UMD alumnus Rolf Weberg tells NRRI s story.
The late 1970s and early 1980s were a troubling time economically for Duluth and northern Minnesota as a whole. The decline in natural resource-based industries, and especially the taconite mining industry, brought the economic life of the Northland to a dire situation.
With no industry to fill the void, scores of Iron Rangers and Duluthians chose to move away in search of better opportunities. As they did, many saw the billboard at the top of the hill that read, “Will the last one leaving Duluth please turn out the lights?” Visionaries at the state legislature and other community leaders saw many avenues to economic development.