It originally operated from Chicago, Illinois via St. Paul to Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, but was soon cut back to a Saint Paul–Duluth train.

In October 1981 cost-cutting measures forced the service to be converted to a Twin Cities–Duluth local, which left the daily Empire Builder as the only Chicago–Twin Cities connection.

[5][6] It briefly stopped service in September 1982 when Amtrak requested $27,000 (equivalent to $85,246 in 2023) in funding to keep it operating as a weekend and peak period train.

Senator David Durenberger (R-MN) also requested that Amtrak run a financial audit, which uncovered an extra $100,000 (equivalent to $315,724 in 2023) in available funds.

[7] By the end of service in 1985, the North Star no longer served Superior and made intermediate stops only in Cambridge and Sandstone.