UO > Community Profile

“It comes down to two things: the professional aspect of a strong medical community and living in a healthy atmosphere.” That’s what Dr. Timothy Rubin says when asked why he chose Duluth over other Midwest cities. “I had an opportunity to stay in Minneapolis, work at another hospital in St. Paul, or move to St. Cloud, Fargo, or Marquette, Michigan but we chose Duluth because of what we perceived as a good place for us to start a family and for me to work with very competent and motivated people.” Talking during his lunch on a mild March afternoon from the Duluth Lakewalk amid the sounds of seagulls, the lapping of lazy waves from Lake Superior onto a pebble beach, and the bustle of others enjoying the mild temperatures, it seems Rubin made a good choice.

Its location at the western end of Lake Superior provides Duluth with access to Lake Superior shipping routes as well as the iron rich deposits of Northern Minnesota and the great virgin forests of Minnesota and Northern Wisconsin. Some of the 20th century’s greatest industrialists recognized the value of this spot and here built the communities of Duluth and neighboring Superior, Wisconsin. The likes of Carnegie and Rockefeller, along with regional industrialists Amnicon, Cooke, and Congdon came to the region, added it’s natural abundance to their empires, and stamped their names into the city’s parks, buildings, and institutions. In 1900, Duluth had more resident millionaires per capita than any other city in the country. They built magnificent homes, libraries, office buildings, and city parks, and left a legacy of philanthropy that is continued today, on a reduced scale, by the city’s wealthy elite.

Duluth is perched along a ridge line that runs northeast/southwest overlooking Lake Superior and the harbor. The Duluth/Superior port is the world’s largest freshwater port, offering access to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. The busy port trades America’s raw goods: iron, corn, wheat, lumber, and coal. But the mining and manufacturing industries of the 20th century have been supplanted by health care as the city’s main economic force.

Duluth’s geographic location makes it a hub for health care. “You would need to go to Minneapolis or Rochester to find the level of care provided by the medical industry in Duluth,” says Marci Jackson of St. Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health Systems. Duluth’s medical industry is essential to people in Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Otherwise they would have to drive three to eight hours for advanced medical services. The Duluth Chamber of Commerce statistics state that the three top private employers in the city are health-care providers. The Chamber also estimates that the health-care industry adds over $1 billion annually to the area’s economy.

Duluth’s hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, research facilities, nursing schools, and the medicine program at the University of Minnesota, Duluth work together to create an atmosphere of cooperation and community often only associated with small towns or rural areas. “Hospital management is very concerned with maintaining a high level of patient care,” says Rubin. “And if we have any departmental complaint they listen and help solve problems quickly. There is very high esprit de corps.”

The small size of the city and comfortable pace make it a reasonable place to practice. “Duluth has a low hassle factor. It takes me ten minutes to get to work,” says Rubin, a gastroenterologist. “I can’t speak for every department, but I have a manageable work load. I wouldn’t want more or less patients, and the patients that I do see are very courteous, pleasant, and appreciative of the work and care that I give. I wasn’t used to that coming from Minneapolis. Most of my patients here are middle class, hard working, and family oriented. Living in a smaller community makes my wife and me feel safer.”

Lori Bouman, a former ER nurse, would seem to concur. “When I worked at the Hennepin County General in Minneapolis we would sometimes have people waiting four hours before being seen, or 20 to 30 patients waiting for care after seeing the triage nurse. The pace in Duluth is much different. I came to Duluth to escape the rat race. Profession-ally, I’ve been very pleased; I feel there is a lot of room to grow either vertically or laterally into different specialties.”

The opportunities are perhaps due to the growth of the health-care industry. That growth is felt everywhere in the city: in the bulging help wanted section of the Duluth News Tribune, in the perennial sponsorship of local events, in the continued infrastructure investments of over $150 million in the last few years. The medical industry seems to only strengthen—exceeding even the best aspirations Duluth’s original industrialists probably had for timber, iron, and grain.

Ask anyone who lives in Duluth or the surrounding communities what they like most and “the lake” is their first answer. It is a powerful lure. With a surface area of 31,700 square miles—it feels more like an ocean than a lake—Lake Superior defines the city’s identity. But it’s a mostly benevolent master. When other places in the Midwest are suffering under sweltering waves of humidity, the lake acts like a giant air conditioner, comforting Duluth with soft breezes and calm waters. Conversely, Lake Superior also warms, giving Duluth a milder winter than those at the same latitudes but further from the lake. That doesn’t mean the lake itself is necessarily warm. The average water temperature is a brisk 40 degrees. This doesn’t stop people from crossing over the Duluth shipping canal via the 1906 Aerial Lift Bridge to the seven-mile-long white sand beach called Park Point. The nature preserve/city park at the end of the point is used by the city’s residents year round.

Duluthians are an active bunch. Northern Minnesota could seem challenging to people from more consistent climates. With an average high in January of 16.2° and snowfall of 77.5,” coupled with a July high of 76.8° and rainfall of 30,” Duluth is a rather vigorous place to live. But profound seasonal change is eagerly embraced by residents. Winter blizzards that dump feet of snow and arctic cold that makes the outdoors colder than an average freezer are often met by the local population with cries of joy for snowmobiling, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, ice fishing, ice skating, snow shoeing, and dog sledding.

The spring thaw inspires exuberant gardening. Call it pent up desire over the winter months or the love of green or a passion for produce, but the people of Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin relish home gardening. Local radio shows carry on a conversation year round, the PBS station highlights the best local gardeners, Duluth’s farmers’ market is always active, and by the end of the summer growing season, the word zucchini is uttered with both love and loathing, for they seem to grow the best.

As summer gardeners toil, others are angling, searching for the best spot to fish on the lake and in the streams, from canoes, bass boats, row boats, and in waders. Fishing is often combined with camping. Duluth’s proximity to the Superior National Forest, Voyageurs National Park, the Boundary Water Canoe Area, the Canadian Quetico Provincial Park, Apostle Islands National Lake Shore, and 15 state parks makes camping, backpacking, and hiking opportunities less than a half-day’s drive from the city. The many smaller local lakes as well as Lake Superior support boating and kayaking in great numbers: jet skis, motor boats, sail boats, and kayaks all share the summer’s ample recreational opportunities.

The fall of the year is another favorite season. The oak, maple, birch, and aspen change colors in strikingly beautiful harmony. The first hard frost, usually in the first week in October, also signals a new harvest bounty as Wisconsin and Minnesota apple growers hold local festivals. November brings big game hunting for deer, turkey, and bear.

The seasons are dramatic, each wholly different from the other. In deep winter it is almost unbelievable that the snow will melt, but by fall, the arrival of winter’s majestic white blanket is often rejoiced. Seasonal change in Duluth adds to the romance of the city. A fully restored Victorian mansion built by a long forgotten industrialist looks best in winter with snow draped on its multi-angled roof. The city ball parks where children play out their major league fantasies in summer are flooded and turned into ice skating rinks to nurture winter dreams of Olympic Championships and Stanley Cup finals. The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon gives way to the summertime Grandma’s Marathon. The lake’s winter ice breaks up and yields the harbor to 1000-foot ore ships and ocean-going vessels from around the world in summer.