10 Reasons to be Thankful You’re From Duluth

Duluth consistently ranks as one of the nation’s cleanest cities for ozone pollution and particle pollution on the American Lung Association's annual Air Report. So breathe deep Duluth and enjoy the rare air.

Duluth is home to some incredible hospitals that serve the region and the people of Duluth. Not only do these facilities improve the general health of the community, healthcare provides a quarter of the jobs in Duluth.

We are not only the home to champions like the Bulldog women's hockey team and the men's hockey and football teams, we make champions with world class events like Grandma's Marathon and the NorthShore Inline Marathon.

We are brainiacs in Duluth! Home to the University of Minnesota Duluth, The College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College, Duluth Business University and Cosmetology Careers Unlimited, we have plenty of opportunity for everyone.

We love it outdoors in Duluth, with miles of trails, over 125 parks in city limits, one of the state's premier ski hills, Lake Superior and the list could go on and on of outdoor activities in Duluth.

While some parts of the country might be known for the winter-time-fun (The ski hills in Colorado) and others might boast plenty of sunny-weather activities (The East and West coasts and  the south), Duluth knows how to celebrate all 12 months of the year with lots of indoor and outdoor activities.   WINTER:  Three ski hills in the metro, snowmobile trails, indoor and outdoor ice rinks.  SPRING:   Fishing (think smelt runs), gardening   SUMMER:  Camping, trails, lakes and forests, festivals and family activities  FALL:  Hunting, colorful leaves.

People love us and our town, and they come from all over the region to visit and spend money! From concerts at Bayfront Festival Park, the Tall Ships or just enjoying the lake, canal park and the rest of the town, there are plenty of reasons to visit us year round and plenty of events and activities to entertain us and keep our guests rooms full, especially during the summer months.

Lake Superior provides beauty, commerce, recreation, is a natural air conditioner and is a tourist attraction that provides Duluth with revenue, and we LOVE it. It's the largest of the Great Lakes and the third largest freshwater lake in the world, but it's number one in our hearts.

Check out any list of "coldest places in America" and chances are you'll see Duluth listed near the top, and with an average winter temperature of only 19.4° Fahrenheit it's not hard to see why. But why should we be thankful for this? Because we wouldn't be hearty Duluthians if it were 70° all the time! And we certainly wouldn't make as many top 10 lists.

Roll all of these things together and you got a Duluthian, a tough person who can endure any obstacle life or mother nature throws at them. A person who is friendly to neighbors and other members of the community. A person that knows how to have fun any time of the year. And finally, a person that is at least a little nuts, because anyone that lives in a place that has the potential to go -40° or more below zero, has got to be a little crazy, no?