Editing Duluth, Minnesota (section)

==Infrastructure==
[[File:20160124 06 DTA bus, Duluth, Minnesota.jpg|thumb|[[Duluth Transit Authority]] bus]]
===Public transportation===
The local bus system is run by the [[Duluth Transit Authority]] (DTA), which serves Duluth, [[Hermantown, Minnesota|Hermantown]], [[Proctor, Minnesota|Proctor]], [[Rice Lake, Minnesota|Rice Lake]], and [[Superior, Wisconsin]]. The DTA runs a system of buses manufactured by [[Gillig]] and [[Proterra (bus manufacturer)|Proterra]], including new hybrids and [[Battery electric bus|battery electric busses]]. Duluth is also served by [[Skyline Shuttle]], with daily service to the [[Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport]]; [[Jefferson Lines]], with daily service to the [[Minneapolis–St. Paul|Twin Cities]]; and [[Indian Trails]], with service to Michigan's [[Upper Peninsula]].

===Railways===
Duluth was connected to Minneapolis by the ''[[North Star (Amtrak train)|North Star]]'' passenger train from 1978 to 1985. The [[North Shore Scenic Railroad]] operated seasonal excursion trains on its line to [[Two Harbors, Minnesota|Two Harbors]]. The former [[Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway]], now part of the [[Canadian National Railway]], operates taconite-hauling trains in the area. Duluth is also served by the [[BNSF Railway]], the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], and the [[Union Pacific Railroad]].

A proposal to restore service between the Twin Cities and the Twin Ports via the [[Northern Lights Express]] was first made in 2000. Detailed plans and environmental assessments have since been completed, but the project has yet to be fully funded.

===Air Transport===
[[Duluth International Airport]] serves the city and surrounding region with daily flights to [[Minneapolis]] and [[Chicago]]. Nearby municipal airports are [[Sky Harbor Airport (Minnesota)|Duluth Sky Harbor]] on Minnesota Point and the [[Richard I. Bong Airport]] in Superior. Both the Bong Airport and Bong Bridge are named for famed World War II pilot and highest-scoring American World War II air ace [[Richard Bong|Major Richard Ira "Dick" Bong]], a native of nearby [[Poplar, Wisconsin]].

===Highways===
The Duluth area marks the northern endpoint of [[Interstate 35 in Minnesota|Interstate Highway 35]], which stretches south to [[Laredo, Texas]]. [[U.S. highway|U.S. Highways]] that serve the area are [[U.S. Route 53|U.S. Highway 53]], which stretches from [[La Crosse, Wisconsin]], to [[International Falls, Minnesota|International Falls]], and [[U.S. Route 2 in Minnesota|U.S. Highway 2]], which stretches from [[Everett, Washington]], to [[St. Ignace, Michigan|St. Ignace]], in the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]]. The southwestern part of the city has Thompson Hill, where travelers entering Duluth on I-35 can see most of Duluth, including the [[Aerial Lift Bridge]] and the waterfront. There are two freeway connections from Duluth to Superior. U.S. 2 provides a connection into Superior via the [[Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge]]; [[Interstate 535]] runs [[Concurrency (road)|concurrently]] with U.S. 53 over the [[John A. Blatnik Bridge|John Blatnik Bridge]].

Many state highways serve the area. [[Minnesota State Highway 23|Highway 23]] runs diagonally across Minnesota, indirectly connecting Duluth to [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]. [[Minnesota State Highway 33|Highway 33]] provides a western bypass of Duluth connecting [[Interstate 35 in Minnesota|Interstate 35]], which comes up from the Twin Cities to U.S. 53, which leads to Iron Range cities and International Falls. [[Minnesota State Highway 61|Highway 61]] provides access to [[Thunder Bay]], [[Ontario]], via the [[North Shore (Lake Superior)|North Shore]] of Lake Superior. [[Minnesota State Highway 194|Highway 194]] provides a [[spur route]] into the city of Duluth known as "Central Entrance" and Mesaba Avenue. [[Wisconsin Highway 13]] reaches along Lake Superior's [[South Shore (Lake Superior)|South Shore]]. [[Wisconsin Highway 35]] runs along Wisconsin's western border for {{convert|412|mi|km}} to its southern terminus at the [[Wisconsin]]–[[Illinois]] border ({{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in|disp=or}} north of [[East Dubuque, Illinois|East Dubuque]]). Highway 61 and parts of Highways 2 and 53 are segments of the [[Lake Superior Circle Tour]] route that follows Lake Superior through Minnesota, Ontario, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

====Major highways====
* [[File:I-35.svg|20px]] [[Interstate 35]]
* [[File:I-535.svg|24px]] [[Interstate 535]]
* [[File:US 2.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 2]]
* [[File:US 53.svg|20px]] [[U.S. Highway 53]]
* [[File:MN-23.svg|20px]] [[Minnesota State Highway 23]]
* [[File:MN-61.svg|20px]] [[Minnesota State Highway 61]] – North Shore
* [[File:MN-194.svg|20px]] [[Minnesota State Highway 194]] – Central Entrance – Mesaba Avenue
* [[File:MN-210.svg|20px]] [[Minnesota State Highway 210]]
* [[File:St Louis County Route 4 MN.svg|20px]] [[St. Louis County Road 4|Saint Louis County Road 4]] – Rice Lake Road

{{wide image|John A. Blatnik Bridge (2006).jpg|900px|[[Blatnik Bridge]] looking east}}

===Port of Duluth–Superior===
At the western end of the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]], the Duluth–Superior [[port]] is North America's largest and farthest-inland freshwater port.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Galioto|first=Katie |title=Is Duluth the most inland seaport in North America? |url=https://www.startribune.com/is-duluth-the-most-inland-seaport-in-north-america/510139371/ |access-date=July 15, 2024 |website=Star Tribune}}</ref> The port handles an average of {{convert|46|e6ST|tonne}} of cargo and over 1,100 visits each year from domestic and international vessels. With {{convert|49|mi|km}} of waterfront, it is one of North America's leading bulk cargo ports and ranks among the top 20 ports in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth Seaway Port Authority |url=http://www.duluthport.com/port.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903124353/http://www.duluthport.com/port.php |archive-date=September 3, 2011 |access-date=August 12, 2011 |publisher=Duluthport.com}}</ref> Duluth is a major shipping port for [[taconite]] pellets, made from concentrated low-grade iron ore and destined for midwestern and eastern steel mills. The arrival schedule of the ships that pass under the bridge is available, and locals and visitors gather to watch them enter the harbor. Despite their size, large sections of the Great Lakes freeze over in winter, interrupting most shipping from January to March.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Duluth Ship Schedule |url=https://canalpark.com/duluth-ship-schedule/ |access-date=January 23, 2022 |website=Canal Park.com}}</ref>

[[File:Duluth Trip - May 2015 - MV Apollon (17462719176).jpg|thumb|MV ''Apollon'', registered in Greece]]

Two types of ships regularly enter the port: the lakers and the salties. The lakers, which comprise over 90% of the port traffic, are the larger cargo ships built specially to sail the Great Lakes, with the largest ones over 1,000 feet long. They are mostly self-unloaders, with a long boom mounted on the upper deck. Their traffic is limited to the Great Lakes because they are too large to fit through the [[St. Lawrence Seaway]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Philip R. Clarke |url=http://duluthshippingnews.com/ship0189/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123091644/http://duluthshippingnews.com/ship0189/ |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |access-date=January 23, 2022 |website=Duluth Shipping News}}</ref> The salties are smaller ships with a maximum size of 740 feet. They typically have sharply cutaway bows as compared to the lakers' vertical ones, as well as a series of cranes rising above their decks. They are small enough to navigate the St. Lawrence Seaway. Other than their size, they can also be identified by their color, often blue, red, or green. The lakers are generally black or rust.

===Utilities===
Duluth gets electric power from Duluth-based [[Minnesota Power]], a subsidiary of ALLETE Corporation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Businesses - ALLETE, Inc. |url=http://www.allete.com/our_businesses/minnesota_power.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309052003/http://www.allete.com/our_businesses/minnesota_power.php |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |access-date=June 26, 2012}}</ref> Minnesota Power produces energy at generation facilities located throughout northern Minnesota and a generation plant in North Dakota. The latter supplies electricity into the MP system by the [[Square Butte (transmission line)|Square Butte]] [[HVDC]] line, which ends near the town.

Minnesota Power primarily uses western coal to generate electricity but also has a number of small hydroelectric facilities, the largest of which is the [[Thomson Dam (Minnesota)|Thomson Dam]] southwest of Duluth on the Saint Louis River.

In December 2006, Minnesota Power began purchasing all the energy generated from the new 50-MW Oliver Wind I Energy Center built by NextEra Resources near [[Center, North Dakota]]. In 2007, Minnesota Power entered into a second 25-year wind [[power purchase agreement]] with NextEra. A 48-MW facility was built adjacent to the initial Oliver County wind farm, and new generators began commercial operation in November 2007.

Construction began in 2010 on the 76-MW Bison Wind I Energy Center near [[New Salem, North Dakota]]. Bison I represents the first wave of Minnesota Power-constructed wind farms that will be built in south central North Dakota and linked to Minnesota by way of a {{convert|465|mi|km|adj=on}} direct current (DC) transmission line. In 2010, ALLETE finalized an agreement to purchase a 250-kilovolt DC line between Center, North Dakota, and Hermantown, Minnesota (near ALLETE headquarters in Duluth), and phase out a long-term contract to buy coal-generated electricity transmitted over the line.
[[File:Lakewood Pumphouse Duluth 1915.jpg|alt=Black-and-white photo of a Romanesque revival building along a lakeshore with pine trees|thumb|Duluth's Lakewood [[Pumping station|Pumphouse]], built in 1896 and pictured in 1915, is still in use today]]
Because of wind energy demand, Duluth has recently become a port for wind energy parts shipments from overseas and the Midwestern hub for shipments out to various wind energy sites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Brooks |date=November 19, 2020 |title=Another record season for wind turbine shipments at Duluth port |url=https://www.startribune.com/another-record-season-for-wind-turbine-shipments-at-duluth-port/573132121/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423033459/https://www.startribune.com/another-record-season-for-wind-turbine-shipments-at-duluth-port/573132121/ |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |access-date=May 18, 2021 |website=[[Star Tribune]]}}</ref>

Duluth's water supply is sourced from Lake Superior and treated at the Lakewood Water Treatment Plant. The plant's oldest structure, the Lakewood Pumphouse, was built in 1896 in [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] style, replacing older facilities that had been unable to prevent a [[Typhoid fever|typhoid]] epidemic. It was designed by William Patton. A 42-inch original [[Water distribution system|main]] from 1896, one of two leaving the facility with clean, treated water, is still in use today. The system supplies approximately 100,000 people in Duluth and nearby towns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boone |first=Robert |date=February 18, 2016 |title=The water of Duluth |url=https://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/02/18/106014-the-water-of-duluth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518123128/https://duluthreader.com/articles/2016/02/18/106014-the-water-of-duluth |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |access-date=May 18, 2021 |website=Duluth Reader |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dierckins |first=Tony |date=April 21, 2017 |title=Lakewood Pump House |url=http://zenithcity.com/archive/historic-architecture/lakewood-pump-house/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116220050/http://zenithcity.com/archive/historic-architecture/lakewood-pump-house/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=May 18, 2021 |website=Zenith City Online |language=en-US}}</ref>

Throughout its history, Duluth's sewers have overflowed when it rains, causing untreated sewage to flow into Lake Superior and the Saint Louis River. In 2001 alone, the overflow amounted to over {{convert|6.9|e6USgal|L impgal}}. The City of Duluth has recently taken measures to eliminate sewage overflows; in 2013, the improvements were three years ahead of schedule.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

===Fire department===
According to a 2013 report, the city of Duluth was protected by 132 paid, professional firefighters of the city of [[Duluth Fire Department]] that year.<ref name=DuluthFDStudy2012-03/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fire Department : City of Duluth, MN |url=http://www.duluthmn.gov/fire/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321223935/http://www.duluthmn.gov/fire/ |archive-date=March 21, 2013 |access-date=February 19, 2013}}</ref> The Duluth Fire Department responded to 12,231 fire and emergency medical calls in 2015.

The Duluth Fire Department operates out of eight fire stations throughout the city, under the command of an Assistant Chief, Squad 251. The department also operates a fire apparatus fleet of six engines, one tower ladder, two quints, one heavy-duty rescue, two light medical response vehicles, and numerous other special, support, and reserve units.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}