Christa Lawler

6 days ago | startribune.com | Christa Lawler

DULUTH - The approximately 15 truckloads of daily garbage generated within the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District will be routed to a landfill in Virginia, Minn., starting next year, under a 10-year contract approved by the St. Louis County Board during Tuesday's meeting at the courthouse. WLSSD, recently rebranded as Resource Renew, has long disposed of its municipal solid waste at the Moccasin Mike landfill run by the city of Superior.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Christa Lawler

DULUTH - Nate Bargatze, the popular, clean performer and known nice guy of comedy, has earned another superlative: top-selling artist to perform at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Bargatze's "Big Dumb Eyes World Tour" plays at Amsoil Arena on Thursday and has sold nearly 8,000 tickets - about 200 more than the flashy musician who was formerly the ticket-sales leader, a bar set more than a decade ago.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Christa Lawler

DULUTH - Grandma's Marathon has nearly doubled its economic impact in the past five years, with the associated events bringing in nearly $40 million of economic activity to the region, according to a study conducted last year by the University of Minnesota Extension. The weekend - the largest draw of 2024 for Canal Park and nearby Bayfront Festival Park - attracts runners and friends to the city for the marathon and the Garry Bjorklund Half-Marathon, which are run largely along Scenic Highway 61.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Christa Lawler

DULUTH - Falastin, a popular pop-up turned market and deli serving Palestinian food, has announced that it is closing May 10 after about a year as a brick-and-mortar in the Lakeside neighborhood. Owners Lyla Abukhodair and Sam Miller announced the closure last week in a news release, adding that they are taking time to "reimagine and explore new possibilities" for the future. Falastin will be open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday through its final day. It is Duluth's first Palestinian cafe.

1 week ago | startribune.com | Christa Lawler

DULUTH - The U.S. Department of Education is ending a $3.9 million grant that the College of St. Scholastica has used to place master's-level occupational therapy students into regional school districts to boost mental health services. The federally funded Mental Health Service Provider grant program was the largest grant the college had received when it was first awarded in 2022. It was created to address provider shortages as mental health diagnoses were on the rise among school-aged children.