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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Duluth Communications Office
Mayor Roger J. Reinert
411 West First Street • Duluth, Minnesota 55802 • www.duluthmn.gov
For more information, please call 218-730-5309
 
DATE: 10/1/2024
SUBJECT: City of Duluth provides update on Lester Park Recreation Working Group
BY: Kelli Latuska, Public Information Officer
 

City of Duluth provides update on Lester Park Recreation Working Group

 

 

[DULUTH, MN] Mayor Roger Reinert has announced a relaunch of the effort to identify a future for the now-dormant Lester Park Golf Course. In 2023, the Duluth City Council voted to leave the Lester Park Golf Course closed indefinitely.

 

This effort was first launched last spring, and a public open house was attended in late May by over 100 individuals. Today’s announcement represents a significant next step with the identification of cross-sector working group membership to lead this effort.

 

The Lester Park Recreation Working Group represents an array of backgrounds and interests, including public golf, outdoor recreation, equity and diversity, commercial experience, nonprofit experience, legal knowledge, the environment, and nearby residents. It also includes liaisons from the Duluth City Council, the Parks Commission, and City of Duluth staff. It will be co-chaired by Tim Meyer and Konner Cooke. Mr. Meyer is active in the Duluth Lakeside community and is CEO and President of Meyer Group Architecture. Mr. Cooke is a clinical pharmacist for the Fond du Lac Band and grew up in Lakeside playing golf at Lester Park.

 

“I am grateful to the individuals who have stepped forward to engage in this six-month effort. They represent a diversity of interests, experiences, and skills. While the group has no official power or decision-making authority, I am asking them to dig in and report back by April 1, 2025, on what – if anything – is possible at Lester”, said Mayor Reinert.

 

 

 

The mayor charged the working group with two main objectives:

  • To discuss the inclusion of multiple year-round recreation opportunities including, but not exclusive to, public golf.
  • To evaluate nonprofit and alternative third-party management models where the property is owned by the City of Duluth, but the recreational asset is operated and managed by an external partner.

 

Mayor Reinert has asked the working group for its recommendations by April 1, 2025. The working group will hold its first meeting on Monday, October 7 at 6:00 PM at Lakeside Lester Community Center.

 

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