Who has the best garbage service in town?

We are looking for a mortgage lender who will talk to us like humans with unique circumstances, excellent credit, and stable income sources. We are not looking for a mortgage lender who is vague, robotic, or uncreative.

Any suggestions, recommendations, or positive experiences to share?

My wife and I own a home with 2 vehicles, and no off street parking. This can become a pain when we want to leave town for a long weekend and the sides switch on Sunday. I haven’t done too much investigating, but is there a decent solution to having to be back on Sunday night to move it, aside from selling a vehicle, asking someone to move it for us or taking the parking ticket? Is there a local lot that has a reasonable rate for several days of parking? Anybody anybody?

Where do professional types rent long-term in Duluth? Are there any rental complexes beyond that Boulder Ridge development that would be appropriate for an incoming UMD prof? Biking to campus would be a bonus. A sabbatical house-sitting-type gig would be okay if there was some room to store stuff. Where does one look for rentals of houses these days? Realtors (or friends of realtors) let me know if you have any ideas on rentals/rental agents. Trying to help an incoming UMD prof find a place to live at the end of the summer.

I’m looking to hang a poster to promote music gigs, and I’m working on a list of places to hit. Where do you notice posters hanging in town? In short, where are you standing when you notice posters?

Through some horse trading and good luck, I’ve acquired two Yakima Rocket Boxes. I would like to mount them both on the current touring rig for our upcoming summer travels, but they both hinge the same direction. I really don’t want to mount one backward, and therefore am trying to figure out if the hinges can be switched with any success.
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My husband and I currently own a beat-up 2002 Aztek.  The car is a piece: bad wiring, broken speedometer, and endless dinging from a malfunctioning brake monitor. It wasn’t a problem when my job provided a fleet of cars to me for my travels as a social worker, I just drove the hunk of junk to work and used their car to transport clients. At my new job I’m required to use my own car for this while driving about 30 miles one way to work every day. I really need to get a new car before this one dies on me completely and leaves me high and dry.

I was wondering where one might find a reliable used car dealership in town. Our credit isn’t the greatest from old hospital bills and the like, but we make good payments and have improved our budgeting skills since getting out of college and realizing hey … bills don’t disappear if you ignore them like an idiot.

If the kind people of PDD have any ideas I’d be extremely grateful!

Miigwech.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a really good roofer who can troubleshoot tricky leaks on old houses?

The carpet has got to go. Under the carpet is ugly linoleum. Under the linoleum is beautiful hardwood. Any recommendations for floor pros?

Google Fiber – Duluth, it looks like your next best bet will be Austin, TX. You should consider moving there. I’ll help you pack.

Via Ars Technica.

Where can a person go to watch the premier of the new season? Any bars in the Twin Ports with HBO? It’d be great if Zinema 2 could pick this up and have weekly screenings!

My wife and I are new to Duluth and I’m looking for the best place to purchase fresh fish for Easter. I haven’t a clue where to start. Help please.

Kate and I walked downtown for Merch Madness and we found some friendly shopkeepers, some great deals, and some yummy food. (more…)

Being Duluth has been recognized as the Outdoor mecca we all know it to be, it seems someone around here would do canoe repairs. Does anyone know of someone who does? I have a Tripper that needs patching and I don’t have the know how or the space. Any help would be great.

I want to build this barrel smoker I found on Reddit, but I don’t know where to find a 55-gallon food-grade drum. Since everyone was very helpful with my sticker question I figured I would tap the PDD well again.

Popular Mechanics: Build Your Own Smoker From a 55-Gallon Drum

CrossFit has finally made it to Duluth!

Starting on May 23, Spirit Mountain is set to start running its lifts for mountain bikers. As of now they have two amazing trails that are an absolute blast to ride! If you want to try mountain biking this is a perfect opportunity for you!

The hours will be:
Thursday  4pm – 8pm
Friday  1pm – 8pm
Weekends  10am – 4pm

The lift ticket rates are:
Single ride  $8
All-day pass  $20

For more information you can go to this link. Here are a couple videos of the new trails!

I had a fun interview with Bob Monohan of Chaperone Records, which I posted this morning at Ennyman’s Territory.

Bob Monohan does the art scene.

Here’s a new little local business we should mention before the snow melts. The Packingham family in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood decided to attempt to develop “the best cocoa mix on the planet.” The result is Mike & Jen’s Cocoa Mixes. Mike is 14; Jen is 10. Their father Dean explains:

“We just started it around Christmas to cope with my ex-father-in-law’s cancer diagnosis, taking orders off Facebook. Next thing you know, my friend in Denmark offered to create the graphics and the label for free (the artist is famous for her work with Bella Sara cards — a line of girl’s trading cards that my daughter was so into when she was younger).

“My father-in-law was able to get the first bag at Christmas and it was very emotional. It also gave him a pick me up, and he asks about it all the time.”

So, has anyone out there tried it yet? Or are you all too bloated from Tom & Jerrys to mix things up with a little hot cocoa?

I know there are websites, public access TV shows, blogs, YouTube channels, radio shows and perhaps 1-900-services dedicated to all things iPad\phone\pod\touch – but I don’t have the time or interest in sorting through all of it. I need a few iPad app recommendations for the following: 4th grade Math Tutoring; Kindergarten sight word development and basic piano skill development. We justified getting an iPad as an “educational tool”; but have frankly been overwhelmed at the prospect of loading decent apps. At present, it’s a $500 machine for playing “Temple Run” and watching Netflix.  A well vetted resource for finding this information would also be valuable.