Perfect Duluth Day - Duluth, MN Events, News, Blog

West Duluth luxury laundro-loft hits the market again

Mark Nicklawske Apr 28, 2026 No Comments

The Spirit Valley Laundromat building in West Duluth includes living space with a racquetball court, pool and sauna. (Photos via EasyLiving)

An industrial-sized, coin-operated laundry facility hiding upper-floor luxury living quarters and a stunning basement swimming pool is looking for a new owner.

Spirit Valley Laundromat was sold for $650,000 by original owner Valaree Hammond to EasyLiving Services LLC in 2024. Now the peculiar property at 232 N. Central Ave. has returned to the market.

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News and Current Affairs ,

The Decline and Rebirth of the St. Louis River

PDDTV Apr 27, 2026 No Comments

This WDIO-TV news feature shares the story of the St. Louis River. Once too polluted to fish, the waterway is nearing removal from the Environmental Protection Agency’s contaminated Areas of Concern list after years of cleanup and habitat restoration.


History, Outdoors, Videos , , , ,

Homegrown Music Festival 2026 Primer

Paul Lundgren Apr 26, 2026 No Comments

The 28th annual Homegrown Music Festival is underway. As usual, the weather is lousy, and as usual it doesn’t matter — it’s an indoor festival and the weather is always fine indoors.

The 100-page Homegrown Field Guide, available at numerous locations around town, offers complete details about the festival, but every year Perfect Duluth Day presents this rundown of updates, advice, sidebar details and notes of peripheral or unsanctioned interest.

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Music

Pelicans at Chambers Grove Park

Brian Barber Apr 25, 2026 No Comments

We went out to see if the pelicans were still hanging out Friday afternoon on the St. Louis River. It was worth the trip.

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Outdoors , , ,

Postcard from the National Guard Armory in Duluth

Paul Lundgren Apr 25, 2026 No Comments

This undated postcard shows the Duluth Armory at 1305 London Road. It was built in 1915 and served as a center for military training and an entertainment venue until 1978. During the 1980s and ’90s, the city of Duluth used the building to store fleet vehicles. The Armory Arts and Music Center, in partnership with Sherman Associates, is in the process of redeveloping the building, with plans for a public marketplace and community kitchen, office and business space, and arts and music programming.


History ,

The Lost Forty: A Story of Minnesota’s Scientific and Natural Areas

PDDTV Apr 24, 2026 No Comments

Hidden in northern Minnesota, about 110 miles northwest of Duluth, the Lost Forty is a rare old-growth pine forest that survived the logging era by accident more than a century ago. Today, it offers a window into the state’s Scientific and Natural Areas program and the effort to protect Minnesota’s most remarkable and irreplaceable ecosystems. In this documentary, Lakeland PBS explores the Lost Forty and the broader work to preserve Minnesota’s natural heritage.


Videos

Canal Park Brewing takes silver medal at 2026 World Beer Cup

PDD News Sieve Apr 23, 2026 No Comments

Duluth’s Canal Park Brewing Company won a silver medal in the wood- and barrel-aged beer category at the World Beer Cup, held April 22 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Night Trekker Baltic Porter, aged in a Vikre Distillery Aquavit barrel, with its hints of coffee, dark fruits and caramel, earned the award. The beer also won a gold medal in 2025 at the Minnesota Brewers Cup.

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News and Current Affairs , ,

Making it Up North: Shoreview Natives

PDDTV Apr 23, 2026 No Comments

Shoreview Natives owner Dan Schutte shares how a hobby growing native plants in a Two Harbors basement grew into a full-scale landscaping nursery and a mission to support pollinators across the region.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.


Videos , ,

Video Archive: Geek Prom 2006

PDDTV Apr 22, 2026 No Comments

Twenty years ago today — April 22, 2006 — caravans of Duluthians traveled to the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul for the fifth edition of the Geek Prom. It was the first of two Geek Prom’s held in St. Paul; the other eight were held in Duluth.

Chuck Olson produced the segment above, which appeared on the pioneering daily video blog Rocketboom prior to the launch of its YouTube channel and shorty before original host Amanda Congdon left the show.

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Videos , ,

Minnesota Bound: BWCA Special

PDDTV Apr 21, 2026 No Comments

This week’s episode of Minnesota Bound, covers the clash over the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Twin Metals wants to mine right up against the BWCAW. As lifelong fans and users of the Boundary Waters, hosts Bill Sherck and Laura Schara take a closer look at the projects’ risks and potential affects.


Outdoors, Videos

PDD Shop Talk: Artificial Intelligence Policy

Paul Lundgren Apr 21, 2026 No Comments

Image depicting artificial intelligence, created using Canva AI Image Generator.

With the use of artificial intelligence becoming more pervasive on the internet, it’s time for Perfect Duluth Day to issue it’s short and simple policy regarding the branch of computer science that will surely have many marvelous and horrible affects on humanity.

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Random

Gaelynn Lea in People magazine

PDD News Sieve Apr 20, 2026 No Comments

Duluth musician, author and disability activist Gaelynn Lea is featured in the April 27 edition of People magazine. The article was published online April 16.

Lea’s book, It Was Never Meant to Be Perfect, was released April 14 and an excerpt from it was featured on People’s website in October.


Music

Making it Up North: Teague Alexy

PDDTV Apr 19, 2026 No Comments

Singer-songwriter Teague Alexy talks about his unlikely path from the hip-hop crews of the Jersey Shore to the heart of the Minnesota music scene. Moving to Holyoke, about 10 miles southwest of Duluth, transformed his creative process, leading him to trade violin lessons and rap for American roots music and the harmonica.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.


Music, Videos , ,

Postcards from Superior Street at Fifth Avenue West

Paul Lundgren Apr 17, 2026 2 Comments

The intersection of Fifth Avenue West and Superior Street — featuring the Lyceum Theatre and Spalding Hotel — is near the top of the list of Duluth scenes featured most frequently in early 20th century Duluth postcards. Many have been featured on Perfect Duluth Day in the past, but we’re pretty sure the six in this post have not appeared on this website previously.

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History , ,

Making it Up North: Apostle Islands Kayaking Express

PDDTV Apr 16, 2026 No Comments

The Apostle Islands Kayaking Express team leads tours out of Bayfield, exploring the 10,000-year-old glacial history that carved sandstone arches, caverns and tunnels at Devil’s Island.

Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.


Outdoors, Videos , ,