Media
Click on items below to see media coverage about our campaign.

WDIO: Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert shares thoughts on proposed 2024 budget
Mayor Emily Larson has released her proposal for the 2024 Duluth city budget. Today, her opponent in the general mayoral race, Roger Reinert sharing his thoughts. Reinert says this budget is something he could work with as mayor. Right out of the gate, he says three out of his five main campaign issues are addressed in this budget.

NNN: Mayoral candidate, Roger Reinert, responds to 2024 city budget proposal
Duluth mayoral candidate, Roger Reinert, has spoken up after next year’s budget proposal was unveiled. On Monday, Mayor Emily Larson went in front of the city council introducing her $108 million general fund proposal, made up of city sales tax, property taxes, and the recent $4.4 million in local government aid. The mayor’s budget would call for a property tax levy increase of 2% in 2024 or a total of $66 per month on a $200,000 home.

DNT: Our View: Where will mayor find enough votes?
Duluth voters on Tuesday delivered the mayoral matchup expected, making good on what’s been touted as the first competitive race for the big office in City Hall in at least a decade and a half. But will it be competitive? Tuesday’s primary certainly wasn’t.

WDIO: Duluth mayoral candidates reflect on the primary election results
After the primary election and 100% of precincts reporting the results of the primary election, the mayoral candidates react to the results. Both candidates stopped by the WDIO station and answered questions about the what the primary says to them.

FOX: Larson, Reinert React To Primary Election Results
Mayor Emily Larson and Roger Reinert were already examining the Primary Election returns Wednesday from all 34 Duluth precincts, looking for ways to make sure their strategies remain focused before the next big vote come Nov. 7.

STAR TRIBUNE: Former state lawmaker stuns incumbent in Duluth mayoral primary
If Duluth Mayor Emily Larson wants a third term, she faces a tough battle against former Minnesota lawmaker Roger Reinert, who surprised many by capturing more than 60% of the vote in the five-person field in Duluth’s primary election Tuesday. The results in the state’s only municipal primary election sets the stage for the first competitive mayoral race in 16 years.

NNN: BREAKDOWN: Voting totals, statistics from Tuesday’s mayoral primary race
After Tuesday’s primary election, Northern News Now is taking a closer look at the race for Duluth’s next mayor and breaking down the primary results by the numbers. Current Mayor Emily Larson and Roger Reinert are advancing to the November election. Reinert, who is a former Duluth City Councilor and DFL State Senator, earned 63% of the vote.

MPR: Challenger Reinert outpolls incumbent Larson in Duluth mayoral primary
A challenger comfortably topped Duluth’s two-term incumbent in a mayoral primary Tuesday. Former state Sen. Roger Reinert earned the most votes and Mayor Emily Larson secured the second spot. The two will face off on November’s general election ballot. Reinert got 63 percent of the primary vote and Larson had 35 percent in a five-way race.

FOX: Reinert Takes Duluth Mayoral Primary Win Over Incumbent Larson
For the first time in Duluth Mayor Emily Larson’s run for the city’s top job, she is facing her biggest challenger — Roger Reinert. That was made clear Tuesday when results came in for the Primary Election. Reinert secured 63% of the vote Tuesday night with 8,223 votes. Larson secured just under 35% of the vote with 4,560 votes.

NNN: Exclusive Interview: Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert’s Reaction after Advancing to the General Election
Roger Reinert and current Mayor Emily Larson are officially moving on to the November general election. In a race involving five candidates, Reinert earned 63% of votes in Tuesday’s primary election for Duluth’s Mayor. Reinert, along with his supporters, were watching the results come in at Warrior Brewing. The crowd was cheering along as Reinert’s voter percentage continued to stay ahead of Mayor Larson by a large margin.

NNN: Cara Kopp live interview with Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert
Live at Warrior Brewery, Roger’s comments to Cara Kopp.

NNN: Reinert, Larson advance in Duluth Mayor race
Roger Reinert and current Mayor Emily Larson have earned the most votes in Tuesday’s primary for Duluth mayor and will advance to November’s general election. Reinert earned 63% of the votes while Larson earned 34.94%. Larson, a former Duluth City Councilor, is looking to earn her third term in office. Reinert is a former Duluth City Councilor, DFL State Senator, and interim executive director of the DECC. He also deployed to Afghanistan for a year, serving as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

WDIO: Duluth Mayor race: Larson, Reinert advance
Duluth voters have chosen Emily Larson and Roger Reinert to move on to the general election in the race for mayor of Duluth.
Unofficial results as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night were showing incumbent mayor Emily Larson and former state senator Roger Reinert getting more votes than the other three candidates. 27 of the 34 precincts have reported thus far.

DNT: Reinert handily wins Duluth mayoral primary over Larson
Former state lawmaker Roger Reinert made a bold statement in his return to local politics, easily outpacing incumbent Emily Larson in what was expected to be one of the most-competitive mayoral races the city has seen in the past 16 years.

NNC: AHEAD OF THE PRIMARY: Leading mayoral candidates set priorities ahead of election
Duluth residents have a big decision to make in under a week: Which two mayoral candidates will head to the general election? Before the August 8 primary elections, the mayoral race’s top fundraising candidates are spending their time talking to voters, hearing what issues they have on their minds.

FOX: Duluth Police, Fire Unions Make Joint Endorsement for Reinert
The unions issued what they said was the first-ever joint endorsement. Their statement said that recruitment and retention are major issues for both departments. Reinert said he was honored and grateful for their support.

Fundraising update on Duluth mayoral race
Ahead of next week’s primary in Duluth, there’s a better picture of how much funding candidates have raised this year with a challenger coming out on top in the mayoral race. According to the Duluth City Clerk’s Office, candidate and former local lawmaker Roger Reinert has raised nearly $41,000 from January to July. Mayor Emily Larson has raised nearly $35,000 in the same time period.The other mayoral candidates did not have financial reports.

DNT: Campaign spending in Duluth mayoral race likely to hit new heights
If campaign donations are any indication, this year’s mayoral race stands to be the most competitive in 16 years, and it’s proving unusually expensive.

DNT: Candidate’s View: Duluth, it’s time for something different
We launched our campaign in January and were intentional about listening. By May we had engaged more than 1,000 Duluthians in one-on-one and small-group discussions. The result? You told me about five big issues: Housing across all income levels, commercial tax-base development, streets, downtown Duluth, and affordable property taxes.

PACT-TV: Meet the Candidates, Roger Reinert, Mayoral Candidate, City of Duluth, Minnesota
Meet the Candidates Primary Election 2023

FOX21: Larson Secures DFL, Labor Endorsements; Reinert Lands Police, Fire Unions
The Aug. 8 primary election is less than three weeks away. Duluth Mayor Emily Larson and former state Sen. Roger Reinert are the likely two candidates headed to the general election Nov. 7.

LWV: Mayoral Primary Forum 2023
The League of Women Voters, Duluth Chapter, hosted a forum featuring 3 of the 5 City of Duluth Mayoral Candidates. See how each responded to questions submitted from Duluthians.

WDIO: Mayoral candidate Roger Reinert hosts ice cream social series
Duluth mayoral candidate Roger Reinert hosted the second of three ice cream socials on Wednesday afternoon. The event was held at Chilly Billy’s and served as a way for community members to meet Reinert, learn more about his visions and express their needs and concerns. Reinert’s team says that these meetings are intentionally spread throughout the community and held on different days in order to accommodate various work and parenting schedules.

DNT: How Duluth mayor contenders compare
Find out how Duluth’s mayoral candidates stand on the issues.

WDIO: Roger Reinert officially files in race for Duluth Mayor
Mayoral candidate Roger Reinert officially filed today as a candidate for Mayor of Duluth. “I’m excited to be the very first candidate to file for any office today. That’s representative of my style”, said Reinert. “I do the things I say I’m going to do, and I get out there and get after it.” Tuesday was the first day to file for office. Local elections will be held this fall for Mayor of Duluth, and six open Duluth City Council seats.

FOX21: Roger Reinert Files As Candidate For Mayor Of Duluth
Roger Reinert filed Tuesday morning as a candidate for Mayor of Duluth. “I’m excited to be the very first candidate to file for any office today. That’s representative of my style”, Reinert said in a press release. “I do the things I say I’m going to do, and I get out there and get after it.” Reinert had announced he would be running for Mayor in January.

NNN: Roger Reinert officially files candidacy for Duluth’s mayor
Candidate filings opened on Tuesday, May 16 for the City of Duluth. Roger Reinert, a former city councilor, state lawmaker, DECC interim executive director, and Naval officer, officially filed his candidacy for Duluth’s mayor Tuesday morning.

STAR TRIBUNE: Duluth DFL mayoral candidate won’t seek DFL endorsement
Duluth politicos geared up for an unusual mayoral race this year when DFL Mayor Emily Larson found an opponent in former DFL state Sen. Roger Reinert, both who’ve been endorsed by the party in past elections. But this week, before Saturday’s Duluth DFL convention where delegates will choose a candidate to support, Reinert said in a social media video he won’t be seeking any endorsements.

FOX21: Duluth Mayoral Race: Reinert No On Party Endorsements; Larson Says ‘Show Up’
Duluth mayoral candidate Roger Reinert, who has been endorsed by the DFL party in previous political elections, is bypassing any political party endorsements for his run for mayor. Reinert made the announcement Monday through a video release. He said the office of mayor should be non-partisan and open to all political views.

DNT: Roger Reinert sheds DFL label in his bid to become Duluth mayor
Roger Reinert announced Monday he will not seek the DFL endorsement in his campaign to be elected the city’s next mayor, challenging the incumbent candidate Emily Larson, who is seeking a third term, presumably again upon the DFL ticket. “I’ve been endorsed and elected multiple times as a DFL candidate. But I’ve always been a moderate, a consensus building, a business Democrat ― a little more fiscally conservative, a little more socially liberal. And that has not changed,” Reinert said.

WDIO: Roger Reinert says he will not seek any political party endorsement
Duluth mayoral candidate Roger Reinert has announced that he will not seek any political party endorsements in his run for Duluth mayor. Reinert said in a statement that “the office of mayor is intended to be non-partisan, and the endorsement that matters most to me is that of everyday Duluthians.”

WDIO: Continuing the discussion of the state of Duluth
Duluth Mayoral Candidate Roger Reinert invited Duluthians to join him for a conversation on the state of our City tonight, Wednesday March 23rd. He spoke in great detail of where Duluth is, where Duluth needs to be headed, and how we get there.

KQDS-TV: Roger Reinert, Duluth Mayoral Candidate Hosts Coffee And Conversations
DULUTH, Minn. — Roger Reinert is one of the candidates running for the Duluth mayoral election coming up this fall. Reinert is hosting a total of 6 “Coffee and Conversations” meet-ups with the public, and one of them happened Wednesday. He says it’s an open invitation for anyone to join him for small group conversations on issues they’re concerned about in Duluth.

KQDS-TV: Duluth Mayoral Candidate Reinert Addresses Larson’s ‘State Of The City’
DULUTH, Minn. — Duluth Mayor Emily Larson’s leading opponent in the mayoral race is Roger Reinert. On Thursday evening, one day after Larson’s State of the City Address, Reinert held a formal press event at Clyde Iron Works to respond to that address.

WDIO: Roger Reinert Responds to State of the City Address
Today, Wednesday March 22nd, Mayor Emily Larson delivered her seventh State of the City Address at The West Theatre. Her opponent Roger Reinert had this to say in regards to her speech. “First, I appreciate Emily’s service as our Mayor. The military in me respects the office, and having been elected at both the local and state level appreciate, and have empathy, for how difficult the task of governing is right now.”

FOX21: Roger Reinert Reacts In Statement To Mayor Larson’s “State of the City” Address
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson, who is up for re-election this year, delivered her “State of the City” address on Wednesday night at the West Theater, and now one of her opponents is responding through a statement. Roger Reinert released the statement after attending her speech, and he will host his own rebuttal speech on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Clyde Iron Works.

Almanac North: Roger shares priorities for Duluth as mayor
During a recent broadcast of PBS North’s weekly public affairs show, Roger shared the story of his campaign and his vision for Duluth.

NNN: Roger Reinert announces bid for Duluth Mayor
Former City Councilor and State Senator Roger announced Thursday morning his candidacy for the 2023 Duluth Mayoral Election. Reinert made the announcement at the Piedmont Heights Community Club. Reinert previously served as a Duluth City Councilor from 2004-2009 and later as Minnesota State Senator in District 7B from 2009-2011.

MPR: Roger Reinert announces campaign for Duluth Mayor
Standing in front of dozens of supporters at a community center and hockey rink Thursday, former state legislator Roger Reinert announced his campaign to challenge incumbent Emily Larson to be the next mayor of the city of Duluth.

STAR TRIBUNE: Roger Reinert to run for Duluth mayor
Reinert, 52, was backed by more than two dozen supporters, whose claps were muted by gloves and mittens on the 20-degree day. He is the first candidate to officially challenge Mayor Emily Larson, who said in December that she will seek a third term. Larson was easily elected in both 2015 and 2019.

DNT: Former Duluth lawmaker enters mayoral race
Former state legislator Roger Reinert announced his plans to run for mayor Thursday morning at a news conference held at the Piedmont Heights Community Club.

WDIO: Former state legislator Roger Reinert running for mayor of Duluth
Standing at the Piedmont Community Center with dozens of supporters behind him, Roger Reinert made it official. He will run for mayor of Duluth. The campaign slogan is “Expect More. Do Better.”

FOX21: Roger Reinert Running For Duluth Mayor
“Expect More Do Better.” That’s the theme of Roger Reinert’s campaign which he kicked off outside the Piedmont Community Center on Thursday. . He says Duluth residents should expect more from their city leaders. “We seem to have lost focus on those key things a city must do well. Duluth needs city government to do what city government needs to do. Focus on delivering effective and efficient core city services,” Reinert said.

WDIO: Insider analysis- The Iron Range, the President, and the 8th
WDIO is going in-depth on the midterm elections, offering analysis from Jim Stauber and Roger Reinert. We posed the following questions to get their thoughts before voters cast their ballots on Nov. 8:

Star Tribune: Leading the DECC through a pandemic
During the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Roger served as interim executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Read how his work helped save this community institution in the face of unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic.

DNT: Walz names Reinert to new post-9/11 taskforce
DNT: Walz names Reinert to new post-9/11 taskforce Roger Reinert, interim executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, is one of eight Minnesotans selected

FOX21: DECC Interim Exec. Dir. Roger Reinert Wants To Innovate Venue’s Use During Pandemic
Roger Reinert — known in the world of politics in Duluth and St. Paul after stints as a city councilor, state senator and representative — is the new interim executive director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center – replacing Chelly Townsend whose contract was not renewed for reason not disclosed by the board.

FOX21: Former State Senator, Duluth City Councilor Named as DECC Interim Executive Director
The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center board has formally nominated former state Senator and Duluth City Councilor Roger Reinert as the Interim Executive Director. The decision was made during a Wednesday morning virtual meeting about the DECC’s status and plan for the remainder of the year.

KSTP-TV: Former Minnesota lawmaker joins COVID-19 battle in Italy
Roger served in Italy as a communications officer for the U.S. Navy Reserve at the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

MPR: As deployment to Afghanistan winds down, Reinert reflects and looks ahead
For a year, Roger served in Afghanistan as part of a U.S. Navy Reserve unit. As his deployment drew to a close, he reflected on that service and anticipated returning to Duluth.

DNT: Foundation taps Reinert as new VP
The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation has hired former state legislator and Duluth city councilor Roger Reinert as its new vice president.

StarTribune: Duluth Sen. Reinert leaving Legislature
To the extent that rank-and-file members of the Legislature are remembered at all after they leave office, it’s usually because they are lucky or unlucky enough to become associated with that rare, occasional issue that rises above the lawmaking grind and swirls up public opinion.

State Senate: Reinert helps form bipartisan group of doers
To bridge partisan divides in the Minnesota Legislature, Roger was one of the founders of the Purple Caucus.

MPR: Reinert helps secure funding for new Duluth airport terminal
As a state legislator, Roger was part of the team that made possible a new terminal at the Duluth International Airport.

MPR: Reinert leads update of Duluth rental ordinance
In the City Council, Roger championed modernizing the city’s ordinance governing rental properties.