David's Blog

UMD will soon host its first Dinner with Champions celebration. The goal is to connect our university with our community in a shared celebration that will honor and show appreciation for our outstanding student athletes.

We have much to celebrate... a NCAA Hockey National Championship for the Men's Hockey Team; two recent NCAA Division II Football Championships for our football team; and five recent Women's Hockey Team NCAA Championships. Clearly, UMD's talented student athletes have done their part in bringing positive attention to our beloved city. Our community's profile has been lifted up and enhanced by these fine young men and women. Our Shining City on the Hill shines more brightly because of UMD's abundant success.

It is time for us to give back to these student athletes and to the University that brings them together.

We need your participation and your financial support to make this celebration a success. You would be a hero if you sponsored a table of eight attendees (four student athletes will join you and your three colleagues at your table). You can also sponsor a single UMD student athlete.

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Join us at the Lake Superior Ballroom in the City Side Convention Center at the DECC. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. The dinner and program begin at 6:15.

You can register by going to www.umdbulldogs.com or contact my friend and role model, Karen Stromme, UMD's Assistant Athletic Director. Karen will welcome your questions and your registrations. She can be reached at 726-7143 or kstromme@d.umn.edu. You can also open the attached invitation for additional details.

I hope you will join me and my colleagues at the Chamber as we celebrate UMD's student-athletes.

As a bonus, we will enjoy a motivational presentation, Winners for Life, provided by Head Football Coach Bob Nielson. If you are still not convinced you should attend, consider this... we will enjoy a second motivational presentation, What Makes a Champion?, presented by UMD Women's Hockey Coach Shannon Miller.

I am in. Are you?

In support,
David

Work on the Interstate 35 (I-35) Duluth Mega Project restarted Monday, April 4. Take heart...the majority of the construction work was completed last year. $40 million of the Mega Project's $68 million has been expended. Hopefully, your patience is far from expended. Your continuing patience will be appreciated because work remains to be done. The majority of the remaining $28 million in construction will be completed in 2011. Work will occur from April to October.

The Mega Project entails pavement replacement, bridge repair and bridge replacement from Boundary Avenue, located at the top of Thompson Hill, all the way to 26th Avenue East. The overriding goal of the project is to increase safety and reduce maintenance.

Businesses play a dual role in this Mega Project. First, as citizens impacted by the road work. Second, working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MN/DOT) to keep our customers coming and minimizing inconvenience for our customers. Area businesses and MN/DOT have truly been "in this together" as we prepared for the project prior to 2010. We continue to work together as we prepare for another year of road construction.

Working cooperatively as a group has been productive. Together, the business community has accomplished more than individual businesses could have accomplished. We are combining resources for the maximum benefit. Specifically, the Greater Downtown Council, the Canal Park Business Association, the Lincoln Park Business Group, Visit Duluth and the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce are working well together to prepare businesses for another season of road construction. The Chamber's leadership is pleased and proud to partner in this noble effort.

Two weeks ago, this unprecedented partnership hosted an information session wherein business owners and operators were provided an overview of the upcoming Mega Project work by Roberta Dwyer, 1-35 Duluth Mega Project Manager at MN/DOT. Sixty members of the business community attended the session. Attendees affirmed Roberta Dwyer's assessment that the Mega Project work completed last year was accomplished with less inconvenience than anticipated by travelers and the business community. The partnership is working hard to ensure that Project work in 2011 is, likewise, less onerous than originally anticipated.

Our Emerald City on the Hill will benefit for many years from the work being completed within the Mega Project. Our brothers and sisters in the building trades will enjoy another year of employment as they bring their talent and hard work to the Project. $68 million in federal and state funding is being invested in the gateway to our Shining City, located on the Greatest of the Great Lakes. Travel in and out of our beloved community will occur on safer, more attractive and more comfortable roads.

As we make our way through another year of road construction, we will do well to recognize how the Mega Project will result in mega progress for those of us who choose to reside and work in this uniquely beautiful city.

In support,
David