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
Duluth, Minnesota Minnesota Duluth (UMD); the UMD campus includes a medical school. The UMD Bulldogs won the Division I National Hockey Championship in 2011 and 2018. Other schools include The College of St. Scholastica, Lake Superior College, and Duluth Business University. The University of Wisconsin–Superior and Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College are in nearby Superior, Wisconsin. Most public schools are administered by Duluth Public Schools. The schools have open enrollment. ISD 709 (Independent School District number 709) is now undertaking a reconstruction of all area schools under a program called the "Red Plan." The Red Plan's goals are the reconstruction of some older