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Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert stopped by WDIO on Tuesday, August 12, to promote voters get out for the Minnesota Municipal Primary Election, which includes primaries in Duluth City Council races and the Duluth School Board.

“This is small ‘d’ democracy. You know, this is where we maybe restore faith and trust in the in the democratic form of government,” said Mayor Reinert. “I mean these are our friends and neighbors who are willing to step forward and serve in the City Council, serve on the school board—they are likely people you know or somebody you know does.”

Mayor Reinert voiced an admiration for everyone who got their names on the ballot for this election.

“I will just say this is a really tough time to serve. You know, we are seeing more really sharp critical personal kind of comments especially in the online world and, so you know, anyone who is willing to step forward and say I’m willing to try and help do this work I think should be applauded.”

Reinert continued that the city councilors, specifically, are going to be facing some tough challenges ahead, including playing their part in balancing the budget with a $7.2 million deficit. He also highlighted the critical housing shortage at all of our income levels and the continuing need to grow the tax base so that the city can be more less dependent on state and federal funds for its needs.

“People continue to have that conversation about those core city services that we’re all concerned about— the condition of our streets, the, you know, almost hundred-year average age of our water and sewer infrastructure, taxes, of course, [and] even with a 0% levy last year, property taxes still can continue to be something that’s a challenge for a lot of Duluth residents.”

The Mayor also said one of the big issues he’d personally like the Council to address, is the future of Lester Park Golf Course.

“We continue to have this big piece of property sit. We now had a working group that spent all last year coming up with some elements that need to be [put] in a path moving forward –green space golf, connecting trails ,some food and beverage options, and of course another great opportunity for housing.”

During his interview, Mayor Reinert also applauded the City Council’s recent selection of Deb DeLuca as an interim City Councilor for District 2.

“With Deb DeLuca, you have somebody who is an eminently qualified leader — a career of public service, most recently, of course ,leading the port and the port has been firing on all cylinders. You have somebody who understands public –who understands government –who understands budgets.”

RELATED: Deb DeLuca selected to fill District 2 Duluth City Council seat

By: Chris Harlan


Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | 3:04 PM

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TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top wide receivers for the 2025 season.

1. Khalil Taylor

Pine-Richland

Junior, 6-0, 180

College recruiting outlets rate Taylor as one of the top junior wideouts in the country. The Penn State recruit showed why last year with 51 catches for 932 yards at Seton LaSalle. He averaged 18 yards per catch and earned first-team all-conference honors for the second year in a row. He scored 22 touchdowns and his longest was an 85-yard kick return. He transferred this summer to Pine-Richland and must still complete the WPIAL process to be eligible. Website 247Sports ranked him 10th nationally among wide receivers in the 2027 class. He committed to the Nittany Lions in March over Power 4 offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Rutgers and Syracuse. He later added a Notre Dame offer in June.

Watch Khalil Taylor highlights

2. Scoop Smith

Woodland Hills

Senior, 5-7, 150

Smith owns the title of “Fastest athlete in the WPIAL” as the reigning 100-meter champion. His sprinter’s speed shows up on Friday nights, too. The longest of his 15 touchdowns last season were kick returns of 99 and 75 yards, runs of 86 and 82 yards and an 80-yard catch. The Miami (Ohio) recruit caught 38 passes for 630 yards and had another 352 yards rushing on 27 carries. He averaged 16.6 yards per catch and 13 yards per carry, earning first-team all-conference honors at wide receiver in Class 5A for the third year in a row. He had close to 20 Division I FBS and FCS offers.

Watch Scoop Smith highlights

3. Carter Bonner

Penn Hills

Junior, 6-3, 190

Bonner is a talented two-way player at both wide receiver and cornerback. His college future might be on defense, but he earned first-team all-conference honors at wide receiver in Class 5A last year. He averaged 16.8 yards per catch and looks poised to become an even bigger part of the offense this season. He had 436 yards and six touchdowns on 26 receptions. His college offers include Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Maryland, Purdue, Rutgers and Tennessee. As a freshman, Bonner had 448 receiving yards and four touchdowns at Shady Side Academy, earning all-conference honors for both offense (first team) and defense (second team).

Watch Carter Bonner highlights

4. Drew Cook

South Allegheny

Senior, 6-1, 160

Cook set a school record last year when he led the WPIAL in receiving yards with 1,490. He caught 80 passes and scored 17 touchdowns. His yards-per-catch average of 18.6 was bolstered by TD catches of 85 and 95 yards. He earned first-team all-conference in Class 2A. A multi-sport athlete, Cook won a WPIAL basketball title last winter, reached the state finals and topped 1,000 career points as a junior. He lists offers from Akron, Duquesne, Northern Arizona, Sacred Heart and Youngstown State. His father, Bilal, played defensive back at Kansas.

Watch Drew Cook highlights

5. Damar Olds

Bishop Canevin

Senior, 5-11, 175

Olds converted 14 of his 47 catches into touchdowns last season while averaging 18.4 yards per catch. He totaled 867 receiving yards and earned first-team all-conference honors in Class A. He’s likely the top offensive weapon for the Crusaders, so expect new coach Rod Steele to find ways to get him the ball. He had a rushing touchdown among his scoring plays last season. His longest TD was a 73-yard catch in the WPIAL quarterfinals. He lists college offers from Akron and Kent State.

Watch Damar Olds highlights

One to watch

Javien Robinson

McKeesport

Junior, 6-2, 190

In terms of pass-catching skills, Robinson already ranks among the better wide receivers in the WPIAL. Playing for a run-heavy offense has limited his chances, however. He caught just eight passes last year while the team leader had only nine. He finished his sophomore season with 174 receiving yards and two touchdowns, earning all-conference honors in Class 4A. Recruiting outlets rate him as a four-star prospect, and 247Sports ranks him 15th among junior wideouts nationally. He has Power 4 offers from Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse and Wisconsin. Also a standout sprinter, he placed second in the 200 meters (22.13 seconds) at the WPIAL Class 3A championship.

Watch Javien Robinson highlights

• • • • •

Position breakdowns

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | DE | LB | CB | S | K

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, McKeesport, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, South Allegheny, Woodland Hills

Will Warren, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice comment on Yankees ‘good team win’ over TwinsYankees starter Will Warren gave the bullpen a much needed break, pitching into the seventh inning, allowing just two runs and striking out seven. He credited catcher Ben Rice with a great job behind the plate, reminding him to stay aggressive “in the zone.” Rice in turn, cited Cody Bellinger with providing an immediate spark, going deep in the first inning. Bellinger simply stated that it was good to finally get the results while putting in the work.

The Minnesota Star Tribune’s first subbrand has a big goal: to become our state’s new favorite destination for every flavor of high school sports coverage. There’s a lot to learn about Strib Varsity, and here’s a varsity starter set of 10 facts:

(1) One subscription gets you everything Star Tribune and Strib Varsity

Star Tribune subscribers: Strib Varsity is all yours. Have at it. Dive in. Your subscription just got more valuable. Thank you for your support and business. A Star Tribune subscription now gets you access to the full sweep of Strib Varsity offerings, plus every corner of startribune.com. To those who’ve been on the fence about subscribing or hadn’t considered it much: Join the team, and do so by taking advantage of our Strib Varsity sale on our subscription price, right here.

(2) A homepage for every school

We lost count somewhere near 500. Whatever the final number is, every high school that competes in MSHSL varsity sports now has its own homepage, produced and published by us here at the Minnesota Star Tribune. These Strib Varsity homepages will feature stories that have statewide appeal and coverage specific to each school. Find the “Schools” tab at the top of the website and explore. These school pages are connected to an expanded offering of Hubs sports sites: We now have 32 of those, including fast-growing sports clay target and girls flag football.

(3) More journalists, more coverage

How often have you read lately that a regional news organization is doubling the size of one of its coverage teams? Not often, if at all, but that’s the investment from the Minnesota Star Tribune. The reporting and editing team at the Star Tribune focused on high school sports now numbers in the double digits, with experienced veterans who can cover our communities and issues with authority, and newcomers bringing fresh eyes and ears to the scene. Those popular sports Hubs pages, all 32 of them, won’t fill themselves. Read about our team expansion here.

(4) Read, yes, and watch, too

You’ll be able to watch more livestreamed games and events on our website than ever before, starting later this month. We’ll also have weekly videos to watch, and even a live show on football nights, featuring this guy …

(5) Hello again, Randy

Football nights in Minnesota just weren’t the same last season without Randy Shaver giving us the late-night rundown, live in the studio. Shaver, a free agent after leaving KARE-11 last summer, jumped at the opportunity to get back in the hot seat. “Strib Varsity Live with Randy Shaver” will debut Aug. 28 at 9:30 p.m., streamed on stribvarsity.com and startribune.com. It’ll be Shaver at his best, we’re sure of that. Tune in!

(6) New socials

Make sure you’re following the news, updates from across Minnesota and a bunch of fun by following Strib Varsity on social media:

On Instagram.