Superior leaders eager to welcome President Biden to Superior

DULUTH, MN. (KBJR 6) -- As an admirer of American history, Superior Mayor Jim Paine said he is fired up for Wednesday’s presidential visit.

“It’s just pretty neat to see the White House in motion, it’s just really cool,” Paine said.

But as mayor, he knows Biden coming to town has the potential to be a major moment for Superior.

“Realistically, this is a speech about infrastructure and the infrastructure bill, and we have some very important needs in Superior and it’s really encouraging that the president is noticing that and that he really passed a bill for communities like ours,” Paine said.

The Mayor said it’s an honor Superior is the first city Biden will visit following his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“It’s encouraging because it means that projects in Superior are among the president’s highest priority,” Paine said.

Northwest Wisconsin union leaders also spoke with excitement ahead of Biden’s visit.

“It’s extremely important he’s coming here, because we have a few projects in the works, a big one being the Blatnik Bridge replacement,” said Kyle Bukovich, the president of the Northwest Wisconsin Building & Construction Trades Council.

He said he’s glad the president is talking about good paying union jobs as part of the discussion on infrastructure.

“With unions, it’s the local workforce that does those projects all that money will stay here and the economic impact will stay in this region to flourish local economies,” Bukovich said.

While Biden’s visit will be a short stop in Superior, leaders there hope it will have a lasting impact.

“If the president can notice us, the rest of the world can too,” Paine said.

Mayor Paine said there will be several U.S. Senators and governors visiting along with the president Wednesday.

Mayor Paine also got to help pick some city volunteers and workers who are integral in maintaining infrastructure for Superior.

They will get to watch the speech in person.

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