Star Tribune
Two dead in third fatal fire at same Duluth apartment building since 2020
Two people are dead and two firefighters were injured after an early Saturday morning fire became the third fatal blaze to hit the same Duluth apartment building in as many years.
Duluth Deputy Fire Chief Mike Consie said firefighters responded to reports of a fire at the two-story, eight-unit apartment complex at 631 E. 3rd St., just after 6 a.m., Saturday and arrived to see smoke and quickly advancing fire inside the building.
One second-story occupant later died at a hospital after being removed from a window and given life-saving measures, according to the Duluth Fire Department. A second victim, in the same apartment, was later found dead after firefighters had to suspend rescue efforts when the room “flashed over,” according to an update provided Saturday evening.
Firefighters were able to rescue other tenants, while others escaped on their own. Consie said several cats were rescued and an unknown number of others perished in the fire.
Officials have yet to identify the person who died. Consie said that two firefighters sustained burns while trying to rescue residents. Those firefighters were treated at urgent care and have been released.
The state fire marshal is also investigating the fire because it involved a fatality.
The fire department did not have a total number of people displaced by the fire as of Saturday late afternoon.
Deputy Chief John Otis said the structure previously had fatal fires in August 2020 and April 2021, and both were determined to be accidental. The cause of Saturday’s fire is still being investigated.
Otis confirmed that the building was licensed as an apartment building and was due for a triannual inspection in August, but it had no open code violations at the time of the most recent fire.
The two preceding fatal fires were contained in small areas within the solid brick structure, but Otis said Saturday’s fire would likely require the building to be demolished because it destroyed more than half of the building’s roof.
Otis said that condemnation cases were filed related to both previous fatal fires but lifted after the building was brought back into compliance.
Star Tribune
Duluth students’ Climate Club inches toward a solar victory, seven years after founding
“We’ve been promoting solar, the board’s been promoting solar, been lobbying for solar,” Magas said. “We just have to do so in an affordable, responsible way.”
The Lincoln Park project would be a collaboration between the school district, the city and Minnesota Power; the school and the city would each get a portion of the power generated. The application begins in January.
“That would be an opportunity that the solar club is really excited about, and I am, too,” Magas said. Though it would still need to be approved, Magas said there are some factors that may help their chances. “The site is perfect, it’s got a lot of good perks with it being associated with learning and the schools. It’s very visually prominent with it coming up out of the city; it’s perfectly poised for catching sunlight.”
Magas noted more potential roadblocks for the smaller proposed array at Stowe Elementary, including costs and structural concerns over the weight of the solar panels on the roof. The district is having an engineer review the school’s building plans.
The district was preapproved for $500,000 from a new state Solar for Schools grant for the Stowe array, or 50% of the estimated cost of the installation.
The Climate Club said an extra 40% of the total cost could be paid for in the form of tax credits awarded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, leaving a bill of around $100,000. The deadline for the school to complete its final Solar for Schools application is Dec. 20.
Looking for ways to stay warm and active this winter? U.S. Bank has announced the return of a popular program that allows runners and inline skaters access to stadium facilities on some cold winter nights.
The Winter Warm-Up begins Tuesday, Dec. 3. It will be offered on most Tuesday and Thursday evenings in December and January from 5-9 p.m., according to a news release from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Inline skating takes place on the stadium’s main concourse and indoor running on the stadium’s upper concourse. The program is all ages, with a required waiver.
Skaters must provide their own skates, helmet and other safety gear, with no equipment rental available. Runners must wear proper footwear.
Winter Warm-Up tickets are $15 and must be purchased on ticketmaster.com. Participants should enter via the skyway entrance at 740 S 4th Street.
The boom of yet another car crash was as jarring as it was familiar, reverberating in Albert Padilla’s townhouse one afternoon this year as he watched T.V.
“Instantly,” he recalled, “I knew something had happened.”
He rushed outside, running without shoes toward the heavily trafficked intersection of Biscayne Avenue and County Road 42 in southwestern Rosemount, where a car appeared to have spun out, he said. Inside, a woman lay pinned between airbags and the driver-side door.
Padilla and his wife live in a townhome development on a corner of this busy intersection. Residents and local officials agree something needs to be done to boost safety in the area. The node, not far from a gym, numerous single-family homes and a soon-to-be-constructed middle school, is a hotspot for collisions: 56 incidents have occurred since January 2019 where Biscayne Avenue crosses County Road 42, also known in that area as 150th St. W., according to Rosemount Police Department data.
That’s about 11 crashes a year over a roughly five-year span. And although none have been fatal, data shows 30% of all incidents resulted in injuries.
“As we continue to grow, it’s going to get more and more busy,” said Padilla, who works in Shakopee and navigates the corner on his morning and evening commutes. “More and more accidents are going to happen.”
A traffic light is slated for the area in coordination with a new middle school coming to the southeastern corner of the intersection. Officials will also realign part of Biscayne Avenue to reduce its skewed orientation, which impedes visibility. But that light installation and realignment won’t be complete until 2027, frustrating residents who say the node needs a makeover — now.
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