Duluth a cesspool, commissioner says as St. Louis County Board begins rocky start to 2021
In a break from tradition, rural commissioners consolidate authority atop the board, leaving Duluth commissioners out of top leadership posts. 4:31 pm, Jan. 5, 2021 ×
St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Nelson. (Steve Kuchera / skuchera@duluthnews.com)
The city of Duluth was referred to by Commissioner Keith Nelson as a “cesspool on a day rural commissioners both ruled the St. Louis County Board and illustrated north-south division at its annual meeting Tuesday.
The rural majority made Chisholm’s Mike Jugovich the unlikely board chair for a second-straight year, and prevented Duluth’s three commissioners from leadership posts atop the board.
Commissioners Mike Jugovich and Patrick Boyle will also be sworn this week following their reelections.
Jugovich will be sworn in at 3:30 p.m. Monday at the United Steelworkers union hall at 115 W. Lake St. in Chisholm.
Boyle will be sworn in by fellow Duluth Commissioner Frank Jewell in a low-key manner sometime prior to Tuesday’s board meeting in Duluth.
Grimm said she has big shoes to fill by following Olson, who served a single four-year term on the board, but asserted herself as a strong and compassionate voice.
In her final meeting last month, she urged commissioners to dedicate themselves to hearing from people not represented on the board, listing people of color, indigenous people, queer people, immigrants and refugees.