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Mayor Roger J. Reinert delivers second State of the City address 

[DULUTH, MN] Mayor Roger J. Reinert, Duluth’s 40th mayor, gave his second State of the City address on Tuesday evening at the Ordean East Middle School Little Theater.   

“We chose Denfeld last year for our first State of the City, so this being Duluth we knew this year we had to go east,” said Reinert of the location. “A special thank you to all the school and ISD 709 staff who helped support this big event. We really value the City and School District partnership.” 

Mayor Reinert’s address highlighted accomplishments in 2024, as well as previewed challenges and opportunities the community can expect in 2025. 

Key take-aways in 2024 included: 

• Economic development efforts in the western side of Duluth, including Sofidel’s multimillion-dollar, workforce-tripling expansion, the Amazon distribution center filling its workforce, and the invigoration of the western Duluth corridor. 

• Downtown housing development including the Lakeview 333 and Ordean projects. 

• Street maintenance and preservation that included 19 miles of street rehabilitation and preservation efforts like crack-filling and chip-sealing. 

• Reinvestment efforts in the Historic District that brought down the Pastoret Terrace property and will also bring down the Shoppers Parking Ramp while preserving the Pineapple building. 

• Moving tourism marketing out of City Hall and back to Visit Duluth as a destination marketing organization. 

• The passage of a zero-percent property tax levy, making good on a promise to give residents a break for a year. 

• The hiring of nine new leadership team members. 

Key takeaways for 2025 include: 

• Downtown revitalization efforts that include enhancement of public safety, property values, and increased commercial and housing opportunities. 

• Significant city budget challenges in 2025 and 2026. 

• Opportunities for regionalization of services like libraries, parks, and economic development. 

Mayor Reinert also prioritized better engaging residents and discussed plans in 2025 for a City of Duluth app for mobile phones, the first resident survey since 2019, and a citywide book read focused on combating the loss of civility driven by social media. 

Mayor Reinert also recognized three individuals for excellence in community service via the Good Neighbor Award, Citizen of the Year Award, and the Clarence Maddy Award (named for the City of Duluth’s longest-serving City Administrator in its history). Respectively, Duluth resident Nick Karl, GND Development Alliance President Mark Boben, and former City Administrator David Montgomery were honored for their contributions to the city and Duluth. 

Mayor Reinert’s speech will be available in full on the Mayor’s website at https://duluthmn.gov/mayor/state-of-the-city-address/. 

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