Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Middletown-Duluth.jpg|thumb|right|upright|SS ''Middletown'' beneath Duluth's aerial lift bridge]]

Duluth is the major regional center for health care, higher education, retail, and business services not only of its own immediate area but also of a larger area encompassing [[Arrowhead Region|northeastern]] Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the western [[Upper Peninsula]] of [[Michigan]]. It is also a major transportation center for the transshipment of coal, taconite, agricultural products, steel, limestone, and cement. In recent years, it has seen strong growth in the transshipment of wind turbine components coming and going from manufacturers in both Europe and North Dakota, as well as of oversized industrial machinery manufactured all around the world and destined for the tar sands oil extraction projects in northern Alberta. The Port of Duluth handles an average of 35 million short tons of cargo and nearly 900 vessel visits each year.<ref name=":0" /> 90 percent of the port's vessels are "Lakers", ships that ship goods exclusively among the upper four Great Lakes and are too large to transit the [[Welland Canal]]. The rest are "Salties", ships that can traverse the seaway all the way from the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name=":0" />

The Twin Ports has attracted several new engineering firms, including [[TKDA]], Barr Engineering, LHB, [[Enbridge]], and Lake Superior Consulting, as well as new start-ups in various fields including Loll Designs and Epicurean, two sister companies that make eco-friendly furniture and kitchen utensils respectively, and [[microbrewery]] [[Bent Paddle Brewing Company|Bent Paddle]].<ref name=CBSNews/> Women's clothing retail chain [[Maurices]] is also headquartered in Duluth, as are luggage manufacturers and suppliers [[Duluth Pack (company)|Duluth Pack]] and Frost River. In 1989, the [[workwear]] and accessories brand [[Duluth Trading Company]] was founded on a [[barge]] in the city's shipping district. The company moved its headquarters to southern Wisconsin in 2000. Supermarket chain [[Super One Foods]] is also based in the Twin Ports, with its headquarters in neighboring [[Hermantown]].

Duluth is a center for aquatic biology and aquatic science. The city is home to the EPA's Mid-Continent Ecology Division Laboratory and the [[University of Minnesota Duluth]]. These institutions have spawned many economically and scientifically important businesses that support Duluth's economy. A short list of these businesses includes ERA Laboratories, LimnoLogic, the ASci Corporation, Environmental Consulting and Testing, and [[Ecolab]].

The city is popular for tourism. Duluth is a convenient base for trips to the scenic [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]] via [[Minnesota State Highway 61|Highway 61]] and to fishing and wilderness destinations in Minnesota's far north, including the [[Superior National Forest]], [[Voyageurs National Park]], [[Lake Vermilion]], and the [[Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness]]. Tourists also may drive on the [[North Shore Scenic Drive]] to [[Gooseberry Falls State Park]], Baptism Falls (Minnesota's largest waterfall), the vertical cliff of [[Palisade Head]], [[Isle Royale National Park]] (reached via ferry), [[Grand Portage National Monument]] in Grand Portage, and High Falls of the [[Pigeon River (Minnesota–Ontario)|Pigeon River]] (on the Canada–US border). [[Thunder Bay]], [[Ontario]], can be reached by following the highway into Canada along Lake Superior.

In 2006, a volunteer task force was formed to manage the spiraling retiree health care benefit obligations that were threatening to bankrupt the city. Mayor [[Don Ness]] called it "the single most important volunteer effort in our city's history". After reforming and restructuring the benefits and a court case that went all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court, in 2013 the liability stood at an estimated $191 million.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Freudenheim |first=Milt |date=December 11, 2005 |title=The Next Retirement Time Bomb |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/business/yourmoney/11retire.html?_r=0 |url-status=live |access-date=February 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518123127/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/business/yourmoney/the-next-retirement-time-bomb.html |archive-date=May 18, 2021}}</ref> In 2014, Ness announced "a full solution for the retiree health care issue that once threatened to bankrupt our city".<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 25, 2015 |title=Duluth mayor touts plan for retiree health care |publisher=Pioneer Press |url=http://www.twincities.com/2014/10/07/duluth-mayor-touts-plan-for-retiree-health-care/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424085535/http://www.twincities.com/2014/10/07/duluth-mayor-touts-plan-for-retiree-health-care/ |archive-date=April 24, 2017}}</ref>

===Top employers===
According to the city's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://duluthmn.gov/media/5gcldksy/2023-city-of-duluth-annual-comprehensive-financial-report.pdf|title=City of Duluth 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report|page=177|date=December 31, 2023}}</ref> Duluth's 10 largest employers are:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! Type of Business
! # of Employees
|-
|1
|[[Essentia Health]] (St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic)
|Healthcare / hospital
|9,004
|-
|2
|[[St. Luke's Hospital (Duluth, Minnesota)|St. Luke's Hospital]]
|Healthcare / hospital
|3,573
|-
|3
|[[St. Louis County, Minnesota|St. Louis County]]
|Government
|2,161
|-
|4
|[[Allete]] (Minnesota Power)
|Electric utility
|1,810
|-
|5
|[[Cirrus Aircraft]]
|Aviation
|1,600
|-
|6
|[[Duluth Public Schools]] ISD No. 709
|Education
|1,026
|-
|7
|[[Duluth Air National Guard Base]]
|Military
|1,019
|-
|8
|''[[Forum Communications Company|Pine Journal]]''
|Newspaper
|1,000
|-
|9
|[[University of Minnesota Duluth]]
|Education
|985
|-
|10
|[[UnitedHealth Group|United Healthcare]]
|Insurance
|900
|}

===Aviation===
[[File:CirrusDuluth.jpg|thumb|[[Cirrus Aircraft|Cirrus]]'s Duluth headquarters and main manufacturing facilities]]

Several multinational aviation corporations operate near Duluth. Since 1994, the city has been home to the headquarters and main manufacturing facilities of [[Cirrus Aircraft]], a company with nearly 1,600 Duluth employees (as of 2023<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/duluth-based-cirrus-aircraft-opens-20-million-innovation-center/600307928/ |title=Duluth-based Cirrus Aircraft opens $20 million innovation center|website=Star Tribune |access-date=November 27, 2023|date=September 27, 2023}}</ref>) building the world's best-selling [[general aviation]] aircraft, the [[Cirrus SR22|SR22]], and the world's first single-engine [[personal jet]], the [[Cirrus Vision SF50|Vision SF50]].<ref name="Durden21Feb13">{{Cite news |last=Durden |first=Rick |date=February 21, 2014 |title=2013: A Good Year For Cirrus |work=AVweb |url=http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/2013-a-Good-Year-for-Cirrus221478-1.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 23, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010052658/http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/2013-a-Good-Year-for-Cirrus221478-1.html |archive-date=October 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Renalls |first=Candace |date=January 10, 2016 |title=Cirrus jet nears certification |work=Duluth News Tribune |url=http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/3921253-cirrus-jet-nears-certification |url-status=dead |access-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307071442/http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/3921253-cirrus-jet-nears-certification |archive-date=March 7, 2016}}</ref> [[James Fallows]], national correspondent for ''[[The Atlantic]]'', said that Cirrus' rapid growth in Duluth over the years "was a major, major factor in the town's modern emergence".<ref name="CBSNews">{{Cite news |last=Hudspeth |first=Mark |date=May 2, 2018 |title=Small town America in renewal |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-small-town-america-in-renewal/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 10, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511081618/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-small-town-america-in-renewal/ |archive-date=May 11, 2018}}</ref> Former mayor [[Gary Doty]] called the arrival of Cirrus in the mid-1990s a "crucial turning point" for Duluth and said it was "the catalyst for more positive attitudes about the city... If that hadn't happened, then we might really have been in a tailspin."<ref name="OurTowns">{{Cite book |last=Fallows |first=James |title=Our Towns: a 100,000-mile journey into the heart of America |date=2018 |publisher=Pantheon Books |isbn=978-1-101-87184-3 |location=New York |page=205 |author-link=James Fallows}}</ref> As of 2024, the company is Duluth's largest manufacturer and third-largest employer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Passi |first=Peter |date=March 5, 2021 |title=Duluth's Cirrus Aircraft rebuilds production, despite turbulent year |work=Duluth News Tribune |url=https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/manufacturing/6912403-Duluths-Cirrus-Aircraft-rebuilds-production-despite-turbulent-year |url-status=live |access-date=March 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310015102/https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/manufacturing/6912403-Duluths-Cirrus-Aircraft-rebuilds-production-despite-turbulent-year |archive-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://senatedfl.mn/senator-hauschild-champions-bills-supporting-minnesotas-aerospace-industry-in-senate-taxes-committee-wednesday/|publisher=Minnesota Senate DFL|title=Senator Hauschild Champions Bills Supporting Minnesota's Aerospace Industry in Senate Taxes Committee Wednesday|date=April 3, 2024}}</ref> In January 2012, another aircraft manufacturer, [[Kestrel Aircraft]], maker of the [[Kestrel K-350|K-350]] [[turboprop]] plane and later known as [[One Aviation|ONE Aviation]], moved to the Twin Ports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth Minnesota Newspaper – Wisconsin Newspaper Online – Business North – Business North – The Daily Briefing – Business Newspaper Online<!-- Bot generated title --> |url=http://www.businessnorth.com/briefing.asp?RID=4420 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222014632/http://www.businessnorth.com/briefing.asp?RID=4420 |archive-date=February 22, 2014 |access-date=March 9, 2013}}</ref> In October of that year, [[AAR Corp]] opened an aircraft repair and maintenance facility at the Duluth airport.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAR Corp. Seeks 200 New Employees for Duluth Facility &#124; KBJR 6 & Range 11 &#124; KDLH 3: News, Weather, Sports for Duluth MN / Superior WI / Northland &#124; Local News |url=http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/AAR-Corp-Seeks-200-New-Employees-For-Duluth-Facility-176527051.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114132109/http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/AAR-Corp-Seeks-200-New-Employees-For-Duluth-Facility-176527051.html |archive-date=January 14, 2016 |access-date=October 31, 2015 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Both companies ceased operations in the region during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 21, 2020 |title=AAR closing Duluth airline maintenance facility, costing hundreds of jobs |publisher=Star Tribune |url=https://www.startribune.com/aar-closing-duluth-airline-maintenance-facility-costing-hundreds-of-jobs/570656972/ |access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=February 19, 2021 |title=Court Converts One Aviation Bankruptcy Case to Liquidation |publisher=Aviation International News |url=https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-02-19/court-converts-one-aviation-bankruptcy-case-liquidation |access-date=May 4, 2022}}</ref>

In January 2013, the [[Duluth International Airport]] opened a new terminal, now named the U.S. Representative James L. Oberstar Terminal after the late [[Jim Oberstar]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Terminal Updates Archives - Duluth International Airport |url=http://duluthairport.com/category/new-terminal-updates/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612210818/http://duluthairport.com/category/new-terminal-updates/ |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |access-date=April 6, 2018 |website=Duluth International Airport |language=en-US |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The [[Air National Guard]]'s [[148th Fighter Wing]] is at the [[Duluth Air National Guard Base]] and is the city's sixth-largest employer as of 2022. It is one of a handful of National Guard units with an active association which, in the 148th's case, means having the capability to provide training for Air Force pilots.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ewer |first=Master Sgt. Daniel |title=Minnesota National Guard Units |url=http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/units/unit_template.php?unit=148HQ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930220511/http://www.minnesotanationalguard.org/units/unit_template.php?unit=148HQ |archive-date=September 30, 2018 |access-date=March 9, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The [[179th Fighter Squadron]] is a unit of the 148th.

Minnesota's largest airshow, the [http://www.duluthairshow.com Duluth Air & Aviation Expo], takes place each year on the grounds of Duluth International Airport.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/ | title=U.S. Navy Blue Angels }}</ref>