After community outcry, Duluth lights Lift Bridge in support of Ukraine
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After community outcry, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson has reversed course and allowed the city’s landmark Aerial Lift Bridge to be lit blue and yellow in support of Ukraine.
Following requests to city officials and on social media to light the iconic bridge in support of the country after Russia’s invasion, Larson issued a statement late Monday afternoon, saying the city would stand by a policy it adopted in 2020 not to take requests to light the bridge.
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But early Tuesday morning, Larson released a second letter, saying she’d changed her mind, and that the Aerial Lift Bridge, and Enger Tower – another prominent historic structure in Duluth – would both be lit blue and yellow through Sunday in solidarity with Ukraine.
“Sometimes you make a decision based on important variables like rules and fairness and then understand that those things really don’t apply,” Larson wrote. “Sometimes you are working to do all the right things, and your heart confirms that there is more. The community is right. Thank you for reminding me of who Duluth is.”
Two years ago, Duluth spent about $150,000 to install LED lights on the bridge to meet the city’s energy efficiency goals. But the lights don’t only save money; they also change color, raising the possibility of lighting the bridge in different colors to promote various causes.
That year the city chose to light the bridge to recognize first responders during the pandemic, and to honor high school graduates.
But after a flood of other requests followed to light the bridge for stunts and other causes, ranging from personal to commercial use, the city decided not to accept any more lighting requests for the bridge.
“These requests were and are overwhelming for staff and put us in the difficult position of determining which cause should benefit by its lighting and which should not. Meaning someone would always be disappointed,” Duluth chief administrative officer Noah Schuchman told the city council Monday evening.
“This weekend's influx of requests are an example,” Schuchman continued. “How would staff have reasonably dealt with these requests if there was already program lighting planned in support of a different issue, or if it was conflicting in message and intent with another request?”
But others argued the city should make an exception to its policy to recognize the significance of the ongoing invasion, especially for something seemingly as simple as lighting up a bridge.
“I’ve read all the explanations,” said Bogdana Krivogorsky, a Duluth resident who came to the U.S. from Ukraine in 1992 after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
“Who is going to get hurt by lighting it up?” she asked. “Putin supporters?”
Council member Terese Tomanek said lighting the bridge is in line with the community and humanitarian support.
“It appears to me that though it's a complex issue, it's an easy answer, and I would appreciate that we do this for the will of the people,” she said.
Larson said the city will have an updated lighting policy in place in 60 days.