Interview with Don Ness, Mayor of Duluth, Page 6

Ness: It was actually a couple of young guys that went out to Colorado 15-18 years ago and saw that this brew pub thing was really hitting a chord and was something that people cared about, so they started that in Duluth, and now they’re the largest brew pub in the Upper Midwest. This was a starting point for the craft beer in Duluth, and I’ve gone out of my way to promote craft beer in Duluth as another one of those features of the ethos or values of the type of community that we’re creating.

It also helps promote what Duluth is known for. We’re on the shores of the largest body of fresh water in the world and the cleanest, freshest water, and that makes for great beer. So when we’re promoting our local bottlers or brewhouses, we’re not only promoting those local businesses, we’re also promoting outdoor recreation, arts and culture, and craft beer.

We’re also saying how this reflects on the quality of our water and clean air and our focus on the environment and the appreciation of local people putting their hearts and souls into something. Then, the local consumers go out of their way to support those folks. The local restaurants make sure they have local beer on tap. Instead of picking up the six pack of Bell’s or Sierra Nevada, local consumers go out and pick up Bent Paddle or the Lake Superior Brewing Company because those are creating jobs here, and it creates that stronger connection to the community.

Yordy: And some of these brews can become famous throughout the rest of the country. You mentioned the outdoor scene a little bit. In a more general sense, how is Duluth fostering the growth of that and incorporating it into the urban section of the city?

Ness: Well, we’re a city built on a hill overlooking Lake Superior, and we also have the St. Louis River that kind of flows into the lake, and we have a tremendous amount of green space and kind of a green network throughout our city with spectacular overlooks from the ridge onto the lake and onto the river. So one of the things we’ve seen as an opportunity is to say, well, we have these attributes, and people in Duluth love to get out and appreciate the outdoors, so what’s the investment that we can make to enhance that and it’s our trail system?

So, we built a 40-mile hiking system from east to west in our city. We’re currently building a 100-mile single-track mountain bike system called “The Duluth Traverse” that, when it’s completed, is going to be the largest world-class mountain biking system. And people say, “Well, you know, only a small percentage of the people in Duluth mountain bike,” which is true. It’s not a huge thing, but once that’s complete, we can say with all confidence that this is the premier urban mountain biking system in North America. That becomes a calling card for what Duluth is about.

So, when that idea gets out there and gets into those publications where people are passionate about mountain biking, they’ll start thinking, “Well, maybe that’s a city I want to live in.” Or maybe if a city is investing in mountain biking, it’s probably also a city that’s progressive and supports the arts and natural beauty in this area. We’re seeing that as the difference maker. We compete with Minneapolis and St. Paul for talent, companies, residents, and we want to say the difference maker in Duluth is our natural beauty, our outdoor recreation, and being a sizeable city that you can plug into and make a difference versus being lost in the major metropolitan.

Yordy: The outdoor scene is a similar plus about Colorado in general. It’s a different group of people, but if you can boast that you have the biggest urban mountain biking track, people will come from all over the country to use it. And with supplemental attractions, people will be more prone to stick around as opposed to just visit.

Touching on the academic scene, we have one centrally located college that’s Downtown, but one of our major universities is expanding in a strange direction. It’s up on a hill and isn’t very student friendly. They built a campus village area at the bottom of the hill, but they put in a Costco and a Kohl’s and things that are better suited for different residents, not the students, with it all being fairly expensive. So, how is Duluth fostering the academic scene and the sustainability and attraction of your universities?

Ness: Duluth has three major campuses with about 20,000 students, and our overall population is 86,000. We aren’t a college town, but we have a very strong college and university presence. Now, the unfortunate part for us is that all three of the schools are up on top of the hill, so they’re separated from our Downtown, and it becomes more difficult to get students Downtown to see that local scene. Fortunately, our new leadership at all three schools are getting a little more aggressive at looking for opportunities to have some of their programs in the Downtown area, with better incorporation with local arts groups and things like that. It’s one of my great frustrations that we have 20,000 students, but because of where the campuses are, our Downtown doesn’t benefit from them being here.