News Tribune welcomes visitors to new location (2024)

DULUTH — The Duluth News Tribune has settled into its new digs at 222 W. Superior St. and is again opening its doors to the public.

Front desk service is available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Upon arrival, visitors are directed to ring the video doorbell to gain access through the secure entrance system.

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

Guests are welcome to stop in to say hello, drop a news tip and pick up the latest print edition during designated times, or they may schedule an appointment outside business hours.

Although centralized services or transactions such as placing a classified advertisem*nt are no longer handled at the Duluth site, staff will connect visitors with the appropriate contact.

Since its former home, 424 W. First St., was placed on the market in 2017, the publication faced a longer-than-anticipated transition into its new home, which better reflects its current operations as a multimedia news and advertising agency, according to Publisher Neal Ronquist.

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

“Our old location served us well. It was right in the heart of City Hall and the courthouse,” said Ronquist, who serves as publisher for the Duluth Media Group, which also includes the Superior Telegram, Cloquet Pine Journal and The Woman Today. “We were a print-centric business, and that’s what we did and we did it really well for a lot of years. But now, obviously, the future is digital.”

With an expansive geographical coverage area ranging across the Northland, Ronquist felt that offering the option to work in-office, hybrid or remotely would increase efficiency and improve work-life balance for employees of the fast-paced industry.

“I had this vision of downsizing our office to a more suitable size that is more modern and more technology-related,” Ronquist said. “We had started to dive into that even prior to the pandemic.”

After six years, the 64,000-square-foot building at 424 W. First St. was sold to the Duluth school district in late 2023, and the News Tribune turned the page into a new era.

“It's been a long journey to get to this point in time,” Ronquist said. “This is the next generation, the next iteration of the Duluth News Tribune, Superior Telegram, Cloquet Pine Journal and the Woman Today. Going forward, this is who we are.”

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

In a sense, the modernized newspaper operation has returned full circle to its roots in the Minnesota National Bank Building, at one time home to the Duluth Budgeteer newspaper.

Next door at 220 W. Superior St. is the Duluth Herald Building, once home to the precursor of the News Tribune.

The newly renovated 5,100-square-foot office is located on the street level in the downtown business district.

Parking behind the building in the Duluth Transit Authority ramp is free for the first hour, and the building connects to the skywalk.

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

The newsroom consists of 27 employees, with an advertising team of six, as well as two employees in distribution, two in finance and one in IT.

Having completed the move, staff can now focus completely on business, Ronquist said.

Dan Williamson / Duluth Media Group

“What type of content do our audience members respond to best? What should we try in the sales environment?” he said. “We’re so much more today than a newspaper.

"What still exists is that we’re here to tell the stories of the community. We’re here to base those stories on fact. We’re here to hold our government-elected officials accountable. We’re here to be the community’s biggest cheerleader.”

A formal open house will be scheduled this summer.