DuluthCommunityNews
Election 2008

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.

Continue reading "Reinert headed to state House of Representatives" »

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.

Continue reading "The next Minnesota Senator: TBD" »

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.

Continue reading "Obama's win brings history, hope" »

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.

Continue reading "Student voices will remain heard in future elections" »

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.

Continue reading "School Levy: passed but not perfect" »

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

Posted by Zach Olson at 4:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By ZACH OLSON
DCN Correspondent

Posted by Zach Olson at 4:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Continue reading "Today is the day for first-time voters" »

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

Continue reading "Volunteers stick it out at the Republican Victory Office" »

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.

Continue reading "Precinct 10 voters wonder 'When do we get our stickers?'" »

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?�

Continue reading "UMD students cast their first votes" »

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.

Continue reading "MPIRG spreads the word" »

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.

Continue reading "Residence halls getting out the vote at UMD" »

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.

Continue reading "Duluth DFL laboring for votes" »

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.

Continue reading "DFL woman may help feed 1,000 volunteers" »

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.

Continue reading "Campaign callers: More than just a voice." »

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.�

Continue reading "McCain volunteers say polls may be inaccurate" »

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.

Continue reading "Levy to determine future of Duluth schools" »

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.

Continue reading "Absentee voting is not so absent among college students" »

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.

Continue reading "Promote the vote at UMD" »

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