Anyone been out there today? What’s the story on the road conditions? We may venture out for a bit tonight if we can make the ice-filled walk to the car and then navigate the inch of ice on the driveway.

I went to the game last night and other than the remarkably crappy hockey, I have to say that in my already-addressed 10 years in Duluth, I have never been more proud to be a Duluthian.

What a great building, and as Mayor Ness said, what a great achievement for the men and women who built it and the folks who work there. On my way in I heard employees welcoming people, and on the way out I was thanked for coming and invited back, and it was actually sincere. It’s a beautiful facility and I’m so glad that our community voted to build it.

I think 61% of the city would now vote to get the Bulldogs some defense, but that would be a different referendum.

Anyway, thanks to all of those who worked to get the arena, those who worked on the arena, and those who work in it now. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to many, many more. I would encourage everyone to visit the open house, even if you’re not a hockey fan. It’s going to be a great venue for concerts and other events, too.

23 bands at Beaner’s for New Year’s Eve!

A yellowlab puppy, intact, was found on House Street and 101st Ave W. No tags, blue collar. Please call for information — 715-520-0111

I found this old slide and thought I would share it since these pictures seem to be a bit rare around here. BTW, it is a Kodachrome.

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 5-8PM at Beaner’s Central
More info at: juliepearcemedicalreliefteam.com.

Live music will feature Jessica Myshack: jessicamyshack.com

Full .PDF news release here.

Hope to see you all there!!!

Lonnie Dupre Will Attempt to be First to Climb Mt. McKinley Alone in January!

49-year-old Lonnie Dupre from Grand Marais wants to be the first person to summit Denali SOLO in January. I wish him good luck and look forward to following his blog along the way! http://lonniedupre.com

Recent POD Cast – 12/30/2010 – From Talkeetna, Alaska

Learn More Here:

• Minn. Man Will Attempt to be First to Climb Mt. McKinley Alone in January
• WEB EXTRA: Extended Interview with Lonnie Dupre

Dragon Port Games will have an overnighter to ring in the New Year. Games of all types are available to play for free, and experts will gladly show you how to play something new. They might even let you win.

Kids are welcome with their parents, too; soft drinks and snacks will be available for purchase.

Swing by. Official schedule includes:

Friday, Dec. 31
4:30pm – Warhammer Fantasy
6:30pm – Friday Night Magic

–Saturday, Jan. 1
10am – Warhammer 40k Open Gaming
12pm – Flames Of War
12-6pm – Fight with your company in the Mediterranean, Italy, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe. This campaign will be 8 weeks long. Details.

The store formally reopens at 10 am on Saturday, New Year’s Day.

Dave Ross is out after two terms as Superior mayor. He’s taking a job as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing.

Candidates must file the required number of signatures by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4 to get on the ballot for mayor in Superior.

According to City Clerk Terri Kalan, only former three-term mayor Bruce Hagen has filed both his declaration papers and nomination signatures so far. Two other candidates, Mick MacKenzie and Kevin Peterson have filed their declaration to run, but have not turned in the 200 nominating signatures yet.

“However,” Kalan notes, “the mayor did not file his declaration of non-candidacy — that’s a form they fill out when they have no intent to run. That deadline was Monday. By not filing that, if he does not file for mayor by next Tuesday — which now it sounds like he won’t — that holds open the deadline three more days. So, it’ll be pushed back until Friday at 5 p.m. — but we won’t know that for sure until Tuesday at 5 p.m.”

In a news release, Ross said:

“I am honored to be a part of Governor Scott Walker’s administration. The Department of Regulation and Licensing can play an important role in streamlining and reforming state government. Governor Walker has sent a clear message, ‘Wisconsin is open for business’, and I am proud to be a part of the team that will grow jobs in Wisconsin.”

What were some of the best live shows you saw this past year in the Twin Ports area?

With the grand opening of Amsoil Arena tonight, the News Tribune Attic this week has been featuring a look back at its predecessor, the Duluth / DECC Arena, with photos and a timeline of notable events:

Photo gallery, early 1960s – grand opening in 1966

Photo gallery, grand opening program / brochure

Photo gallery, 1966 – 1975

Photo gallery, 1975 – present and timeline

Time and space prevented the inclusion of every notable concert and event held at the Arena in the timeline, but we’d still like to hear your stories and memories. If you think something else should be included, please post your Arena recollections in comments here or at the Attic site. Keep in mind, the focus is on the Arena, not the Auditorium.

You may recall Ken Marunowski, former UMD faculty member and local artist (who premiered his work locally in an unconventional venue, the gallery space at Chester Creek Books and Antiques, last Spring).

Ken has been painting abroad: France, then South Africa, then France again.
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Band and musician registration for the music festival with the most impressive ratio of big:cheap begins Jan. 15 and ends Feb. 15. If that seems early, it’s ’cause we moved it up after suddenly realizing no one was gonna stop us.

The Duluth Homegrown Music Festival runs May 1 – May 8, 2011, and features 150 local bands at two dozen venues. As we enter our 13th (oooooh, so spooky!) year, Homegrown is run by a volunteer — but hardworking — steering committee of local music types who intend to show you a badass time.

Visit duluthhomegrown.com for a registration form, available as soon as signup begins. Be prepared with a couple of mp3s and photos, and maybe get around to asking your drummer his last name.

xoxo from the Chicken

Today jessige and I were having lunch together and we pondered the question: how long do you have to live here to be considered a native? (We’re both transplants from Eau Claire, Wisconsin that have lived in this area for ten years or more.)

Well, that topic has been done before here on the ol’ PDD (someone else can find it, I wasn’t able to), so we extrapolated it to “what questions would you put on a ‘Duluth Citizenship’ test?”

What are the essential things that you have to know to be considered a native Duluthian?

Come join us on Saturday, Jan. 1, from 6-8pm as we ring in the 2011 New Year at the Chester Creek Cafe Wine Bar. Listen to the sweet sounds of Sonja Steen and Old Western with happy hour 4-7pm and appetizer specials!

The Lamplighter in Souptown is under new ownership and is re-opening this week! Remember the L-shaped pool table? It could be yours to win! Just come in and register for the free raffle before midnight! The lucky winner will have five days to haul it to it’s new home! Oh, the stories that it could tell.

The main personality split in Duluth occurs about where an interfering spine of rocks comes down from the hill to Superior Street just a few blocks west of midtown. West of this point of rocks Duluth is politically left, east of it it is politically right. But there is a certain uniting force in cold weather, of which Duluth has its share.

–From “Duluth,” an essay by Arthur W. Baum
in the April 16, 1949, Saturday Evening Post

The Peerless Auto Body Fire post on PDD sparked some discussion of the former Peerless location near Point of Rocks, which led to some interest in the history of Point of Rocks.

So, here we go …
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Time once again to play Perfect Duluth Day’s marvelous photo quiz game, “Where in Duluth?” Where is this burglar alarm?

I have been reading a lot about peak oil and peak natural gas production lately. To me, these seem like they will be the biggest issues of the 21st century. We need oil and natural gas to drive our cars, heat our homes, grow our food, transport our goods, etc. Our whole economy relies on cheap, non-renewable fossil-fuel energy, so why is nobody talking about this?! I honestly feel that most of our national problems (the war in the Middle East, the economic recession, etc.) are largely due to a declining production of energy.

I know that some people are aware of this issue, but it seems most folks either don’t understand the full implications or simply just don’t care. It just grinds my gears when people assume that we will always be able to run our economy the way we’re running it now. What do you all think about this? Should we start preparing Duluth for a post-oil world, or do we just ignore it and see what happens?

I woke up at 4am to pee and saw this blaze out my window. It was so huge, we thought it might be Prax-Air. As of 8 a.m., it’s still burning.

Former Duluthian Maria Bamford and her series of Target ads made AdWeek’s 30 freakiest ads of 2010.

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Two Many Banjos – Fatwa

A coupla folks have said some kind things about the Gartband CD Fatwa, so here it is for free for a week or so.

Merry chrimbus!

Yoga North invites the public to a Community Potluck & Open House on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2-5pm. This is our annual kick-off to our Winter session of classes.

Ann Maxwell RYT 500

Enjoy free half-hour demo yoga classes, discounts on everything (including class registration, workshops, props, mats, posture and philosophy books, clothing, etc.), as well as community time with instructors and fellow students.

Bring a dish to share along with a plate and utensils for yourself. Yoga North is located in the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth in St. Michael’s Elementary School at 4628 Pitt St. in Duluth.  Enter at the far east Pitt Street door.

This is a great time to start yoga. Our Winter session of classes begins Monday, Jan. 3, including over 20 weekly classes in Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Kundalini, Yin and Restorative yoga. New classes include “Your Body” yoga, “Yamas & Niyamas on the Mat,” “Boundless Yoga,” and additional Hatha yoga classes added to the schedule, helping to make yoga available to everyone despite their schedules.

Come to the open house to learn more! New and returning students welcome.

I took a lot of heat from friends for always going to Green Mill for Happy Hour. $5 apps that make me think of college, you know.

But it made me think about meal deals around town for happy hour. What do you got?

1. Green Mill, $5 apps
2. Midi: Is this right? Buy one, get one entrees?
3. Blackwater: $5 pizzas? How big are these pizzas?
4. Thai Krathong: All you can eat Pad Thai Tuesday? Does it include beef/shrimp/chicken?
5. Sammy’s Woodland: All you can eat pizza buffet Tuesdays?

and

1. Lunch at Saigon Cafe, buffet for $5.99?

What else can you add to this list? I want to eat out in new and exciting places this week!

Simple question: What gas station has rolling papers, close to Fitger’s?

So, perhaps you have been following along with the recent comments on last year’s PDD Gift Guide regarding Connolly’s Tom And Jerry Batter. The news that came out there is that Upper Lakes Foods, which owns the Connolly family recipe, no longer has a manufacturer to produce it. The supply ran out shortly after Thanksgiving, leaving consumers with the choice of either buying inferior brands or making the batter themselves.

The folks at Heavy Table took up the topic today with a little history of the fine tradition of applying sugary frosting to one’s booze, along with a recommended recipe.

Hopefully Connolly’s will be back on shelves next year. (As Baci noted in the old post, perhaps a PDD army will have to step in and rent a kitchen to crank it out if need be.) It’s been a popular fixture in these parts for over 60 years, having originated at Connolly’s Bakery on Belknap Street in Superior. Other brands simply don’t compare.