The Duluth Tribune has a fun article today on the Google Twin Ports efforts to attract Google to the area. Apparently lots of rumors are circulating. The good news is that it sounds like Duluth has heard from Google in the last year. Duluth made the case that they had a natural cooling system (the Lake) for a computer/data center. They made the case that they had great spirit too – culminiating in Mayor Ness jumping in the Lake last year to prove both points.

But the Duluth Tribune points out that there aren’t sure signs where we might expect them either…

And if Google — or any other company — is going to use Lake Superior water to cool its servers, it would require approval and permitting from numerous regulatory agencies. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers have told the News Tribune they haven’t received any permit requests.

So is Google coming to Duluth? The article offers no answer – but they answer they got from the Mayor indicates that the Lake isn’t the only cool character in town…

Of course, if the mayor or anyone in the know actually had information about Google coming to the Twin Ports, would they say anything publicly — given the company’s desire for secrecy?

“If I did know,” Ness said, “and if it came to it, and we have a partnership with Google, I would certainly take their direction.”