Duluth – The proposed agreement heading to City Council on Monday can help you visit Duluth as a community marketer.
For decades, visiting Duluth oversaw the city's efforts to sell itself as a tourist destination. However, their own organizations have played the second fiddle in the suburbs that have been brought to lead promotional campaigns in recent years.
Most recently, the city awarded Maddenmedia a $3.2 million contract and selected a Tucson, Arizona-based company to lead tourism advertising claims for the next two years.
However, councillors are expected to vote for an agreement with Visit Duluth, which will allow local organizations to be returned to the driver's seat over the next five years.
Duluth Visit is expected to receive just $650,000 in funding from the city next year, but the pending contract is planning to oversee Madden Media as the group moves to Duluth's major destination marketing organization.
Madden's contract with Duluth expired in 2027, and by visiting Duluth at that point, Duluth was able to decide to either bring more work back in the company or continue to acquire work from third-party partners such as Madden.
Lynn Williams, visiting the board of directors in Duluth, said the five-year deadline for the proposed agreement headed for the council would help clarify and solidify the city's commitment to bring the organization back to its leadership role.
This is especially useful for visiting Duluth as organizations continue to look for executive directors to lead the change. Williams noted that recruiting company visit Duluth, a staff member at Searchwide Global, is held to support recruitment efforts, and is interested in the surge in position as city officials plan to formally restructure the organization in black and white and get Duluth's future marketing efforts.
Karen Pionk, the general manager of the Duluth Sheraton and another member of Visiting Duluth's board of directors, is also forecasting contracts that will prove useful to the organization in searching for new leadership if approved Monday.
If everything goes according to the plan, Visit Duluth will begin reviewing and narrowing down the candidate's field, dodging it by just a handful of finalists who are likely to be extended by mid-May. Pionk and Williams said they were not counted for the number of applications they have already received for their leadership position, but both reported being encouraged by what they have heard so far from Searchwide staff.
It remains unclear whether the Duluth visit will request additional funds from the city to help bring in new leadership. When District 3 City Councilman Roz Landorf asked what type of funding gap the organization expected, Williams did not provide a quote. She noted that the Duluth visit is seeking to reduce costs that are unrelated to the operation of the visitor centre, and aims to minimize potential future demands for additional aid.
Currently, visiting Duluth's city contracts is expected to grow at just 2% in 2026, adding just $13,000 to the $650,000 it plans to receive in 2025.
However, once Duluth stepped into the expanded role in 2027, its funding photos could change dramatically.
About Duluth City Council
Duluth City Council Regular Meetings take place every month at 2pm at 6pm and 5pm at 5pm in the fourth month at 5pm, and will take place in room 330 at City Hall, unless otherwise scheduled.
District 1: Wendy Dalwachter
representative: Duluth City District 1-7
Expiration: January 3, 2028
contact: 218-730-5700, extension 3, [email protected]
representative: Duluth City District 8-13
Expiration: January 5th, 2026
contact: 218-428-9195/218-730-5355, [email protected]
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representative: 14-19 Duluth City Centre
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contact: 218-443-8364/218-730-5353, [email protected]
representative: Duluth City District 21-27
Expiration: January 5th, 2026
contact: 218-730-5356, [email protected]
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District 5: Janet Kennedy
representative: Duluth City District 28-35
Expiration: January 3, 2028
contact: 218-341-6113/218-730-5357, [email protected]
representative: All Duluth city grounds
Expiration: January 5th, 2026
contact: 218-730-5359, [email protected]
representative: All Duluth city grounds
Expiration: January 3, 2028
contact: 218-730-5352, [email protected]
Overall: Lynn Marie Neffy, Vice President
representative: All Duluth city grounds
Expiration: January 3, 2028
contact: 218-730-5354, [email protected]
Overall: President, Tereze Tomanek
representative: All Duluth city grounds
Expiration: January 5th, 2026
contact: 218-216-9126, [email protected]
Peter Passy covers the city and county governments of the Duluth News Tribune. He first joined the paper in April 2000 as a business reporter, but has worked many beats over the years.
