Arizona

Over objections, Duluth City Council approves marketing contract with Arizona firm

Published

1 year ago

December 10, 2024

Over objections, Duluth City Council approves marketing contract with Arizona firm

DULUTH — A conflicted City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to approve a $3.2 million two-year contract with Madden Media, an Arizona-based firm selected to market Duluth as a tourist destination.

Council President Roz Randorf described the process of being convinced to support the contract as “extremely frustrating.”

“But tonight, as a council, we have one legally sound decision to make, and that is to vote ‘yes’ on this RFP process,” she said, noting the

city attorney’s advice that councilors follow the recommendations of a panel

appointed to evaluate and score the applications of 26 firms that responded to the city’s request for proposals.

That

evaluation put Madden, a national firm headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, ahead of its local competitors,

even though businesses based in Duluth were awarded a 10% scoring advantage over out-of-town applicants.

Randorf said the process, as it was designed, did not afford her “the luxury to say no, even though I want to.”

Randorf advised the city administration that she would expect better outcomes in the future.

“We need a broader conversation about how important local is,” she said.

Randorf suggested that outsourcing the marketing work “undermines local expertise and siphons money and jobs away from this community.”

But Karen Pionk, general manager of the Duluth Sheraton and former president of Visit Duluth’s board of directors, urged the council to approve the proposed contract with Madden, allowing time for the city to reconstitute its own former destination-marketing organization. Visit Duluth once filled that role but saw much of its work outsourced to Bellmont Partners, a Minneapolis firm, three years ago after the city decided to pursue a different marketing strategy.

“The priority right now is Visit Duluth’s stability,” Pionk said, stressing the time needed for the local organization to search out and hire a new executive director to lead its efforts to take over full local tourism marketing responsibilities in two years’ time.

Mayor Roger

Reinert has expressed support for seeing that work return to Visit Duluth.

In the interim, however, Pionk called for a smooth transition, saying: “We cannot afford disruption that could jeopardize the hard-earned trust we’ve established with our visitors and our clients.”

But 1st District Councilor Wendy Durrwacht said she could not vote in good conscience to approve a contract with Madden.

“I’m really pleased to see the city moving toward a DMO model, and I support that fully,” she said. Nevertheless, Durrwachter explained that she lacked confidence in the process that led to the selection of Madden.

“It’s not that I’m convinced it was faulty. It’s that I’m not convinced it wasn’t,” she said, noting that the council had received “a ton of email from people with concerns.”

Without greater insight into the evaluation process or sufficient time to request a redo with the current Bellmont Partners contract set to expire at the end of the month, Durrwachter said she felt compelled to vote against the resolution to award the work to Madden.

While she, too, expressed reservations, at large Councilor Lynn Marie Nephew noted that the city had set forth and faithfully followed an objective public process to select an organization that would lead Duluth’s tourism-marketing efforts for the next two years.

“I feel it’s our job as a governing body — as the City Council — to complete this part of the process,” Nephew said. “So, I do feel a bit like our hands are tied.”

Nephew, too, said she would have preferred to see the marketing dollars spent locally but also noted Madden appears to be a capable partner. Nephew said she also takes some solace in knowing that the firm has agreed to contract with local talent — including writers, photographers and videographers — as it puts together its promotional campaigns.

Peter Passi covers city and county government for the Duluth News Tribune. He joined the paper in April 2000, initially as a business reporter but has worked a number of beats through the years.

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Arizona

Haitian man detained at Arizona ICE facility dies in US custody, brother says

Published

5 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Haitian man detained at Arizona ICE facility dies in US custody, brother says

FLORENCE, AZ (AP) — A Haitian man confined at an Arizona immigration detention center for months died at a hospital Monday after a tooth infection was left untreated, the man’s brother said Wednesday.

Emmanuel Damas, 56, told medical personnel at the Florence Correctional Center that he had a toothache in mid-February, but he was not sent to a dentist, said Damas’ brother, Presly Nelson.

Nelson believes the staff at the facility did not take his brother’s complaints seriously, even though it was a treatable condition. Nelson said he would expect such a death in countries with less access to health care, but not in the United States.

“As a country — I’m an American now — I think we can do better than that,” Nelson said.

Damas is among at least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. ICE had said it hoped to issue a news release Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, ICE officials announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who had been in a California ICE detention center and died in the hospital Feb. 27 after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath.

Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse, said she was contacted by Damas’ family after his death.

“As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen,” Ellis said. “It does not make sense to me.”

A report from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Damas’ cause of death as “pending” as of Wednesday.

Damas was taken into ICE custody in September and was soon transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center, where he was held for several months, including after his asylum application was denied, Ellis said.

CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company that runs the Florence facility, did not respond to emails seeking comment.

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Arizona

3 men sentenced in Arizona for multi-million dollar scam against Amazon

Published

17 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

3 men sentenced in Arizona for multi-million dollar scam against Amazon

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Three Valley men have been sentenced for their roles in what prosecutors described as a “sophisticated fraud scheme” against an online shopping giant.

In a news release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Mughith Faisal, 29, of Glendale, was sentenced on Feb. 5 to 18 months in prison. His brother, Basheer Faisal, 28, of Glendale, was also recently ordered to spend 18 months in prison.

The feds said a third defendant in the case, Abdullah Alwan, 28, of Surprise, was sentenced to six months in prison after the trio pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Prosecutors said the three were also each ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to Amazon.

According to federal officials, Alwan worked in Amazon’s logistics division and left the company in 2021 when he reportedly used his knowledge to manipulate rates for transportation deliveries assigned to Amazon’s third-party carriers.

The feds said Basheer and Mughith Faisal used “Blue Line Transport” to knowingly get to increased transport rates that Alwan would then input into Amazon’s system, ripping them off out of $4.5 million.

The FBI’s Phoenix Division helped in the investigation, which was then prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

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Arizona

Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 3, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Arizona Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 results for March 3, 2026

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Tuesday, March 3, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers

07-21-53-54-62, Mega Ball: 16

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

2-0-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

02-05-18-27-41

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

11-14-17-19-23-24

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.

You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.

To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:

5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
5 white balls = $1 million.
4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
4 white balls = $100.
3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
3 white balls = $7.
2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
1 red Powerball = $4.

There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:

Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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