DULUTH — Buying a ticket to space may now be possible, but astrotourism doesn’t require making a large cash transfer to Elon Musk. Instead, you can just call John Fredrikson at Gunflint Lodge in Grand Marais.

“There are nights when we get back from a run to the city and get out of the car to walk into the house, all tired out,” Fredrikson said, “but you have to stop and just soak up the number of stars you see, because it is spectacular.”

Since purchasing the historic lodge in 2016, Fredrikson and his family have increasingly promoted their property as a place to stay if you’re seeking an epic view of the cosmos.

“Astrotourism wasn’t really a (term) at that point,” recalled Fredrikson, though he noted the lodge has long attracted stargazers. “We’ve leaned into it.”

“It’s really blown up in the last couple of years,” said Kjersti Vick, marketing and public relations director for Visit Cook County. “People really are interested in getting that experience.”

The county will host its annual Dark Sky Festival Dec. 11-13. Vick and Visit Cook County Executive Director Linda Jurek launched the festival in 2018 after noticing how many people were coming to the county to photograph the stars.

“We started talking with them, and they were like, what if we did some kind of night sky thing?” Vick remembered. She and Jurek thought, “That’s a great idea.”

Visit Cook County doesn’t have hard numbers regarding how many people come to see the sky, but its staff say the festival has grown considerably and the organization has seen spiking traffic to web pages with information on the topic.

“More and more of the population is urban and really doesn’t have a lot of exposure to rural or more remote places,” said Fredrikson, who has also seen an increase in stargazers. “I think a lot of people are rediscovering the striking beauty of the dark skies and the celestial beauty up here.”

Exactly how dark is Cook County? On the Bortle dark-sky scale, which measures darkness from one (darkest skies on Earth) to nine (inner-city sky), Cook County is an average of two, said Vick.

“Level one is really dark,” said Vick. “That’s like the middle of Lake Superior. … If you look at a map of the U.S., from Cook County, basically everything east of the Mississippi is a level five or brighter.”

Light pollution has significantly impacted the Northland in recent decades, said Bob King, an amateur astronomer (and News Tribune columnist) better known as Astro Bob.

“I used to be able to look at all the constellations from downtown (Duluth) back in 1980,” King said. “You can forget about doing that now, but we can still get to dark skies where you can see the Milky Way, and it only takes (driving) 20 minutes out of town.”

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As people have recognized the growing scarcity of dark skies, smartphones and social media have made it easy to find and photograph phenomena like northern lights, then show off your dramatic captures.

“We have apps for the northern lights so you don’t have to miss a display of the aurora,” King said. “It will alert you when there is something in your area.”

To go with that smartphone, you can even get a smart telescope.

“These are these little instruments you just set down on your lawn or your deck,” King explained. “You direct this little telescope to take a picture of all kinds of things in the sky. I’m talking galaxies, star clusters, the sun, the moon. It takes remarkable photographs, and you really don’t need to know anything about astronomy.”

Of course, sometimes it’s nice not to rely on an app. That’s why the Gunflint Lodge is acquiring a telescope for naturalists to use when helping visitors to explore the night sky in planned programs.

Experts on hand for the Dark Sky Festival will include NASA scientists visiting through a relationship Visit Cook County has developed with the Goddard Space Flight Center.

“We also have some really fun photographers that are going to be giving tips and tricks on on how to catch the night sky,” Vick said.

Photographers on hand will include King, who is presenting on the birth of stars and on what ordinary people can do to reduce light pollution.

“Many things are affected by light pollution,” King said. “Nocturnal habitats for insects and animals are also key.”

Despite the overall upward trend in light pollution, King has seen some wins locally. He was especially glad to see the former streetlights in downtown Duluth, which scattered light directly into the sky, removed from Superior Street during that street’s recent reconstruction.

Now, King said, “Superior Street is just right in terms of lighting. There’s no glare in your eyes. It’s softer, and it points downward rather than up. The difference is amazing.”

Why hold a festival in December, already a busy month with holiday events? Well, historians will tell you it’s no coincidence that many cultures have traditional celebrations coinciding with the winter solstice: it’s the darkest time of year.

“The sun sets at like 4 p.m. and it doesn’t rise until 7:30 in the morning,” Vick said. “It seems like a really great time to promote the night sky.”

Although Cook County’s astrotourism numbers are increasing, the draw of the Gunflint Trail in December isn’t quite up there with, say, Yellowstone National Park in July.

“It’s maybe 15 to 50 people at any given presentation, but it’s always a different group of people at each presentation,” said Vick about the Dark Sky Festival. “People are coming up and they’re doing parts of the festival, and they’re up here to do all the other great things that we have.”

Cook County is as dark as it is because of its relative isolation, and that means astrotourists are getting a front-row seat to the sky.

“We have a lot of resorts and cabins and places in the woods,” Vick said. “You can rent a cabin in the woods and have your own private dock that has this beautiful night sky view, and people just gravitate towards that.”

“There’s a great interest in preserving the night sky while we still have it in our region. It’s lost in so many other areas,” said King. “It’s part of humankind’s heritage, and to lose that hurts.”

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By JANIE HAR

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Self-driving Waymo taxis have gone viral for negative reasons involving the death of a beloved San Francisco bodega cat and pulling an illegal U-turn in front of police who were unable to issue a ticket to a nonexistent driver.

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But this week, the self-driving taxis are the bearer of happier news after a San Francisco woman gave birth in a Waymo.

The mother was on her way to the University of California, San Francisco medical center Monday when she delivered inside the robotaxi, said a Waymo spokesperson in a statement Wednesday. The company said its rider support team detected “unusual activity” inside the vehicle and called to check on the rider as well as alert 911.

Waymo, which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, declined to elaborate on how the vehicle knew something was amiss.

The company has said it has cameras and microphones inside as well as outside the cars.

The taxi and its passengers arrived safely at the hospital ahead of emergency services. Jess Berthold, a UCSF spokesperson, confirmed the mother and child were brought to the hospital. She said the mother was not available for interviews.

Waymo said the vehicle was taken out of service for cleaning after the ride. While still rare, this was not the first baby delivered in one of its taxis, the company said.

“We’re proud to be a trusted ride for moments big and small, serving riders from just seconds old to many years young,” the company said.

The driverless taxis have surged in popularity even as they court higher scrutiny. Riders can take them on freeways and interstates around San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

In September, a Waymo pulled a U-turn in front of a sign telling drivers not to do that, and social media users dumped on the San Bruno Police because state law prohibited officers from ticketing the car. In October, a popular tabby cat named Kit Kat known to pad around its Mission District neighborhood was crushed to death by a Waymo.

“New York City, long positioned at the forefront of housing innovation, is falling behind,” the author writes. “The most effective innovations happen when residents are treated as partners with authority and vision.”

The North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis in 2022. The city was the first in the U.S. to eliminate single-family zoning. (Shutterstock.com)

Across the U.S. and around the world, everyday people—tenants, workers, organizers—are transforming the future of housing in their cities and catalyzing positive change. New York City, long positioned at the forefront of housing innovation, is falling behind.

Government-led policy change can create real impact but often relies on familiar mechanisms and can limit fresh perspectives. In other cities, grassroots movements are gaining momentum and turning collective energy into tangible action. Policy makers and governance have responded to their voices. 

With a new administration entering office, it is time for the city to revitalize its housing strategy holistically, not just through top-down policy and regulatory change, but by leaning into the experiences, ideas, and energy of the public.

Resident-inspired “bottom-up” initiatives are reshaping housing policy with concrete examples emerging from cities around the world. In Minnesota, a grassroots movement called “Neighbors for More Neighbors” helped transform the public conversation on state housing policy, using art and social media campaigns to highlight how exclusionary zoning limits access to affordable homes. This later developed into a more solid, organized coalition.

With goals of increasing both housing supply and the diversity of housing options, the coalition played a strong role in the passage of the Minneapolis 2040 plan. Amongst other measures, the 2040 plan eliminated single-family zoning citywide—the first major city in the U.S. to implement this. Single-family zoning not only capped housing density but also created neighborhoods segregated by income and race. This significant regulatory change was a response to community-led demands to address both housing affordability and the legacy of segregation. 

Similar models exist internationally. In Amsterdam, Schoonchip provides another example of resident-led innovation. This sustainable, floating community of 46 homes connected by a communal jetty was conceived and organized by a citizen-led collective rather than a standard commercial developer. The homes are equipped with solar panels and water-based heat pumps and are linked by a smart grid that allows residents to share power efficiently. With an emphasis on sustainability, circular economy principles and strong social connections, Schoonschip can serve as a prototype for densely populated waterfront cities grappling with sea-level rise and climate change impacts.

Berlin offers another example of large-scale, resident-led protests which helped inspire projects such as the transformation of Haus der Stastistik near Alexander Platz. The Haus der Statistik was a large building complex and the headquarters of the GDR’s Central Administration for Statistics. After the reunification of Berlin, it fell into disrepair and eventually was slated for demolition. Activists, motivated to put it to productive use, staged a large-scale protest that sparked a collaborative city-backed adaptive reuse transformation. Today, this complex is in the process of being developed as a vibrant mixed-use space that will incorporate housing, art, social spaces, and government offices—all for public benefit and collective urban enrichment.

Community action has long been a driving force for change in New York City. Protest in New York housing history began with immigrant communities’ rent strikes against poor housing conditions and rising rents in the early 20th century, leading to the city’s first rent control laws. More recent advocacy helped lead to the passage of the Good Cause Eviction law, which protects tenants from arbitrary evictions.   

New York City recently enacted its most significant zoning update in over six decades with the “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” a comprehensive amendment aimed at expanding affordable housing and adding flexibility to development parameters citywide. While the City of Yes underwent a robust public review process and was modified based on input from community groups, it was primarily a government-led effort implementing change through an established regulatory framework. 

The examples above highlight that the most effective innovations happen when residents are treated as partners with authority and vision. When it comes to the current housing crisis, NYC has yet to fully engage with the scale of public-inspired activism and participatory resident-inspired solutions seen in other cities.    

As the city’s new leadership prepares to take office, it inherits both an urgent housing crisis and an unparalleled opportunity. New York’s greatest resource has always been its people. As we look to the future, we must share our ideas and hold our leaders accountable.

To Mayor-Elect Mamdani, your rise was powered by the same kind of grassroots energy that has spurred housing movements across the world. Now, that same ethos can guide how New York reimagines its housing future. Treat the people—tenants, workers, and organizers—as partners in policymaking. Support and invest in creative, grassroots solutions. Establish policy level support that provides the framework to make these solutions scalable. Let’s see what people-inspired creativity can achieve and rise to the challenge of making it happen right here in our city. 

Wendi Shafran is a principal at FXCollaborative Architects and is on the board of the Citizens Planning and Housing Council (CHPC). In 2024-2025 she completed a fellowship with the Urban Design Forum’s Global Exchange and traveled to Berlin to study global strategies to address the housing crisis. She recently traveled to Minneapolis to participate in the jury of the AIA Minnesota and The McKnight Foundation Affordable Housing Design Award. 

The post Opinion: What NYC Can Learn from Grassroots Housing Movements in Other Cities appeared first on City Limits.

By MATTHEW BROWN and MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil companies offered $279 million for drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday in the first of 30 sales planned for the region under Republican efforts to ramp up U.S. fossil fuel production.

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The sale came after President Donald Trump’s administration recently announced plans to allow new drilling off Florida and California for the first time in decades. That’s drawn pushback, including from Republicans worried about impacts to tourism.

Wednesday’s sale was mandated by the sweeping tax-and-spending bill approved by Republicans over the summer. Under that legislation, companies will pay a 12.5% royalty on oil produced from the leases. That’s the lowest royalty level for deep-water drilling since 2007.

Thirty companies submitted bids, including industry giants Chevron, Shell and BP, federal officials said. The total amount of high bids was down by more than $100 million from the most recent lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, under former Democratic President Joe Biden, in December 2023.

“This sale reflects a significant step in the federal government’s efforts to restore U.S. energy dominance and advance responsible offshore energy development,” said Laura Robbins, acting director of the Gulf region for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is part of the Interior Department.

The administration’s promotion of fossil fuels contrasts sharply with its hostility to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind. A judge on Monday struck down an executive order from Trump blocking wind energy projects, saying it violated U.S. law.

Environmentalists said the fossil fuel sales would put wildlife in the Gulf at an higher risk of dying in oil spills. Spills occur regularly in the region and have included the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy that killed 11 workers in an oil rig explosion and unleashed a massive spill.

“The Gulf is already overwhelmed with thousands of oil rigs and pipelines, and oil companies are doing a terrible job of cleaning up after themselves,” said Rachel Matthews with the Center for Biological Diversity.

Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, an industry group, said the takeaway from Wednesday’s sale was that the Gulf “is open.”

While results of individual lease sales may fluctuate, Milito added, “the real success is the resumption of a regular leasing cadence.”

The industry and Republican lawmakers had complained that the Biden administration conducted only a handful of lease sales in the Gulf — the largest source of U.S. offshore oil production — as it moved away from fossil fuels to address climate change.

“Knowing that (another lease sale) is coming in March 2026 allows companies to plan, study, and refine their bids, rather than being forced to respond to the uncertainty of a politically-driven multi-year pause” in leasing, Milito said.

At least two lease sales annually are mandated through 2039 and one in 2040.

Administration officials cited the new, more predictable schedule as a reason for the lower bidding by oil companies. “They are not pressed to come in all at once,” Robbins told reporters at an online news conference.

The Gulf lease sale supports an executive order by Trump that directs federal agencies to accelerate offshore oil and gas development, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. The sale should unlock investment, strengthen U.S. energy security and create jobs, he said.

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum speaks during the Western Governors’ Association meeting Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rebecca Noble)

But Earthjustice attorney George Torgun said the Trump administration conducted the sale without analyzing how it would expose the entire Gulf region to oil spills, how communities could be harmed by pollution and how it could devastate vulnerable marine life such as the endangered Rice’s whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico.

The environmental group has asked a federal judge to ensure that the lease sale and future oil sales better protect Gulf communities.

Only a small portion of parcels offered for sale typically receive bids, in areas where companies want to expand their existing drilling activities or where they foresee future development potential. It can be years before drilling occurs.

The drilling leases sold in December 2023 and during another sale in March 2023 are held up by litigation, according to Robbins. A federal court ruled this spring that Interior officials did not adequately account for impacts to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and the Rice’s whale.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.