Advertise on podcast: Simply Superior

The 2023-24 shipping season is over and the iron boats are laid up for the winter — except with our unseasonably warm temperatures, you may be asking, “What winter?” Nevertheless, the port of Duluth-Superior sticks to its schedule, gearing up for the new season in March after posting impressive numbers for iron ore and grain […]

Thirteen years ago, Elton John made history with his performance at a packed Duluth Entertainment Convention Center — one of the Twin Ports’ biggest concerts ever. On Saturday, 30+ local performers, roughly evenly divided between Superior and Duluth, as well as the greater region, returned the respect with a sold-out Elton John tribute concert at […]

After a rainy Christmas and unusually mild December — it was officially the warmest ever December in Duluth — the Twin Ports finally got a blast of sub-zero temperatures this week. Yet that taste of what’s usually normal for the area may be fleeting. There’s still little snow, forcing the cancellation of the 2024 John […]

Two years after he last visited Superior following the 2022 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden has scheduled a return trip to the city. The planned visit, which follows the administration’s announcement this week of $1 billion in federal aid to replace the Blatnik Bridge linking Duluth and Superior, will be highlighted on […]

Originally from suburban Minneapolis, author Sue Leaf first became acquainted with Lake Superior’s South Shore nearly half a century ago, on a long-distance bike trip she and her now-husband didn’t quite complete. That led to a stretch of full-time residency in the area and regular visits to a cabin ever since. Now, she’s chronicled those […]

According to the US Census Bureau, 2024 is Peak 65 — meaning more Americans will reach the traditional retirement age of 65 during 2024 than any previous year in history. In an encore presentation from last year, Dale Johnson of Senior Connections in Superior and Mary Bovee of Duluth’s Age Well Arrowhead join “Simply Superior” […]

While 2023 may be remembered globally for the devastating wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the political arena made for our region’s biggest stories of the year — or in one case, no story at all. Duluth saw its hottest mayoral contest in more than a decade, with former Minnesota legislator Roger Reinert denying […]

Earlier this month, Wisconsin’s Ice Age Trail and the state’s portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail were officially designated as parks under the National Park Service. If that inspires you to hit one or both of them for a winter hike, you might take a page from Emily Ford. The Duluth hiker and […]

Superior Police Chief Nicholas Alexander remembers his first call 25 years ago: An underaged drinking complaint that interrupted breakfast with his training officer at Perkins. He’s still in contact with the then-youthful former offender who’s long been on the straight and narrow — perhaps a testament to the community policing initiatives Alexander championed after taking […]

In November 2022, voters in greater Superior flipped the longtime Democratic-held 73rd Assembly seat to Republican with the election of Angie Sapik of Lake Nebagamon. Sapik joins WPR’s Kate Archer Kent to talk about her first year in office, discussing issues including taxes, habitat management and gender ahead of the 2024 legislative season. Also, Ian […]