Our Vision:
Transform the perception of Duluth to that of a natural wonderland/destination, which affords its residents and visitors intuitive, instant, and public access to any comer of our city and the world; anywhere at any time.
Quickly earn a national reputation of being America's most desirable blend of a world-class pristine-wilderness-gateway and state of the art e-gateway.
A strongly-led effort could gain national media recognition as "a first of its kind" initiative. Many high tech CEO's in Duluth believe a lack of qualified workers is the main barrier to regional economic expansion. They are correct.
Impressing upon our visitors the duality of our incredible natural beauty/lifestyle along with the e-campus mentality will communicate that Duluth is the embodiment of what today's "knowledge" workers seek. This is the Holy Grail for Duluth's future economic viability outside of the tourist and taconite mindset.

Premise:
· Millions of dollars in marketing are spent annually (privately and publicly) to successfully attract tourists to our city. The budget dollars are a given. The results are readily apparent and easy to sell to both taxpayers and those in the accommodations and service industries.
· Efforts to generate economic development are not currently integrated with tourism recruitment. This is an oversight on our part.
· Duluth is a desirable tourist destination for Twin Cities residents, but the same cannot be said for Duluth' s perception as a place to locate (or relocate) a business.
· Our city has an opportunity every day to make an impression as a "great place to live and work" to visitors, who are clearly pre-inclined to like our area (they are paying to be here). Any other strategy wastes half the tourism-marketing budget.
· Very little has been done to market and solicit feedback from folks who have been here.
Objective: Convert tourists to residents
Actions:

· Create, brand, and deploy a system of wireless internet access points centered around the Superior Street/Canal Park hub including an e-business center for travelers located on the main floor of the Tech Village.
· Create a free wireless internet access triangle, bounded by Canal Park, St Mary's, and the Government Center. The "price" to the end-user of this "visitor-value-add" must be demographic information from the tourist. (i.e. free net access and "killer-app information" for a valid e-mail address)
· Create an intranet/extranet (laid over the public network) for visitors, which immediately mirrors the current events and special offers in our area. This will serve as a real-time window to Duluth's activities, daily events and specials, services, business infrastructure, and government.
· Provide local businesses username-and-password-access to instantly (dynamically) alter their content on the “e-city of the north” network.

This package is not only a sure winner, it is incredibly affordable. Visitors will be staying at our newly expanded campground at Spirit Mountain during the day, but dining at a local restaurant in the evening because they learned of a special event while they were "e-wildernessing."

Fighting Crime
Violent deaths are at a crisis level in the Twin Ports. Double-digit numbers of homicides in less than a calendar year are not excusable. We will take back our streets once again so it is safe for our children and seniors to do as they please. We will put police officers "in the face" of criminals. More evidence of our high tech e-city policy will be the use of a crime/suspect internet site which will culminate the re-birth of the comatose Crimestoppers program. Witnesses will be able to assume anonymous identities and give leads to police officers and worry less about giving up their identities because they will be doing it online.

The city will pursue opportunities to allow citizens to report minor crimes online as well, thus freeing up officers to perform more important duties. Paying parking tickets and fines online won't be the favorite new online activity of Duluthians, but it will soon be possible. This type of crime reporting option is already available in Denver, Wichita, San Jose and Minneapolis.

Also, in spite of resistance by city administration at all levels, there will be a Duluth police officer staffing a regional "Financial Crimes Network" office. Presently, that office is located in Superior, Wisconsin. A full-time Duluth police officer will be working out of that office with other local law enforcement agencies, using all the high-tech equipment that has been available for over a year, but not used nearly as much as it should have been.

Fraudtrax is a new product created with the help of a local vendor. He will gift the software to the Duluth Police Department. It will be used as a new alert system to stamp out crimes of identity theft and other frauds. It is light years ahead of the product I have been using as a detective.

Just fighting crime on the surface isn't the answer. Strengthening our after-school activities, especially in the low-income neighborhoods is a must if we are to see success. We have seen cut after cut to those programs. Most of those cuts reflect on Minnesota State Government's cuts to Local Government Aid. They aren't just taking away fun activities from our kids, they are making street-walkers out of them and those kids are finding undesirable activities that are not acceptable!

I will create an endowment fund that uses its annual interest to pay for cultural, educational and recreational activities for youth that wouldn't otherwise have those opportunities. I will not be bashful about asking you for help.

Eco-Tourism
It is high time Duluth realizes the value of its natural beauty. It isn't just about quality of life, it's about big bucks! Everyone who comes to Duluth falls in love. They either want to live here, or they want to return often. Let's make it easier for them to stay here.

Later this month, I will send a list of appointees to the city council for the Spirit Mountain Authority. That board will at long last include someone of Native American heritage. My challenges to that authority shall be these:

· Treat your employees as you would want to be treated.
· Build us a campground that is capable of accepting all types of accommodations.
· Build us a hiking/biking trail that is educational and full of Native American history. Link that trail with the Willard Munger Trail, the zoo and the Bayfront.
· Salvage the ski operations and create a revenue stream that never brings you back to the city council for financial assistance again.

We will also work with the operators of Indian Point campground to make it an even better place to stay. We will work to build a water garden and arboretum at the Bayfront. There will be eco-virtual tours available on the internet, including such venues as Hawk Ridge, Skyline Drive, Park Point and the forests of Spirit Mountain.

Eco-industry
I have already been active with experts in the field of eco-industry. We have a hungry team of eco-experts just waiting for the opportunity to make Duluth the eco-industry hub of the north. We have already been researching the viability of an eco-industrial park right here in Duluth. I have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to discuss the possibility of locating an eco-industrial park here. In France, $18 billion per year is realized as a direct result of eco-industry.

Imagine industries that use the waste of other industries to create new, functional products that result in hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue! It has happened elsewhere and it can happen here. I have asked Ralph Loomis, Associate Professor at St. Scholastica College, and Bill Brakken of the Northland Sustainable Business Alliance to chair an effort to review eco-industrial opportunities in Duluth. Interest in these industries runs deep and we will capitalize on it.

City Planning
Tonight I announce to you the panel of community leaders who will search for and appoint a new city planner. As I said for the past four months, this position is important and should be a person who earns the trust of the community, thereby giving the community a reason to believe in the process.

I thank each of these individuals for their willingness to serve their community.

Once the new planner is on staff, we will begin the process of trying to bring the community back together to finally finish its comprehensive plan.

Regionalizing Government
Talking about bringing the region together is easy to say, but another to really accomplish. It won't be easy. We must check our egos at the door and see to it we are holding the interests of everyone in our hands when we make decisions that really do affect us all.

Next month, I will attend Duluth Days. I will also attend Superior Days in Madison. I have asked Superior's mayor to arrange for a meeting between he and I and the governor. Jim Doyle has been a friend for many years and I know him as a man who will be very interested in helping find ways to assist us in our quest to become a single community of success.

Our designation as a JOB-Z site is just the start of great things to come. I have already spoken with two different companies about locating in a Duluth Tax Free Zone. We'll use HUB designation as a further incentive for creating jobs in these zones, thus creating opportunities for job growth by creating products needed by the federal government.

Duluth's inclusion of the Iron Range in this year's Duluth Days shall be our first sign to the people on the Range that our days of competing are over. Our days of fellowship, trust and mutual respect are beginning. I pledge to offer Range communities a seat on a regional economic development board, in hopes we can partner like never before.