Duluth, Minnesota four Catholic schools with coverage up to grades 6 or 8, two Protestant schools, two Montessori schools, and six other charter and private schools. Due to its proximity to the Great Lakes, Duluth is the location for the Large Lakes Observatory. The Large Lakes Observatory operates the largest university-owned research vessel in the Great Lakes, the R/V Blue Heron. Built in 1985 for fishing on the Grand Banks, the Blue Heron was purchased by the University of Minnesota in 1997, sailed from Portland, Maine, up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Duluth, and converted into a limnological research vessel during the
University of Minnesota system The University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the Crookston, Duluth, and Morris coordinate campuses are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The other public system of higher education in the state is the larger Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (Minnesota State system). The flagship Twin Cities campus is by far the largest in the system, with a total enrollment of 51,853 students (undergraduate, graduate, professional, and non-degree included); Duluth reported 11,491; Crookston had 2,764; Morris had 1,896; and Rochester had 414, bringing the system-wide total to 68,418 for fall semester 2012. The colors of the university, which are