Send in the Drones

Sitting up in Woodland going on 128 hours with no electricity. Where is the cool aerial drone footage of the damage at Hartley Park (or anywhere else, for that matter)?

Grill Wars 2016

Why no Grill Wars this year?

Moving sidewalk proposed in Duluth in 1908

moving sidewalkJohn Edward Roemer wanted to build a system of moving sidewalks up Duluth’s steepest hills. The power to run the system would come from storage batteries buried in chambers beneath Superior Street. Tunnels would be dug beneath cross streets so the sidewalks could pass under the streets. At the top of the hill where the moving sidewalk system terminated, Roemer proposed building a pavilion and an aerial rail line extending to Fond du Lac, with stops in the West End, West Duluth, New Duluth and Ironton.

Read more at the public library’s Reference@Duluth blog.

Changes in Bookstores in the Duluth Region and Nationally

Village BookstoreLocal and national media are reflecting on the fate of the bookstore in Grand Rapids, Minn., about 70 miles from Duluth.

It’s small, smaller even than the Bookstore at Fitger’s, although it was crammed to the gills with books.

This Week: stunts, songs, socks and more

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Here’s a bit of what you’ll find in this week’s PDD Calendar:

The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce holds its 47th annual golf classic, juggler and aerialist Laura Ernst brings her stunt spectacular to the Duluth Public Library, the Duluth Huskies battle the Bullfrogs of Green Bay, the Trans+ support group holds their biweekly meeting, Beaner’s Central gives performers a chance to do their thing at their Wednesday Open Mic, the Superior Singers perform Disney songs at Barker’s Island and Charlie Parr plays his country-blues at Glensheen Mansion.

Renowned weird man David Liebe Hart stops at the Red Herring as a part of his latest tour, folks can learn about water safety and build sand castles out on Park Point, CASDA holds their Socks for Survivors Golf Scramble, the annual Northern Minnesota Swap Meet and Car Show is at the Itasca County Fairgrounds in Grand Rapids, the 13th annual Free Range Film Festival gives film buffs a chance to see flicks in a barn, Bold Choice Theatre presents an old-fashioned mystery set in a mansion, the 125th anniversary of Skyline Parkway is celebrated with a family picnic and the Goo Goo Dolls perform with Collective Soul at Bayfront Park.

The Loop

Looking for an article about “The Loop.”

Charlie Parr – “Remember Me If I Forget”

This video is from a Skype session recorded during last summer’s Frendly Gathering festival in Vermont. In an interview at the end, Parr references the famous Proctor La-Z Boy DWI incident.

Upcoming gig: Parr plays on the pier at Glensheen Mansion on July 27.

Think of the Children!!

The Duluth alligator menace continues unabated as this exclusive footage shows

Where in Duluth? #146

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Time for another installment of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation. Where in Duluth was this shot taken?

Algoma Guardian enters Duluth Shipping Canal during storm

How do you navigate a 729-foot vessel through the Duluth Shipping Canal during 80 m.p.h. winds? Very carefully.

Video by Dennis O’Hara.

Plant of Zenith Furnace Company at West Duluth

Zenith Furnace Company Duluth

Zenith Furnace Company was organized in 1902 and located on St. Louis Bay at 59th Avenue West. The company manufactured pig iron and byproducts of coal gas, ammonia and coal tar. In 1931 the company was acquired by Interlake Iron Corporation and was a source of steel during World War II for use in government defense equipment. It closed in 1962.

Teen for God

Heather JacksonThe summer I turned sixteen the swelter at camp was relentless. Each afternoon the temperature peaked — 101, 102, even rising past 103 degrees — and campers dropped like flies from the heat. Or like grasshoppers, really. Have you ever seen a grasshopper before it keels over under a body-blistering sun? It jumps erratically, its center of balance overridden by an instinct of perpetual motion, and then it just stops, still and stiffening as its body bakes. The kids were like that — frantic in the sports field with Frisbees and soccer balls, fueled by mediocre mess hall food — and then they crumpled to the ground, unmoving until the nurse came to time their pulses and brace them for the walk to the infirmary.

The heatstroke hit the girls almost exclusively, until the nurse’s station was out of cots and they had to clear space in the back of the gym for a makeshift second infirmary. The rest of us were told to drink water and to sit in the shade as often as possible. We rolled up the legs of our pants and tucked the arms of our shirts up over our shoulders. Camp rules for girls: No tank tops, no two-piece bathing suits, no shorts shorter than an inch above the knee. Modesty always.

Far and Away: Isle Royale National Park

Isle Royale MooseBroadcast television has been off the air in Duluth since the July 21 storm, so it was easy to miss CBS This Morning‘s feature on Isle Royale National Park. But, that’s why we have an internet.

CBS has tragically blocked embedding of the video in our region, so we can’t post it on this very page, but you can check it out on cbsnews.com.

On tap at Bayfront: a plethora of craft beer

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Duluth’s beeriest festival, All Pints North, is coming up on Saturday. Organized by the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild, the tasting extravaganza at Bayfront Festival Park will include more than 120 breweries.

All Pints North began in 2012 and has mushroomed each successive year. In 2015, an estimated 3,500 people attended. The beer fest primarily highlights the guild’s roughly 100 members, but some national breweries participate as well.

Selective Focus: Tami LaPole Edmunds

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Tami LaPole Edmunds has taken her art — repurposing clothing, jewelry and accessories — and made a successful career out of it. Art in the Alley now has two locations in Duluth.

TLE: I have been upcycling jewelry and clothing since we opened Art in the Alley 8 years ago. I love taking apart an existing garment and using it to create a totally different piece. It is like putting together a puzzle…without knowing what the final outcome will look like.

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