The Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Area, commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

(the westernmost part of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

) and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States. The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the North Shore, the

Apostle Islands The Apostle Islands are a group of 22 islands in Lake Superior, off the Bayfield Peninsula in northern Wisconsin. The majority of the islands are located in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland County—only Sand, York, Eagle, and Raspberry Isl ...

, and the

Superior National Forest The Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state, state of Minnesota between the Canada–United States border and the North Shore (Lake Superior), north shore o ...

The area is home to two long bridges: the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge (carrying

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying

Interstate 535 Interstate 535 (I-535) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway spur route of I-35 in the US states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is paired with U.S. Highway 53 (US 53) along its entire route. The Interstate was part of the original 1956 ...

and U.S. Route 53). Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River. The

Aerial Lift Bridge The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever construc ...

was constructed in 1905 and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. It must be raised each time a vessel enters or leaves Duluth's harbor; the inlet on the Wisconsin side is not similarly obstructed. Together, the cities rank as the 19th-busiest port in the country overall (44.2 million

short ton The short ton (abbreviation: tn or st), also known as the US ton, is a measurement unit equal to . It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton; however, the term is ambiguous, the single word "ton" being variously ...

s /nowiki>40.1 million tonnes/nowiki> per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons /nowiki>12.5 million tonnes/nowiki> per year) when measured on foreign

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

s alone. The census bureau's Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, an area much larger than the Duluth metropolitan area includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County, and Minnesota's Carlton and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. A tourist location that boasts many scenic natural amenities, approximately 6.7 million tourists visit The City of Duluth each year.

Communities

Populations as of 2020 Census:

Principal city

(86,697)

Places with 10,000 to 50,000 inhabitants

* Superior, WI (26,751) * Hibbing (16,214) * Cloquet (12,568) * Hermantown (10,221)

Places with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

(8,423) * Rice Lake (4,136) *

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...

(3,910) unincorporated * Eveleth (3,718) *

Proctor Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: # In law, a proctor is a historica ...

(3,120) * Esko (2,082) * Scanlon (991) * Carlton (948) * Wrenshall (428) * Oliver, WI (399)

Infrastructure

The four tallest buildings are in Duluth, the Alworth Building,

Historic Old Central High School Duluth Central High School, also referred to as Central High School, was a secondary school in Duluth, Minnesota. The original building at the intersection of Lake Avenue and Second Street first opened in 1893 and closed in 1971, being used as o ...

, Maurices Headquarters, Medical Arts Building. The Bong Bridge leads to from Duluth to Superior. The Bong bridge was built in 1985 and is 11,800 ft (3,600 m) long. The Blatnik Bridge also leads to from Duluth to Superior. The Blatnik Bridge was built in 1965 and is 7,975 feet (2,431 m) long. Canal Park is a heavy tourist area in Downtown Duluth. In Virginia the tallest bridge in Minnesota (Hwy 53 Bridge) connecting Eveleth to Virginia. The Hwy 53 Bridge covers the Rouchleau Mine. The bridge opened in 2017 and is 204 ft. high in the air and spans 1,125 ft.

Hospitals

* Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center - Duluth - (Level 1 Trauma Center) * St. Luke's Hospital - Duluth - (Level 2 Trauma Center) * Essentia Health St. Mary's Hospital - Superior - (Level 4 Trauma Center) * Community Memorial Hospital - Cloquet - (Level 4 Trauma Center)

Shopping

* Miller Hill Mall

Attractions

* AMSOIL Arena * Bayfront Festival Park * Blatnik Bridge * Canal Park * Enger Tower * Glensheen Mansion * Gooseberry Falls * Great Lakes Aquarium * Lake Superior Railroad Museum * Leif Erikson Ship * Minnesota Point * Oldest Operating Hockey Arena in Minnesota *

Spirit Mountain Ski Area Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

* Superior City FC Soccer Games * Tallest Bridge in Minnesota * World's Largest Freestanding Hockey Stick

Education

Colleges and universities

* College of St. Scholastica - Duluth *

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Cloquet, Minnesota. FDLTCC is located within the Twin Ports area of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin in northeastern Minnesota. The col ...

- Cloquet * Lake Superior College - Duluth * Northwood Technical College - Superior, WI *

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the University of Minnesota System. UMD offers 17 bachelor's degrees in 87 majors, graduate programs in 24 different fields, a tw ...

- Duluth * University of Wisconsin, Superior - Superior, WI

Transportation

Major highways

Interstates

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexico–Uni ...

I-535 Interstate 535 (I-535) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway spur route of I-35 in the US states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is paired with U.S. Highway 53 (US 53) along its entire route. The Interstate was part of the original 1956 I ...

U.S. Highways

US 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada. ...

US 53 U.S. Route 53, or U.S. Highway 53 (U.S. 53), is a north–south U.S. highway that runs for 404 miles (650 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to International Falls, Minnesota. It is the primary north–south route in northwestern Wisconsi ...

US 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–sou ...

Minnesota Highways

MN 23 *

MN 61 – North Shore * MN-194

MN 194 – Central Entrance – Mesaba Avenue * MN-210

MN 210

St. Louis County Highways

Saint Louis County Road 4 – Rice Lake Road

Transit

* Duluth Transit Authority * Indian Trails *

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

Airports

* Duluth International Airport - Duluth (DLH) * Sky Harbor Airport & Seaplane Base - Duluth (KDYT) * Cloquet Carlton County Airport - Cloquet (COQ)

MSA

The Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, an area much larger than the Duluth MN–WI metropolitan area, includes 4 counties, of which 3 are in Minnesota and 1 in Wisconsin. St. Louis County is Minnesota's largest county by area. Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area

References

External links

Superior WI Community Links Page

Twin Ports Commonwealth regional community cooperative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area Geography of Douglas County, Wisconsin Duluth–Superior metropolitan area Transportation in Wisconsin Geography of St. Louis County, Minnesota Transportation in St. Louis County, Minnesota Metropolitan areas of Minnesota Metropolitan areas of Wisconsin Water transportation in Wisconsin