DULUTH — During an address to the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce and its guests Tuesday afternoon at the Greysolon Ballroom, Mayor Roger Reinert stressed the need to adapt to a changing landscape.
Reinert noted that as paperwork which previously had to be completed, reviewed, and signed in person migrates to online platforms, many downtown businesses have had to rethink their operations. However, the mayor dismissed the notion of truly becoming a paperless society anytime soon.
He pointed to a conversation he had with officials from Sofidel, an Italian papermaker that has resurrected a local mill Reinert described as having been “on death’s doorstep for decades.” Instead of producing paper for glossy magazines and catalogs as it had in the past, the Duluth mill has been converted to tissue paper production under Sofidel’s leadership.
Reinert recalled Sofidel executives showing him a humorous ad they had produced. The ad features a man being told by his partner to run an errand and later being asked to pick up groceries. To each suggestion that he write information down to better remember the details, the man responds, “Send me an electronic message.” The final scene shows the same person in a bathroom, texting that he had run out of toilet paper, then watching in disappointment as someone slides a cellphone under the door with a picture of toilet paper on its screen.
“Some things can’t be digitized,” Reinert said.
He noted that Sofidel not only has restarted the plant but also has invested millions of dollars to build a new warehouse and converting facility. Here, output from the mill will be turned into finished products for shipment throughout the Upper Midwest, making use of Duluth’s rail, maritime, trucking, and air transportation assets.
Reinert also pointed to Duluth’s relative stability when it comes to natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes as another selling point for companies seeking a good place to do business. Even the city’s cool climate can be a plus for enterprises seeking to keep equipment from overheating, he suggested.
However, Reinert acknowledged that the city struggles to meet its housing needs, relating how a number of people have recently turned down job offers from Sofidel due to difficulties finding a place to call home. He suggested the city can do more to make its downtown an attractive place for individuals and empty-nesters to settle down, thereby freeing up larger homes in traditional neighborhoods for young, growing families.
The mayor also talked about the need to reimagine downtown Duluth. He noted that a skywalk study group is expected to share its findings with the Duluth City Council in the coming weeks but hinted that a downsized system may be part of the group’s recommendations.
“Bottom line up front: We can’t continue to maintain three miles of an elevated skywalk and 30 miles of street-level activity. That’s not the downtown we have right now,” Reinert said. “So, my message to my fellow Duluthians is, ‘Get ready to put a jacket on.’ Let’s get back out at the street level. Let’s get our street-level businesses active and vibrant. And then we can go back up again,” he added.
Reinert also called for increased efforts to bring more commercial development to the city, noting that this could help lessen the property tax burden placed on residents amid rising service costs.
Duluth is hemmed in by Lake Superior and its surrounding neighbors, including Hermantown, Rice Lake, and Proctor. Reinert noted that much of the unmet need for housing in Duluth has led to residential development in these nearby communities. Yet, residents from throughout the region turn to Duluth for many of the amenities they enjoy, including parks and libraries.
The mayor suggested there may be opportunities for regional communities to pool their financial resources to invest in improved shared assets, including a new main library building.
“Together, we can do more than we can individually,” Reinert said.
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