A crowd of nurses and their allies gathered outside of Aspirus Lake View Hospital on the sunny afternoon of February 25, from 3-5 pm, high spirits undeterred by the cold weather and mounds of snow leftover from the recent winter storm. Their goal was to have an ‘informational picket’ focusing on the current negotiations between local nurses and the hospital. Until recently, nurses at Lake View Hospital worked under a contract ensuring their wages, insurance benefits, retirement benefits, and more. At the end of September 2025, that contract expired, though nurses have continued to work without pause. Although the two parties have had 14 sessions of negotiations so far, nurses are concerned about the lack of progress from the hospital. In an announcement for the event, they stated that “negotiations with Aspirus leadership have stalled on critical workforce issues as they work toward a contract that supports long-term staffing stability and preserves existing insurance and retirement benefits.”
Throughout the first hour of the informational picket, people trickled in to grab protest signs and stand with the nurses as cars passing by routinely honked in support. Over two dozen stood in solidarity before long. “We have a lot of need in our community for healthcare services,” commented Jerri, a staff member at Lake View, “we have really good ideas that will help us retain and recruit nurses.” She noted that the facility’s number of patients has grown recently, leading to the need for more staff. However, the risk during negotiations has been that the increased amount of staff would be counterbalanced by reduced wages and benefits, putting Lake View Hospital at risk of being overshadowed by other facilities in Duluth in terms of recruiting new, talented, and experienced staff. The nurses argue that the lack of a competitive edge against locations in Duluth will also lead to higher staff turnover – a potential lose-lose situation for employers, employees, and patients due to the cost of training new workers and lack of stability in the workplace. Renee Lasky, RN at Lake View Hospital and ED at Inpatient Unit, said that “we want to build a strong community of nurses here, people that want to stay in Two Harbors. That’s our main goal.”
Aspirus Lake View Hospital declined an interview but sent out a press release preceding the event, reassuring concerns of work stoppage during the picket and stating, “We value the contributions of all team members and have long enjoyed positive relationships with our union partners. Across our system, we remain committed to respectful, disciplined labor relations and to making thoughtful, sustainable decisions that advance our mission to heal people, promote health and strengthen communities. We look forward to working together to continue advancing our threefold commitment — to our patients, to all our valued employees, and to the communities we are honored to serve.”
In the nurses’ informational picket’s announcement, Renee gave this statement: “When hospitals can retain experienced nurses and attract new ones, patient care is stronger and more consistent. We’re advocating for solutions that protect the long-term stability of care in our community.” At the event, she emphasized a similar sentiment. “We love Lake View, we love our patients, we love this community. We just want to continue to make it stronger.”
