Real people. Real Duluth. Downtown living is real living, folks… not that other neighborhoods aren’t “real,” but come on, the casino is my neighbor!

http://duluth.craigslist.org/apa/2764171933.html

Did you make a resolution to volunteer more and get active in the community? Well, lucky you, you can start on that right away by volunteering at Community Action Duluth’s Free Tax Site!

We provide free tax preparation to low income families, and the Free Tax Site is a powerful anti-poverty program: in 2011 we helped over 1,600 people claim more than $3.1 million in tax refunds! This year we are opening a third tax site location and our goal is to serve 1,800 people… and unfortunately we are finding ourselves short on volunteers to reach our goal. We depend on dozens of volunteers every year to make the Free Tax Site happen, and with our expansion this year we need more volunteers than ever. That’s where you come in.

Nervous about preparing taxes? Not to worry! We need more tax site assistants to greet clients, conduct intake interviews and assemble paperwork. (We would also love to have more tax preparers. You can volunteer for whatever makes you happy.) Volunteering at the Tax Site is fun, rewarding, looks good on your resume and plus we feed our volunteers dinner every night. Really, it’s an awesome opportunity, you should come join us.

The Tax Site opens on January 31, 2012 and volunteer training starts very soon. If you’re interested in volunteering or for more information, e-mail sonya@communityactionduluth.org

The Homegrown Music Festival seeks 2011 festival photos for the 2012 Field Guide. For more information and where to send CDs, email: adam [at] transistormag [dot] com. No watermarks, please. Thank you!

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Twin-Cities based Seven & Sixty Productions is working on a video featuring contributed footage that captures “what is truly unique about winter in Minnesota.” If you like shooting snowflakes and pond hockey and whatnot and want to contribute, read the guidelines.

We are looking to find a new home for our almost 6-year-old female dog, Billie. We got her at 8 weeks old from Animal Allies. We believe she is a black lab/border collie mix. She is a sweet girl, loves people (isn’t super keen on other dogs, however) and was a great trail-running and skijoring companion for me before I had my son and before I got a big-girl job. Since then, however, she does not get nearly the amount of attention or exercise she needs.
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Please help us find Marty! He went missing sometime overnight. He is not an outdoor cat and must have slipped out the door somehow. He has no collar on and answers to Martin or Marty. He is light orange colored with medium/long hair and a slightly flatish nose. We live across the street from the Lower Chester hockey rink. If you have seen him, please let me know! Thank you! 303-829-9892

I have finally convinced my wife to come back to Duluth after years of trying to persuade her. Her biggest concerns are education for our children, cultural diversity, organic selection for food and a good doctor of osteopathic medicine that has a family practice. I turn to PDD because my personal circle of influence in town stays with the norm of not researching these subjects and she needs a good place to start. We do not need to live in Duluth proper, but would like to be close enough that Grandma can reach us in a short amount of time to babysit.

Oh, and on a side note, I wanted to post this link that I just found while cleaning my bookmarks out. It is the best thing I have found on PDD to date!

http://music.metafilter.com/228/You-Spin-Me-Round

Okay, maybe this is plain wrong, but … I  need about 30 broken or malfunctioning iPhones to conduct an informal experiment in survival here on your planet. I’ll even pay for some if necessary, but if yours got ran over by a herd of drunken yaks, or did the backstroke in the tub, or just plain ain’t acting right anymore, and you’re thinking of disposing of it either properly or improperly, how about allowing me to intercept that shattered, twisted, all-too-quiet device for my experiment?

Please contact me at iduntaken @ yahoo.com if you’ve got one of these broken-down digital talking machines.

We need team managers for Destination Imagination teams at Congdon Park Elementary. I have been trying to tap out other sources before posting here, but schedules are not lining up and I’m getting desperate!

Not familiar with Destination Imagination? Check out idodi.org for more info. It can be sort of difficult to explain exactly what it is, but essentially you facilitate a group of 5-7 kids working on a project to present at a tournament on March 10.  I say “facilitate” because the kids provide the ideas, and the work; adults are not allowed to do anything for them or give them ideas.  

I am hoping to find someone before Dec. 21 who would be able to start meeting in January.  I have two teams without managers at this point: one group of kindergarten-to-second-grade students who will be meeting Tuesdays from 2:30 to 4 p.m., and a group of fourth- and fifth- graders who will be meeting Wednesdays from 2:30 to 4 p.m.  You are provided with materials for your team meetings, including a “Team Pak” purchased from DI that explains the projects the kids will be working on. 

Please contact Nikki at nicole.strand @ duluth.k12.mn.us if you are interested.  I can provide you with more details and information at that point!  All volunteers participating in our after-school programs will be required to fill out an application and pass a background check prior to starting.

If Congdon isn’t the right spot for you, but you’re still interested in being a team manager for DI, please still let me know and I will connect you to other schools that still need team managers as well!

— Duluth Public Arts Commission Coordinator Job Description —

The DPAC Coordinator performs administrative support for the Duluth Public Arts Commission. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: attending monthly and all ad hoc DPAC meetings; take detailed and accurate minutes at each DPAC meeting; manage communications internally including emailing meeting minutes and monthly reminders of meetings; manage verbal and written external communications when appropriate with artists, art venues, other community organizations, press and others as directed; making meeting arrangements above and beyond monthly meeting: screening and directing telephone calls for DPAC commissioners; tracking submissions and communication from DPAC Web page; preparing reports and financial data; manage Web page updates and changes; manage airport boxes up to and including transportation of art pieces, installation of pieces, provide secure and temporary storage for art pieces; general customer relations.
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Hello fellow Duluthians. I would like to take a moment to ask for your assistance on a class project we are doing for a Market Research course at UMD. I’m placing this post under the “Help Wanted” category, because that’s exactly what we want: help! (This is not a job posting, sorry for the confusion.) This favor will be reciprocated with good karma!

If any of you would be able to take five minutes out of your busy crazy lives to help out four fun-loving students it would be greatly appreciated! Here is the link to the survey.

If you have any questions or comments about the survey, please feel free to e-mail me: bomga002 @ d.umn.edu

Thank you all very much! Enjoy this beautiful, sunny, Duluth winter day!

Kelsey Bomgaars
Student of Marketing
University of Minnesota Duluth

Are you:

• An alum of the School of Fine Arts at UMD?
• Still living in the Twin Ports area?
• Currently making a portion of your income through creation of your art (music, visual arts, theater)?

A student group through UMD’s School of Fine Arts is looking to organize an alumni panel event and discussion in the Spring of 2012 for students of the SFA. Our mission is to provide our students the opportunity to a.) hear from those in the area who have succeeded in creating their art for a living and b.) ask questions about the ins and outs of doing so.

If you are an alum of UMD’s School of Fine Arts and are interested in helping to provide an important educational experience for our students, please email ellis477 @ d.umn.edu with the subject: SFA Alumni Panel.

Look forward to hearing from you talented people!

I know there was a conversation about this in August of 2010, but I have been unable to contact anyone from those posts. One doesn’t return my e-mail and for some reason the Mac Doctor doesn’t answer the phone or return messages. Does anyone have any advice on where I can find an honest Mac repair person that doesn’t charge Best Buy prices?

Would you like to help put $2,000 into the pockets of a low income family?  Community Action Duluth is seeking passionate, dedicated volunteers for our  2012 Free Tax Site.  Last year we helped over 1,600 people claim more than $3.1 million in tax refunds!  We’re expanding the Tax Site this year to serve even more of the community and we need YOUR help.  Volunteers can either prepare taxes or can assist at the Tax Site by greeting clients, conducting intake interviews and helping with paperwork.  All training is provided.  Previous experience with taxes (like preparing your own returns) is a bonus but is not required—you just need to care about helping your neighbors get out of poverty. 

 The Tax Site is super fun, and many of our volunteers come back year after year.  The experience looks good on a resume, you get to meet a lot of great people, and we provide dinner every night for our volunteers.  What more could you want?  If you’re interested in volunteering, e-mail sonya@communityactionduluth.org to get started.

Before Call of Duty and Elder Scrolls, there were these quirky little things called Text Based Adventures. Primitive on the graphic front (with NO graphics in them), these were the first dungeon crawlers and computer based rpgs like Minnesota’s own Oregon Trail. In 1982, this was super addictive stuff. Well, as I’m an active user of Goolge Docs, I came to realize that it might be possible to use their forms and spreadsheets to “crowd source” the content for a text based “pub crawler” or some text based questing game based in the PDD ethos.

Sorry, this is where my mind goes when I’m feeling ill and home alone from work for the day. So I started a test survey. It’s not perfect or definitive and really just a test so I can have a bit of crowd sourced data to try and put together in game form.  Once there’s a few entries, I’ll make a game out of it. I hope to refine the survey to better automate the process. So, take a few minutes and unleash your inner geek. BTW, This is NOT an official PDD sponsored thing and no folk bands will be hurt in the programming of this game.

This worked so well last time, we thought we would try it again! Raven & Associates, Inc. is a promotional products company in Duluth that sells mainly to camps, nonprofits and outdoor groups nationally. We are looking for an additional customer service rep to join our team. We are a growing company, a great place to work, and very odd.

Here’s the basic info on the job: Full-time customer-service representative position. Hourly wage beginning at +$10 per hour, flexible scheduling, retirement benefits and partial health insurance. Previous experience, background in art, and interest in outdoors preferred.

For more info, call Dave at 740-2769 or send me a message via our Facebook page.

Minnesota GreenCorps, an AmeriCorps Program coordinated by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is currently accepting applications for one full-time energy conservation corps member in Duluth. This position will serve 1,700 hours at ~ 40 hours weekly from late November 2011 into September 2012. Member benefits include a biweekly stipend, optional health insurance, student loan forbearance and $5,350 award to apply toward eligible student loans or for continued education.

Electronic applications are due Nov. 16. For more information, please visit pca.state.mn.us. MPCA is an equal opportunity employer.

Hola, PDDers! Some folks and I are going to be performing the whole Ween record Chocolate and Cheese on Friday, Dec. 30 at Pizza Luce here in Duluth. We’re excited!

I am looking for someone that would be interested in documenting the rehearsals leading up to the gig and then the gig itself. I would probably be able to get you a little money for your time but not much. It’d certainly be a plus if you were borderline obsessive about the record.

We get together for a couple hours on Thursday afternoons in the Washington Studios to run the tunes. Hopefully this would be a decent time for you to come video for a bit. We’ve got (gulp) 8 rehearsals scheduled leading up to the gig.

Feel free to leave any contact info in the comments below or you can email me. marcgart(at)hotmail

I’m looking for a French teacher for two kids, ages 8 and 5. They speak conversational French now from some time they spent going to school in France, but I can tell they are losing it by the day. I’m looking for someone who would ideally come over to our house once or twice a week after school. I was thinking $15-30/hour, depending on experience.

Does anyone have other ideas about keeping up the kids’ French ability?

Hi everyone! I am looking for a old-school vintage stage in the Duluth area. The NorShor Theatre is out and so is the Armory because they are both undergoing construction. Are there any other stages in the Duluth, Superior or North Shore area that someone may know about that have an old-school vibe?

I’ve been banking with Wells Fargo since I was 8, but it’s time for a change. About a year ago, I tried switching to Northern Communities Credit Union, which was a complete disaster. I am looking for a local bank with good online banking and a high level of competence and professionalism. I don’t care about having a warm, fuzzy relationship with my bank. I just want them to do their job well and make it easy for me to manage my money online. Any suggestions?

Are there any fenced-in parks around that are dog friendly? I just got tossed out of one that I found. We were playing, and the pooch was getting a good run, when someone came out of the church and told us that we were on private property. She was pretty nasty about it, as well. So I’m looking for a place to take our pup for off-leash running.

Side note: Church folk apparently don’t have to post private property signs. Also, they don’t like it when you point out that private church property could be considered an oxymoron.

I’m a Duluthian looking to buy a new phone. Any feedback on what a non-techie like me would like best? By the way, I will be a brand new grandmother in March if that makes any difference. (It’s already all about the grandchild!)

I am looking for a wine special on Tuesday night. Downtown or Canal Park preferably, but anywhere with cheap wine will do!

On the night of October 8 someone broke into my home through a window on the 1600 block of East Fifth Street in Duluth and stole my Apple Macbook Pro 15.4. I’ve quickly spun into depression at the loss of the tens of thousands of photos on the computer I’ve taken and collected over the past 10 years. These in effect are the memories I had of my life since moving to Duluth in 2002.

I just want the computer back, undamaged, with no files missing. No questions asked. $400 cash yours for the return. This has got to be better than what any pawnbroker will offer you.

Any information leading to the return of my Apple computer is also worth that to me.

Contact: egnied @ gmail.com

Our 8 year old has a manual typewriter. The budding writer needs her typewriter oiled. Although her parents did type in college it was on two Macintosh computers and they have no idea how to do it. Any local shops/repair services you recommend?

Lost at J. Lydia Salon in Duluth’s East Hillside on Friday, Sept. 30: Silver bracelet with green carved stone faces. Reward for return. Contact dee @ noogins.com.

My name is Nikki Bollman and I’m an AmeriCorps member at Congdon Park Elementary this year and I’m organizing an after-school program.  Our goal is to provide enrichment activities and academic support to all students. This program is new to the school and is in need of volunteers! So far I’ve got one knitting class. I need more teachers! I also need tutors to support a Tutoring Center that we are working to establish in the library during the after-school time period.
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Volunteers are needed during and after school to tutor and mentor students at Woodland Middle School. Over 30 volunteer time slots are open and need to be filled. Please contact griffithsja @ gmail.com to volunteer.

Hey! Do you know anyone looking for a cool place to work? Not cold, mind you, but a place where coming to work is like being wrapped a warm, sweaty blanket supplied to you by dear friends? OK, maybe not sweaty. Here’s the deal: I am look for two people who are fun, artistic, and competent to come and work at my company, Raven & Associates, Inc.
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