Duluth, MN Noise Ordinances: Amplified Music & Outdoor Sound (2026)

Duluth Legislative Code section 34-6(a), Disorderly Conduct, makes it unlawful for a person to commit or suffer to be committed, in any apartment or dwelling they own, occupy or control, rioting, quarreling, fighting, reveling, shouting, loud music or electronically amplified noise, or disorderly conduct that disturbs or annoys another person in a neighboring apartment, dwelling or building, or anyone lawfully in the vicinity. Subsection (b) separately reaches public and private places generally, barring brawling, shouting, dancing or noise production that unreasonably disturbs others lawfully nearby.

The section dates to an 1891 ordinance and was renumbered under Ord. No. 8451 in 1979. A related but distinct rule, section 34-24, Sound Broadcasting Devices, prohibits using sound trucks, amplifiers, phonographs or similar equipment to broadcast commercial advertising or announcements over public highways or grounds, whether from a moving vehicle or otherwise, except for police, fire and civil defense use, authorized parades or special events, and public athletic or amusement events. Section 34-6 does not itself state a numeric decibel limit; it turns on whether the noise disturbs or annoys a neighbor, making it a nuisance-style standard rather than a metered one. Duluth Police Department enforces both sections as Chapter 34 offenses.