The Town Cycling Saved @bicyclingmag

Don Ness
Don Ness is the Mayor of Duluth Minnesota.
(Photo by Hansi Johnson)

Bicycling: You're the mayor. Of Duluth. Duluth. . .
Don Ness: Yes. It's 150 miles north of Minneapolis on the westernmost point of Lake Superior, the world's greatest lake.
And you ran because. . .
I grew up in Duluth in the seventies and early eighties, when Duluth was one of the 10 most distressed cities in the nation. It was an example of a Rust Belt city that had lost its industry. The leaders of that time worked hard to get us out. But there was a persistent sense of pessimism and lack of confidence, a mindset that we needed to protect what we have.
That makes it sound like they were afraid. Of what?
Of sliding back into the dire times we had pulled ourselves out of. But we weren't capturing the city's energy or spirit. Duluth sits between the St. Louis River and the western tip of Lake Superior. It has industrial heritage, but what makes it unique is its natural beauty and the number of outdoor recreation opportunities we have within the city limits. So what we tell folks is that you can live in this city [of 87,000], and have world-class mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, and sailing right out your back door, right in the city.

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