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Renting an Apartment in Duluth
What You Should Know
Duluth is the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. As
of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 86,918. Taking account of
the growth of the city and its boundaries, there are around an extra 92,000
people on the outer boundaries, making the population (including outer suburbs
and villages) 184,000. It is a seaport at the westernmost point on the north
shore of Lake Superior. It is linked to the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700km)
away via the Great Lakes and then either the Erie Canal/New York State Barge
Canal or the Saint Lawrence Seaway; it is farther from the ocean than any other
deep water port.
Duluth forms a single metropolitan area with Superior, Wisconsin, together
called the Twin Ports. The two cities share a harbor and are one of the most
important ports on the Great Lakes. Among the items shipped out are iron ore
(taconite) and grain. Both cities have museums devoted to the local nautical
heritage, and Duluth has America's only all freshwater aquarium, the Great Lakes
Aquarium. A major destination for tourists is the Aerial Lift Bridge spanning
the short canal into Duluth's harbor.
The city is named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, the first known European
explorer of the area.
History
Pre-founding
Native American tribes had occupied the Duluth area for thousands of years. The
original inhabitants are believed to have been members of Paleo-Indian cultures,
followed by the "Old Copper" peoples, who hunted with spear points and knives
and fished with metal hooks. Around two thousand years ago, the Woodlands
people, known for their burial mounds and pottery, occupied the area. They also
cultivated wild rice, a crop that continues to be harvested today by Ojibwa
tribes in the region and is often seen being sold in the area, especially in
Wisconsin. Even today, the Duluth's name in the Ojibwe language is Onigamiinsing
("at the little portage") due to the small and easy portage across Minnesota
Point between Lake superior and western St. Louis Bay forming Duluth's harbor.
According to Ojibwa Oral history, Spirit Island located near the Spirit Valley
neighborhood was the "Sixth Stopping Place" where the northern and southern
branches of the Ojibwa Nation came together and then proceeded to their "Seventh
Stopping Place" near the present city of La Pointe, Wisconsin.
In 1679, the first white man known to visit the location of present-day Duluth
and the city's namesake, Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, arrived to settle
rivalries between two Indian nations, the Dakota and the Ojibwa, to advance fur
trading missions in the area. His work allowed for this to occur, with the
Ojibwa becoming middlemen between the French and the Dakota. As a result, the
area prospered, and as early as 1692, the Hudson Bay Company set up a small post
at Fond du Lac.
It was not until 1792 that the next trading post, on the Wisconsin side of the
St. Louis River, was opened by Jean Baptiste Cadotte of the North West Company.
A fire destroyed the post in 1800, but a German emigre, John Jacob Astor,
constructed a post on the river's Minnesota side. The store initially floundered
as a result of the Indians' insistence in trading with established English and
French partners. However, Astor managed to convince the United States Congress
to ban foreigners from trading in American territory. His American Fur Company
was re-formed in 1816-17. Hard times hit the post once again by 1839 due to
fashionable Europeans choosing silk hats over those made from beaver pelts.
Two Treaties of Fond du Lac were signed in the present neighborhood of Fond du
Lac in 1826 and 1847. As part of the Treaty of Washington (1854) with the Lake
Superior Band of Chippewa, the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation was established
upstream from Duluth near Cloquet, Minnesota, and the Ojibwa population was
relocated there.
Permanent settlement
Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s as rumors of copper mining began to
circulate. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local
tribes in 1854, secured wilderness for gold-seeking explorers, sparked a "land
rush," and led to the development of iron ore mining in the area.
Around the same time, newly-constructed channels and locks in the East permitted
large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities was
also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the St. Louis River were
formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city.
By 1857, copper resources became scarce, and the area's economic focus shifted
to timber harvesting. A nation-wide financial crisis led to nearly three
quarters of the city's early pioneers leaving.
In the late 1860s, a financier Jay Cooke (after whom the Jay Cooke State Park is
named), convinced the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to create an
extension from St. Paul to Duluth. The railroad opened areas due north and west
of Lake Superior to iron ore mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day, 1869
consisted of fourteen families; by the Fourth of July, 3,500 people were present
to celebrate.
Twentieth century
The city thrived, and the area's hillside and downtown areas were populated by
early residents. In the 1900s, the city's port passed New York City in gross
tonnage handled, elevating it to being the leading port in the United States.
Meanwhile, there were ten newspapers, six banks, and an eleven-story skyscraper,
the Torrey Building, already present in the town. In 1907, U.S. Steel announced
that a $5 - $6 million plant would be constructed in the area. Although it took
eight years for steel to actually be produced, predictions held that Duluth's
population would rise to 200,000 to 300,000. With the plant came Morgan Park, a
once-independent company town that now stands as a city neighborhood.
During much of the twentieth century, the city was an industrial port town, with
a cement plant, nail mill, wire mills, and the U.S. Steel plant. In 1916, during
World War I, a shipbuilding plant on St. Louis River produced eight vessels
simultaneously. A neighborhood was formed around this operation, today known as
Riverside. Similar industrial operations were heightened during the Second World
War. Population growth continued after the war, with a peak of 106,884 reached
in 1960. The city experienced strong immigrant influx, and the Finnish IWW
community published a widely read labor newspaper Industrialisti.
Due to foreign competition, the steel plant closed in 1971, presenting a major
blow to the city. Other industrial activity followed suit with more closures,
including the Air Force base. Within a decade, unemployment rates surged to 15
percent, emptying local stores and creating long job application lines.
With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus shifted
to tourism. The downtown was renewed with red brick streets and skywalks, and
old warehouses along the waterfront were converted into caf�s, shops, and
restaurants, forming Canal Park as a largely tourism-oriented district.
Today
Duluth and its environs are experiencing moderate population growth [1]. Duluth
is the regional hub not only for its own immediate area, but also for a large
area encompassing northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the
western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It remains a major transportation center
for the transshipment of coal, taconite, and agricultural products
The Untold Delights of Duluth
Early doubts about the potential of the Duluth area were voiced in the speech
The Untold Delights of Duluth, made by Representative J. Proctor Knott of
Kentucky on January 27, 1871 in the House; the speech against the St. Croix and
Superior Land Grant lampooned Western boosterism, portraying Duluth as an Eden
in fantastically florid terms. The speech has been reprinted in collections of
folklore and humorous speeches and is regarded as a something of a classic. The
nearby city of Proctor, Minnesota is named for Congressman Knott.
Duluth, Minnesota's unofficial sister city, Duluth, Georgia, was named by Evan
P. Howell in humorous reference to Representative Knott's speech. Originally
called Howell's Crossroads in honor of his grandfather Evan Howell, the town had
in 1871 just finished getting a railroad to the town, and the 'Delights of
Duluth' speech was still popular.
Geography & climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 226.2
km� (87.3 mi�). It is Minnesota's second largest city in terms of land area,
surpassed only by Hibbing. 176.1 km� (68.0 mi�) of it is land and 50.0 km� (19.3
mi�) of it (22.11%) is water.
Duluth's geography is dominated by a rather steep hill which represents a
transition from the elevation of Lake Superior's beach to that of the inland.
For example, the Sky Harbor airport's weather station, near the lake on the Park
Point sandbar has an elevation of 607 ft (185 m) [1], while Duluth International
Airport atop the hill is at 1,427 ft (435 m) [2]. As a result, Duluth is
primarily a southwest-northeast city. A considerable amount of development on
the hill's upslope gives Duluth a reputation for deathly steep streets. Some
neighborhoods, such as Piedmont Heights and Bayview Heights, are atop the hill,
at times giving scenic views of the city. Perhaps the most rapidly developing
part of the city is a commercial mall and big-box retailer shopping strip "over
the hill", the Miller Trunk corridor.
The city's climate is known for long, cold winters and cool summers, hence the
nickname "the air-conditioned city". During the winter months, temperatures
often remain below freezing for periods of weeks. A normal winter brings
consistent snow cover from December through March. Winter storms that pass south
or east of Duluth can often set up easterly or northeasterly flow. Upslope
lake-effect snow events can bring a foot (30 cm) or more of snow to the city
while areas 50 miles (80 kilometers) inland receive considerably less.
Summers are cool and comfortable, with daytime temperatures averaging in the
70s-80s�F range (20-30�C) due to the cooling easterly winds of the lake (as
opposed to occasional temperatures over 90�F (32�C) inland (record high of 117�F
(47�C) in the region), although temperatures may remain below 50�F (10�C) during
afternoons as late in the year as June along the Lake Superior shore, even when
the inland temperature is in the 70s�F (mid-20s�C). The phrase "cooler by the
lake" can be heard often in weather forecasts during the summer, especially on
days when an easterly wind is expected. Due to the specific heat of the huge
lake, seasons are substantially delayed, with November often much warmer than
April. Great local variations are also common, due to the rapid change in
elevation between the hill and shore-side.
Demographics
As of the census� of 2000, there were 86,918 people, 35,500 households, and
19,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 493.4/km�
(1,278.1/mi�). There were 36,994 housing units at an average density of
210.0/km� (544.0/mi�). The racial makeup of the city was 92.65% White, 1.63%
Black or African American, 2.44% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific
Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 1.06% of the
population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 35,500 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 43.9% were non-families. 34.5% of all
households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who
was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the
average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 16.2%
from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there
were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,766, and the median income
for a family was $46,394. Males had a median income of $35,182 versus $24,965
for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,969. About 8.6% of
families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including
15.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Tourism
The city is a popular center for tourism. Duluth is a convenient base for trips
to the scenic North Shore via Highway 61, or to fishing and wilderness
expeditions in Minnesota's far north, including the Superior National Forest and
the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Transportation
The area marks the northern endpoint of Interstate 35, which stretches south to
Laredo, Texas. U.S. highways that serve the area are U.S. Highway 53 which
stretches from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota and U.S.
Highway 2 which stretches from Everett, Washington to St.Ignace in the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan. There are two freeway connections from Duluth to
Superior. U.S. 2 provides a connection into Superior via the Richard I. Bong
Memorial Bridge, and the other connection is I-535 & U.S. 53 "duplexing" over
the John A. Blatnik Bridge.
There are many state highways that serve the area as well. Highway 23 runs
diagonally across Minnesota, indirectly connecting Duluth to Sioux Falls.
Highway 33 provides a bypass of Duluth connecting Interstate 35 to U.S. Highway
53. Highway 61 provides access to Thunder Bay, Ontario via the breathtaking
North Shore of Lake Superior. Highway 194 provides a spur route into the city of
Duluth known as "Central Entrance" and Mesaba Avenue. Wisc. Hwy. 13 reaches
along Lake Superior's South Shore. Finally, Wisc. Hwy. 35 runs along Wisconsin's
western border to La Crosse.
Duluth International Airport serves the city and nearby Superior, Wisconsin.
Duluth is a major shipping port for taconite. The former Duluth, Missabe and
Iron Range Railway, now Canadian National Railway operates taconite-hauling
trains in the area.
The local bus system is run by the Duluth Transit Authority, which services not
only the Duluth area, but Superior, WI, as well. The DTA runs a system of buses
manufactured by Gillig.
Duluth is also serviced by Greyhound Lines, with daily service to the Twin
Cities, as well as Thunder Bay, ON, Wisconsin, Michigan, and the Iron Range.
Power supply
Duluth, Minnesota gets electric power from Duluth-based Minnesota Power, a
subsidiary of ALLETE Corporation. Minnesota Power produces energy at generation
facilities located throughout northern Minnesota, as well as at a generation
plant in North Dakota. The latter supplies electricity into the MP system by the
Square Butte HVDC line, which ends near the town.
Minnesota Power primarily uses western coal to generate electricity, but also
has a number of small hydro-electric facilities, the largest of which is the
Thomson Hydroelectric Dam just south of Duluth.
Government
In 2004, Duluth was center to a controversial legal battle between the City
Council, local residents, and the ACLU. The debate and eventual lawsuit revolved
around a marble fixture inscribed with the Ten Commandments which resided on the
lawn of City Hall. The city eventually agreed to remove the fixture, and it now
resides on private property near the Comfort Suites Hotel on Canal Park Drive.
The city was also featured in the New York Times article "The Next Retirement
Time Bomb"[3], because Duluth recently conducted a financial study of the health
care benefits it has promised its retired city workers. It turned out that its
future health care obligations would bankrupt the city government. Duluth is
held in the article to be considered representative of many local governments
that have not kept tabs on its future health-care obligations promised to
retired workers. Duluth's own newspaper, the News-Tribune, portrays prior mayor
John Fedo, who was acquitted in a 1988 corruption trial while mayor, in an
unflattering respect with regard to responsibility in this. Decades of local
politicians have a hand in the matter, as unions are powerful in the area and
winning their favor is a major factor in being elected.
During the 2000 presidential election Nader received over 6.9% of votes from
Duluth residents, one of the highest in the country for a city with a population
of at least 85,000.
The current mayor of Duluth is Herb Bergson [4], who is serving his first term.
He has announced in June 2006, that he will not be running for re-election to
better focus on city issues at hand without the hassle of election campaigning.
A city councilor, Tim Little, who recently requested an investigation of the
mayor, was identified as having an affair while concurently being a proponent of
the non profit paying his paramour over $90,000 annually. The mayor had sought
to have the non profit eliminated from the stressed city budget due to the high
salaries and obscure spending of the organization. Mr. Little is currently
running for Judge while holding a city council seat.
http://news.pajamasmedia.com/politics/2006/08/30/10550248_Conflicted_counc.shtml
Education
Colleges and universities
* University of Minnesota Duluth
* College of St. Scholastica
* Lake Superior College
* Duluth Business University
* University of Wisconsin - Superior (in nearby Superior, Wisconsin)
K-12 education
Public Schools
Public elementary schools
* Congdon Park (K-5)
* Grant Magnet (K-5)
* Homecroft (K-5)
* Lakewood (K-5)
* Laura MacArthur (K-5)
* Lester Park (2-5)
* Lincoln Park (K-8)
* Lowell Music Magnet (K-5)
* Nettleton Magnet (K-5)
* Piedmont (K-5)
* Rockridge (K-1)
* Stowe (K-5)
Public middle schools
* Morgan Park (6-8)
* Ordean (6-8) [5]
* Woodland (6-8)
* Marshall (5-12)
Public high schools
* Central High School (Duluth, Minnesota) (9-12)
* Denfeld High School (Duluth, Minnesota) (9-12)
* East High School (Duluth, Minnesota) (9-12)
* Harbor City International School (Duluth, MN) (9-12)
Alternative public schools
* Adult Learning Center
* Chester Creek Academy
* Merritt Creek Academy
* Secondary Technical Center
* Unity
* Woodland Hills Academy
Private Schools
Catholic schools
Catholic elementary schools in Duluth are under the administration of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Duluth.
* Holy Rosary School (K-8)
* St. James School (PreK-8)
* St. John's School (PreK-6)
* St. Michael's Lakeside School (PreK-6)
Private and charter schools (non-Catholic)
* Harbor City International School (Public, independent)
* Kenwood Edison Charter School (K-5)
* Lakeview Christian Academy (PK-12)
* The Marshall School (5-12)
* Montessori School of Duluth (Preschool/Elementary)
* Raleigh Edison Charter School
* Stone Ridge Christian School
* Summit School
* Washburn Edison Charter School
* North Shore Community School(Preschool -6)
Sites of Interest
Historic sites
The noted Glensheen Historic Estate, built by wealthy businessman Chester Adgate
Congdon, can be found on the shore of Lake Superior and is open to tours in the
summer.
The Aerial Lift Bridge, spanning the short canal into Duluth's harbor, is a
vertical lift bridge. It was originally built as an exceedingly rare aerial
transfer bridge.
Neighborhoods
Central
* Canal Park
* Central Hillside
* Downtown Duluth
* East Hillside
* Park Point
Eastern Duluth
* Chester Park / UMD
o The Chester Park neighborhood is located just east of the East Hillside
neighborhood. It straddles both sides of a wooded ravine that contains Chester
Creek one of 28 streams that flow through the city. It is a popular hiking spot.
The ravine opens at the top into a wide, wooded, "bowl"-shaped valley known as
Chester Bowl and contains a small lift served ski area, ski jumps, pond, soccer
field and cross country ski trails.
* Congdon Park
* East End / Endion
* Hunter's Park
* Lakeside - Lester Park
* Morley Heights / Parkview
* North Shore
Neighborhoods above the hill
* Duluth Heights
* Kenwood
* Piedmont Heights
* Woodland
West Duluth
* Bayview Heights
* Cody
* Denfeld
* Fairmount
* Irving
* Oneota
* Spirit Valley
West of West Duluth
* Fond du Lac
* Gary - New Duluth
* Norton Park
* Morgan Park
* Riverside
* Smithville
"West End" / Lincoln Park
* Lincoln Park
Sports
Professional sports history
Duluth once fielded a National Football League team called the Kelleys
(officially the Kelley Duluths after the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store) from
1923-1925 and the Eskimos (officially Ernie Nevers' Eskimos after the early NFL
great, their star player) from 1926-1927. The Eskimos were then sold and became
the (Orange, New Jersey) Orange Tornadoes.
The Duluth-Superior Dukes of the Northern League Independent Professional
Baseball played in West Duluth's Wade Stadium from the League's inception in
1993 until 2002 when the team moved to Kansas City and became the Kansas City
T-Bones. The Dukes were Northern League Champions in 1997 and 2000.
Amateur sports
Since 1977, Duluth has played host to Grandma's Marathon (named after its
original sponsor, Grandma's Restaurant), drawing runners from all over the
world. Held annually in June, the course of the marathon starts just outside Two
Harbors, Minnesota, runs down Old Highway 61, the old route for Minnesota State
Highway 61, along the North Shore of Lake Superior and finishes in one of
Duluth's tourism neighborhoods, Canal Park. The same route is also taken during
the North Shore Inline Marathon, held in September, drawing racers from all over
the world.
The Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is Duluth's annual sled dog race organized in
February and named after John Beargrease, the son of the Anishinaabe Chief
Makwabimidem and one of the first mail carriers between Two Harbors, Minnesota
and Grand Marais, Minnesota. He and his brothers carried mail by sled dog, boat,
and horse for almost twenty years between the two towns, where there was no
road. Competitors can choose between two distances; the longer 400-mile course
takes a round trip from Duluth to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and the
150-mile course departs from Duluth and ends in Tofte, Minnesota. The marathon
was first held in 1980 and is acknowledged as a training ground for the larger
and more elite Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog hockey games are a major event in
town during the cold Duluth winter. Games are televised locally, and thousands
watch the games in person at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).
Several Bulldogs have gone on to success in the National Hockey League,
including hockey great Brett Hull. In addition, the UMD Women's ice hockey team
has won three consecutive NCAA National Championships (2001-2003). The 2003
Women's Frozen Four was played at the DECC, where the Bulldogs defeated Harvard
on a dramatic double-overtime goal by Nora Tallus in front of a sellout home
crowd.
The Duluth Huskies are a college summer wood bat league baseball team which is
based in Duluth and plays in the Northwoods League. The team plays its home
games at Wade Stadium. They are made up from some of the top college baseball
players in the country, playing 34 home games each summer between June and
August.
The Duluth-Superior Shoremen are a semi-pro football team based in Duluth's
Public Schools Stadium. They play for the Mid-American Football League, and
placed second in that league's championship game in 2005.
The Duluth Xpress is an amateur baseball team that plays its games at the Ordean
Middle School baseball field. The team is made up of current college baseball
players, ex-college baseball players, and ex-professional baseball players. The
Xpress compete in the Arrowhead league which is a class B league of Minnesota
amateur baseball.
Arts and Entertainment
Cultural attractions
Local attractions include a variety of arts opportunities. Museums include the
Duluth Art Institute at the Duluth Depot, the Tweed Museum of Art at the
University of Minnesota Duluth, and smaller local art galleries scattered around
the city. Duluth is also home to a professional ballet company, the Minnesota
Ballet. Duluth shares a symphony orchestra with Superior, Wisconsin, the Duluth
Superior Symphony Orchestra.
Famous people
* Bill Berry - former member of the band R.E.M.
* Bob Dylan - born in Duluth, but grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota
* Lorenzo Music - voice of the animated cartoon cat Garfield
* Gena Lee Nolin - American actress and model
* Phil Solem - member of the band The Rembrandts, who perform the theme song to
the television show Friends
* Low - the slowcore rock band. All three members are from Duluth
* Don LaFontaine - movie trailer voice
* David Oreck - an American salesman and businessman
* Mason Aguirre - a 2006 Winter Olympics snowboarding half-pipe team member
* Jamie Langenbrunner - National Hockey League player
* Telly Savalas - actor who owned a house on Park Point
* Darren Ward - swimmer who competed for Canada in the 1988 and 1992 Summer
Olympics
* Jesse Sawyer -Heavily-investigated, though never formally charged, associate
of Theodore Kaczynski, AKA The Unabomber
* Jeno Paulucci - Successful business entrepreneur, creator of Jeno's Pizza
Rolls
Religion
* Roman Catholic Diocese of Duluth
* Temple Israel - Union for Reform Judaism
Media
Radio
AM Radio Stations
* 560 - WEBC - "The Fan" Sports
* 610 - KDAL - News/Talk
* 710 - WDSM - Talk
* 850 - WWJC - Christian
* 970 - WGEE - Sports
* 1230 - WKLK - Adult standards
* 1490 - KQDS-AM - News/Talk
FM Radio Stations
* 87.7 - KBJR - Radio station simulcasting from local NBC affiliate.
* 88.5 - W203AL - Family Radio (KEAR) Translator
* 89.5 - WRFJ - "The Refuge" - Contemporary Christian music
* 90.5 - KDNI - Christian
* 91.3 - KUWS - University of Wisconsin-Superior - Carries Wisconsin Public
Radio "Ideas" Network
* 92.1 - WWAX - "The Beat" - Adult Top 40
* 92.9 - WSCD - Minnesota Public Radio classical music
* 93.7 - WGHF-LP - Carries programming from the Three Angels Broadcasting
Network
* 94.1 - K231BI - "94X" - Active Rock. Translator of KZIO, Two Harbors, 104.3
(also audible in most of the area).
* 94.9 - KQDS-FM - Classic Rock
* 95.7 - KDAL-FM - "The Bridge" - Light Rock
* 96.5 - WKLK - Classic Rock
* 97.3 - KDNW - Contemporary Christian music
* 98.9 - KTCO - "Kat Country" - Country
* 100.5 - WSCN - Minnesota Public Radio News & Talk
* 101.7 - KLDJ - "Kool 101.7" - Oldies
* 102.5 - KRBR-FM - Classic Rock
* 103.3 - KUMD - University of Minnesota Duluth College radio. Member of the
Independent Public Radio network.
* 104.3 - KZIO - "94X" - Active Rock. Also appears on 94.1 as a translator for
areas of Duluth with weaker reception of this Two Harbors, Minnesota-based
station.
* 105.1 - KKCB - "B 105" Country
* 105.9 - WEGZ - Christian
* 107.3 - WNXR - Oldies
* 107.7 - KBMX - "Mix 108" - Adult Top 40
Television
Duluth has experienced firsthand the consequences of media consolidation. On
March 8, 2005 the sale of Duluth's CBS affiliate was announced to Malara
Broadcast Group of Sarasota, Florida. The group agreed to pay Granite
Broadcasting Group, which already runs the NBC affiliate KBJR, to take over the
operations for KDLH. The majority of the news staff of KDLH was dismissed.
* KDLH 3 CBS (KDLH-DT ATSC on channel 33)
* KBJR 6 NBC (KBJR-DT ATSC on channel 19, digital subchannel carrying UPN)
* WDSE 8 PBS (WDSE-DT ATSC multiplex on channel 38)
* WDIO 10 ABC (WDIO-DT ATSC on channel 43)
* KQDS 21 Fox (KQDS-DT ATSC on channel 17)
* K58CM 58 Trinity Broadcasting Network
Print
Local newspapers:
* Duluth News Tribune
* The Reader Weekly (alternative weekly, free)
* The Budgeteer (semi-weekly, free)
* BusinessNorth (monthly)
* Transistor (alternative weekly, free)
Sister cities
Duluth has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International,
Inc. (SCI):
* Russia Petrozavodsk, Russia
* Sweden V�xj�, Sweden
* Japan Ohara, Japan
* Canada Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Apartment...
When searching for a new apartment make sure to take your time to
think through what are the most important things to you in an apartment
and plan your search based on those priorities. Here are some things to
consider when planning your move:
1. Consider the areas where you would like to live
* What is the crime rate?
* If you have children - what rating does the local school system have?
* Is there area convenient shopping, health and recreation services in
the area?
2. Make a list of your housing priorities
* Do you have pets?
* Do you need parking?
* Do you need to be on the ground floor?
* What amenities are important to you - swimming pool, fitness room, in
unit laundry?
3. Evaluate the building
* What is the condition of the unit and building?
* Are the grounds maintained?
* Are windows, steps, and railings in good condition?
* View the property at night. Is it safe and well lit?
4. The security of the property
* Are there security service? When is the guard on duty?
* Does the building have controlled access?
* Does each unit have secure door and window locks?
5. Talk to the neighbors
* Ask other residents whether they are satisfied with the building.
6. Amenities
* Who is allowed to use the amenities?
* When are they open?
* Are the fees charged to use those facilities included in rent?
7. Ask about Utilities
* Does the owner or tenant pay the utility bills?
* Are any utilities included with monthly rent?
* Do units have separate thermostats to control heat and air
conditioning?
8. Review the lease
* How much notice must you give before moving out?
* Can the rent be increased? If so, by how much and how often?
* Are pets allowed?
* What is the security deposit and cleaning costs upon move out?
* What is the responsibility of tenants for damage to property?
* Is there a penalty for breaking a lease?
9. Information too bring to a lease signing
* Credit Report
* Pay stubs/tax returns
* Reference
* Application
More Apartment Information
An apartment (or flat in Britain and most other Commonwealth
countries) is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a
building. Apartments may be owned (by an owner-occupier) or rented (by
tenants).
Some apartment-dwellers own their apartments, either as co-ops, in which
the residents own shares of a corporation that owns the building or
development; or in condominiums, whose residents own their apartments
and share ownership of the public spaces. Most apartments are in
buildings designed for the purpose, but large older houses are sometimes
divided into apartments. The word apartment connotes a residential unit
or section in a building. Apartment building owners, lessors, or
managers often use the more general word units to refer to apartments.
Units can be used to refer to rental business suites as well as
residential apartments. When there is no tenant occupying an apartment,
the lessor is said to have a vacancy. For apartment lessors, each
vacancy represents a loss of income from rent-paying tenants for the
time the apartment is vacant (i.e., unoccupied). Lessors' objectives are
often to minimize the vacancy rate for their units. The owner of the
apartment typically transfers possession to the occupant by giving
him/her the key to the apartment entrance door and any other keys need
to live there, such as a common key to the building or any other common
areas, and an individual unit mailbox key. When the occupant move out,
these keys should typically be returned to the owner.
Apartments can be classified into several types. Studio, efficiency,
bed-sit, or bachelor apartments tend to be the smallest apartments with
the cheapest rents in a given area. These kinds of apartment usually
consist mainly of a large room which is the living, dining, and bedroom
combined. There are usually kitchen facilities as part of this central
room, but the bathroom is its own smaller separate room. Moving up from
the efficiencies are one-bedroom apartments where one bedroom is a
separate room from the rest of the apartment. Then there are
two-bedroom, three-bedroom, etc. apartments. Small apartments often have
only one entrance/exit. Large apartments often have two entrances/exits,
perhaps a door in the front and another in the back. Depending on the
building design, the entrance/exit doors may be directly to the outside
or to a common area inside, such as a hallway. Depending on location,
apartments may be available for rent furnished with furniture or
unfurnished into which a tenant usually moves in with his/her own
furniture. Permanent carpeting is often included in an apartment.
Laundry facilities are usually kept in a separate area accessible to all
the tenants in the building. Depending on when the building was built
and the design of the building, utilities such as water, heating, and
electric may be common for all the apartments in the building or
separate for each apartment and billed separately to each tenant
(however, many areas in the US have ruled it illegal to split a water
bill among all the tenants, especially if a pool is on the premises).
Outlets for connection to telephones are typically included in
apartments. Telephone service is optional and is practically always
billed separately from the rent payments. Cable television and similar
amenities are extra also. Parking space, air conditioner, and extra
storage space may or may not be included with an apartment. Rental
leases often limit the maximum number of people who can reside in each
apartment. On or around the ground floor of the apartment building, a
series of mailboxes are typically kept in a location accessible to the
public and, thus, to the letter-carrier too. Every unit typically gets
its own mailbox with individual keys to it. Some very large apartment
buildings with a full-time staff may take mail from the mailman and
provide mail-sorting service. Near the mailboxes or some other location
accessible by outsiders, there may be a buzzer (equivalent to a
doorbell) for each individual unit. In smaller apartment buildings such
as two- or three-flats, or even four-flats, garbage is often disposed of
in trash containers similar to those used at houses. In larger
buildings, garbage is often collected in a common trash bin or dumpster.
For cleanliness or minimizing noise, many lessors will place
restrictions on tenants regarding keeping pets in an apartment.
In some parts of the world, the word apartment is used generally to
refer to a new purpose-built self-contained residential unit in a
building, whereas the word flat means a converted self-contained unit in
an older building. An industrial, warehouse, or commercial space
converted to an apartment is commonly called a loft.
When part of a house is converted for the ostensible use of a landlord's
family member, the unit may be known as an in-law apartment or granny
flat, though these (sometimes illegally) created units are often
occupied by ordinary renters rather than family members. In Canada these
suites are commonly located in the basements of houses and are therefore
normally called basement suites.
Staying in privately owned apartments rather than in a hotel is quickly
becoming popular with travelers.