At its first meeting of 2017, the newly seated St. Louis County (SLC) Board appointed two new commissioners to the Duluth Seaway Port Authority—Patrick Boyle and Pete Stauber. They will complete remaining terms of former commissioners Chris Dahlberg and Steve Raukar, respectively, both of whom chose not to run for reelection to the SLC Board last fall.
Boyle, a nurse practitioner for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, was first elected to the SLC Board in a special election in January 2014 to fill out the term of the late Steve O’Neil. At the time, he was a member of the Duluth City Council. He was reelected last November for a four-year term. As a county commissioner, he has chaired the Public Safety Committee and currently chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. Boyle has been active in the community as a member of the Friends of the Lakewalk and the Duluth Preservation Alliance. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two daughters and live in Duluth. His appointment to the Port Authority Board runs through Dec. 31, 2017.
Stauber retired from professional hockey and began his career in law enforcement with the Duluth Police Department in 1993, where he serves as a police lieutenant. Also a small business owner in Duluth, Stauber served two terms as a Hermantown City Councilor before being elected to the SLC Board in 2012. He was reelected to a four-year term last fall. He has been chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, is a past Board chair and is the current chair of Public Works and Transportation. Stauber’s wife, Jodi, an Iraq War veteran, retired from the 148th Fighter Wing as its first female Command Chief. They have four children and live in Hermantown. His appointment to the Port Authority Board runs through Dec. 31, 2021.
Ray Klosowski, retired executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority, was reappointed by the Duluth City Council in October 2016 to a third, six-year term on the Duluth Seaway Port Authority Board. Klosowski, a retired Brigadier General, commanded the 148th Fighter Wing at Duluth from 1989 to 1995 and the Minnesota Air National Guard from 1995 to 1997. He was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2007. The City Council first appointed him to the Port Authority board in 2004. His current term will expire Oct. 10, 2022.
Current and former Port Authority commissioners and staff would like to extend their deep appreciation to both Steve Raukar and Chris Dahlberg for their dedicated service. Dahlberg served on the Port Authority Board for the past five years. Raukar was first appointed to the Port Authority in January 1998 and reappointed three times since. He had served as president since March 2012.