Duluth officials to residents: Come back downtown

DULUTH — Two years ago the president of Duluth's Greater Downtown Council packed up her work supplies and stopped in to the Dubh Linn Irish Pubto pick up dinner — a last hurrah that proceeded the pandemic shutdown.

Kristi Stokes returned to the Irish restaurant and pub again Thursday to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and said she saw families and friends, colleagues, music and dancing.

"And it just felt like energy was returning," she said. "We have an opportunity right now to set the reset button on our downtown."

A handful of Duluth officials, in addition to Stokes and members of her team, addressed media Friday afternoon from the skywalk that crosses Fourth Avenue West. The pandemic sent employees to home offices, halted some live entertainment and limited dining experiences. But their message to residents now: Come back downtown.

"Downtown is here and it's open," Mayor Emily Larson said.

City Councilor Roz Randorf, whose district includes downtown Duluth, said officials are making efforts to help downtown's homeless population, whose plight was exacerbated by the pandemic.

"It does take all of us to find solutions to some of our most difficult and complex social issues," she said. "A compassionate response is not to look away or let people unsheltered stay in public walkways or in the hillsides without access to sanitation and social services. That's not compassion."

Her solutions include more affordable housing, expanded hours for shelters, and more people downtown. All of these are in the works, she said.

The Clean & Safe Team, a citizen patrol with distinct uniforms, has added more hours of coverage. The crew covers 3 miles of the skywalk system and cleans up litter, is available to escort people, and offers directions or assistance.

The team has started a pilot program that has more people patrolling a smaller area, according to operations manager Scott Jenkins. By being visible and proactive, he said, there have been fewer police calls.

"It was pretty interesting," Jenkins said. "We knew we could turn the curve on this."