DULUTH — I keep thinking of something that Minnesota Ballet artistic executive director Karl von Rabenau said when speaking to my Leadership Duluth class in 2025. “People in the Twin Cities,” he said, “don’t know how good we are.”
That might sound immodest given that von Rabenau was talking about his own company, but I knew, having covered the Twin Cities arts scene for 15 years before moving to Duluth in 2022, that he was absolutely correct.
There’s no question that people in the metro regard Duluth as a desirable destination. In
a recent Axios Twin Cities poll,
metro residents overwhelmingly picked the Northland as the area of the state where they would want to spend a summer vacation.
That said, they’re not coming for the performing arts — at least, we don’t seem to think they are. As I write, every single one of the 12 photos appearing on
was taken outdoors. Even the photos of dining and live music reveal blue sky overhead.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group file photo
Von Rabenau’s comment came back to me June 14, when I was at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Marshall Performing Arts Center, attending Lyric Opera of the North’s production of “A Little Night Music.”
There must have been some tourists in the house, but it felt like a community celebration. Moving through the lobby, I lost count of the people I had previously interviewed for some story or another. People from throughout Duluth’s arts community showed up for the longstanding company’s big summer show.
As I mentioned in
there were audible sniffles during the show’s emotional second act. When Calland Metts, as Fredrik, spoke of a happy future for “you and me, and of course, Fredrika,” many knew he was speaking of characters played by his real-life spouse (Sarah Lawrence) and their daughter (Giulia Calland).
Wyatt Buckner / Duluth Media Group file photo
Many also knew that Georgia Jacobson, another performer in the show, is the daughter of Ruth Jacobson, the late company founder. People in this community have seen Lawrence and Metts continue Ruth Jacobson’s legacy, and have watched their daughter “Gigi” grow up onstage. Who wouldn’t get a little choked up?
There are similar stories in communities everywhere. Those stories just have a different weight in a place like Duluth, where it’s not just that the opera people all know each other. The entire arts scene is densely interconnected because people here know they have to stick together.
It’s rare for someone to end up in Duluth by accident.
The closest thing to an accidental Northlander might be someone whose family goes way back, who has been born in this area and never seen a reason to leave. I think of Cody Olson, a fourth-generation family member working at Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse in Knife River.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group file photo
“You don’t think about there being other options,” he said when
whether he ever considered leaving the family business. “It’s a good gig.”
Since February 2022, I’ve also had a good gig here: I’ve been arts and entertainment reporter at the Duluth News Tribune. Comprehensively covering the local arts scene would be way more than one full-time job, so I’ve tried to make the most of my 40 hours a week.
I moved from the Twin Cities to take this job, and after July 3, I will be leaving the News Tribune to return to Minneapolis for both personal and professional reasons. It’s not easy to say goodbye to this remarkable region that has put so much trust in me.
Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group file photo
“You’re lucky,” one of my newsroom colleagues told me early on. “You’re the reporter people actually want to talk to.”
It’s true that I’ve most typically called people to shine a positive light on their arts events or other aspects of their lives. Even for a straightforward preview feature, though, I know it takes a measure of trust to open up to a reporter, aware that you won’t have any control over what will be published.
I don’t take that trust for granted, and I know it’s not just a trust people place in me personally: It’s trust in a newspaper that has served this community, under various names, since 1870. My job has
and I’m excited to see who will step in to continue the News Tribune’s legacy of distinctive arts coverage.
In a city where you wake up every day and look out on the continent’s Great Unsalted Sea, unforgettable moments are just a part of life. While reporting for the News Tribune, I’ve certainly been in more than my share of cinematic situations.
Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune file photo
Riding in the
Standing at the base of a 40-meter ski jump as kids
Flying, myself, over Duluth in the
nose of a World War II bomber.
Watching a sled dog team approach in a silent cloud of steam,
Sliding down a two-story gravel pile after a harborside warehouse show. (OK, that last one was off the clock.)
So many more memorable moments, though, have taken place indoors.
Talking with ragtime legend Max Morath, in what turned out to be his
Diving for animatronics in the basement of an
Watching “Merry Kiss Cam”
Hearing a young singer deliver a spine-tingling performance of “Memory” in a
NorShor Theatre rehearsal room.
Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group file photo
Then there was the saga of
“Edmund Fitzgerald: 50 Years Below.”
I was gratified that my News Tribune colleagues supported that ambitious podcast project, which led to me stepping into view of
while Gordon Lightfoot’s song played at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
I knew we wouldn’t have the time to build trust with the deceased crew members’ families, but I kept them in mind throughout, trying to do justice to their loved ones’ legacies.
After the
memorial ceremony at Split Rock Lighthouse in November 2025,
I received a hug from crew member Blaine Wilhelm’s niece. That was a meaningful way to cap the reporting experience — although I don’t know if she had listened to the podcast, so I didn’t assume the kind embrace constituted a review.
During more routine coverage, every once in a while I would be typing and think, “Am I the first person ever to mention this in the Duluth News Tribune?” If it seemed the answer was yes, I added it to a list.
Contributed / Jay Gabler
Contributed / Diane Skomars
That list ultimately includes:
and
You’re welcome.
But in all seriousness, thank you for reading the News Tribune and supporting it with your subscription dollars. Independent local journalism is not a utility, and there’s no law saying it can’t be turned off. If you are a subscriber, know there is
between your investment and what this newspaper is able to produce.
I’ll take one last opportunity here to share my top three tips for people pitching the News Tribune on coverage of their arts activity. Send news releases as soon as possible (weeks, not days ahead); take photos to share with media; and don’t think of news coverage as “publicity” — think of it as storytelling. What is your story?
It’s been my privilege to tell this region’s stories for the past four years. When I’m back in the Twin Cities, doubtless I’ll be asked about the Duluth arts scene. I’ll say, “You don’t know how good it is.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.duluthnewstribune.com ’
