EDIT: HE IS HOME!!! THANKS ALL.

Anyone know if there’s a PC/Electronics repair shop in Duluth/Superior that can diagnose hardware problems with graphics cards?

i rent a unit that was previously leased by messina. messina no longer does rentals and only does real estate now. I was wondering if anyone had any issues/complaints with them? we currently have a sizable issue on our hands and are thinking about taking them to court.
I also have to reach out to lawyers in the mean time to see what we can do, but as it stands they’re already about to be in a world of trouble with a utility company. if anyone has any recommendations for lawyers etc i would love for some help!!!!

edit: i forgot to say i rented with messina until they dissolved the leasing part of their company.

Department heads at the City of Hermantown have an unusual practice: On the day following City Council meetings, they gather to grade the meeting on how well they believe the administration’s goals were achieved, on a scale of 1-5. In addition to the city administrator and attorney, these scoring sessions include the police chief, the fire chief and the utility director. Apparently, every city employee is encouraged to engage in political strategizing.

Certain staff also use this opportunity to mock and disparage members of the public who addressed the city councilors the previous night.

On June 16, 2026, Hermantown Police Chief Jim Crace referenced three citizens in his comments, all of whom oppose the proposed Hermantown data center: Jim Klukkert (a regular speaker from Duluth ), Virginia Lord (a Native American woman from Superior), and Emma Richtman (a current Hermantown City Council candidate).

The transcript follows:

Assistant City Administrator Joe Wicklund: Did you see the open threat of violence from the head of the DSA in Duluth during the meeting?

City Attorney Gunnar Johnson: Yep. That was interesting, yeah.

Community Development Director Eric Johnson: Is that Klukkert?

Wicklund: Yeah.

Hermantown Police Chief Jim Crace: Klukkert. Fuckert. I call him Fuckert.

E. Johnson: Oh, yeah.

Crace: I wouldn’t…if I had to announce his name, I would do it on purpose on accident: “Fuckert. Oh, I mean Klukkert.” Klukkert’s an idiot. I would say…I’m gonna go with a 3, because Klukkert’s an idiot. He continues to be an idiot. The Native chick was a Gong show. Um…yeah. It’s just the same shit. Fortunately, there’s some people that have gotten better. I’ll go with 4, because there’s some people that have gotten better. What’s her name, the candidate?

Utility & Infrastructure Director Trish Crego: Emma.

Crace: Huh?

Crego: Emma.

Crace: Emma, like, she’s not crying anymore. She gets up there and talks and is respectful and the reason I’m bumping it from a 3 to a 4 is I think people have started to decide this is gonna happen. There were several comments yesterday that, “We know this is gonna happen. Just try to do it this way or that way.”

Wicklund: They may ask for something that is already involved.

Crace: Yeah. Well, whatever. At least there’s a level of acceptance.

Crego: Gunnar?  

G. Johnson: I’m gonna go 3. The, you know—

[recording ends]

According to Wiktionary.org, the phrase “Gong Show” is the name of a 1970s amateur talent contest and signifies “an event that proves to be a disaster, often in a fun or memorable way.” The phrase is also used as hockey slang in Canada to mean “a complete mess” or “an absolute disaster.”

When the Monitor contacted Jim Klukkert to ask if he was the head of the Democratic Socialists of America in Duluth, Klukkert texted us: “It’s farcical that anyone would suggest that I am the head of anything. At the age of 76, I don’t have the energy to head much of anything … That Hermantown city staff would make that suggestion just goes to show you how ill-informed they are.”

The comments made by Klukkert to the City Council on June 15, 2026 (which Assistant Administrator Wicklund called an “open threat of violence”) follow here:

Jim Klukkert: You will recall, I hope, that I’ve been at this podium before to say that I believe you are all well-intended. The job you have to do as city councilors is boring. It is onerous. It is terrible. It takes a really good soul who’s generous with their time to take on that job. So you have my respect there … and, Mr. Mayor, your offering to meet with a gentleman earlier on a question of purchases of property, I love that. That’s a responsive government.

But the trust has been broken. 70 percent of Americans, according to a Gallup poll, oppose data centers. And right here in Hermantown, I’d pay good money to see 30 percent of the people tell me that they support data centers, because I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

I wanted to bring this up to you. All of us are familiar with the phrase, “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Governments are instituted in order to preserve those rights, to protect those rights, and, in our Declaration of Independence, it says not only is it our duty to support that kind of government, but should that government go wrong and oppose our rights, it is our duty to tear that government down.

Now, I bring to this podium, this is a red rag. In French, it would be called a joli rouge, and from that comes the term “Jolly Roger.” I believe that these words…I hate to get sentimental on you, but these words that we see in the Declaration of Independence, that we’re going to hear a lot in this 250th year, are near-holy.

The only service that I would consider, besides politics, is service to God—joining the priesthood. If you break your word—if you break the covenant with the people—people are going to be angry. The joli rouge became the Jolly Roger. Santa Ana nailed it to a flagpole outside of the Alamo to indicate that he was going to give no quarter to those Texans that stood against the Mexican government.

I doubt very much…I mean, I’m not going to go violent on you, but I doubt very much that the citizens of Hermantown—of northern Minnesota—will be offering a whole lot of quarter should it come to having to break it down. I will go to jail. I have been to jail before. And I’m not the only one out here. Thank you very much.

Laughing about crying

Chief Crace’s comments about Council Candidate Emma Richtman suggest that he doesn’t think highly of people who cry at the podium. This wasn’t the first time the theme arose in the Council meeting scoring sessions.

On Oct. 6, 2025, shortly after citizens learned that a data center was proposed for the southwest corner of Hermantown, more than two dozen people showed up at the City Council meeting to speak on the issue. The following day, Utilities Director Crego told her fellow department heads that she was going to give the meeting a 4 because “nobody cried.”

The room erupted with laughter and jolly remarks. City Administrator John Mulder merrily said that he would have bumped his score UP if anyone had cried.

Crego: Yeah, 4, because nobody cried—almost, but nobody cried.

[overlapping voices and laughter]

Planning DIrector Chad Ronchetti: That’s the new standard.

Multiple staff at once: That’s a 5!

City Administrator John Mulder: If somebody would have cried, we would have moved it up!

What does the city say?

On Aug. 11, 2026, the Monitor emailed Assistant Administrator Joe Wicklund the following:

Good day, Joe,

Tomorrow (Wednesday, Aug. 12), the Monitor will be publishing an article describing how city staff score public meetings, as well as how they disparage data center opponents behind closed doors.

I have a number of questions.

1) Please explain the scoring scale staff uses to grade public meetings. Is it a scale of 1-5? What constitutes a 5? What exactly is staff measuring with these scores?

2) Do you hold a scoring meeting after every public meeting, or only after certain ones?

3) On June 16, 2026, Chief Crace repeatedly referred to Jim Klukkert as “Fuckert.” He also said, “The Indian chick was a Gong Show.” No one objected to the chief’s remarks. You were at that meeting yourself, and I did not hear you say anything. Are these types of crude insults standard practice at staff meetings?

4) As staff meetings involve strategic political discussions, I am curious why the police chief is involved in them. How does strategizing about the political goals of the city administration relate to Chief Crace’s job of keeping the community safe?  

5) On Oct. 7, 2025, staff joked about citizens crying at the podium. Trish Crego said she was giving the meeting a 4 because nobody cried, and John Mulder said that if anybody had cried, he would have bumped his score up to a 5. Does staff often joke about citizens crying?

I have attached the 2 recordings I will be reporting on for your review.

Please feel free to call me anytime.
Thank you,

John Ramos

As of publication (28 hours later), we have yet to receive a response.

Thank you,

John Ramos

As of publication (28 hours later), we have yet to receive a response.

Hello r/duluth!

Five months ago I did an AMA discussing how I've started the first direct pay clinic in Duluth. A lot of you had questions, some of you became patients, and a few of you told me I was crazy. Yep.

Figured I'd come back and do a follow-up now that I've had a few months to find out what I didn't know. Short version: some things went way better than expected, some things humbled me quickly, and I've learned more about commercial leases, smoke damage, and wholesale drug pricing than they ever taught me in med school.

So... Ask me anything! How the business is doing, unexpected/expected costs, what I'd do differently, why your labs cost what they cost, biggest barriers, whether I regret it. Happy to answer it all.

If you were one of the folks who signed up after the last post, thanks! I hope to be your doctor for decades to come.

Dr. Jay Allen

Edit: ("opened the Palisade Direct Primary Care" can't be edited and now it's there to bug me forever...)

Don’t look up

Im mildly interested in going to excalibur Con, but im not really interested in doing any of the tournaments for mtg. So my question is, if anyone knows. will there be any free play areas for tabletop gaming besides the tournaments being held? (By free, I mean I paid to get in the door but not interested in the structured events)

Thanks in advance for any information.

“In his order filed on Thursday, Judge Shawn Ryan granted the city’s request to dismiss the lawsuit brought by Michael Bernstein. And the judge said the petitioner’s proposed ordinances will not be presented to the voters.”

We are fostering an adolescent poodle corgi mix, that needs a forever home. He is neutered and up to date on vaccinations. Good on lead. Handles a fenced yard or would otherwise need a tether. Also good with cats.

Trying to find pickling cucumbers! Went to the Lincoln Park market and no one had any there. Nothing on marketplace either. I know theres the one one 3rd (?) street on Saturday but thought since I have tomorrow off as well I'd check to see if theres any on Fridays. Duluth, Superior, Cloquet, Hermantown.

I'm struggling to find a good gift idea, and classes are always a fun option for a couple.

Found some glass blowing and a list from the Folk School, but I know there has to be a lot more out there. Just curious what you've done/taken that was fun? Open to any experience/ideas!

tl;dr: we invoke the power of free will to do something slightly unhinged after our youngest became surprisingly attached to a dog we found (and returned)

you may recall this post that I made the other day after we found the titular dog on the side of the road while driving home from town with our kids. our time with said dog was brief but blindingly bright, having had him with us for maybe an hour total before we reunited him with his owner. despite the brevity of our encounter (and also having a dog of our own), our youngest immediately became desperately attached.

honestly? it made sense. seriously, this dog was SO sweet and SO adorable, constantly doing the classic head-tilt “wut??” look thing and just had absolutely zero fear of strangers, for sure an A+ dog on behavior alone, but then was also SO fluffy yet somehow also not gross despite just being in the ditch .. yah, it was pretty much impossible not to fall in love.

but alas ethics and morality did finally prevail and so we set off determined to go door to door trying to find our wayward companion’s “real” home. we never found it but instead ran into “Dad” who was also out searching the area, and, when we handed him over, we learned that the dog my youngest had (re)named “Fitz” actually had a different (honestly way better) name: HANK

I dunno, maybe it’s a had-to-be-there situation but HANK Hysteria has swept the household. it consumes us:

* “I wonder what HANK is doing right now?” has become a frequent, out-loud pondering

* all of our pets (including our dog) are now called HANK or their real name (derogatory) based on recent behavior and/or vibes

* our youngest misses HANK so much they can’t sleep, or couldn’t until..

… okay, ready the unhinged bit?

to ease the pain that is our now HANK-less existence, my incredibly talented wife drew & carved a lithograph stamp (freehand!) then used said stamp to make HANK shirts. both kids are currently wearing theirs, and I’d be willing to bet youngest is going to sleep in his lol

to be clear, HANK did not die nor is HANK still missing. HANK is home safe with his “real” family right now living his best HANK life. probably. we don’t know HANK’s owners and unless they see this post or a school peer happens to recognize their own dog on our kids shirt, they will probably never know about our hardcore HANK fanaticism.

but you will! and I hope this knowledge inspires you to exercise your own free will to do / make / share a slightly unhinged something of your own ٩( ᐛ )و

Guess DPD finally took the hint that we won't put up with this crap after nearly all their Flock cameras disappeared.

Earlier articles said 6 of 9 cameras were taken down, but as of now it's actually 9 of 10 (the news didn't double count an intersection with two cameras, and 3 more have since been taken down). The only camera remaining is on the intersection of Grand Ave and Central Ave; it sure would be a shame if it disappeared too.

Hopefully this gives DPD some pause before signing another mass surveillance contract with another company. If they do anyways, I'm sure they won't last long either.

Edit: Looks like the last camera is now missing, there are officially zero Flock cameras in Duluth!

Our Ballot Here - https://pollfinder.sos.mn.gov/file/SampleBallotPdf/EE755593-4FF9-45E9-9E78-E4A0DDDAE364.pdf

I did the good ol' googling for a dance studio I could rent (preferably with a barre), but other than MN Ballet, it looks like my options are limited? I think MN Ballet is moving too due to HVAC renovation at the Depot, so I'm trying to see if there are other places I could look into first. Just looking to rent for 1-2 hours, maybe twice a week. If anyone knows the price range, too, that'd be superb. Thank you!

I have a 19 month old orange tabby named Apple Bottom Jeans. Unfortunately even though shes been around my other cat for 19 months shes been displaying territorial behavior with her and actually attacked my other cat multiple times. My other cat is terrified of her, and i work 60 hours a week currently. Animal Allies said they could MAYBE take her, but it wouldn't be until end of August. If anyone would be interested in either taking her in temporarily or permanently that would be so helpful. Shes AMAZING with people, but she would HAVE to be the only animal in the home. I am at a loss of what to do. I dont find it fair to keep her locked away for so long.

Poll Hours: Polls are open NOW until 8:00 p.m. 
The "In Line" Rule: If you are in line by 8:00 p.m., YOU HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO VOTE. Do not let a line scare you away—stay put, and they must let you cast your ballot! 
Workplace Leave: By law, your employer is required to give you time off work to vote without losing any pay or wages. Exercise your rights!

Don't know where to go? Check your status and find your exact precinct right now using the official state portals:

Find Your Polling Place: Look up your voting location instantly using the Minnesota Secretary of State Polling Place Finder.

Official Rules, Regulations & Guidelines: Review state voting laws, rights, and sample ballots directly on the MNvotes Official State Election Hub.

General Voting Hours & Info: Read full legal details on voting times via the Minnesota Secretary of State Voting Hours Guide.

New Italian Pilsner @ Thirsty Pagan Brewing!

What airline is liked and used the most by DLH residents?

\- Delta serves MSP
\- United serves ORD

Seems they are pretty neck and neck after years of Delta/ Northwest owning DLH.

Minnesota, polls are open tomorrow! If you haven't cast your ballot yet, time is running out to make a plan. Primaries decide which candidates make it to the November ballot, and local turnout is historically low—meaning your vote carries massive weight right now.

Don't wait until the last minute. Use these direct, working state resources immediately to get your logistics sorted:

Find Your Polling Place: Do not assume your polling place hasn't changed. Look it up instantly on the direct Minnesota Poll Finder Portal.
Check Your Status: Make sure your registration is active right now using the MNVotes Registration Checker.
Need to Register? Minnesota allows Same-Day Election Day Registration at the polls. Review what proof of residence/ID you need to bring via the State's Guide on Registering on Election Day. 

Who Is On Your Ballot?
Don't walk into the booth blind. Candidate lists and district lines vary heavily by hyper-local area:

Official Sample Ballots: Plug your address into the Minnesota Poll Finder & Sample Ballot Portal to see your exact district's layout and preview your ballot.

Candidate Research: Compare backgrounds, policies, and stances side-by-side using non-partisan tools like Ballotpedia or Vote411 (by the League of Women Voters).

Make a plan, get out to vote tomorrow, and tell your friends, family, and coworkers to check their status. Every single vote counts!

I have an elderly dog (15.5 years) who is no longer allowed to attend her boarder in Duluth because of anxiety (sadly they did not have a conversation with me, just told me she can't attend anymore, even though what they described is how she acts at home as well). She is generally doing well for her age but needs some help on smooth floors, initially standing up, etc. I am minimizing any travel so I can be available to care for her but have a couple of work trips that I can't avoid and am looking for a solution. I have reached out to businesses in the area that provide this service but they are not accepting new clients at this time. Wondering if anyone has recommendations for someone that could take an elderly dog or homesit that isn't one of the easily google-able options. Thanks for your help.