Arizona
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.
Believe it or not, the 2026 All-Star Game voting process has already begun, as of Wednesday. Fans who want to see their favorite members of the Arizona Diamondbacks take the field in the midsummer classic this season can begin voting for their stars.
There are certainly some deserving players on this Diamondbacks club, which is currently 32-28 and occupying the third Wild Card sport in the National League.
Here’s how and where you can vote for your hometown heroes:
How to vote for Diamondbacks players to make All-Star Game
Fans can utilize the following link to vote for members of their team on dbacks.com. Fans are permitted to fill out and submit as many as five ballots per day, selecting as many or as few players as they choose.
This period of the fan vote constitutes Phase 1 of All-Star voting, which will run from Wednesday, June 3 through Thursday, June 25 at 9:00 a.m. Arizona time (12:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Following Phase 1, the two overall top vote-getters will receive automatic berths into the All-Star lineups. If those two are not Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge once again, that would be an upset.
When and where is the 2026 All-Star Game?
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Phillies in Philadelphia. All-Star week begins on June 10, with a full slate of activities, before the game is played on Tuesday, July 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (5:00 p.m. Arizona time).
The full schedule of events are as follows:
- Friday, July 10: HBCU Swingman Classic
- Saturday, July 11: 2026 MLB Draft
- Sunday, July 12: All-Star Sunday, MLB Futures Game, MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
- Monday, July 13: T-Mobile Home Run Derby (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, July 14: All-Star Red Carpet, All-Star Game
Which Diamondbacks are deserving All-Stars?
| Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
So, who should Diamondbacks fans vote for? Obviously, you may fill out the ballot however you choose. That can include a full roster of Diamondbacks, regardless of their stats or notoriety this season.
Still, here are some of the top performing D-backs who might have a leg up on an All-Star berth:
OF Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is having another All-Star worthy season. He’s hitting .289/.380/.545 with a .925 OPS and eight home runs, while playing good right field defense. He has the eighth-most bWAR (2.7) among position players, fifth-most in the National League, and third-most among all pure outfielders.
2B Ketel Marte
If Marte wins the NL second base fan vote, it will be his third straight season starting the All-Star game. Despite such a slow start to the year, that feels possible again. Marte is hitting .259/.315/.456 with 10 homers and is playing the best defense of his career.
3B Nolan Arenado
Nolan Arenado is quietly putting together one of his better seasons of the 2020s, slashing .269/.351/.467 with eight homers and flashing his elite third base glove at nearly as good a pace as ever. His name still carries a lot of weight in third base conversations; he’ll get some votes, no matter what.
1B Ildemaro Vargas
Vargas’ bat has cooled down quite a bit since his historic start to 2026. He’s still hitting a sturdy .290/.318/.454, but feels more likely to be considered as a reserve selection than a leading vote-getter.
Honorable Mention: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez
Pitchers are not selected by the fan vote. They are selected by player ballots and the All-Star Game managers. The National League’s manager will be Dave Roberts of the Dodgers, again.
The National League has quite a few talented pitchers, but Eduardo Rodriguez currently holds the fifth-best starting pitcher ERA (2.24) among NL hurlers. It’s going to be difficult to dethrone Christopher Sanchez or Jacob Misiorowski, but Rodriguez could find his way into the pitching pool, especially after his WBC heroics for Team Venezuela.
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Arizona State has added Michael White to its coaching staff for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. White will join the program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
“I am incredibly honored to return to my home state and join this elite program,” White said. “I’m proud to say that I am coming home. I can’t thank Coach Herbie enough for the opportunity to join his incredible staff and help these young athletes grow and develop into the best individuals they can be. There are so many friends and mentors who have left their mark on this program, and I’m excited for the opportunity to leave mine and help take this program to new heights. Go Devils!”
White arrives with the Sun Devils after most recently spending the last three seasons with Alabama as an assistant. The Alabama women finished 11th at the 2026 NCAA Championships while the men were 24th.
Prior to arriving at Alabama, White spent the 2022-2023 season as a volunteer assistant at Wisconsin. He primarily coached the freestyle, breaststroke and distance groups for the Badgers. In addition to coaching the Badgers, he also was an assistant senior coach with the Madison Aquatics Club for the year. He began his coaching career at Juniata College in Pennsylvania as a volunteer assistant from 2019-2021.
White spent his collegiate career at St. Bonaventure in New York. There he was a 7x individual Atlantic-10 champion and swam to three school records as a senior with a 1:47.30 200 IM, 3:52.18 400 IM, and a 1:47.70 200 fly. He also was team captain for two season and helped the team capture the 2014 A-10 team title.
The Scottsdale, Arizona native will return to his home state. He was a 2012 AIA Division I state champion in the 100 breast and 200 IM as a senior for Dobson High School.
White joins the coaching staff led by head coach Herbie Behm, who is already known to be an innovative coach. Behm spoke of White’s innovation as well saying, “Mike is one of the best young coaches in the NCAA. His interview blew me away with the innovative ideas he presented. I can’t wait to start implementing those ideas and continue our growth at ASU.”
Arizona State swept the 2026 Big 12 team titles, and the men went on to finish 4th at 2026 NCAAs while the women were 37th. Rising senior Ilya Kharun captured the NCAA title in the 200 fly with a 1:37.66.
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