A national organization will be working with Duluth-Superior community volunteers in an initiative designed to spur economic creativity. Jay Stephenson has the story.

The project is to stop the brain from the region. The trick is to stop young people, sometimes the best and brightest, from leaving town. A national foundation has teamed up to bring out this region’s economic creativity. Polly Tallen is the project program director. “This is an initiative where the John and James L. Knight Foundation has pared up with the Duluth/ Superior Area Community Foundation and in partnership we are going to do a year long project, which is inspired by the research and writing of Dr. Richard Florida.” According to Florida’s research, there are four keys to a thriving community – talent, technology, tolerance, and territory. Talen says this area has that potential. “We chose the Duluth/Superior area because of some work that the Knight foundation had already been doing in the area to increase the region’s capacity for economic development, so it was a very nice fit with the work we were already focused on.” Talen says the effort will not be led by only business and civic leaders. “We’re looking to find 30 people who can rally lead this effort and we actually want it to be a varied cross-section of the Twin Ports area, and so that means we’re looking for folks who are already in this economic development world, but then a lot of folks who are from other sectors.” The Knight Creative Communities Initiative is conducting research measuring Duluth and Superior’s potential for supporting a creative economy. The results from that research will be released in May.

• New system to make Apostle Islands kayakers informed, safer -9/2/2010
• Air Force vet running for Obey's seat as independent -9/1/2010
• Ashland's historic ore dock demolition in dispute, closed session set -8/31/2010
• Vietnam vets get thank yous and welcome homes Saturday in Superior -8/30/2010
• Republican Lt. Gov candidates weigh in on what a Lt. Gov does -8/29/2010