got pulled over while riding his bike one day.�

Huth used to live out west but said that the Central Hillside is her favorite area in Duluth.

“I couldn’t see my kids being raised anywhere else,� Huth said.

Angela Ellis has been driving her bus around the Central Hillside for eight years and has gotten the chance to get to know the actual people of the area.

Ellis, also a resident of the area, has experienced the good and bad of the Central Hillside, but she believes that people living in the area are no different than other people.

“It’s cool,� said Ellis. “I think it sometimes gets a stereotype because it’s the more ‘ghetto part of Duluth,’ but to me it’s my hood; it’s where I grew up.�

“It’s a lot of people who are trying to commute, they are trying to make their way, they’re trying to pay their bills just like everyone else,� said Ellis. “You got bad seeds in there, yeah there’s crack heads; I’ve seen them.�

Ellis believes that the heart of the Central Hillside can be found in the people.

“I think that people that live there they get along with each other because they’re kind of all in the same boat—they’re struggling,� said Ellis.

As a bus driver Ellis is grateful that she has gotten the chance to engage with an array of people.

“You get to know people,� said Ellis. “You get to know [that] they have a problem walking or they’re the quiet drunk. You get to know them because they chit-chat with you.�

Ellis said that many minorities and teenagers ride her bus and is fed up because they have a bad reputation behind them as a minority.

“A Black teenager gets on my bus I say, ‘hey, how ya doin’?’ and to the white kid, ‘hey how ya doin’? Anybody,� said Ellis. “They’re going to come on my bus and I’m going to have a smile for them, and I’m going to tell them to have a nice day because they may not hear that at home.�

She doesn’t think it’s fair that these kids have to deal with the brunt of stereotype in the Central Hillside and tries to engage with them as much as possible.

“I think it’s all about your attitude,� said Ellis. “I hear a lot of drivers hawking, but I really think it’s their attitude. I try to be a friendly face.�

Ellis loves her community and is taking it upon her to make the Central Hillside to appear more positive in outsiders’ eyes.

“I’ll wave if I see people I know on the street,� said Ellis. “There’s people waving to me all the time. This is my community. I love my community and I always try to help the little man.�

Posted by claes019 at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By MARK WARNER
DCN Correspondent

It’s 8 p.m. on a November Wednesday. With autumn’s darkness in full force, there is scarce natural lighting to be found on Third Street in Duluth’s Central Hillside. In fact, besides the single streetlights situated on the intersections of Third and Fourth Avenue West, nothing illuminates the area at all. The sidewalks are near black between the poles. On this night, it is the flashing red lights of two Duluth police cars on traffic stop that provide a lighting. There are no pedestrians in sight.

While it may be a stretch to say abundant streetlighting plays a tangible role in crime prevention, there is no denying the fact that bright areas are perceived to be safer than darker zones. Kay Contos, a lifelong Duluthian living in the Hillside, agrees.

“This is a nice enough neighborhood, but a lot of people are intimidated by how dark it gets in these residential areas,� she said. “We really could use some more streetlights.�

Contos’s opinions were echoed by Darlene Leddy, another lifelong resident.

“A lot of money has been spent to fix up the area and make it better for the kids,� she said, “but what good is a nice community center if kids can’t walk the streets?�

Currently, Duluth’s policy is to place at least one light at any four-way intersection. Locations for light placement are based chiefly on traffic safety and allowing right of way to be established, not pedestrian safety, according to city Traffic Operations Officer Earl Stewart. For additional lights to be added, a group of citizens would need to specially request it.

Funding would be the primary obstacle in the way of any future streetlight expansion. With Duluth facing a 2008 budget deficit of nearly $700,000, according to the Duluth News Tribune, pools of cash are not easy to find these days. Other cities have even turned to eliminating lights in attempt to cut back spending. Stewart said money plays a role, but other factors exist as well.

“Every time talk comes up about adding streetlights, half the people love it and half of them hate,� Sterwart said. “It’s tough to win.�

In Belmont, Mass., city officials know exactly how tough it is to win. According to the Boston Globe, a budget crisis similar to Duluth’s has hit the town this fall. By turning off two-thirds of the town’s residential streetlights, city officials estimated over $175,000 could be saved annually. After the town’s plan went public, the case for added darkness never saw the light of day. Too many citizens feared safety would be compromised by the plan, and it was nixed.

The pattern of banding together for more streetlighting has worked well in Duluth. In 1998, local business owners formed the Hillside Business Leaders to get new lights installed on Fourth Street, according to the Duluth News Tribune. However, that was a different time financially and nothing is easy for public works officials anymore.

In the end, it seems little can be done to immediately rectify the intimidating landscape currently present in the Hillside. Money is not available now and if it were, most of the public would likely prefer it to be spent on more burning issues. The quality of lighting in Duluth, along with much of the rest of the nation, seems destined to decline before it will be improved.

Posted by enkex006 at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By TRAVIS DILL
DCN Correspondent

Recent clashes between residential and academic communities in the city of Duluth have created an environment of tension that is not uncommon in cities which host universities.

“It’s an issue of town and gown,� said Adam Pine, Professor of Geography and Urban Studies at UMD.

Town and gown, a term used in literature of urban studies, refers to the separation of non-academic (town) community and university (gown) community that exists in cities with universities.

Duluth City Council member Todd Fedora said concerns about student renters have been present for some time.

Such concerns came to public light last year when a group of homeowners from neighborhoods surrounding UMD and St. Scholastica voiced their problems with student renters in their neighborhoods. This group, called Campus Neighbors, prompted the much debated 300-foot ordinance passed by the city council.

The 300-foot ordinance limits the number of rental permits allowed for neighborhoods surrounding the campuses. Such neighborhoods were deemed as “protection zones� by the city council.

Supporters of the ordinance have claimed that it will keep a fair balance between home ownership and rental properties in these neighborhoods.

However, Pine believes “there is no perfect balance.�

Balancing of these property types implies concern for property values. The ordinance may be limiting property values if rental options are eliminated. Pine said keeping students out of the neighborhoods could raise homeowners’ property value, but it could diminish rental values.

“An ordinance like [the 300-foot rule] does not plan for [the future] at all,� Pine said. Planning for the future would include looking at the demand for student housing.

A City of Duluth Community Development Housing Indicator report, revised in May 2008, indicated a sharp rise in applications for rental permits after the passing of the 300-foot ordinance. That combined with the fact that the Community Development report estimates over 10,000 students live in off-campus apartments or single-family homes demonstrates there is a demand for student housing.

The city council has considered the need for student housing. “There was talk of looking at neighborhoods and applying a student housing overlay,� Fedora said.

However, the city currently does not employ a planning director so there has been no action taken. Fedora said when a planning director is hired one of his first priorities will be to look into student housing overlays.

Fedora believes some students just don’t want to live in larger student developments and desire the neighborhood atmosphere that currently surrounds the campuses located in Duluth.

Although talk of student housing by the council has fallen through, some additional measures have been taken to combat the behavioral issues the 300-foot ordinance fails to address.

Fedora mentioned other ordinances the council has passed since September. The “social host ordinance� and the “three strikes ordinance� penalize problem renters and landlords respectively.

Posted by krebs068 at 8:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By BECKY EDWARDS
DCN Correspondent

Pursuing the pest control section at the Ace Hardware in Woodland, it’s easy to see from the wide array of products available, that people are willing to try almost anything to prevent animals from getting into their plants and flowers.

The problem with animals such as deer, rabbits, squirrels and the occasional skunk and porcupine eating plants, is something that Duluth residents Fred and Amy Sowl have had to deal with over the years.

“We can see we get squirrels, rabbits and deer in the garden,� Fred Sowl said. “They get some of the vegetables and we get the rest of it.�

The Sowl’s said they haven’t done much to try and prevent the animals from getting into the garden because many times, animals can find a way around it.

“One family has a big garden and put up a fence, and the deer pushed it over,� Amy Sowl said. “They are smarter than we think they are.�

According to Denny Moran, who has just sold his Ace Hardware store to his son after 35 years, said he has heard his fair share of complaints from people who are looking to keep animals away from gardens and other plants.

“I’ve sold thousands of mesh fences, nets and burlap sacks to people trying to make fences. Everyone is trying to stop them,� Moran said. “It’s a year-round problem, there are just way too many deer.�

Moran, who lives outside of town, said that most deer he has had in his back yard, at one time, was 17, but says his neighbor once had 29.

“The deer moved out of the woods and into the city,� Moran said.

According to the Minnesota DNR, there are about one million deer in Minnesota and each year, approximately 500,000 hunters harvest roughly 200,000 deer.

The store offers products like Liquid fence and Shake away, which use odor (such as the scent of coyote urine) to keep animals away, by giving the illusion that there are predatory animals around. The store also sells electronic, motion-activated deer repellent that give off ultrasonic waves which are meant to prevent animals such as deer or rabbits from entering an area.

However, Moran says there are problems with products.

“Sometimes dogs and cats don’t like them, so if people have pets it’s not the best choice,� Moran said.

While some speculate that the hunting season may be one reason more deer are seen around the city, one of the biggest issues is that deer are showing up in places they haven’t been around before.

One of the other ways that the city of Duluth has tried to deal with deer is by allowing groups, such as the Arrowhead Bowhunters Alliance, to conduct controlled bowhunts in the city, in order to stop the overpopulation.

Duluth had created an ordinance (Section 6-77 of the Duluth City Code, 1959) that stated: “The city council finds that the peace and safety of the community and the health of the forest are threatened by the overabundance of wild deer within the city. Therefore, the population of wild deer must be regulated and managed. The method for the regulation shall be an annual harvesting of wild deer by use of bow and arrow.�

Posted by Sara Jochems at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ASHLEE HARTWIG
DCN Correspondent

It’s a chilly evening, and since it's a school night, it’s time for kids to head home. The park begins to clear out as the sunlight fades. Once home, a cooked meal, warm bed, and a mommy and daddy to hug goodnight awaits them.

Sometimes there isn’t both a mommy and a daddy to hug.

Jill Borgerding remembers breaking the news to her three kids that their father wasn’t going to be around all the time anymore.

“I told them their father was going on an extended vacation, and didn’t know when he would be coming back,� said Borgerding.

Living in a society where marriage has a 50-50 chance of lasting, many women have felt their worlds come crashing down around them. Borgerding now counts herself among them.

“We had been married for 16 years, and I truly loved him,� said Borgerding, “The world was pulled out from beneath my feet.�

At the age of 31, Borgerding was suddenly faced with the prospect of being a single mom with three kids to raise.

Borgerding is not alone in the task of raising children on her own, especially in the East Hillside of Duluth. There are about 280 single mothers who are receiving welfare benefits, according to a study conducted by Tawna Schilling who was a student at UMD in the Department of Social Work. The study was a part of a project titled MSW Plan B Projects and was conducted in 2000-2001.

In the beginning, Borgerding was able to afford to buy herself a car and have her family live comfortably with the child support checks she received. Gas and food were easy to afford because the economy back then was still in good shape, but that stopped when the divorce was finalized.

“I had to start over, and realizing that is the most frightening thing,� said Borgerding.

It wasn’t easy. Borgerding swallowed a lot of pride to ask her father for help. Her parents never liked her husband, but her father bought her a house and allows her to pay him back at a lower rate than is normal for a house payment.

It was difficult for her to find a job as a teacher. Everywhere she interviewed at, they told her she was over-qualified and they couldn’t afford her. Eventually, she found one at a private Catholic school.

Between trying to find a job and caring for her three kids, Borgerding didn’t have time to let the reality of what happened sink in or find friends to run to.

“I stayed at home and tried to cope,� said Borgerding.

Josh, Borgerding’s oldest son, felt the brunt of his mom’s anguish.

“I heard her cry herself to sleep a lot,� he said.

Liz Dunkard felt the same overwhelming sensation when she started raising her two kids on her own. Her husband walked out on her after coming to the quick realization he wasn’t ready to be a father after all.

“I found myself crying at the most random times,� said Dunkard. “I had kids to look after, so I had to push past the tears and move on with my day.�

Unlike Borgerding, Dunkard had no one to turn to when it came to starting her life over. Luckily, in Duluth, there are places single women can turn to when starting over. Establishments like Women’s Transitional Housing and Safe Haven Shelter for Battered Women were founded to help women with abusive relationships. They offer help with psychological or emotional problems said Ed Heisler, the Community Education Advisor for the Duluth Safe Haven Shelter.

There are many women in the community, state and country that don’t find themselves as lucky as Borgerding. Many single mothers find themselves without a car, in need of day care, and lacking the education required to find a financially stable job.

The government offers welfare programs designed to help single mothers. The Marriage Promotion Act is one such program. Instead of aiding single mothers in their current situations, it encourages them to seek out a second income-earner and rewards them if they succeed in finding one. According to an article by Marcella Gemelli, single mothers acknowledge that a second income-earner is helpful, but they feel exasperated at being pushed toward marriage.

“I wanted my kids, but I want to be able to take care of them myself. However I need to do it, but it’s going to be by my independence,� said Dunkard.

Dunkard’s kids are still growing up in her house, but Borgerding’s are now grown and heading out to start lives of their own.

“I did my best with what I had,� Borgerding said with pride. “It was hard, but I survived, and so did my kids. That’s the main thing.�

Posted by Elizabeth Strawn at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By CORY BELLAMY
DCN Correspondent

If you’ve visited Duluth’s famous Park Point neighborhood in the past year, you’ve probably noticed a large, fancy white building sandwiched among all of the more traditionally styled homes. This giant complex, known as South Pier Shores, has stirred up controversy and piqued the curiosity of many residents throughout Duluth and Park Point. Not only that, this development seems to be part of a trend happening across the community, perhaps altering the feel of old-fashioned Duluth.

South Pier shores is a string of eight beachfront luxury condominiums, some of which are still up for sale. Living spaces range from 2,400 square feet to over 3,100 square feet, according to the company’s Web site. South Pier Shores was developed by the Sola family, who have lived on Park Point for three generations. Dale Sola and his sons Steve and Rand, as well as Steve’s wife Carrie Sola, are all considered to be co-developers of the project.

According to Rand Sola, construction began in November of 2007. Sola said the family had to buy several rental units and tear them down to begin building. Four adjacent duplexes on the current site, as well as three more on the opposite side of the street, were purchased and removed.

Rand Sola said the decision to explore the potential to build a condominium complex came after the success of the South Pier Inn, a nearby hotel also owned by the family.

“[The South Pier Inn] was a successful business. We had our eyes on the property for a while. It’s the only beachfront parcel zoned for multi-family units or townhomes,� Sola said.

The construction of South Pier Shores has been received in many different ways by Park Point residents. Several residents declined to comment on the building and its effect on the neighborhood.

Dave Johnson, who lives just over one mile from the condos, has mixed feelings about South Pier Shores.

“I think everybody on Park Point is affected by these condos because we’re taxed on the value of properties around us. Obviously these condos are very valuable,� Johnson said. “I’ve heard some people call the building ‘The Berlin Wall,’ but I think some people’s anger was tempered because [the Sola family] are life-long Park Pointers. Plus it’s not like we lost any pretty or historic structures.�

Brady Schwartz, 22, lives across the street from the complex with his parents. He believes the majority of the neighborhood was against such an expensive project.

“Just about everybody I talked to was not in favor of them. They don’t really fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. Nothing against the developers, they’re nice people and they do what they can to make money,� Schwartz said. He added that he knows property taxes have increased across the area, but is not sure by how much.

Schwartz and Johnson both agreed that there is no viable solution for those opposing the condos, since the building sits on private property and has already been constructed.

Luxury condos are beginning to become an increasingly popular build in the Duluth area. Beacon Pointe Condos, a complex similar to South Pier Shores, is located on the Lakewalk at 2100 Water Street and was completed in 2007. The building was the main issue at several city council meetings a year ago due to its potential interference with a Lakewalk extension.

Adam Bersell, another resident of Park Point, thinks that condominium construction will continue to increase on Park Point and in Duluth.

“The condos might be overpriced,� said Bersell, citing the poor economy. “But the remaining spots in South Pier Shores will sell as time goes by. I think land development will begin to lean towards luxury suites because there are a lot of seasonal residents of Duluth.�

How does the poor housing market and dwindling economy affect South Pier Shores? According to Rand Sola, it has had very little to do with the fact that five of the building’s eight units remain up for sale.

“[The current economy] isn’t helping by any means. But we’re more defined by our price range. We deal with a very thin market segment. The people who have shown interest have not been hurt too badly by the economy,� Sola said.

Posted by Julia Davis at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By FATIMA JAWAID
DCN Correspondent

For six months, 21-year-old Elizabeth Kreigh didn’t have a place she could call her own. She lived out of a bag, lugging it from one friend’s house to another, never sure where she was going to be beyond than that night.

“For the longest time, all I felt was anger at the situation...at myself,� said Kreigh.

In Duluth, people like Kreigh total over 13,000 according to the Duluth Housing Coalition’s Web site, and the number is steadily increasing.

“These aren’t drug addicts or alcoholics,� said Jennifer Randa, a volunteer at the Union Gospel Mission. “These are just people who lost their jobs, who couldn’t afford to pay their rent.�

The Union Gospel Mission, located in Duluth on East 1st Street, is just one place that people can turn to if they are having trouble finding a place to live.

“We give them numbers,� she continued. “We show them all the resources that are out there, anyone who can help them find places to live.�

One such resource is the Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA). It is an agency that helps residents of the Duluth community to find a decent, safe, affordable place to live, according to HRA representative, Sarah Prest.

Agencies like the HRA are trying to combat the housing problem in the area. The HRA provides over 1,200 units of public housing, and approximately 1,350 Section 8 housing, a program that pays the difference between what low-income tenants can afford, and what the rent actually costs.

The problem is that it’s not nearly enough. The waitlist can extend for over eight months, a time in which many like Kreigh have nowhere to go. In 2004, a city budget cut caused the number of Section 8 rent subsidy vouchers to be cut by almost 8 percent according to the Minnesota Public Radio article by Bob Kelleher.

This creates a problem with the sudden shift in the economy, Randa said. The number of people looking for housing is increasing and the amount of housing available is going down because of the budget cuts.

Kreigh was a resident of public housing for over two years. She loved her apartment, it was nice and clean, and she could decorate it all she wanted, including posters of all the old movies that she loved.

But one day, she received notice that she had only 30 days to find a new place to live.

“It was my fault, I admit it,� said Kreigh. “I was going through a rough time and wasn’t staying there as often, so when they came by to do an inspection, it didn’t meet the housing standards.�

The inspection that Kreigh refers to is an annual check-up to make sure that the public housing tenants are keeping their place clean and up to their housing standards. And once evicted from public housing for such reasons, a tenant cannot re-enter the program for five years.

“After that I didn’t know what to do,� said Kreigh. “Other places were way too expensive for me.�

Keeping affordable housing in Duluth is also a major problem for those suffering from a mental illness in Duluth, said Randa. Her own mentally ill sister was thrown out of multiple homes because she couldn’t remember to pay her rent.

“She was just too mixed up to know what was going on,� she said. “After she was kicked out, she just spent nights roaming around the street. And that’s not right. People need a safe place that they can go, that they can call home, even when they’re too mixed up to know better.�

“The city needs to do more,� said Randa. “ I know the budget is limited, but these people need a place to go. It's dangerous to keep things the way they‘ve been.�

As for Kreigh, it has been more than a year since her housing fiasco. She is now taking classes at Lake Superior College, and sharing a small, affordable studio apartment with her ex-boyfriend, where her posters can once again hang proudly on the wall.

“I have a great roommate and a wonderful apartment,� said Kreigh. “Overall, things are pretty good.�

Posted by Elizabeth Strawn at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By PAUL BUDD
DCN Correspondent

Family based neighborhoods, beautiful parks, and small, locally owned businesses are all things that are associated with Duluth’s Lakeside district.

Alcohol and crime are two things that are not.

By a vote of 2,858 to 2,857, according to the Star Tribune’s official election results, Duluth’s Lakeside district chose not to repeal its ban of alcohol sales in the district.

One Lakeside resident in particular, Rachel Johnson, thought that crime would be increased.

“I think it’s really important that this community remains dry,� said Johnson, a mother of two. “Alcohol brings crime and other problems. Bars and liquor stores belong in downtown, not here in the neighborhoods and family communities.�

Another Lakeside resident, Greg Farmar, agreed with Johnson on the topic.

“I like the fact that the alcohol ban was upheld, even if it was only by one vote,� said Farmar. “When the bars close, drunk drivers hit the streets, that’s not what this area wants. And it’s not like you can’t get beer if you want it. There are liquor stores just down the road.�

While many of the small-town, family values associated with Lakeside were evident when speaking on the topic, there were some people who didn’t see alcohol sales as such a problem.

Eric Sims, who is a local carpenter that lives in Lakeside, is one of them. He doesn’t agree that alcohol sales necessarily should be associated so heavily with crime.

“I don’t understand why alcohol is seen as such a problem,� said Sims. “Sure, people can be irresponsible with it but I don’t see the problem with being able to walk down the street to a neighborhood bar to have a beer. People around here are pretty responsible. I don’t think a local bar would change that all of a sudden.�

Residents were mostly concerned primarily about the influx of crime in an area with historically low crime rates.

“Just a few weeks ago, someone was stabbed and killed outside the Runway Bar out by Highway 53,� said Lindsey Jennings, a younger resident of the Lakeside area. “People lose their heads once they have a few drinks and it leads to violence. I see it all the time at bars and parties.�

Lakeside is a safe area and residents want to see it stay that way. But some issues with alcohol sales seems to be not as much about those in general, but the establishment of bars.

“Liquor stores don’t worry me as much, because people can buy booze and drink it in the privacy of their own home,� said Jennings. “With bars, that’s out in the public and affects the community. I really don’t want to see bars mixed in with the Lakeside neighborhood.�

So outsiders may look at Lakeside and wonder why they wouldn’t want alcohol sales, but some residents know exactly why they want their district to remain dry.

“This is a great place to live and raise a family,� said Johnson. “I want to see it stay that way.�

Posted by Brittney Silewski at 8:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By APRIL HANSEN
DCN Correspondent

School’s out at 2:45 p.m.

The bell rings and the students of Congdon Elementary run out of the front doors into the lightly falling snow. Buses, cars and parents storm the school grounds, where the line of traffic is backed up down the street.

Students, with yellow florescent vests covering their winter gear, run to their posts at the main intersection in front of the school. The stop lights turn red and two of the patrols walk out onto the road with their red flags waving.

Fifth-grade students at Congdon Elementary are involved with the safety patrol program that was started here in 1928 and runs from fall to the spring with the help of the Duluth Police Department.

Deborah Sauer, 5th grade teacher and coordinator of the safety patrol program at Congdon, thinks that kids learn responsibility and teamwork when involved with the program.

“The kids see it as an honor and they take it very seriously,� said Sauer.

The safety patrol movement began in 1920, when AAA (formerly the American Automobile Association) began programs all over the country. Today, over 500,000 boys and girls and 50,000 schools nationwide are involved with this cause.

The big issue surrounding safety patrol programs is increasing drivers’ awareness of crosswalk safety. This is true especially around Congdon because of the busy Superior Street and teenage drivers from East High School.

“The distractions of drivers today, with their cell phones and mugs of coffee, safety patrols are important for the safety of the students,� said Sauer.

Fifth-graders at Congdon are chosen during the spring of each year and go through training with police officer Sharon Montgomery from the Duluth Police Department.

“I train them for an hour, have them take a small quiz and then we go out to the crosswalk to explain the presentation of the flag,� said Officer Montgomery.

There are 360 students from 16 different schools in the Duluth area on safety patrols that learn about crosswalk safety through movies, multiple scenarios and mock crossings with Officer Montgomery.

“A lot of cities use adults, but Duluth still has kids patrol and I personally enjoy working with the kids because they really focus on getting their fellow students safely across the street, while still being aware of the traffic,� said Montgomery.

Parents of students also have had good reactions to the safety patrols at the schools.

“The parents think this is positive experience for the kids, since it teaches them responsibility and safety skills,� said James Wentworth, the advisory teacher at Lester Park Elementary.

Lester Park Elementary also has a safety patrol program that chooses 15 students every spring to lead the patrol. Captains are chosen and the kids are able to monitor the crosswalks on their own with the supervision of a faculty member and with the support and training from the Duluth Police Department.

The students themselves are responsible for reporting any traffic violations made by drivers and also any breaking of cross walk rules by students.

“We’ve been lucky in the area not to have had any accidents involving safety patrols,� said Sauer.

At Ordean Middle School, there isn’t a safety patrol program, but instead uses adult supervisors and a police liaison to patrol the crosswalk before and after school.

“It is just as effective by having adult supervisors directing the crosswalks because middle school kids have much different schedules and teachers throughout the day,� said Jerry Maki, principal at Ordean Middle School.

Principal Maki has been in education for over 20 years and has had experience with safety patrols. He understands the pros and cons.

“A danger that could come up is if the student has a short attention span and does not watch the crosswalk carefully,� said Maki.

At Ordean, students talk about traffic and crosswalk safety monthly, watch videos and role play to reinforce the ideas that a safety patroller would come in contact with. Newsletters are also sent out to the parents which help educate them on cross walk safety, so that they are aware of the risks and dangers.

For the students at Congdon and Lester Park, there are many perks for being a patroller. End of the year parties are thrown with food and fun games and also the chance of marching in the Christmas City of the North Parade that is held down in Canal Park each year. This year, 7 out of the 15 patrollers at Lester Park and the patrol from Congdon participated in the parade held last Friday.

“These are some of the perks that students can look forward to being on the safety patrol, while helping out the community as well,� said Sauer.

Posted by Brittney Silewski at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By VENESSA OSTERGAARD
DCN Correspondent

At ten to the hour, almost every hour, a line drifts out of the coffee shop on UMD’s campus. The need for a caffeine buzz has hit the majority of the student population.

The vision of a packed coffee house with the inhabitants of UMD shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for tables with books and a computer is becoming less of an assumption and more of a reality everywhere we turn.

Coffee shops around the world are being used as an escape from an office or library by people of all ages. Why is the environment of a coffee shop so soothing? What is it that temps us to bring our lives into this public place to try and relax?

A 2008 story written in London said that London coffee shops have become crowded with businessmen who sit for hours using wireless Internet.

This trend is hitting all ages and all demographics.

Dateline New York wrote a story examining coffee and sandwich shops. They reported that in recent years, growth in the number of outlets for the leading operators of branded coffee shops has been around 15 percent.

This is directly correlated with the youth epidemic of the trendy coffee house. We are turning into a nation of coffee houses and caffeine dependent citizens. This epidemic has not embraced a central neighborhood in Duluth, however. The Central Hillside remains seemingly untouched.

With the growth of coffee shops and the size of Duluth, you’d expect to see one on the corner of nearly every neighborhood. This is not the case in the Central Hillside. The closest thing to a coffee shop is the infamous Uncle Louis Cafe on Fourth Street.

Starbucks calls itself "a gathering place for the entire community." When a community does not have a gathering place such as Starbucks or Caribou, they find alternatives for what they want.

“The cliental isn’t really here for a coffee shop in the Central Hillside,� said Mike, a server at Uncle Louis Café.

Instead of going to a trendy coffee shop, the Hillside residents stop at Uncle Louis for a hot cup of joe and relaxation.

Mike says, “it could be good (referring to a coffee shop) if you find the right spot because there is no place to just sit and relax, especially at night because we close at 3.� Most students are waiting until the night hours to study, leaving them with the desire for a late night caffeine fix. And if they live in the Central Hillside, it’s hard to find.

The National Coffee Association says young people are the fastest growing coffee-drinking niche. In 2002, about 24 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds drank coffee. In 2007, it jumped to 37 percent.

The Associated Press reported on a small town in Iowa with 2,600 people. They may not have a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Doughnuts, but their high school students still have a chance to get their caffeine buzz in the halls of their school.

"It's a very popular thing. Most of us hang out on the couches in the senior lounge and chat while we drink lattes," says 18-year-old Diana Rubio.

Parents of these teens link today’s trendy coffee shop to the soda shops they went to generations ago. All your friends would meet up for a safe and fun hangout, away from their parents.

Daniel Hartman is involved in the Central Hillside community and is the Program Director at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall. Hartman says with all the student life in Duluth and a majority of the students living in the Hillside, that our businesses need to start taking advantage of it.

“There are plans to turn a portion of Fourth Street into somewhat of a progress street,� Says Hartman. “You know, after Bob Dylan.�

This could include the missing coffee house that we are so used to seeing.

He thinks a coffee shop would take advantage of the younger demographics the colleges bring to Duluth. Even though $5 for a cup of coffee may not fit with the identity of the Central Hillside now, you don’t know how it could change the landscape of the community.

Posted by Zach Olson at 8:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By MARY K. TENNIS
Special to DCN

Doug Misson and Josh Dakerski are fighting the evil forces of chaos 40,000 years in the future.

Every weekend at Dragon Port Games and Comics, a downtown Duluth store, people gather to fight mini-epic battles with, well, whoever shows up.

The store opened last April, and makes it a mission to welcome as many gamers as possible. The goal is to create and maintain a gaming community, the free gaming room, open-use models, and - perhaps most importantly - the words of instruction, humor and advice from staff and regulars who have already started to establish this.

“Pete here came in one day, never played before,� said Dakerski, gesturing to a 12-year-old boy watching the Warhammer game in progress on a recent Saturday afternoon. “We showed him the ropes.�

“Direct hit!� said Misson, Dakerski’s mortal enemy, at least until the end of the game.

The two 30-something men are standing over a square Astroturf-covered table and the models they have created: small hand-painted figurines representing soldiers, tanks, weapons, and gorgon-like creatures. Each player takes a turn, decides on the strategy - attack, advance, retreat - and rolls dice to determine the outcome of the strategy. Dakerski, a red-headed ex-Marine, teases Misson about his absent girlfriend as Misson laughs it off and checks his cell phone for text messages from the lady in question.

“Just wait until you get a girlfriend again,� Misson chuckles.

Tables are spread out haphazardly throughout the large, brightly-lit room, where the other players, dressed in jeans and comfortable tees and hoodies, mill around, chat with each other, or engage in their own games. The small tables are ready to accommodate a simple two-player model game, like the one Dakerski and Misson are playing, or a larger game, like a “mega battle,� which involves six armies in an all-day face-off.

An entire culture of gamers (role playing game enthusiasts) exists in Duluth, and it includes the young, the old, the in-between, and just about anyone willing to roll the twelve-sided die.

There is strategy in all of these games - imagination too. The staccato alarm of the dice erupting regularly is a reminder that there is also a healthy dose of luck involved. One player rolled a few bad turns.

“Bad dice,� he said, tossing them in a corner and selecting new ones from a plastic cache.

Misson and Dakerski are clearly veterans of role-playing games, as they rarely have to glance at the thick rule books that accompany each version of Warhammer, and their movements and murmured dialog is fluid, full of momentum, and studded with wisecracks. Misson has been playing for 15 years, Dakerski for 20.

“The funny thing is, I hardly ever win!� said Dakerski, as he and Misson erupted into laughter.

“We’re as much of a club as any Lion’s Club or Rotary Club.� Said Elton Krosch Jr., one of the store’s owners. Krosch went on to explain the communal genesis of the store: when a different gaming store went out of business last year, Krosch and other ex-employees of the place bought the leftover merchandise and relocated it down the street to Dragon Port. Then, dozens of store regulars showed up to put the new store together, painting walls and tables, sorting models, arranging furniture. Both Misson and Dakerski helped with the endeavor.

Duluth’s gaming community is just that, said Misson, and doesn’t have as much of an interest in competition as it does in the social aspect of game-playing. “We’re very lucky here.�

The store continues to grow, attracting curious newcomers and gaming veterans alike. Dakerski agrees. “We work on this store as a community,� he said.

“People walk in every weekend never having played,� said Jade Bardon, a clerk at the store. “Pretty soon, someone is back there, walking them through the entire game.�

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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By CORY BELLAMY
DCN Correspondent

A highly respected member of the Duluth City Council will vacate his position at the end of the year to begin representing District 7B in the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Democratic candidate Roger Reinert received nearly 73 percent of the total votes. His opponents, Rep. Allan Kehr and Independence Party candidate Jay Cole, received 20 percent and 7 percent of the votes, respectively.

Perhaps the biggest issue facing Reinert will be the budget shortfall in Duluth as well as the state of Minnesota.

“[The budget concern] is going to be huge,� Reinert said. “A good thing is that we’ve faced issues with our budget here in Duluth, and it’s something I’ll be ready for in St. Paul.�

Reinert also plans to help make improvements to education in Minnesota. He said a lack of resources will be a potential hurdle, citing the fact that 80 percent of Minnesota school districts (including Duluth) rely on revenue from taxpayers to operate.

“Minnesota is no longer thought of as the education state and that bothers me. We’re short on resources, and that is going to force us to prioritize,� Reinert said. “I’m not going to be shy about that. No matter what corner of the state you live in, you’ll receive a top-notch education. That’s my goal.�

Reinert is also in favor of improving roads, bridges and sewers across the state. He said there are over $7 billion worth of construction projects waiting to be completed on Minnesota’s infrastructure. Many sewer lines and bridges were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and are no longer up to date.

“It takes the collapse of a bridge on Interstate 35 to get a new one built. It’s time to re-invest in our infrastructure,� Reinert said.

Three other seats in the Minnesota house were also up for election Tuesday. Incumbents Mary Murphy, Thomas Huntley and Bill Hilty, all Democrats, will retain their positions after their victories on election night. This gave the Democratic Party a clean sweep in the Minnesota house races, and all won in a convincing fashion.

In another win for the DFL, James Oberstar defeated Rep. Michael Cummins, hauling in over 67 percent of the vote. Oberstar, 74, will begin his 18th term in January. He currently serves as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The results of the local races came as no surprise to Mary Currin-Percival, a political science professor at the UMD,

“Duluth tends to be a more liberal area,� Currin-Percival said. “Plus, Roger Reinert has been a very popular member of the city council. Oberstar’s win was no surprise at all. He has been in the House for over 30 years. He’s incredibly popular in Duluth.�

Posted by dill0169 at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By RYAN SWANSON
DCN Correspondent

The Minnesota U.S. Senate race was close from the beginning, but some might not have foreseen that the race would still be undecided after Election Day.

The results of the election project that Republican Norm Coleman holds a very narrow lead over the Democratic candidate Al Franken. The separation between the two is a margin of approximately 700 votes.

According to Assistant Professor of Political Science Garrick Percival, an automatic recount was triggered because the Minnesota Senate results are so close.

“The favor is still with Coleman,� said Percival. He said that the chances of the election results being overturned are very small because the state of Minnesota uses optical scan machines, which tend to be fairly accurate.

Before the election there was talk that the Independent candidate, Dean Barkley, could possibly be a spoiler in the election.

Percival said that he would not call Barkley a spoiler because he drew votes away from both candidates.

A major concern with Coleman before the election was his ability to cross partisan lines. Percival said that there is an incentive for Coleman to cross the party lines. This is because the distribution of voters who align with either party is fairly balanced.

“Minnesota is a competitive state,� said Percival. “Coleman has to have sense to work across lines.�

Another concern that surrounds the candidates is how well they will work with the new President-Elect, Barack Obama. Percival said we [voters] decide who becomes president, yet it depends on how Obama decides to run the government. If Obama runs a centrist government, Coleman will be given the opportunity to work well with Obama.

Posted by Sara Jochems at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ALEX DEMARCO
DCN Correspondent

“Racial Barrier Falls in Decisive Victory,� read the front page of the New York Times. For many people, Barack Obama's win over John McCain on Tuesday night signified more then just a movement toward dramatic “change� in America as Obama's campaign states. It shattered racial boundaries that previous generations could not have even begun to imagine.

Until 1870, blacks weren't allowed to vote at all. In America’s history, blacks were forced to live in segregation. In Duluth, black residents say that Obama has shown the world how far America has come.

“I never thought I'd see history in the making� said Ma and Pop's 4th Street Market employee Flora Woodfork. “This shows our kids that they are able to do anything they want now. Nothing is unreachable.

“My folks wouldn't have believed it if they were alive� said Woodfork. “It was real scary. There was a lot of red on that map on TV. I just kept thinking he's got to make it. It was exciting and emotional to watch.�

But there are still some people who are skeptical of the new president-elect.

“I was really happy to see the voter turnout, it was good to see people who don't usually vote take the initiative this year,� said UMD student Ben Dahlstrom. “But I don't know if people were really voting on the issues that they should have been. I do hope Barack is a good President though.�

Blog entries and news articles questioning the reason for McCain's loss began to fill the media within minutes of the election’s end. McCain blamed no one but himself in his concession speech. Even global websites like EuroNews speculated about his choice of running mate, Sarah Palin.

EuroNews also quoted political analyst, Allan J. Lichtman, who said “American elections are basically votes up or down on the performance of the party holding the White House, and basically Americans said loud and clear they don’t like the way the country has been governed over the last four years.�

According to the Office of Minnesota Secretary of State Web site, 54 percent of Minnesotans voted for Obama and fewer than 44 percent were for McCain. This was almost identical to the overall vote nationwide, with Obama at 53 percent and McCain at 46 percent, according to the CNN website.

There is no doubt that Obama's win capped a historical election. During his victory speech in Chicago, Obama thanked his friends, family and campaign managers among others. He credited them all with being a part of a successful campaign.

“But above all,� said Obama in his closing. “I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you.�

Posted by David Buckner at 9:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By APRIL HANSEN
DCN Correspondent

The campaign posters hang clustered in between job ads and concert announcements on posting areas around the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). The tables in the student union, once filled with UMD student organizations campaigning for parties and candidates, are now bare.

The day after the 2008 election, the halls are much quieter at UMD than they have been in the past few months.

“I was really happy with the student turnout,� said Jamie Ebert, co-chair of UMD’s MPIRG.

On the UMD campus (Precinct 10), 65 percent of voters cast their ballot this year, compared to 57 percent in 2004.

“Campaigns were good at mobilizing students with internet sites such as Facebook and MySpace and also used texting to spread their campaign,� said Mary Currin-Percival, assistant professor in the Political Science Department at UMD.

Student organizations such as UMD’s College Democrats, UMD’s College Republicans and Students for Obama volunteered hours towards getting students to vote and involve themselves with the election.

“The candidates represent a newer generation with newer issues,� said Justin Hauschild, a member of Students for Obama. “They used technology like it has never been used before in elections.�

Now that the elections are over, students can still stay involved and informed with the issues that are most important to them. Although the 2012 election may seem far off, the importance of student involvement and their views can contribute to future elections.

“Watching the news, staying informed and remaining involved with student organizations and groups are some things students can do,� said Tyler Verry, a member of College Republicans.

Professor Currin-Percival believes the tone of campaigns could be changed in future elections. She thinks some political ads get too personal at times.

Now that the election is over, students and faculty on campus can take a sigh of relief.

“It was fun, but a drain,� said Verry.

UMD’s College Republicans’ next project is to send gift boxes to the troops overseas during Christmas time.

“I can now try to get some more work done,� said Currin-Perrcival.

Posted by Julia Davis at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By CORY CLAESON
DCN Correspondent

Duluth citizens passed one Operating Levy on Election Night while two others failed leaving the district continuing their search of a way to fix the budget.

The Operating Levy contained three questions that were voted on to determine how much in taxes citizens would have to pay to support the financial side of the school district.

“I’m pleased with the result,� said Mimi Larson, the Vote Yes for Kids Chair. “It shows that the Duluth community is committed to education.�

With the first question passing the school district will be saved of any radical cuts, but will still need to make some. The district will be able to avoid moving to a four-day-a week class schedule, which could have caused a child care nightmare for some. Closing Duluth Central early was also another option which was being considered.

“I don’t want cuts to the classroom and don’t want to increase class size or cut teachers,� said school board member Mary Cameron.

The cuts that will take place are still to be determined, but they will be more subtle than if the first levy would have passed. There would have been little to no cuts if the second levy passed. Most citizens have taken one side or the other on deciding whether the levy vote was a success.

“The people of Duluth bought into the school district’s large expensive scare tactic,� said retired Duluth citizen Harry Welty, a member the group “Let Duluth Vote�. “They said the sky would fall if the levy wouldn’t pass.�

The city of Duluth recognized that the first levy needed to be passed for the kids but may have voted no against the last two questions because they were upset over the school district’s handling of prior school referendums. The “Red Plan� wasn’t voted on although it taxed citizens.

“The Red Plan is an atrocity because voters didn’t approve it,� said Welty

Although the original tax will stay in place, there could be a couple of reasons why there wasn’t a tax increase. The current state of the economy in Duluth could be a huge reason with the huge budget deficit and the city struggling to keep its buildings open, such as the aquarium.

There are a large number of retirees in Duluth that could not afford to pay the tax and therefore voted against the levy. Welty estimates that 50 percent of the town is retired and that there is a decline in children.

“The cuts could directly affect the classroom,� said Larson.

Students from the colleges and universities in the area may have played a decisive role in rejecting the levy. Although the levy wouldn’t affect them, some continued to vote on the issue.

“The students have every right to vote,� said Cameron

The continuation of the Red Plan is the latest educational tax on the city, and it remains divided on the issue. According to Larson, the school district will need to cut $3.3 million from the school budget.

Posted by Elizabeth Strawn at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ABEL GUSTAFSON and JORDAN HANSON
DCN Correspondents

DCN Correspondents Abel Gustafson and Jordan Hanson spent Election Night out in Duluth, stopping at bars, a Republican Party gathering and the DECC. Along the way they met up with Duluth Mayor Don Ness and Republican candidate for Minnesota State Senate Pete Townsend. They also ran into Steve Knutsen, Dan Critchley, and Jeff Allen, who tipped them off to the Democratic gathering at the DECC.

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By VENESSA OSTERGAARD
DCN Correspondent

Venessa Ostergaard went out on election day and went to polling sites. This is the audio she recorded throughout her visit.

Download file

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By ZACH OLSON
DCN Correspondent

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By VERONICA WILSON
DCN Correspondent

After a lifetime of waiting, first-time voters headed to the UMD Kirby Ballroom to cast their ballots. Some students were sure of their decision but others had a tougher time making a choice.

UMD student Brian Leidner made his decision mostly by watching news coverage on television.

“I decided two days ago,� Leidner said.

With the media being one source of voter information, visits from politicians to UMD also had an influence.

“Al Franken changed my vote. I was going to vote for Coleman but I heard him talk and it changed my mind,� first-time voter and UMD freshman Casey Swart said.

UMD student Lacey Fawcett agreed that visits from the senatorial candidates and Hillary Clinton made a difference.

“They brought up a lot of good points,� Fawcett said.

Although Fawcett thought visits from politicians influenced the vote at UMD, she mostly looked to her parents for advice.

How students came to the decision of their vote seemed to take a back seat to the importance of students just getting out and voting, many for the first time.

“I saw lines were extremely long and I wanted to get things organized,� said Gina Pudlick, building manager for Kirby Student Center.

According to Pudlick, the line once reached to the second floor outside the bookstore.

“The majority are freshman on campus. I would assume they’re all first time voters,� Pudlick said.

Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) kept their table open all day to help assist first-time voters and any other students who may have questions about how to register or where to vote.

“A lot of people haven’t registered yet,� MPIRG member Leah Nelson said.

Nelson added that she had been busy all day with a steady flow of students.

The lines to vote remained short from late afternoon until closing with the exception being the line of students who had yet to register. Several students saw the time it would take to register and vote and left because of not wanting to wait.

MPIRG registered 5,064 students to vote this year. There were 2,448 votes cast at the UMD location which included on-campus residents and members of the community from precinct 10. UMD currently has 3,400 students living on campus.

Posted by claes019 at 4:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By DAYNA LANDGREBE
DCN Correspondent

Over a dozen tired and anxious looking people are crammed into a small, rented office in the Plaza Shopping Center on Superior Street. They sat under the florescent lights on metal folding chairs and a worn-out couch and are making phone call after phone call from long lists of telephone numbers.

These are the volunteers of the Republican Victory Office. It's Election Night and it's crunch time

Volunteers are still making calls, leaving messages and offering rides to anyone who picks up the phone.

“They are just making sure that people who may not have voted before work or during their lunch break will vote and giving those people who are saying, ‘oh my god, I haven’t voted yet’ continual reminders so no one forgets,� Jake Loesch, a UMD junior and member of the UMD College Republicans, said. “It’s that last minute push.�

The walls in the office are plastered with McCain-Palin posters among dozens of other signs for Norm Coleman and local Republican candidates like Steve Townsend, Alan Kehrs and Ryan Stauber. A sign even reads "We Love Cindy!" and the enthusiasm in the office is anything but dwindling with less than three hours left at the polls.

“It’s been busy, upbeat, positive, encouraging," said Walt Augustyn of the atmosphere in the victory office. “Basically, I think it’s been that way the whole time. But more so today than the rest of the time [the closer we get] to the end.�

Volunteers at the victory office include senior citizens in the community, students from UMD and a group of conservative high school students that come in every Wednesday.

“In September and the first part of October we were seeing a lot of the same people but it’s been steadily increasing pretty impressively over the last two to three weeks and it’s getting exciting in here,� said Jimmy Smoot, a UMD senior.

Darlene Johnson, a member of the Duluth Republican Women agreed.

“We do have people who have stopped in and we have seen a lot of new faces. We have grown and try to educate people,� Johnson said.

She lives in the Chester Bowl area of Duluth and began volunteering during the Reagan campaign.

Some of the volunteers are doing internships for the Republican Party, like Loesch and Smoot while others, like Augustyn, are brand new to the scene.

“This is the first year I’ve done it but it’s my thirteenth or fourteenth day down here. It’s going real good, it’s been an experience. Sixty-five years old and never done this before,� Augustyn said.

The victory office opened at 9 a.m. this morning and at 6 p.m., many of the same volunteers from this morning continue to keep calling voters until the very end. They remain optimistic for the evening’s outcomes, not to mention the party and cake afterward.

“I came in, oh, a little late this morning, at 9:15 a.m. and I don’t know when I’ll leave tonight because we’re having a party, so you never know,� Johnson said.

Johnson said the volunteers continue to stay hopeful for their candidates this evening but that the most important thing isn’t the outcome.

“[It’s] that we teach people the political process; that we teach children, teenagers and college kids how to get involved in politics,� Johnson said. “There’s marvelous freedom in this country. And like they say, with freedom comes responsibility and to some degree you need to be responsible for your own actions.�

With the end of the election in sight, the volunteers from the Republican Victory Office will continue to call, rally and campaign for the candidates. But for some volunteers, many who have been campaigning since September, the answer for the next president won’t come soon enough.

Posted by Julia Davis at 4:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By KRISTEN KREBS
DCN Correspondent

Residents of precinct 10 lined the halls of the Kirby Student Center today, waiting to vote in the Kirby Ballroom. Precinct 10 voters are primarily students living on campus at UMD.

“We started in with a vengeance at the break of 7:00 [a.m.],� said Gail Marsman, an election judge in the Kirby Ballroom.

The polls were open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the length of time that voters waited in line varied greatly throughout the day. Ultimately, 2,448 individuals from precinct 10 voted on campus. Obama won the on-campus vote with 1,616 votes. Franken won the on-campus vote with 1,104 votes.

The main issues of concern in the line: when voters were going to receive their stickers, last minute registration and which line voters had to wait in, A-K or L-Z.

Gina Pudlick, a building manager for Kirby Student Center, began directing the line traffic around 10 a.m. According to Pudlick, the L-Z line was consistently shorter all day.

Pudlick began asking students waiting in line, “Are you A-K or L-Z?� When they responded “L-Z,� Pudlick said, “good answer,� and pointed to the shorter line.

For the 13 hours that the polls were open, the voting line was the longest from approximately 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. At that time the line stretched from the ballroom doors, down the Kirby staircase and extended nearly to the Kirby Food Court.

Deedra Bowman, a UMD freshman, waited alone in line at its longest point to vote for her first time.

“It was nuts,� she said as she laughed about her experience. “It was kind of expected; I figured a lot of people would be voting around that time.�

Bowman waited in line for approximately an hour. While she waited she heard others around her discussing their political decisions.

“I didn’t think people would be that open about it,� Bowman said.

Many on-campus voters were required to register in the ballroom today. According to election judge Tim Bradshaw, almost one in five voters registered with their home addresses instead of their campus address. Thus, they were required to re-register just before voting.

From 3 p.m. on, the registering line was far longer than then the already registered voters, snaking around the ballroom.

“They could have been in and out instead of standing in line for two hours,� Marsman said.

Unfortunately, many students were unaware of their mistake until they arrived at the polls.

Katie Martineau, a UMD freshman, found out that she mistakenly registered under her home address. Maritneau arrived at the ballroom just before 8 p.m.

“I booked it up here,� Maritneau said. She quickly re-registered, cast her vote and turned in her ballot to become the final and the 2,448th voter of precinct 10.

Posted by dill0169 at 3:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By ASHLEE HARTWIG
DCN Correspondent

November 4, election day. The long wait is finally over. The moment to take part in changing our country’s future is now here.

“What’s going on here?� asked freshman Robert Geisenhof, searching for the back of the voting line on the staircase outside the on-campus polling place. “Where does this thing end?�

Spotting it, Geisenhof headed over to take his place and waited his turn.

“It may be even longer in a few hours,� said another freshman Elizabeth Campbell, fingers playing with her long pearl necklace. “He’s lucky he got here now.�

Hundreds of students have already passed through the UMD Kirby Ballroom, each putting their pens to the ballot and letting their voices be heard. More are expected to come with the polls only open for one more hour.

Voting has been an exhilerating new experience for freshman Megan Potter. While waiting in line, she saw everybody holding different forms of identification and it upped her anxiety.

“I just wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. I had everything out…my U-Card, my driver’s license, my blue slip, absolutely everything,� said Potter.

Scott Dahl, hands in his pocket, is another first-time voter, but as a sophomore. Standing in line with a backpack on his shoulders, Dahl said he felt calm. He was excited to be taking part in this event, but he saw no reason to be nervous.

“I knew who I was voting for,� said Dahl. “And yes, this is an important event, but it almost seemed routine.�

Not all students were as nonchalant about this as Dahl. Determined to get their vote in, many of them worked with their surroundings in order to make their voices heard.

“It felt like I was back in high school because I was sitting on this hardwood floor while filling out my ballot,� said Campbell. “It really surprised me there were no actual voting booths.�

Potter had a similar experience.

“I sat on the window sill, but hey, if that’s what I had to do, so be it,� said Potter.

Everyone took to the process pretty seriously, but it was a light, laid-back atmosphere. That only made the uncertainty of first time voting grow.

Dahl took special care to fill in the bubbles next to the appropriate names so there was no confusion. When the time arrived for his choice for president--the most important vote of the night --he went outside the lines.

“I got scared for a minute because I didn’t know if they were going to count it,� said Dahl.

Finished with her ballot, Potter gathered her belongings when her cell phone rang.

“I thought they were going to come rip my ballot up,� said Potter.

One of the highlights of turning in a ballot, for many voters, is the satisfaction of wearing the bright red sticker proclaiming ‘I Voted’ on their shirts.

“It felt so good to get that sticker,� Potter said, showing off her own on her black sweater.

With the ballots in the tallying machine, all anybody can do now is wait for the results.

“Election Day is like New Years to me,� said Potter. “Waiting for those final results to roll in is the ball dropping on the new year.�

Everyone is waiting with anticipation and, in a matter of hours, the new President of the United States will be announced.

“All we can do is wait now. It’s out of my hands, but at least I can say I did my part,� said Campbell.

Posted by Julia Davis at 3:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By MARK WARNER
DCN Correspondent

It’s 7 a.m. Most students are still in bed dreaming away the night before. The halls of UMD are practically empty. It’s Election Day, and Jamie Ebert is in her element.

Ebert is UMD’s campus contact for the school’s chapter of the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG). She and the rest of the group’s true diehards spent the morning parading around campus “chalking up� any classroom in sight; that is writing messages on chalkboards encouraging students to vote. Hard at work to make any final impact they can on Election Day, their message on these chalkboards is relatively simple: “VOTE.�

"Chalked-up" blackboard in UMD lecture hall, (photo Mark Warner).

MPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan group designed to encourage college students to take action on public interest issues they may not otherwise have known about. During non-election years, the group champions causes such as fair trade, women’s rights and environmental hazards. According to Rebecca Covington, the campus coordinator, an emphasis is made to look at these huge issues from a campus-wide perspective.

“We try to take these bigger, worldwide issues and focus them into a local college perspective.� she says. “It makes meeting goals more tangible.�

For the past three-plus months, the group’s focus has been squarely on the impending election.

“We’ve been working to register students since mid-August,� Ebert says, “I’m really glad today is finally here.�

And who could blame her? Working around the clock for the greater good is not an easy task. Whether she is going door-to-door chatting with on-campus students or working the tables in Kirby, her job requires a time commitment not many would make.

“I haven’t gone to a lot of classes in the past three weeks…but my grades aren’t struggling too much,� she says.

After a car accident last fall, Ebert sometimes finds herself limping around school after full days of spreading the word by foot. While not all MPIRG members are as dedicated as Ebert, the group as a whole has been quite effective. After setting out to register 2,100 college voters, the final tally was closer to an amazing 5,100. Ebert says she knows why.

“It’s because we’re rock stars,� she says. “Not many groups are willing to work as hard as we do.�

Over a third of MPIRG’s 15,000 statewide student registrations took place on the Duluth campus.

On Election Day, MPIRG’s duties do not stray far from what they have been for the past months. After all, today is the day the group has been working so long and so hard for.

Freshman member Eric Lemke even went as far as calling his first Election Day, “like Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.�

Ebert frantically spends much of her day racing between training new members in UMD’s Multicultural Center to working the dorms to prevent last minute laziness from prospective voters.

In the middle of the Election Day grind, Ebert takes time to enjoy herself.

“Good job everybody! Go Democracy!� she yells after seeing the line of on-campus voters wrapped entirely around a lower level stairway.

Though not all of MPIRG’s members show the passion of Ebert, all seem to share in enjoying being part of the organization, albeit for different reasons.

Ebert loves to be involved with people and to have access her peers may not.

Covington enjoys helping others. She even left a more lucrative job in the corporate world to do so.

Lemke is thrilled by the political process. He cannot wait to vote for the first time and actually joined MPIRG in high school.

Jacob Croke loves the social aspect. As a non-traditional student (he started school at age 25) Croke says he has met nearly all of his college friends through working with MPIRG.

And Steph Bolz just wants some extra credit. Even so, she provides as fine an explanation for the need to cast a ballot as anyone else:

“If you don’t vote, you don’t count,� said Boltz.

Posted by enkex006 at 3:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By PAUL BUDD
DCN Correspondent

It’s another Tuesday morning in the residence halls of UMD, but something is different about today.

This Tuesday morning is Election Day, and there is no shortage of excitement among the students who live in the residence halls.

“These students are excited,� said senior and community advisor Katie Goodyear. “For most of them, it’s the first year they can vote.�

In a year that expects to see record turnouts for young voters, Goodyear thinks students living on campus will be no exception.

“It’s easy and it’s right there,� said Goodyear referring to the Kirby Ballroom where on-campus students vote. “We also really encouraged students to vote. I made that bulletin board (pointing to a board in the LSH office across from the mailboxes) and a lot of the RA’s either told their floor how and when to vote or even organized their entire floor to go vote at the same time.�

Indeed, students throughout the residence halls could be overheard talking about their poll experience and wearing their “I Voted� stickers.

In the Lake Superior Office lounge area, four girls sat around a table and discussed the election.

“I voted and I feel like I’m making a difference,� said Megan Bertheaume, a freshman who lives in Griggs.

“The big issues for me are the war in Iraq, health care, the economy and the educational system,� said Bertheaume. “My sister is going to school to be a teacher, so education is a big one for me.�

“They’re all important,� said Ashley Peterson, another freshman in the group.

Of all the issues, the war in Iraq seemed to be the biggest among the students in the residence halls.

“I think the war is the most pressing issue to students here because so many have family like brothers or cousins who they want to see come home,� said Goodyear. “Bringing home the troops is the biggest issue for me in this election.�

But no matter what the issue or what the outcome, it is clear that the residence halls have been energized for the 2008 Election.

“CNN, all night…all night,� said Goodyear. “It should be exciting.�

Posted by Elizabeth Strawn at 2:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By LIZ STRAWN and TRAVIS DILL
DCN Correspondents

Correspondents Travis Dill and Liz Strawn spent the day with an eye for Election Day events throughout the city.

Posted by enkex006 at 2:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RELATED STORY : DFL woman may help feed 1,000 volunteers

By ALEXANDER RISSE
DCN Correspondent

One word can summarize the atmosphere in the Duluth Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) camp on Election Day: excitement. The Duluth Labor Temple off of London Road is at the epicenter of this enthusiasm.

Approximately 300 volunteers have been working out of the Temple on last minute “get out the vote� efforts all around Duluth. Many have taken the day off of work to lend a hand, and some have been donating their time since before dawn.

The Duluth Labor Temple off of London Road housed approximately 300 volunteers who were getting out the vote Tuesday. (photo Alexander Risse.)

“It’s going great,� said Alana Petersen, who is in charge of coordinating volunteer operations. “The energy level is up.�

Petersen, a DFL staff member, has been helping prepare for the election for months. Today she has been directing volunteers to local precincts for door knocking and phone calling efforts designed to ensure that people get to their polling place to vote.

“We make several passes on people to insure they get to the polls,� she said.

So far, the efforts of the volunteers seem to be paying off. There have been reports of very high turnout around Duluth. Petersen reported that some polling stations were already running low on ballots. That was around 11 a.m.

Aside from the possible ballot shortages in some areas, the election process in Duluth seems to be going smoothly. Blake Chaffee, the campaign manager for Representative Jim Oberstar, said that from what he has observed, the city was very well prepared for this election.

Inec Wildwood, one of the hundreds of volunteers active at the Labor Temple, can attest to the enthusiasm surrounding the election.

“I’ve talked to people who haven’t come out in 30 years to volunteer for an election, but did today,� she said. “People are very excited, very anxious, and very hopeful.�

Like the majority of the volunteers at the Labor Temple, Inec will be working until the polls close at 8 p.m. Some will be there even later to take care of last minute election business and help clean up. After that, many are planning on heading to the DECC for the DFL election results party, which is open to the public.

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 1:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RELATED STORY: Duluth DFL laboring for votes.

By ALEXANDER RISSE
DCN Correspondent

As one might imagine with 300 volunteers, a busy day of phone-banking and door knocking adds up to a whole lot of hunger. That’s where Tina Welsh comes in.

Welsh, a long time Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) activist, has volunteered for hundreds of local campaigns over the years. She is in charge of feeding those who have donated their time to the DFL on Election Day.

“It’s been a long haul, two to three weeks of preparation,� she said.

Welsh said she and her kitchen of volunteers are prepared to serve 1,000 meals today – breakfast, lunch and dinner for everyone who has donated time out of their busy schedules.

The kitchen is a hotbed of activity. Welsh walked quickly around while checking on the preparation of countless food items that have been donated by local institutions. At the same time, she would strike up conversation with fellow volunteers.

Welsh said many of the kitchen volunteers come back to help out every year. As a result, amidst the delicious smell of chili and pulled pork, there is a strong sense of camaraderie.

In passing, one woman mentioned that she enjoys the sense of community she gets while volunteering in the kitchen with like-minded people.

It’s a good thing that Welsh and her kitchen team enjoy what they do. There were many hungry volunteers to feed.

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 1:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By TRAVIS DILL
DCN Correspondent

Sue Swedensen focuses on her computer screen as she dials registered voters urging them to vote on Nov. 4 in the DFL headquarters (photo Travis Dill).

Swendsen, 65, returned to her childhood community of International Falls 12 years ago. She and her husband also have a home in Duluth, which allows her to help out with Democratic campaigns. While she volunteered in the 2000, 2004 and 2006 campaigns, Swendsen said she has stepped up her commitment to this campaign.

"I believe in change," Swendsen said.
Swendsen is prepared to celebrate victory with hotel reservations in Washington D.C. in anticipation of Obama's acceptance speech. "I am ready to see Obama put his hand on that Bible when he is sworn in," she said.

Duluth East sophomore David Essling also attempts to spur registered voters into action at the DFL headquarters (photo Travis Dill).

"Some people are grumpy, but most are responsive," Essling said about the registered voters he called on Election Day.

Essling has been an intern for Al Franken since July and hopes to become an intern for a democratic gubernatorial candidate in 2010. Meeting national figures like Hillary Clinton, Al Franken and Jim Oberstar drew Essling into volunteer work for the campaign.

Tyler Verry, Co-chair of UMD's College Republicans, sat overlooking his list of Republicans to call on election day at the GOP headquarters (photo Travis Dill).

The sophomore electrical and computer engineering student has been working with the Republican party since his junior year of high school.

"Our approach [for calling voters] is a little different," Verry said. He and his volunteers called through the voter registration in the last few months to ask where they stood on some issues, but they only called Republicans on election day to remind them to vote.

Posted by dill0169 at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By KENDRA RICHARDS
DCN Correspondent

For some, the result of Election Day will bring rejoicing. For others, it will bring sorrow. According to the polls, McCain supporters are the ones who will be disappointed. However, volunteers at the McCain campaign headquarters here in Duluth are saying that the race is not over.

“The polls are wrong,� said Waylon Wittkotf, a volunteer at the McCain campaign headquarters. “The polls in the last election said Kerry was going to win, and they were wrong right up to Election Day. This one could be the same.�

The volunteers have been knocking on doors and making phone calls for months, talking to thousands of people. They say that many more citizens are voting for McCain than people think.

“A lot of people are saying they can't vote for Obama because he scares them,� said Marilyn Haglin, a volunteer at the McCain campaign headquarters. “One particular woman I talked to has been a Democrat and voted democrat her whole life, but she is voting McCain because Obama scares her.�

Haglin said that many Democrats, even members of the DFL, are voting for McCain.

“There are a lot of McCain supporters, but that goes unnoticed because of all the focus on Obama,� said Haglin. “Their votes will add up, and at the very least it will be a closer election than people are predicting.�

So what about Obama is making people abandon their normal party affiliation to vote for McCain?

“A lot of people don't like his opinion on spreading the wealth,� said Darlene Johnson, a volunteer for the McCain campaign headquarters. “We have lots of charities that donate lots of money to people who need it – that's what is great about our country. We help each other.�

Johnson also said that Obama's “socialist� policies bother a lot of Americans.

“I don't care to have socialism in our country either,� said Johnson. “Some people say it's a good system, but I have talked to people from socialist countries, and health care is not available to them; a lot of those people come to the U.S. for medical care.�

John Schwetman, English professor at UMD and faculty advisor for the College Democrats, said that he thinks all of this socialism talk is “looney.�

“Socialism involves a high level of taxation and government programs,� said Schetman. “Obama is proposing a tiny tax increase, and people think that any tax increase is socialist. It's just politics.�

Schwetman went on to say that there are reasons why the polls are saying Obama is winning – people like his policies and qualities.

“He's a good speaker, and he takes complicated matters and makes them clear for the people,� said Schwetman. “He takes government seriously, and speaks to people who don't believe in the current system.�

Posted by Kathleen Grigg at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By ELIZABETH ENKE
DCN Correspondent

For the past year, television sets, radios and phone lines have been flooded with political candidates. There's no doubt that Obama, McCain, Coleman, Franken and Barkley are vital names on election ballots in Duluth; however, there is another important item on the November 4 ballot-- the operational levy.

According to Mimi Larson, chair of the community group Vote Yes for Kids, the red levy (the current levy) will expire in June. As of right now, the red levy is giving $365 per pupil in the Duluth public school system.

The operating levy will have three questions on Election Day’s ballot. By voting "yes" for the first question, the red levy will continue with the $365 given to each pupil, and there would be no increase in taxes.

By voting "yes" for questions one and two $700 will be given to each pupil by an increase of taxes.

If a voter votes "yes" for all three questions, $1,200 will be given to every student and there would be an increase in taxes.

Larson has been out in the community for over two months educating people and advocating for the passage of the operating levy with Vote Yes for Kids organization.

Vote Yes for Kids is a community group that came together in September of 2008 and is comprised of an array of people.

“We basically cover the three corners of Duluth: the East, Central and West end,� said Larson.

Larson said members of Vote Yes for Kids include a variety of people: parents, retired citizens, people who don’t have kids and young professionals.

Larson has four children attending Duluth public schools: one in high school, two in middle school and one in elementary school.

Larson looks at the operational levy through two perspectives. Her first one is as a concerned parent.

“I believe my children and all children deserve quality education,� said Larson. “How the levy goes will significantly impact how education will be for the next five years.�

She also believes that the passage of the operating levy will benefit the community as a whole.

“If we have a vibrant school district that has good programs, it will demonstrate what kind of community it is,� said Larson. “Families will want to come and raise children here; it'll be good for the economy.�

Larson feels confident going into Election Day.

“Even though people are facing difficult times, I believe that people in Duluth are concerned about their community and they see that [the levy's] going to programs for kids,� she said.

School Board Member Mary Cameron said that Duluth schools haven't been funded properly by the state for years, and that's why the public is asked to help education. Duluth has set up the different levels to vote so the citizens have a say in the levy determination.

“The community is in the position to say how much we're going to contribute to educating Duluth's children,� said Cameron. “We're doing the different levels because we are under-funded and when we look at ourselves from a state comparison, we are way below per pupil allocation.�

Not all members of the Duluth community agree with Larson or the school board, especially community member Harry Welty.

Welty, a retired resident, is very displeased with the way the school board and superintendent are dealing with school district issues.

“The small number of school board members and the superintendent are totally arrogant,� said Welty.

Welty felt this way because last year the school board and superintendent spent $500 million on new school buildings. That money was taken out of citizen taxpayers' pockets. Welty is upset because they never let citizens vote on it; it was just done.

“People on the school board need to come back to reality,� said Welty. “The city doesn't need a half-billion dollars for buildings.�

Welty said that if the board members who voted on the building project resigned, he would vote for question one of the operating levy, but since they haven't, he won't be supporting the levy in any way.

“This whole thing is a mess,� said Welty. “It's divided this city like you wouldn't believe.�

Posted by Brittney Silewski at 4:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By FATIMA JAWAID
DCN Correspondent

UMD student Amanda Lowe is in Australia this semester, where she is finishing her degree in elementary education (submitted photo by Christine Hirsch).

“I wasn’t going to let the fact that I was in another country stop me,� said University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) senior Amanda Lowe in an e-mail interview. “I still feel that it’s my responsibility to vote.�

Lowe, who is currently student teaching in Victoria, Australia, is just one of the growing number of UMD students who decided to get their vote out with an absentee ballot.

According to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State Web site, the absentee ballot is a way for citizens across the country to cast their vote through a mail-in ballot if they are away from or unable to get to their precinct polling place.

Cities across the country are seeing the amount of absentee voters skyrocket to all time highs. Minnesota holds the highest voter turnout in the country. About 8 percent of the Minnesota voting population voted absentee in 2004. According to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s web site, thatamount is expected to hit 12 percent to 15 percent this year.

“We run into a lot of people who are specifically interested in absentee voting,� said Rebecca Covington, campus organizer for the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG). Covington said that people often vote absentee when there is a close race in their hometown.

Rebecca Covington, Minnesota Public Interest Research Group.
(Photo by Fatima Jawaid/DCN Correspondent)

Katlin Ring, a junior at UMD, is one student who mailed in an absentee ballot because she wanted to be a part of her hometown elections.

“It was more of a personal stance for me,� said Ring. “My hometown doesn’t really vote the same way I vote, so it was my way of helping the community go in the direction I think it should be going.�

For Minnesota, the process of getting an absentee ballot is fairly simple. According to the Secretary of State’s Web site, students can print off a ballot request form online and receive a ballot within a few weeks.

“It was actually a super simple process,� said Ring. “I was surprised. I was mailed a ballot from John McCain--which is kind of ironic-- I filled it out and sent it in. I didn’t even have to put a stamp on it.�

According to Covington, students’ interest in absentee ballots is rising.

“We printed off at least a couple dozen to keep in the MPIRG office for students,� said Covington. “They’re all gone.�

Covington is one student who cast her vote through the absentee ballot.

“I’m going to be away from my precinct polling place all day because of all the ‘Get Out the Vote’ activities I’ll be doing on campus,� she said. “But I still wanted to get my vote out.�

While the reasons for students going absentee may vary, one thing remains the same -- the drive to get out the vote.

“It is my responsibility to do my part to ensure that our country is going to be run by a responsible, compassionate, intelligent and a hard working president who will make a positive impact on our country's future,� said Lowe.

Posted by Brittney Silewski at 4:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By BECKY EDWARDS
DCN Correspondent

With the upcoming elections at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), an organization called "Own Your Vote" offers guidance to students that may be feeling overwhelmed by the barrage of information that seems to be everywhere you turn.

Located in the Office of Civic Engagement, the people behind “Own Your Vote� have been working tirelessly over the past few weeks to provide information related to the election through a comprehensive and interactive Web site.

Dylan Savall, who is in charge of the content part of the Web site, said that he has worked hard to provide information by looking up articles from different news organizations. These include the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), the Associated Press and even UMD’s newspaper, the Statesman.

“I try to find a new article to put up as often as I can,� said Savall. “Like last week, I found stories on undecided voters and an article about tricks some organizations use to try and stop students from voting.�

Savall also said he likes to take equal amounts of information from the candidates’ Web sites so the “Own Your Vote� site isn’t skewed one way or the other.

According to UMD’s director of the Office of Civic Engagement, Casey LaCore, the point of the unbiased site is to “promote smart voting and show what it means to be part of a democracy.�

Savall agreed.

“It’s extremely important to be informed,� he said. “We tried to make it easy so a student will know where they stand and hopefully, we can get them to read a few pages on our site.�

The site has only been around since Oct. 16, but it has already established itself as a useful tool for undecided students.

“It’s a good way to get the students the info they need,� LaCore said. “Of course they have opinions on aspects such as the war or gay marriage.�

Paid for by grants from the University of Minnesota and a local ad agency, the Web site provides many useful tools such as a quiz which matches people with their ideal candidate. It asks questions such as “What is your opinion about the war in Iraq?� and “What is your position on immigration in the United States?�

“The quiz is fabulous,� LaCore said. “It asks how much you care about a certain topic; it weighs it lower if you don’t have a strong opinion on it.�

Another part of the Web site that LaCore is proud of is the use of YouTube videos that showcase UMD students expressing their opinion on the election and the importance of voting. LaCore thinks these videos are good because it drives the issues home.

“They care about what their peers think,� she said. “The videos make it more personal so students can relate to it.�

Armed with what’s left of the 3,000 buttons, 3,000 Frisbees and 300 T-shirts with the “Own Your Vote� logo, LaCore and company plan on getting themselves out in the UMD public to get the attention of any students who have questions about voting or registering to vote.

Regardless of what happens on Election Day, LaCore and her team are proud of what they have done.

“It turned out better than I imagined,� she said.

LaCore knew that she had been successful when she went into a classroom and asked the students if they have heard of “Own Your Vote.� Everyone said “yes.� She then asked students if they were going to vote, and they all said “yes.�

UMD Own Your Vote

Posted by Brittney Silewski at 3:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)