USS Minneapolis St. Paul In Duluth For May 21 Commissioning

The USS Minneapolis St. Paul arrived in Duluth ready to be commissioned this Saturday in the Duluth Harbor.

According to a press release in March 2022, this will be the first time a ship will be commissioned in Minnesota, let alone, Duluth. The commissioning will take place Saturday around 10 am and there will be some seats for the public.

The ship had quite the journey, MLive is reporting it had to make its way through the Soo Locks to get through the Great Lakes to arrive in Lake Superior and in Duluth. Destination Duluth posted a video showing the ship steering through the canal and under the Aerial Lift Bridge.

WDIO is reporting that there will be a public event at Bent Paddle this Wednesday the 18th at 5 pm. Also, the Navy League of the United States, Minnesota Council commissioned Bent Paddle to brew a special USS Minneapolis Saint Paul beer and the special graphics feature the watercolor from Duluthian John Salminen, which makes it totally local. The Bent Paddle Beer is called Wayfinder Freedom North Star Pale Ale.

A little history on the name of the ship. The Navy has named two U.S. Navy ships for Minneapolis and two for Saint Paul. To honor all the ships bearing those names, the Navy combined the names into one, and that is how it got its name. Maybe they will name one for Duluth soon?

It is too late to get tickets to the event, according to the Minnesota Navy League website, they are no longer accepting requests to join the commissioning.

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