Duluth, Minn. - Nicholas Benson says he was only having fun with his Web site. Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson doesn't see the humor.
Benson's site, launched two years ago, included a doctored photo that showed Bergson in front of the NorShor Theatre under a fake marquee advertising "Gay Porn Nite."
The city attorney met with Benson this week about getting offending content removed, and Benson said the change would include an apology.
As of today, the site had no apology but its home page had been altered to show nothing more than a picture of a cuddly puppy with "We Love You" and fluffy pink text.
Duluth News Tribune: A bizarre Web site portraying the city of Duluth in a less than flattering light will be cleaned up and the domain name possibly sold.
That's the word from Nicholas Benson, 36, of Duluth, who launched www.duluthtourism.com two years ago as, in his words, a "joke."
Benson learned this week that not everyone shares his sense of humor.
The site -- which contains strong sexual content, profanity and racist commentary -- also takes thinly veiled shots at local businesses and politicians. One of those people is Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson, who in one of the site's doctored photos is seen standing in front of the NorShor Theatre with a fake marquee that reads "Gay Porn Nite." The image, along with a fake letter, prompted Bergson to meet Tuesday with Duluth City Attorney Bryan Brown about having the content removed. But because Bergson is a public official, protections against potential libel situations are limited, he said.
Benson told the Duluth News Tribune on Thursday that he would probably have the Web site altered by today, which will include an apology to Bergson. Eventually, Benson said he wants to sell the domain name.
"I didn't mean to harm anyone. I don't have a beef with anyone" he said. "Anyone that I've ever talked with about it (the Web site) seemed to think it was funny."
Duluthtourism.com was launched two years ago. Benson said he has kept the site updated from Phoenix, where he attends college. Before Bergson took office in January, Benson said, the site featured an unflattering, doctored image of former Duluth Mayor Gary Doty, but nobody raised a fuss.
Benson said he has an associate's degree in Web administration and is working on a bachelor's degree in computer science at a university in Phoenix.
Duluthtourism.com isn't Benson's first Duluth-related Web creation. He said he also created www.duluthblows.com and www.stinkyduluth.com, which he said he no longer owns or operates. Today, neither site appears to have local ties.
Benson's mother, Julie Benson, advised her son to change the site after the News Tribune published a story about its content Wednesday.
She said her son's Army service during the first Gulf War may have affected what he published on the Internet.
"He came back a very angry man," she said. "I've talked to him before about getting some type of anger management."
