PHOENIX (AZFamily) —A sunny and cooler day is on tap for Arizona. In the Valley, look for a high of 67 degrees, which is exactly average for the second week of December in the Valley.

A dry cold front is sweeping through the state, leading to gusty winds, especially in the Lower Colorado River Valley and in the higher elevations of the state today. Northerly winds could gust to 40 miles per hour in spots. Valley winds should stay lighter but still breezy at about 10 to 15 miles per hour.

Behind the front, temperatures are set to drop. After a cooler day today, clear skies and lighter winds tonight will bring a cold start to Wednesday. Valley neighborhoods will wake to the mid-30s to low-40s tomorrow morning.

A Freeze Warning has been issued for portions of Pinal and Gila Counties, including the Globe, Maricopa, and Casa Grande communities. Western communities of Parker and Blythe are also included. Temperatures could drop to the upper 20s to low 30s in those spots Wednesday morning. Be sure to protect the 4 Ps—-people, plants, pets and pipes.

Temperatures are set to moderate slowly for the rest of the week, warming to lows in the 40s in the Valley and highs in the 70s for Wednesday through the weekend. No rain is expected for at least the next seven days.

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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.

The college football transfer portal “winter window” officially opened on Monday, and there have been a flurry of moves.

Players have until Dec. 28 to enter the portal, and they can still return to their team.

Arizona State redshirt sophomore safety Kamari Wilson entered the portal on Monday, according to ESPN. Wilson played in 12 games for the Sun Devils this season and recorded 11 tackles.

A 4-star prospect out of IMG Academy in Florida, Wilson signed with the Florida Gators and played two seasons before transferring to Arizona State a year ago.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has a loaded secondary, with juniors Myles Rowser and Xavion Alford, and sophomores Javan Robinson and Keith Abney. But senior DB Shamari Simmons was ejected from the Big 12 championship game for a hit on Iowa State QB Rocco Becht and will have to miss the first half of the Peach Bowl. Wilson’s presence could have helped in that game.

The Sun Devils received the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff and will face the winner of No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson in the CFP quarterfinals on New Year’s Eve.

More Arizona State & Big 12 Analysis