Duluth Mayor Emily Larson addressed the media Thursday afternoon to offer recommendations for making the Spirit Mountain Recreational Area a more financially viable entity in the years ahead.
The press event, held at Spirit Mountain at 2 pm on Thursday afternoon, offered recommendations based on a report from the Spirit Mountain Task Force and consulting firm SE Group. The report explored how to bring better financial footing and improvements to the recreation area, which has amassed a sizable debt in recent years.
While Spirit Mountain did post a profit last year, despite the pandemic, the recreation area has received a series of loans from the City of Duluth as it has dealt with financial challenges in recent years. Those loans were actually one of the subject of Mayor Larson s recommendations in Thursday s presentation. As she explained, she felt a number of Band-Aids have been placed on the Spirit Mountain issue, and she feels this plan will create a permanent fix for the ve
The additional funding will come at the expense of Spirit Mountain. Written By: Peter Passi | × Bentley Rowan, 5, Amira Freeman, 3, and Jaxton Freeman, 1, play with a device that uses flowing air to move foam blocks during a members-only reopening at the Duluth Children’s Museum in June. 2020 file/ News Tribune
The Duluth City Council chose to deviate Monday from Mayor Emily Larson s proposed plan for how the city should divvy up tourism tax proceeds next year.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Duluth s collections of tourism taxes are running about 30% below expectations this year, and Larson forecasts 2021 revenues will remain 25% below those of 2019, bringing in about $9 million versus $12 million last year.