North Star Port

Jerome Johnson Brian Murphy Ida Rukavina Johnson, Murphy and Rukavina join Port Authority board PHOTO / Dennis O'Hara PORT LOGBOOK The Port Authority board received news at its Jan. 29 meeting that renovation of Berths 10 and 11 on the Clure Terminal Expansion will conclude by March 31. The $11.3 million project is delivering two additional ship berths and increased cargo- handling acreage right at the heart of the harbor. 16 | NORTH STAR PORT | WINTER 2025 THE DULUTH SEAWAY PORT AUTHORITY recently welcomed a trio of new appointees to its board of commissioners: Jerome Johnson, Brian Murphy and Ida Rukavina. Johnson succeeds Commissioner Tyrone Walker, who resigned upon relocating his family to New Jersey. Murphy succeeds Commis- sioner Rick Revoir, who concluded 14 years of service on the Port Authority board in October 2024. Rukavina succeeds Commissioner Tony Sertich, who served a pair of six-year terms on the board, beginning with his appointment by then-Governor Mark Dayton in 2013. The Johnson and Murphy appointments are six-year terms set to expire in October 2030; Rukavina's term expires in January 2031. Johnson is a business manager with the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 11. He serves on a number of boards, including with the Minnesota and Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association, and as a trustee for the Duluth Build- ing Trades Welfare Fund. Johnson attended Lake Superior College and worked locally with AG O'Brien Plumbing and Heating. He served previ- ously in the U.S. Army from 1996-2003. Murphy retired in January as senior vice pres- ident and chief lending officer for North Shore Bank in Duluth, where he worked since 1994. The remainder of his 41-year banking career was with the St. Louis County Federal Savings and Loan Association. He specialized in residential mortgage and commercial lending, with a focus on real estate lending. He is a graduate of Duluth Cathedral High School and Harvard University, where he majored in economics while tending goal for the ice hockey team. Murphy serves cur- rently on the One Roof Community Housing and Kitchi Gammi Club Foundation boards. Born and raised on Minnesota's Iron Range, Rukavina is commissioner of Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation, a Minnesota eco- nomic development agency located in Eveleth. Prior to her current role, she was executive director of the Range Association of Munic- ipalities and Schools (RAMS) and worked extensively with various levels of government and labor organizations. Rukavina earned a bachelor's degree in government and American politics from Clark University and a master's degree in advocacy and political leadership from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Her late father, Tom Rukavina, served as a Minnesota state representative for 26 years. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority is an inde- pendent public agency created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1955 to foster maritime com- merce and economic development and advo- cate for port interests. A seven-member board of commissioners governs the Port Authority— two appointed by the governor of Minnesota, two by the St. Louis County board and three by the Duluth City Council.

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