Movies in the Park and a Hint of Rubber Duck

13902705_10108013292719090_5584844089630251312_nI passed through Movies in the Park on Friday while walking home from Suicide Squad at the Duluth Movie Theater at the DECC. On the way home, I conservatively passed seventy people playing Pokemon Go. I know this because I was playing, too.

Duluth 2016 Primary Election Sample Ballot

Duluth Sample Ballot 2016 Primary pt1

Minnesota’s State Primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 9, in all election precincts within all cities, towns and unorganized areas of St. Louis County. Shown above is the state partisan side of the ballot for the Duluth area. Shown below is the state and county nonpartisan side of the ballot.

Perspective Map of Duluth in 1887

Perspective Map of Duluth 1887

Leo Seltzer’s Transcontinental Roller Derby in Duluth, 1937

Seltzer's Roller Derby Duluth 1937

Two years after the term “Roller Derby” was trademarked, Duluth hosted a bout.

Some Notes on the St. Louis

Ryan Vine - Saturday EssayMark in his blue jeans and cowboy boots back flipping off the Fond du Lac Bridge. Each of us following him but never brave enough to flip. Tee holding his breath for as long as he could when he hit, so we’d all run across 23 to hang over the opposite railing and wait for him to come up and shake the water from his black hair. Nearly every kid in the neighborhood soaring and only occasionally thinking of what our mothers said: ok, you know how deep it is. But do you have a map of all the swimming turtles? The tourists stopping to snap pictures of the Flying River Rats. What did we know of pollution? We’d smear the foamy river on our faces and call each other Brown Beard. Yar, we’d yell and plunge again into the water.

* * *

I have friends who love mountains more than rivers and lakes. I don’t trust them.

Volleyball Leagues in Duluth

Skyline Lanes Volleyball DuluthI’ve lived here for a decade. I don’t know why this surprises me so much, but I went to Skyline Lanes and saw more than 100 people playing volleyball on a Wednesday night. Are there other places for this kind of fun?

Missing Person: Roger Wayne Swanson

Wayne Swanson Swanson

Update: On Monday, Oct. 10, at 4:37 p.m., Duluth Police responded to the end of Park Point; in the area of 4800 block of Minnesota Avenue after receiving a report of a person locating the remains of a human body. Officers arrived at the scene and located the remains of human body. Police are investigating the incident and believe the remains of 53-year-old Roger Wayne Swanson, who went missing on Aug. 1. At this time, the preliminary investigation indicates the death of Mr. Swanson is not suspicious. This incident is still under investigation and no other information is available.

The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Roger Wayne Swanson. He is a 52-year-old white male, 5’8″ tall, 150 lbs., has brown grayish hair and brown eyes. Swanson was last seen in the Woodland area near the 100 block of College Street. The Duluth Police Department needs the public’s assistance in locating Swanson to ensure he returns home safely and receives his prescribed medication.

Selective Focus: Adam Swanson

SF-TeaserAdamSwanson

This week we hear from one of the area’s most prolific and recognizable painters, Adam Swanson. Adam has an opening reception tonight (Friday, Aug. 5) at the Tettegouche State Park Visitor Center.

A.S.: I work primarily with acrylic paints on tempered hardboard panels. In my youth and studies I experimented with a wide variety of media and techniques. Though I’ve always rallied against specialization, I accidentally grew to love acrylic painting.

The Duluth Quantum Computing Project

20160804_150728So I attended the first meeting of the Duluth Quantum Computing Project designed and taught by Kathy McTavish, local cellist and multimedia artist. The series of workshops and mentored projects continues into the month of August. There, Kathy will bring what she described as a hybrid of fine arts, of high technology, and the ingenuity of the spirit of the MakerSpace in Duluth. As Kathy put it in last night’s class, “simple materials such as HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript, a text editor and a web browser will be our tools in creating new work.”

According to McTavish, “artists have been leveraging this space to explore new forms.” But the workshop is not only of value for creativity — McTavish believes using these tools will grow economic opportunity. “These technologies are of high value in the today’s market. In other regions of the country, coding classes provide artists with creative tools and career opportunities.”

‘Tis the season for car prowls, theft

Stolen Blue Audi Blue audi

There’s an old saying in Duluth that cold weather keeps the riff raff out. Logic follows that summertime is the peak season for car prowls and even the occasional theft. A blue Audi A4 convertible like the one shown above was stolen on the evening of July 31. (Update: Police have recovered it.)

Duluth Police routinely remind citizens to lock their vehicles, remove valuables and report suspicious activity to 911.

Mystery Photos #36-38: Three Women

Minnesota Real Photo Postcard Mrs. Mohler Studio Portrait young-woman Thiel - Engalls Block Duluth

One day you’re glamorous enough for a fancy Duluth studio portrait; one-hundred years later, no one knows who you are.

At least the photo on the left comes with half of a name: “Mrs. Mohler.” Other than that, what you see is what you get for clues. Anyone who recognizes one of these women or can provide further details will be declared winner of the internet for a day.

Duluth Photography Exhibit: Let’s See What You See

Juror Ivy Vainio asked the crowd (as more shuffled in) to raise a hand if they had never had work featured in an exhibition before.

Juror Ivy Vainio asked the crowd (as more shuffled in) to raise a hand if this was the first time they’d been a part of an exhibit. Photo by Ivy Vainio.

It’s been a few weeks since the opening of the Let’s See What You See Duluth photography exhibit, and already it’s time for the photos to come down from the wall and for the American Indian Community Housing Organization to start planning its next function. The exhibit was a huge success, garnering hundreds of cellphone photo submissions and attracting over 200 people in a line that extended out onto the sidewalk and down the street shortly after 6 p.m.

Imagine Duluth 2035 Survey

Imagine Duluth 2035

Imagine Duluth 2035 is an update to Duluth’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, the road map for future development of Duluth. Citizens are encouraged to share their thoughts on the future of the city by taking the Imagine Duluth survey.

15 minutes of basement cacophony from Duluth’s Litterbox

Litterbox 2016 Bonfire CD ReleaseA “lightly edited, haphazardly shot little banger video” by Gags Gaglione from a July 29 basement show in Duluth featuring Pale in Comparison, Cat Fantasy, Trinity Test and Bonefire.

R.I.P. Jim Northrup

James NorthrupNoted writer Jim Northrup died Aug. 1 from complications with kidney cancer. He was 73.

A U.S. Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Northrup attributed his cancer to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military in herbicidal warfare.

Northrup was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Duluth News Tribune notes he “was an ardent keeper of Anishinaabe tradition. He and his wife started a summer Ojibwe language camp on the reservation, made birch bark winnowing baskets, took part in the yearly sugarbush to make maple syrup and harvested wild rice on the reservation’s lakes.”

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