Strike update.

It seems likely that the teamsters union will go on strike. Well a date has not yet been set, the county and union have been meeting with no contract settlement in site.

The union filled an intent to strike a little more then a week ago. They could strike at any time. If a strike happens county roads could suffer greatly. As the teamsters represent all county snow plow drivers.


A source that is involved with the county said he could not see a strike right now. He said with the time of year and.the way the economy is, he could not see the union striking. He is the only person I have heard say a strike may not happen.

The issue seems to be focused on seniority.

I hope a strike can be avoided, we will have to wait and see.

County roads to suffer?

There could be a strike coming next week for those that plow our county roads.

150 workers represented by teamsters local 320 could be on strike by the middle of next week. two thirds of them are plow drives the rest work else where in the public works department for the county.

A strike could mean that the county roads would suffer because the lack of plows out. The county has some roads in side the city and countless roads out side of Duluth.

The county said they are preparing for the strike and have a plan in place, it includes managers and supervisors to take of snow plowing. However that only covers 25% of the current workforce.

There is another meeting between the two sides before the mid week strike could take place.

Its a new year.

After a year where some things came a long and I was not able to post much in 2010, and a Christmas and New years break it is time once again to devote time to this blog. Let me thank you all for the well wishes and for allow me the time i needed , as always I am grateful for the large readership of this blog. I just wish people would post.

With a new year comes a new contributor to the blog, Scott Yeazle will be joining our team. Scott is a great person and will offer a different prospective then I on most issues. It will also allow DP to cover more events.

Also new you may now call us if you have a news tip, community event or just a comment about the blog. You can reach by calling 218-260-0241, as always you can email us at duluthneedshelp@yahoo.com

Spam.

to much spam has forced me to go back to not allowing anonymous post, from now on you must be registered with blogger it is free and easy to sign up. Hey why not start your own blog then as well, you can blog about anything you wish.

Mark Rubin gets top pay.

Mark Rubin St. Louis county attorney elect will receive top pay, the county board made the decision at yesterdays board meeting. It will avoid an legal action.

Four years ago now out going attorney Ford was set to receive the lowest possible pay but she was able to increase that to 112,000 up from the 92,000 the board set. Ford took action and the board and her settled on the agreed upon amount.

The reason for the drop in post.

Okay so as many of you have noticed there has been a huge drop in post to this blog. Well I have said there is a personal reason for this I have not yet said why. Here is why after nearly ten years of marriage my soon to be ex-wife has asked for a divorce, because of this I don't have daily access to a computer. Also the first few month I did not really want to do much so the blog was neglected.

I am hoping to post again more offend very shortly till then however I hope you will bare with the sparse posting. Well I won't have daily access to a computer I will make a much better attempt to make post by getting to a computer as a friends or the library or some where.

As always thanks for reading and please stop in again soon.

Glad to see!

The 300 foot rule regarding rental property was finely knocked out by the Duluth City Council. After years of an obcert law the council was able to repeal and it is about time.

The repeal does however set up something else I don't like, the council has an agenda and if you are a college students you should not like it. The members that support it will tell you it will be like dinky town near the campus of the the main U in the twin cities. That simple is not true. what they want to do is herd like cattle all the students downtown.

It is a shame the college student is not more respected here. For every bad one I can point to ten great ones look at the good and disregard the bad.

Johnson Brothers Furniture closing?

The signs on all three of it's locations say it is true the stores are closing. The owner says not so fast. Signs located on all three of furniture shops owned by Johnson Brothers say "going out of business, "calling it quites" and so on.

It seems to be either an early or late April fools joke. None of the stores are closing including the long time store in Duluth Lincon Park area. The signs are in reference of there father retiring at the age of 83. So why the calling it quites and going out of business signs? There is yet no good answer I wish there was.

Chip Cravaak.

Congressman-elect Chip Cravaack is in Washington this week for orientation. Cravaack talked with the media yesterday saying he will better represent all of the district, he felt that congressman Oberstar was not listening to him. Cravaak said his focus will be Minnesota's 8th district when making decisions.

He talked about a number of things ear marks, health care, tea party, and more you can watch a video at www.startribune.com

Kozy bar fire.

There is not a whole lot to report on this fire. The Kozy bar which has long been a trouble spot for the Duluth Police started on fire last night at about 10:15pm and burned in to this morning. Damage is over 500,000 dollars.

No one was killed in the fire thanks to the fast action of the fire department, which went back and fourth with rescue efforts and working on putting the fire out.

The bar has been a trouble spot with nurmous calls made by the police over the years. In 2005 the bar was in jeopardy of loosing there license and it would have been good if the city would have went threw with that.

Other quick notes on the election tomorrow.

Roger Reinert will big for the state senate seat. The Huntley/ Horton race will be close but I think the DFL will retain. The DFL will retain the seat being vacated by Roger as Kerry Gauthier will win big.

One race I don't want to call at this point is the Oberstar/Carvaak race, I will vote for Chip and hope he wins. Two weeks again I was saying what I have been saying all along I don't think there is a chance Oberstar is defeated. Now I am not sure I think it will be close and it at this point is a toss up. Carvaak has ran a good race well Oberstar has ran a negative race. He is an un-none spot that is for sure. Oberstar has never faces a challenge like this.

Okay got to run and campaign more tomorrow as we follow the election all day long. don't forget to vote!!!!

Tomorrow is election day.

Tomorrow is election day. A time most people can't wait for, but a sad day for me. I love the political season. Most people by now are sick of all the ads and door knocking and such publicity. With that said please do take the time to vote tomorrow. It only takes minutes out of your day.

I don't see a whole lot of changes in the Duluth area. Here is a look at one of the races tomorrow. With my picks of who will win.

1st District county board race. Dennis Fink and Frank Jewell.

This is a rematch of a race four years ago. Dennis Fink retained is seat by a little more then 200 votes last time. I don't see the numbers changing much, if they do I see them changing in favor of Fink.

Fink has been in office for 16 years and the experience is a big issue in this election. At a time where the county could face cuts from the State we need to retain a board member that has the experience of working on the budget. Fink has helped hold on the line on county taxes. The last three years the county has had the lowest increase in taxes.

Frank Jewell's campaign has been nothing but a huge attack ad. They attack on a couple of miss leading stories reported by the Duluth News Tribune. I won't even give them the satisfaction of saying what they are.

Prediction: Fink 55% Jewell 45%

The other two siting board members will keep there seats with big wins.

So there has been a lot of talk about the debate.

There has been a lot of talk about the debate at the DECC between Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar. First I must say the moderaters did a horrible job on all ends. It was poorly organized and set up.

The word debate should not have been used as it was not even a debate set-up, It should have been called a town hall meeting or forum.

Now on to what every one seems to want to talk about. The crowd. Yes the crowd was ruckus and loud, it did turn in to more of a rally then anything, only because the moderaters let it.

Keep in mind both sides made catcalls and voiced there opposition to what the other candidate said. Well the Oberstar group was more polite later in the forum they also where just as guilty as the Cravaack supporters. This being said I don't think what the crowd said should be a reflection on either candidate.

The actions of the candidates should be a reflection on them. Cravvack remained claim when calls came out from the Oberstar supporters. Oberstar was clearly frustrated and unsure of what to do when the same calls came out at him. Now I am not condoing any of the action by the crowd but is shows how upset people are on both sides.

Dave Stramberb (Stranberg).

So I was listening the morning news today on one of Mid-West's Radio stations and Dave Stranberg was talking about tonight night debate between Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar on the range. Hear is the thing.

Stranberg who has been doing the news on radio for a long time said Skip Cravaack. Dave it is way to late in the political season to be giving the wrong name of a candidate. You have been doing this long enough and at best check your sources. No where have I ever seen Chip Cravaack refereed to as Skip unless of course we are talking about your news items.

It even says Skip on the Dave and Dave blog on KDAL's web page

Fink campaingn page.

First district county commissioner Dennis Fink has a web page for the first in 16 years. His page is www.thinkfinkagain.com, well the page is a campaign page it is set up much better then his opponents Frank Jewel.

The page is very informational, it explains the role of the county board and how it effects the state,county and city. The page talks about what Fink has done for the county and the district. Its focus is more on issues then what where he is and wanting people to contribute to the campaign.

He has a message on the front page talking about making the tough decisions and having the courage to do what is right. I urge you to check it out.

Hello

Hello blogging world. it has been some time sense I have had the chance to blog. Again I will post as I can, as of late been busy with other political projects.

I will post more and more as we get in to the hussle of the election as of now there has not been a lot going on. It is a bit of a surprise to not have much happening.

Fink did not seek endorsement.

AFSCME and the Central Labor Body held there screening for endorsing a candidate in the first district county board race. The two body's have merged together and have a new name this year however will still hand out two endorsements.

Fink said in a statement that he could not in good faith except the invite to the screening. Commissioner Fink believes in representing all of the first district and the county, and by taking part in this or any endorsement process would not allow him to do that. He does not believe in having to behold to any special interest group.

He paraphrased and article in the Reader written by Barb Olson. Two union representatives went to a council meeting to remind the councilors that seven of them where backed by the union. One of the speakers went as far to say he expects a 7-2 vote.

Fink also pointed out that not long ago there was a flier in the county court house that stated contract negations start at the ballot box. The flier caused a lot talk in the media on whether it was legal or not to post in such a place.

I think Commissioner Fink was right to not take part in the process and I hope people give him thought when they vote November 2nd. At such a troubling time we need a board member that will think with an open mind and not be held to any special interest groups. Fink is the person that will represent all of us.

No strike?

It seem that both hospitals have come to a contract agreement with there nurses. St.Lukes voted to accept a contract last week, St. Mary's nurses will vote today.

This is a good thing for both sides if both have in fact reached an agreement. It does appear the issues was in fact safty and not wages.

St.Mary's talks lasted more then 24 hours till they reached a tentative agreement.

Questions for those running for office.

What are four major issues in your campaign?


How would you balance the budget(for the office you are running for)?


Take a crack at these two questions more later.

Four dead in murder suicide.

Three people and an unborn child where found dead in a house in Superior Wisconsin on Wednesday. It was suspected to be a murder suicide, and the time of death of all four was some time on Tuesday. The unborn child was suppose to be born on Wednesday.

Matt Magdzas shot and killed his wife who was pregnant, and there 13 moth old daughter. Then he turned the gun on him-self killing all four family members.

Today the Duluth News Tribune is reporting that Magdzas was having an affair, as a woman has came forward and said she was dating him. She told the DNT that she was tiring to break up with him the week before the shooting occurred. You can read the whole story at .

If the affair is real that maybe why the shooting occurred. Other wise officials are left with no reason for the death.

Elect Fink county commissiner.

It is not very offend that I advocate for a candidate for office on this blog. Well I will talk about candidates and there positions and what I think of them, I don't ask people to support a certain candidate much.

This county board race is to important to not. The first district has long been considered a swing district for the board. Fink has been able to keep his seat and keep the board moving in the right direction.

Dennis Fink has been on the board for many years and is a senior leader on it. Fink has been a champion for balancing the county's budget and supporting strong programs.

In a time where the economy is still struggling it is important to keep his leader ship.

It is sad to see some groups play a political game, that so offend goes to far.

As the campaigns pick up.

Hi all yes I am still here. I will make every effort to post as the political season picks up. As I said before I no longer have daily access to a computer.

As you know we just had the primary election. Mark Dayton won the DFL, No other party had a primary for Governor. For Duluth that was about the only draw to the polls, however there was a primary for the 6th judicial district court judge. There where eight people fighting for the top two spots.

Now it is on to the general election.

Still here.

Duluth Politics is not dead. The blog is still very much a live and we will start regular post soon. Well I no longer have regular access to a computer, I will try my best to post as much as possible.

I have not posted for some time because of a personal family issue. A issue that will take time to work out but as it clears I will post more.

Grandma Marathon---- Music edition.

This weekend is a big weekend for Duluth. This weekend is the running of Grandmas Marathon, the event brings in thousands of dollars to our community.

People from around the world travel to Duluth for this event. The weekend of course features the race, but that is not what I want to talk about in this post. The event also has a number of other things tied to the race.

Every year there is music in the parking lot near grandmas sports garden in the Canal Park. There are three shows Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday night. It feature regional acts that include headliner GB Leight also Doctor Salty,Lola and the red hots, and Saturday afternoon only Steel Lefty, and Friends. It is a lot of fun to take in the music.

Friday nights tent cover has been reduced to $5.00 with music starting at 8pm and going till 1am. Saturday night's cover is $8.00 with music starting at 8PM as well. Well Friday and Saturdays night is a lot of fun, what gets lost is that Saturday afternoon there is a free family friendly music set.

The afternoon show starts at 11:30am and runs till 5:15pm it features all the acts that play at night, so yes you get to see GB Leight. It also has one of its own acts Steel, Lefty and Friends. It is a lot of fun and I would hope more take advantaged of it. Bring the kids and have fun.

Yes Friday and Saturday night are a lot of fun, they are of course more "wild" and you and must be 21 or older to get in to the night shows.

Oh boy, I am so excited.

I am just so excited about the city of Duluth new purchase. The city closed yesterday on the sale of the Norshor and another property yesterday.

I was against the sale because the only reason the city wanted the property was to get a legal business out of the Norshor. I don't like the type of business that was located there however it was a legal stripe club. To run a business out such as the city and the owner of the building did is wrong.

That said it is now our Norshor, that will be a huge disaster. Well I hope it is successful it will be hard to turn a profit and have any success, even with the Duluth play house operating it. I think that is the best organization the city could have put in charge of the operation. I just am not sure it will be enough to a success. I guess only time will tell.

One tall ship is out.

Duluth will host it's second tall ship festival this summer. The festival that was very well attended last year looks for the same this year. The festival last year had some criticism of how it handled or did not handle the large crowds. Visit Duluth hopes to have that problem dealt with this year.

This years festival was to have nine ships. Now one of the ships will not be able
to make it to Duluth for the event, that is being held July 29th to Au guest 1st. The Amistad will not sail to Duluth because of damage done to it in the Caribbean. The ship is now being worked on but will not be ready in time to make it's commitment to Duluth.

Gene Shaw of visit Duluth said "It's a sad situation because I think everyone was looking forward to it coming." The ship is a replica of a slave rebellion ship.

Rain canceles events.

The rain in Duluth today has canceled or postponed a number of events.

The Duluth Huskies will not play tonight. More on the sports page.


The chester bowl concert has been rescheduled to August 10th. Today was going to start the concert series.

Also men's and women's fast pitch softball along with most other softball leagues have been canceled for today.

Huskies drop home opener.

I will have much more a little later today, in the sports section of the blog. The Duluth Huskies dropped there home opener last night by 2-0 score. There where more then 1,100 fans.


Again more a little later, this is just a quick, report now time for a nap just got home frome work.

Fish lake.

First I must say the owner of hi-banks resort on fish lake is wrong, when he. said everyone would go to Island lake if the limits took effect. People would still fish at the lake in fact it is possible that it would increase fishing. Plus it would promote caught and release, always a good thing.

Slot limits would be a good thing on all inland lakes I believe. The DNR has a responsibility to protect the sport of fishing. Inland lakes especially up north have seen a huge drop in walleye population (what most people fish for).

They was a meeting held at fish lake about limits or some other type of regulation. The thirty people at the meeting supported the limits. Then a group of people came out against the regulations and this is where the fuse started.

The fuse included commissioner Fink who owns property on the lake. When asked about why he brought the regulations he said "The DNR hosted a meeting in late March that they described as a result from some pressure by a Metro area legislator. They discussed the results of a shock test on a portion of Fish Lake. The issue was, should the DNR impose special regulation (maybe slot limits) on Fish Lake. Thirty people attended the meeting. The DNR presented data collected and projected future outcomes based on that data. They said it would take approximately 5 years before they would be ready to impose special regulations under the current process and presented a time line." He added that he did a lot of research.

Fink tells Duluth Politics that he had no stake on way or the other on this issue, "
I have a reputation of getting things done. You can come to me for results. And Environmental and Natural Resources is my speciality. I did not act on impulse. The information was not bad as proof by the DNR's own data shows. "

The entire Fink email can be read at www.duluthpoliticsinterviewpage.blogspot.com.

Duluth Politics to cover the Duluth Huskies.

Duluth Politics will be covering the Duluth Huskies this season. We will have access to every game with a press pass. Games that I can not make I will still report on with help from other sources and contacts.

I will also have the chance to talk to some players and coaches from time to time and I hope to bring you that much closer to the game of baseball and the Duluth Huskies.

Tonight's game in Thunder Bay was rained out, more on that in the sports page.

The home opener is Monday, please head out to the wade and support the team.

Brandon Stahl.

Brandon Stahl who was reporting on city issues for the Duluth News Tribune will be moving on to a new job at the paper.

I thought Stahl did a great job plus he did a great job with the buzz blog, you can view it by going to the papers site and clicking on blogs. His last blog post is interesting check it out. He outlines some of his predication's.

Brandon seemed to be a person you like or you did not, I liked him and I thought he was fair with his reporting. Good luck in the future Brandon.

Baseball and a Governor candidate.

Independence night at the ball park. The Minnesota Independence party is have a fun event in St.Paul, you get to go watch St.Paul Saints play a game well helping support there candidate for Governor Tom Horner.

The event is Saturday June 26th and cost is $25.00 you get a ticket to the game plus food at the tailgate party before the game. The tailgate will take place in picnic area D and starts at 5:00pm. After dinner at 6:00pm they Horner campaign will be passing out broaches.

Tom may be throwing out the first pitch of the game. It will be right down sensible center.

You can get tickets by going to www.horner2010.com but they are limited so log on today and get them. I would encourage you to take advantage of this great event and you can meet Tom if you have not yet done so. He is a great guy and I hope he can win come November.

Fish lake.

I am hoping to have a good post up soon about the fish lake issue, regarding the size limit regulation that was proposed but vetoed by the Governor.

I am working on getting information. This is an issue that has been in the news and I want to get the facts, unlike the news media has done.

The cub is still missing.

****UPDATE*** Hope has been spotted a live and seems to be well. The DNT reports.


Hope the bear cub is missing again for a second time. Again it seems to be getting a lot of media.

This time the cub is found will not be returned to its mother, as she seems to have abandoned it.

I wish media would move on to the big issues facing our city and state.

Sports page upadated.

The sports page has been updated again. Twins and huskies notes check it out.

Sports page updated.

Check out the sports page, as it has been updated.

Summer time is busy.

I hope to post as much as possible but with summer here I am busy. I will work hard to keep evereyone up to date on the issues.

Bear.

why is hope the bear such a big story? The baby bear that was born for the world to see via video was lost for a few days. Our news media jumped all over it for days. It was the BIG story. Yet a humans life would not be covered that way.

Kerry Gauthier running for 7B seat.

Newly elected city councilor Kerry Gauthier is running for the open State House seat. The seat which is being vacated by Roger Reinert as he runs for the State Senate seat being vacated by Prettner Solon.

Gauthier has served just five month on the council, yet he feels ready to run for the house 7B seat. Gauthier said "I have been involved in politics and campaigns for the last 38 years" and "I can hit the ground running"

The issues that he feels are important are jobs, jobs and more jobs. He also said people are sick of passing the buck on the budget issues, it is time to solve the issues with out passing the buck on.

There was between 25 and 30 people behind Gauthier at the press conference. A lot of those people where politicians, Councilors Jeff Anderson, Sharla Gardner, Dan Hartman, Tony Cuneo. Current 7B rep. Roger Reinert. Also in attendance was Gauthier's mother.

More later.

Lots going on.

I was on a short vacation the last three days. I was not near a computer. There has been a number of things going on and I will try to get caught up on it as I can.

Slvester McCurry body found?

A body was recovered today in Superior. They are investigating to see if it is the body of 18 year old Slyvester McCurry who disappeared from the Stargate night club month back.

Not much other information was released yet but a further report should be out later today along with there findings.

Man in critical condion.

A Duluth man who jumped from the Holiday inn parking ramp on Thursday is in a local hospital, in critical condition. The 22 year old man was found in the alley after jumping from the 5th floor of the parking ramp. Reports are the man had been treated for depression.

This is the second time some had at least attempted to jump from the ramp in the past few month.

We are now a dot com

Duluth Politics is now a dot com, www.duluthpolitics.com

Hi all.

Sorry for not post as of late, I have been busy but will try to get caught up soon. There also have not been a ton going on.

The twin ports google movie has been released, it seems to be getting mixed reviews.

Get to Duluth Politics easier now, www.duluthpolitics.com

Tom Horner will be in Duluth.

IP Governor candidate Tom Horner will be in Duluth on Friday. He is touring the State that day and will be holding press conferences all over the State of Minnesota.

The Duluth event will take place at Marine General from 10:15-10:45AM on Friday. Tom will talk about the Minnesota he wants to see and answer questions.

I am looking forward to his visit and getting a chance to talk with him. If you have a chance head down to 1501 London Road on Friday and listen to him.

Independence Party makes its endorsement.

Minnesota's Independence Party has made there endorsement today. Tom Horner received it today beating four other candidates.

After doing some research, I now believe know who I will vote for. Hornor will still have to work up to the primary as two others party candidates said they will fight till then.

The IP has held Minnesota's highest office once, when Jesse Venture won the Governors race.

Sunday is Mothers Day.

Sunday we honor our moms for all they have and will do for us. What are you plans?

Snow!

Well well well, the Duluth forecast is for up to three inches of snow in our area tonight. We have has some flurries this afternoon but it has not stuck to the ground.

It is May 7th today and this is not typical weather even for us, this is more like March weather. Then this March was a close to summer as you could have gotten. We will have to wait and see if we get the snow or not.

I guess it does not matter much as it would only last a day or so as tomorrow and Sunday will be warmer and the snow should melt, if it does stick.

An interesting weather question, Duluth has gotten some snow fall every month expect for one, what is that month? Any guesses?

Today is pancake day.

Today is a great day in Duluth. No not because of the weather, because of food and a fundraiser. Today in the pancake day at the DECC. It is put on as a fundraiser for the Duluth Lions club.

It is a great way to get a good meal of all you can eat pancakes, sausage , a drink of your choice for cheap.( seconds on sausage and drink cost extra.) Tickets at the door are $6.00 and the money goes to the club to help out youth programs.

This is there biggest fundraiser of the year. It is amazing the amount of food they serve. If you have never been to pancake day you are missing out.

If you go leave a comment on how it was and how many pancakes you ate. I will only say this right now, I bet it is not more then I eat. Will let you know how many I eat after I go. I must say however as I get older I don't eat as many as I use to.

Sports page added.

I have added a sports page to the blog, it is located under the pages link. Take time to read it, right now I just have one article about the Twins up but will add more soon.

This will be the place I put all sports stories and opinions. Feel free to comment on any post there.

More on Obey retiring.

Dave Obey held a press conference yesterday and gave no real reason for his retirement at least in the news bits I heard. He said he was tired and the district is ready for a change. "There is a time to stay and a time to go" Obey told reporters "And it is my time to go."

The seat is now wide open, many people think it now gives Republican candidate Sean Duffy the edge. The Democrats are expected to announce one or more candidates in the with in the next couple of weeks.

I think at this point Duffy would have an edge but I am sure the Democrats will work to find a good candidate that can raise money. That said remember what happened when U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone died. The Democrats went and good a big name but still lost the seat.

I also wonder if the health care bill played a part. Did the tea party movement do anything to effect Obey?

Obey to retire.

Long Time Wisconsin Democrat David Obey to retire. Obey has been in office sense 1969 and his completing his 20th term, a term he won with 61% of the vote.

The announcement comes a surprise to the party. Obey does face a tough challenge this election but still was expected to win.

Now if we could get Oberstar to retire.

More on Obey as it becomes available.

The cheerleader blog.

On April 27th John Ramos who is the creator of the cheerleader blog posted his last blog post. The post said he had nothing left to say to Duluth. It seemed as if he was mad about something but I don't know that to be fact.

It is sad that John has chosen to stop writing, his blog was just another place to get news and comments about Duluth. I wish him the best in what ever lays ahead for him.

Who to vote for Governor?

As many of you know I am not an Tom Emmer supporter. I will not vote for hi, I don't do things just for the party. I have my believes and I stick to them. I refuse to cave to anyone.

In a nut shell why I don't support Emmer, his believes don't match enough of mine, and he cares only about the Twin Cities. He is on a unity tour of the state today, I will not be taking part in the Duluth visit. Emmer can fool some on his believe that he cares about out state Minnesota but I know differently. Well campaigning for the endorsement how many times did he come to Duluth?

Maybe this is my person to vote for? Tom Horner has announced today that will seek the endorsement of the Independence party. Horner is a former Republican strategist.

I am not saying this is who I will vote for, but I am keeping an open mind. I just can't support Emmer.

To learn more about Tom Horner go to www.horner2010.com

Kolar to buy Luther.

The car buying experience in Duluth just got worse. Over the weekend Kolar announced it would buy Luther. That adding to it's fleet of cars it already sells. Kolar also said that the Luther dealership would do business at it's current location for a couple years then would move to the Kolar location.

It is hard to find a good place to buy a car in Duluth, with this announcement it got worse. Kolar offers nothing on trade in's and there sales people from are experience is not very helpful. Most of the dealerships in Duluth are now owned by just two company's.

I guess it is time for our car shopping experience to move out side of Duluth, truly sad.

A great lunch with Councilor Fedora

The Free Democracy Summit held another great lunch with a councilor. This time it was held at blackwoods, and was with 1st district councilor Todd Fedora.

Before I get into the main part of the post, I need to say people really need to put politics a side and listen to both sides. This summit is great, well I don't agree with a lot of it, I still listen to every one's point of view and yes I am even learning from it. I have received comments ( that I have not published) and emails saying why go when it is largely leans to the left. I say what does it matter? Like I said I have learned and received some great information. You may not change your mind and that is fine but at least take the time to listen. People that are so shallow to not attend something because they don't agree politically are missing out on a great summit.


The lunch with councilor Fedora was good, there was about 7 people who came to talk about issues that matter to them. Much of the talk was about the 300 foot rule and NorShor. Issues brought up also included crime, how the council got a long, and more.

Todd was a great guest for the summit, he represented his side and his points very well.

Tomorrow ends the lunch with a councilor series for the summit. Pizza Luce is the spot to be noon to 1pm most of the councilors will be there.

Better Food!

Here is more about food! This is event is a long standing tradition for my family to attend.

The Duluth Lions Club pancake fundraiser is May 6th and runs all day long. It is a fun cheap way to get great pancakes, sausage and pop or coffee and milk. You could go for all three meals if you wished as the event runs from 6am till 8pm.

You can buy extra sausage, milk, juice and pop. Seconds, thirds, fourth on pancakes are included in the price. I believe tickets are $5 a head of time and 6 or 7 dollars at the door. I would advice getting your tickets early, as the line can be very long, especially at rush hours.

Good food!

I am a fan of food, who isn't? The Greater DownTown Council, and restaurants are having a special week to feature there restaurants. It happens May 10th-16th, there will be lunch specials at $10 and Dinner at $20.

Restaurants include, Sir Benedicts, Pizza Luca', Hell's Burgers and much more. For a list of all restaurants go and the menu for the event go to, www.downtownduluth.com

Norshor approved.

The Duluth City Council approved the sale of the NorShor last night. The city now owns it and the temple opera building, the city approved buying them for 2.6 million dollars by a 6-3 vote.

The partisan vote, was because of type of business located at theater and possibility of rejuvenating old downtown.

The city will most likely turn around and resell the building.

Free Democracy Summit--- First lunch.

Today was the first lunch with a councilor for the summit. There will be one every day this week.

This one was at the Burrito Union and was with 3rd district councilor Sharla Gardner. The group got a chance to share their concerns with the councilor. The conversation was great. The main two topics of the discussion were the NorShore theater and the 300 foot rule. Both topics will come during tonight's city council meeting.

The discussion was great because it was free flowing and because it jumped around and touched on a number of topics. I am looking forward to tonight's (5pm) second chance forum at the central hillside community center. It will focus on a second chance for people who have been released from jail.

Tomorrow is another lunch, this time with councilor Kerry Gauthier at Sammy's pizza downtown, noon-1pm.

At 5pm tomorrow there will be a social networking and digital activism forum. I will be one of the panelists. It will take place at the Harrison community center. It will be followed by an economic forum at 6:30, also at the center.

Today's free free democracy events.

Here is today's line up for the for the summit please join if you can.

Monday April 26th
*Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
3rd District City Councilor Sharla Gardner
@ Burrito Union 1332 E 4th St.

Central Hillside Community Center - 12 E 4th St.
Second Chance for People Coming from Prison
5 pm - 6:30 pm Second Chance Forum - Moderator - Cynthia Finley
Panel - Sarah Walker - Minnesota Second Chance Coalition
Mark Haase - Council of Crime and Justice

7 pm - STAR Power - A Social Justice Simulation

Join us.

Tomorrow is the kick off for the free democracy summit 7.0. The events start at 4 pm, they include a forum, supper, and program.

Here is a list of the events,

4pm Keeping the faith-- the role of religion in the Public Square.

5pm Soup and Bread supper

5:30pm Habitat play and program,

The events are all at the Unitarian Church 835 W. College St.

I hope you will join us for the kick off event.

Mark Rubin and Ford to face off for County Attorney.

A year ago yesterday, Mark Rubin said he would run for St. Louis County Attorney. Yesterday, he made it official. Rubin held two news conferences to outline why he is running. One was in held in Virginia, Minnesota, where his work started in 1978, and the other was held outside of the Duluth courthouse.

Rubin did not attack his opponent at the Duluth press conference, instead he outlined his background and what he believes is the proper role for a county attorney. Rubin seems to understand that the voters want a positive message.

Rubin outlined his work in protecting the people. He stated that he has the knowledge to take on the tough issues like gun and domestic violence. He has done all this by working with people and by listening. He believes that the county attorney should be rooted in our community, and that will be his focus during the campaign.

Rubin also received key endorsements at the press conference. Rubin got two endorsements from key players in the county. One endorsement came from the Duluth Police union, and the other came from the St. Louis County Sheriffs' Association.

Downtown Duluth losing a key business.

*****UPDATE****** Jernouimis says there maybe a buyer for the business in the near future.


Ace hardware will close after 66 years in Downtown Duluth. The business will close on Saturday but will reopen briefly for a liquidation sale on April 29th. The downtown store has been owned or the last 25 years by Mark Jernouimis who is retiring to focus on other business opportunity's.

The store one of three big time names downtown will be yet another blow to a struggling downtown. Don't worry our city has a plan, they will save us maybe.

Ace along with mainstream fashion for men and Minnesota Surplus are the big names in our downtown and are the main business draws.

The last days events of the summit.

I hope you take the chance to come out to this great event, and join us for one or more of the forums, lunches, panels. Just a reminder I am part of the Tuesday forum at 5pm.

---Friday, April 30th
-9 am - A Grab Bag of Hot Employment Topics w/ Maria Flores @ Central Hillside Community Center

-Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
2nd District Councilor Patrick Boyle and At Large Councilors - Dan Hartman and Jeff Anderson @ Pizza Luce - 11 E Superior St.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP for any Lunch with a Councilor. Please call Scott at 336-1034 or email tpac@damianocenter.org to reserve your spot.

-5 pm - Democracy NOW!! @ Zinema2 - 222 E Superior St.
-7 pm - Poetry Slam / Open Mic Night @ Amazing Grace - 394 S Lake Ave
-9 pm - After Party @ The Rex - 600 E Superior St.

---Saturday, May 1st
-8 am - Breakfast with Elected Officials and Community Leaders @ Radisson Hotel - Great Hall
Keynote Speakers...
Steve O'Neil - St. Louis County Commissioner
Liz Kuoppala - Eveleth City Councilor and Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director

May Day Picnic, Rally and Concert
4:30 pm @ Central Hillside Community Center - 12 E 4th St.

More of the weeks events.

---Tuesday, April 27th
-Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
4th District City Councilor - Kerry Gauthier
@ Sammy’s Pizza - 103 West First St.
The cost of lunch is on your own. Due to limited seating, please RSVP for any Lunch with a Councilor. Please call Scott at 336-1034 or email tpac@damianocenter.org to reserve your spot.

-Harrison Community Center - 3002 West Third St.
5 pm - Social Networking and Digital Activism
6:30 pm - Economic Forum

---Wednesday, April 28th
-Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
At-Large City Councilor - Tony Cuneo
@ Zeitgeist Arts Café– 222 E Superior St.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP for any Lunch with a Councilor. Please call Scott at 336-1034 or email tpac@damianocenter.org to reserve your spot.

-Double Feature Movie Night
Teatro Zuccone - 222 E Superior St.
5:15 pm - San Marco Video / No Losers
7:15 pm - Shouting Fire - Stories from the Edge of Free Speech
Panel Discussions following each movie

---Thursday April 29th
-Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
1st District City Councilor - Todd Fedora
@ Black Woods, 2525 London Rd.
Due to limited seating, please RSVP for any Lunch with a Councilor. Please call Scott at 336-1034 or email tpac@damianocenter.org to reserve your spot.

-Forum on Higher Education @ UMD - Kirby Student Lounge, 4pm
-Student Housing and other Rental Properties - Facts and Myths - 6pm
Holy Family Catholic Church - 2430 West Third St.

Just a few days away from the summit. Again here is a list of the week long events.

The Free Democracy Summit Kickoff is Sunday, April 25th at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth, 835 West College Street. Events will take place throughout the week. There will be a lot going on, programs, forums, discussions and more.

---Sunday, April 25th...

-Keeping the Faith - The role of Religion in the Public Square - 4:00 pm
The panel will consist of Rev. Kathy Nelson - Peace UCC, Elizabeth Olson from Churches United in Ministry, David Markusen from On Eagles Wings Church

-Soup and Bread Dinner - 5:00 pm

-Program - Habitat Play about homelessness in Duluth - 5:30 pm

Space sponsored by the Social Justice Committee - Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth

---Monday April 26th
-Lunch with a Councilor - Noon - 1 pm
3rd District City Councilor Sharla Gardner
@ Burrito Union 1332 East Fourth St. Lunch is at your own expense
Due to limited seating, please RSVP for any Lunch with a Councilor. Please call Scott at 336-1034 or email tpac@damianocenter.org to reserve your spot.

-Second Chance for People Coming from Prison forum
Moderator - Cynthia Finley
Panel - Sarah Walker - Minnesota Second Chance Coalition and Mark Haase - Council of Crime and Justice
Central Hillside Community Center - 12 East Fourth St.
5 pm - 6:30 pm - Moderator - Cynthia Finley

7 pm - STAR Power - A Social Justice Simulation"

One dead in fire.

A 56 year old woman died in a house fire, the fire broke out early 4758 this morning at Rice Lake Road. There was another man visible out side of the house running around after the fire broke out. It is not known what caused the fire at this time.

The fire took more then six hours to put out, it was first reported at 6:40 this morning, and was not put out till early afternoon. It took the effort of five departments to put the fire out, that included the 148th fighter wing.

Free Democracy Summit 7.0

"The week kicks off Sunday at the Untarian Unversalist Church located 835 W. College St. Events on Sunday include a panel discussion Keeping the faith -- Regions role in public square. A soup and bread dinner, that is followed by Habit play all about Duluth homelessness.

Monday-Friday there you have a chance to meet a councilor and talk with them about issues that matter to you. It is your chance to be heard by our elected officials. Lunch is on your own and space is limited. To take part in the lunches you can call Scott at 336-1034.

The councilors taking part in the lunch series are, Sharla Gardner, Kerry Gauthier, Tony Cuneo, Todd Fedora, Dan Hartman and Jeff Anderson. The lunches are held are a number of restraints around town.

Here is the line up for next Tuesday. It starts with lunch with a councilor, 4th district councilor Kerry Gauthier. His lunch will take place at Sammy's Pizza from noon-1pm. The next event takes place at the Harrison Community Center at 5pm. A panel discussion about social networking and digital Activism. That is followed by an economic forum at 6:30."

A bit of a struggle today.

The Minnesota Twins are having some trouble today. As they are 7-3 to the Kansas City Royals. They have already won the series, as they have won the first two games. The game right now is at the end of four innings of play.

The Twins have not yet lost a series this season. Winning the opening one against the Angles, it was a four game series and the Twins won 3 of the four. Losing only the opening game of the. Then off to Chicago for three games. The Twins took 2 of 3 against the White Sox's. Then it was the home opener against, in a new place. Target Field saw three sold out games against the Boston Red Sox's. The Twins again won 2 of the 3 games and then this series the Twins won the first two games. The Twins are 9-3 well KC is 4-7 on the season.

One week a way from the kick-off event.

Sunday the April 25th is the kick off of the Democracy Summit. The summit is a great opportunity to learn about a number of issues. It is also going also be a lot of fun. Every day starting Monday the 26th there is lunch with a councilor.

Back to the kick off event. The event will start at 4pm with a great discussion, Keeping the Faith-- The role of Religion in the public square. The panel for this discussion is Rev. Kathy Nelson from Peace Church, and Elizabeth Olson from Churches United in Ministry.

That is followed by a bread and soup dinner at 5pm and then then the headline event for the night, is Habitat play that starts at 5:30pm.

All the kick off events take place at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, located at 835 W. College St.

Tea party rally.

The big rally went off yesterday at Bayfront Park in Duluth. More then 1,000 people rallied for smaller government, and better use of our money.

There was music and speakers at the event,that saw people make there own signs and wave American flags. The rally had people from both sides speak at the event.

There are a lot of pics and video of the event, I will find some and get them up. I will also try to find of the other rally.

Anti-war/peace rally.

The anti war group can't be happy with yesterdays turn out at the rally. About 100 people where there. A far cry there original event a number of years ago. It is however one of the best attendant events in recent events for them, I guess they can take that as a positive.

I wonder if the event was poorly attended because the President is a Democrat. The group likes to play the partisan card all the time. Could it be they are afraid of something else?

No post for this reason!!!!

One would have thought ,I would have had a lot to post about yesterday. And you would have been right, there where a couple of big events in town. The tea party rally and an anti war/peace rally but I was busy.

I will try to comment on the rallies today as I have gotten a lot of feed back from people.

I was at Target Field, taking part in the opening series events. I won tickets to the game,and what a great place to play baseball.

From our seats in left field.

NLA hosting sound off.

NLA Bob Hanson will be hosting a pre tea party show tomorrow. He will have Chuck Fredrickson on, the show. Fredrickson is head of the DNT opinion page. There has been a lot talk about the tea party movement.

Join them tomorrow 8-10am an take part in the discussion.

Another pro tea party letter from the Duluth News Tribune.

Bias taints editorial on Tea Party movement
I was appalled when I read the News Tribune’s Sunday Opinion page and the “Our View” editorial, “Tea Party: Duluth can sip with civility: Violence and ugliness may be marring the Tea Party movement elsewhere, but we don’t have to stand for it.”

This editorial clearly was a thinly veiled attempt to mischaracterize the Tea Parties. If the newspaper wanted to be honest it would have pointed out that any violence that has occurred has been against the Tea Partiers and health-care protesters and that the violence was conducted by those on the left, in my opinion. As for name-calling, the claims were dubious at best.
The bias in today’s media seems to be getting worse and worse, and this editorial was one of the most biased I’ve read yet.

“Question authority” has always been a noble cry when coming from the left. When from the right it seems nothing short of a crime. Today’s Tea Parties are the voice of mainstream America, and the mainstream media seem intent on squelching that voice. We’ve seen that before, and the end results have always been disastrous.

Shane Camozzi

Cloquet

Pro tea party letter from the Duluth News Tribune.

"Tea Party speaks for a silent majority of Americans
John F. Kennedy is probably rolling over in his grave.
Over the past year and a half or so, the leadership (and I use that word loosely) of the Democratic Party has nationalized the health-care industry, the auto industry and most of the banking industry.


People, wake up! A child born this year will be burdened with a government debt of approximately $46,000 at the present level. If the government continues to grow at its current hyper-speed, that number could double by the end of the year.
On April 8, President Obama basically neutered our nation’s nuclear program by cutting our defenses by, and I quote him, “over half.” The president’s job is to protect this nation’s interests, not throw them away.


U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar recently proved he is for sale by bending his moral conscience and voting for the health-reform bill, which could result in publicly funded abortions. Oberstar has been a fixture in Washington for more than 30 years and reportedly has, in the past, listed his property on the Potomac as his residence of record. I’ve heard that he even had his property tax statements for his Chisholm home sent to the Potomac address. Oberstar has been overpromising and underachieving for much too long. He can now please step aside and let someone who genuinely cares about us in northern Minnesota be our representative.
A group of Northlanders will gather this week in Bayfront Park to let their voices be heard. They call it a Tea Party. I call it the “Silent Majority No More.” I will be there with a sign and with the Stars and Stripes because I am still an American and for now can speak my piece.

Bob James

Duluth

Free Democracy Summit page.

I will have much more on the summit very soon. I wanted to call your attention to side bar, there I have a page just for the summit. Information will be there and in post here on the blog. Check the page out daily.

Free Democracy Summit 7.0

More of the week's events. Plan on attending as many as possible it will be a great week, of learning, forums, and fun.

Wednesday:

Lunch with a councilor noon-1pm. At-large councilor Tony Cuneo will host a lunch hour discussion. It will take place at the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe 222 E. Superior St.

The night session of the summit will feature movie night. There will be two movies that night at teatro Zuccone 222 E. Superior St. The fist movie San Marco Video/ No losers will play at 5:15 pm. The second film is Shouting Fire- Stories from the edge of free speech, that will start at 7:15pm.

There is no cost to the movies and a panel discussion will follow each movie.

Thursday:

Lunch with a councilor again noon-1pm, this time it is councilor Todd Fedora's turn to meet with the public. His lunch time chat will take place at Black Woods 2525 London RD. Fedora represents the 1st district.

A higher education forum will take place starting at 4pm at Kirby Student Lounge at UMD.

The night will end with a very interesting forum about student housing and other rental properties facts and myths. This discussion is of interest to me and many Duluth citizens. This forum will start at 6pm at the Holy Family Catholic Church 2430 W. 3rd St.

Friday April 30th:

Lunch with a councilor at pizza luce located at 11 E. Superior St., this one will feature at-large councilors Jeff Anderson and Dan Hartman. Again noon-1pm.

5pm A movie I have wanted to see will play as part of the event. Democracy NOW at Zinema2 222 E. Superior St.

Then off to Amazing Grace 394 S. Lake Ave (Canal Park), for poetry slam and open mic night starting at 7pm.


I will have much more on these events as we get a bit closer.
9pm party at the REX 600 E. Superior St.

Saturday May 1st:

8 am. Breakfast with Elected Officials and community leaders at the Radission in the Great Hall meeting room. Keynote Speakers are St. Louis Country Commissioner Steve O'Neil and Eveleth City Councilor/ Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Liz Kuppala

The event ends with a May Day picnic, rally and concert at the Central Hillside Community Center, starting at 4:30pm.

Free Democracy Summit 7.

The Twin Ports Action Coalition is sponsoring a great event. It is a week's worth of learning, fun, and politics. The event starts Sunday April 25th and ends May 1st with a concert and keynote speakers.

Sunday April 25th:

4pm Keeping the Faith: The role of Religion in the Public Square.

5pm Soup and Bread Dinner

5:30 Habitat Play and Program

All Sunday's events take place at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation 835 W. College St.

Monday starts a great series of lunches. You will be able to sit down and have a conversation with a number of Duluth City Councilors. They all start at noon and will last one hour. They are in a number of restraint's around Duluth. Lunch is not provided, you are responsible for your own lunch.

Monday April 26th:

Lunch with a councilor noon to 1pm: 3rd District councilor Sharla Gardner kicks off the lunch with a councilor series. The lunch hour visit will take place at the Burrito Union 1332 E 4th St.

Second Chance Forum 5 to 6:30 pm: The forum is en tilted Second Chance for People Coming from Prison. There will be a number of people taking part in this forum. It will be held at the Central Hillside Community Center 12 E. 4th St.

The day will conclude at 7pm, with Star Power - A social Justice Simulation.


Tuesday April 27th:

Lunch with a councilor, this time it is 4th district councilor Kerry Gauthier. It will take place at Sammy's Pizza down town 103 W. 1st st., who by the way has a great lunch buffet. Time for the lunch is again noon-1pm.

The Harrison Community Center will the spot for a great forum. The forum is on social networking and digital activism and will feature Duluth Politics John Rathe among others.

I am pleased to take part in this discussion and hope many of you will come out and take part as well. This event starts at 5pm.

The second forum that night is equal as interesting and important it is an economic forum and that will start at 6:30 pm.

** Lunch with the councilors are on your own.

More coming in the next post.

The 148th takes part in the opening day at Target Field.

Duluth based 148th fighter unit took part in the opening ceremony's at Target Field. The guard send three F16 fighter jets to conduct the fly over during the National Anthem. The timing was perfect, great job by our men and women who proudly serve there Country.

This is one of the fun things the 148th get to take part in, and it is good they get to have some fun. The 148th also received some tickets to the game.

By the way a game update. Twins 3- Red Sox's 1 in the bottom of the fourth. Twins out hitting the sox's 6 to 4.

College chancellors retire

University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Wisconsin Superior and Lake Superior College all looking for new Chancellors. All three schools have lost there heads in the last year the latest being UWS. UWS chancellor has announced he will retire that in today's Duluth News Tribune.

It is something in the water? Yes all three have been around for some time however it seems a big odd they are all leaving so close to each other.

What does this button mean.

I have a story about this button, but before I tell it, here is a question I would like you to answer.

What does this button mean to you?

Tea party post coming after Thursday.

I will have some comments about the media and it's coverage of the tea party express and the NLA's tea party, after the rally on Thursday.

I have had a lot of people call me and ask for some thoughts and I have said wait and see. A good post coming most likely Friday.

Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar.

The race for the 8th congressinal district is set. The republicans endorsed Chip Cravaack one the first ballet he received more then 60% of the vote.

Cravaack was the clear winner all along, when you went to an event he had the most support. When you entered Mr.D's for the town hall meeting, a couple weeks ago the buttons where almost all for Cravaack.

I am not sure a republican can win this district however if there was a year for it to happen this would be it. I still point to Oberstar beating Grams in the 2006 race. Grams did not get much better numbers then any other republican that has ran against Oberstar. Grams was a former Senator, and he had the name reconginzion, he also was a good fund raiser. Still he was well be hind Oberstar in the race.

I think Cravaack is a good candidate and only time will tell. He lives in the southern most part of the district and will have to campaign up here a lot to try to make any in roads on the race. He will have to try to convince a heavily DFL area that now is the time for change.

Duluth Huskies radio update.

Red Rock radio has announced they will not pick up the Duluth Huskies. This leaves the Huskies little choice left. They could go to midwest but I don't see then taking them either as midwest has gone away from sports broadcast.

The only other thing they could do is use an do something on there website. It is to bad as most of the North Woods Leagues teams have a radio out let to do there games.

Twins win.

The Minnesota Twins have won there 5th straight. They improve to 5-1 in this early season. They lost opening day and have now rolled off 5 wins a row.

The last win was today against the Chicago White Sox's with a 2-1 win. They look for a sweep tomorrow game time is 12:05pm. John Raush has two saves in a row and four on the season so far. He is doing good in the closer roll after Joe Nathan went down in spring training. Raush has not lost a save opportunity yet.

The White sox's drop to 1-4 on the season, they won there opener and have not yet won sense then.

April 15th.

Duluth will be one of hundreds of community's around the country hosting local tea party events. The Duluth event is sponsored by the Northern Liberty Alliance, and will take place at bayfront park from 3-6pm.

Music will ring threw the park starting at 3 pm and speakers will start at 4pm. The event is the second annual, last year 1,000 people attended the event. They look for a bigger event this year.

Bachmann/ Palin rally.

As you know I organized a bus trip down to the rally on Wednesday. The rally took place at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I went for one reason, you will find out why later in this post.

The rally started with an interesting choice of music, the Go Fish band. They are a group out of Minneapolis and play Christian music geared toward a younger crowd. Then speakers started but the big ones started about half way into the program. Governor Tim Pawlenty was the first major speaker of the day. While his speech was only about five minutes long, he was the hit of the show, using comedy and wit to fire up the crowd.

Then came the major act of Michele Bachmann, whose message was much the same as it was when she stopped in Duluth. She delivered it again with great poise.

The person I went to see was Sarah Palin, because I wanted to make up my mind on what I thought of her. I went to the event with no prejudgment, because I wanted to be 100% fair to her in my decision making.

I was less than impressed with her, she was not a good speaker and there was no real point to her speech. She attempted to be funny but was not. She proved to me that she is not electable as president and the party must find a different way to go. I think a good way to go would be the person who was the best at the rally, Governor Tim Pawlenty!

Stupak out.

Long time Michigan Representative Bart Stupak is not going to seek his 10th term. He said it was not because of the tea party movement that is tiring to oust him. I think that is part of the reason he is not seeking another term.

The tea party is holding rallys in Michigan to oust him starting today, the same day he announced he would not run again. He said the decision not to run was made in the last 36 hours, before all indications where he was going to run for re-election. Still want to tell me the movement had nothing to do with it?

At any rate the move by Stupak leaves the seat wide open.

Tea anyone?

So yesterday I went to the tea party express rally, that made a stop here in Duluth. I went not knowing how to feel, I have heard a lot of good and bad things about this movement and this express group.

I was impressed and thought they handled them self's with respect, I did not think that they where over the top or mean to anyone. There was no big speaker at this event however, that may or may not make a difference. There was a great message of taking our country back and returning it to the way it should be. What is that? Fiscal responsibility, both sides have gotten away from this. Personal responsibility, smaller government. There was also great by a number of musicians that travel with the group.

There was about 300 people at the rally. The rally I think would have had a lot more if it was better publicized. Next week April 15th is the local tea party at Bayfront park starting at 3 pm with music speakers at 4.

Four games in.

The Minnesota Twins are just four games in to the season, but they are off to a good start at 3-1. They won 10-1 last night against the Angles and won 3 of 4 games, winning three in a row. A great week in California for the team.

Now it's on to Chicago to play the hated white sox's, the two teams have been in a headed battle the last few years for the division. It has grown in to a tense rival. The sox's a 1-2 on the season.

No radio for Huskies.

ESPN Radio 560 WEBC will not air the Duluth Huskies baseball games this summer. The Huskies who have been responsible for providing a play by play person could not find one in time for the radio station to commit to doing it this season.

The Duluth Huskies have been on WEBC sense they started in the North Woods League six years ago. This seventh year to date means thee will be no radio broadcast of there games. There are a few things they could do. Red Rock radio could pick them up, not likely. The other thing is they could do something on the internet.

Short rally ecap.

I will have more on yesterdays rally later but for now here is just a short recap.

The days started with the bus trip down to the Minneapolis at 8am we got there about 11:30. Got in to the convention center looked around at the vendors bought some buttons. Got our spot to stand. The amount of people there was crazy, easily 10 thousand.

The rally saw speeches from the heads of the Minnesota Republican party, Scott Baker local talk show host down there. Also Governor Pawleny, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. The crowd was very loud threw most of it and engized.

I will have much more later on what was said and I hope to have some pic's up too. Need to get a couple hours of sleep be four the tea party express today. That should be another interesting event. I have no idea if I will like it or nut but be sure to find out here.

Minnesota Twins.

The Minnesota Twins lost there opening game of the season 6-3 to the Anaheim Angles. Scott Baker was the starting pitcher for the Twins he went four plus innings allowing 4 runs and threw more then 90 pitches in the four innings he pitched.

The Twins play the Angles again tonight in California. It is a tough series to start your season with. The Twins home opener is against the Boston Red Sox and even tougher challenge. The play next Wednesday, opening the Twins new stadiums Target Field.

It is a challenging start for the Minnesota Twins but it will show us what we have early in the season.

Duluth Chamber to host a forum.

The Duluth Chamber of Commerce is hosting a forum on ranked choice voting. The forum is happens tomorrow, and is open to the public. It takes place at the playground theater in the tech village, and is free. The forum will last an hour started at 8am.

The forum will feature Andy Celik of MN voter alliance and Jeanne Massey of fair vote MN.

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If you enjoy this blog please become a follower (fan) of it. You can do so by clicking on the follow link to the right of the page.

It is always nice to see people like reading the blog.

Thanks much and enjoy the weekend.

Bus is set.

The Duluth Politics bus trip is set. We will be heading down to Minneapolis April 7th at 8am for the Bachmann/Palin rally.

There reservations for the bus are now closed. Thanks to everyone that was able to take part in this trip. This is the first bus trip organized by Duluth Politics but it will not be the last.

Bus will leave the Miller Hill Mall at 8 AM on April 7th and return to Duluth after the rally is complete. It will be a long day but it should be a good day as well.

Still no word.

During his town hall meeting yesterday, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty stayed clear of answering questions that asked if he would run for president. Instead, he used the town hall meeting to talk about a few issues and his political action committee that will endorse and fund conservative candidates.

The big issue was health care, but Pawlenty also took questions online and they ranged in topics from health care, taxes, and much more. He also encouraged people to nominate candidates that they would like to see endorsed by his PAC.

Last night Pawlenty talked like someone who is running for president, but he has still not announced that he is running. I wonder why the wait, I think it only hurts him to wait. I wonder if he is waiting until the end of year, when his term as governor will be up. As you know, he said he would not seek another term, leaving open the chance to run for president. Many people on the online chat feature were also offering running mates for Governor Pawlenty. There were two I found interesting.

One was an all Minnesota ticket, Pawlenty/Bachmann. I don't see that happening, but it would be kind of cool to have an all Minnesota ticket. It however would not do well on a national level. It seems like one person needs to come from the South for a ticket to work. That brings up the second one I found interesting, Pawlenty/Huckabee, possible but I am not sure Mike Huckabee has an interest in VP. Both of those would be pretty conservative tickets.

Get on the bus.

There is still room on the bus if you want to take part in the Bachmann/Palin rally. I need to know no later then Sunday and need payment no later then Monday. These prices are biased on a full bus, small bus $30 a person full size bus $25 a person.

We will leave Duluth at 8am from the Miller Hill Mall and return after the completion of the rally.

If have questions or would like to get a seat on the bus leave a comment here or email me at duluthneedshelp@yahoo.com .