Month: June 2013

Grandma’s Marathon 2013 Double: Embrace the Suck

Eric Strand embarks on his second annual 52.4-mile journey from the finish line to the starting line to the finish line of Grandma’s Marathon.

Video Archive: Duluth Kiss Concert

Yes, it’s the TV ad promoting the Kiss concert at the DECC Arena in 1990, a topic also covered in a post from six years ago.

Duluth Shark Infestation

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LybCL-F4kWk

Broken campaign promise by Mayor Ness exposed! End the cover-up!!

Post-PDDX Banners

Back in April we announced that we’d be retiring all of the old banners. Well, the day has come, happy birthday to us, and sayonara to the old banners. Welcome the new, fresh banners. The old banners have been archived on Google Plus. (more…)

Proclamation (official and certified)

Whereas, the only logical way to make an official proclamation regarding PDD is to post it on the PDD site, and

Whereas, there is ten years worth of history that is both well-documented and too boring to include in an already too boring proclamation, and (more…)

To the OG PDDers

On this 10th anniversary of the first PDD post, I would like to thank the original members of Perfect Duluth Day who were there at the start, helping to transform this site from a mere idea to what it’s become today: (more…)

Happy tenth birthday to us

august-harry-potter barrett-chase beverly (more…)

Where in Duluth?

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This one seems to have the Where in Duluth? Facebook group stumped. I’ve been kind of stingy with hints, though. I’ll tell you what I told them: 1) It’s outside. 2) It’s farther west than Kemps Dairy in the West End.

Ok … go!

Ground Zero: Duluth’s Battle Against Synthetic Drugs

I wanted to share this documentary with anyone who is interested in viewing it. The film is 25 minutes and takes an objective look at the synthetic drug problem in town. I have put it together over the past year and a half, and while the situation is still ongoing, I think it does a good job of educating the viewers on the toll this issue has had on the different people involved with the issue.

The Economics of Sulfide Mining: Benefits and Costs

This address was given by Dr. Tom Power, Professor Emeritus at the University of Montana about a week ago in Duluth. (more…)

Ye Olde Corner Grocery

The latest posting at the Duluth Public Library’s Reference@Duluth blog is a look at a few of the lost corner grocery stores of Duluth.

Actual Wolf – “Kerosene and Spark”

[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]

Video by Nicholas Sunsdahl.

Derelict Houses

We’ve got two derelict houses (on one lot) next door. According to our landlord, they are owned by the city. They have some interesting tenants: a flock of pigeons, a family of raccoons and the largest skunk I have ever seen. When that bad boy goes walking past my bedroom window … oof.

We would like to ask the city to raze the buildings and put in community garden space, but I’m really not sure who I should call to get this going. Any ideas?

A Night of Awesome in Duluth

Monday was awesome.
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Duluth sanitary sewer repair estimate

So we received a while back information telling us that we would need to repair our existing sewer line because of inflow and infiltration along with other neighbors. The city of Duluth does provide a grant for these projects (80 percent of $4,000 to $5,000). We were looking at lining the sewer line rather than excavating it.

However, we called the same company (they were the lowest bidder for the project) as our neighbors did and got an estimate that was nearly $2,500 more than the estimate they gave them!!!

I’m sure others in Duluth have dealt with this, or are dealing with the same situation as myself. Ideally I would like to get a ballpark figure of the expense and the company any of you chose for this project. Needless to say we will be calling around.

This week: shindigs, hoedowns, hootenannies and cake!

  

Here’s a sampling of what you have to look forward to this week on the PDD Calendar.

It’s been a year and we’re still sorting out the mess. A public hearing of the Flood Recovery Grant Amendment is tonight at City Hall.

You can see three real life and really live newlywed couples compete for fabulous prizes at the Underground‘s reboot of the Newlywed Game on Tuesday.

Wednesday is United Way‘s Day of Caring, matching up volunteers with community needs.

The Chamber of Commerce hosts a Newer to Town Vista Cruise on Thursday.

This Friday is the Northland Frisbee Invitational in Cloquet.

Get your hoe down at the Barn Dance Weekend at the Brule River Barn Friday through Sunday.

This weekend is the Park Point Art Fair on Saturday and Sunday.

Happy birthday to us! Perfect Duluth Day turns 10 this Saturday and you are invited to a big free shindig at the Underground before the Trampled by Turtles and Atmosphere Concert at Bayfront so you can hit both.

So what are you doing this week? Can we tag along? Any upcoming events that you want to promote? Let us know.

Video Archive: Homegrown 2003

Here’s a sloppy VHS version of KDLH-TV’s coverage of the 2003 Homegrown Music Festival, including clips from the only Homegrown Kickball Classic ever held at the Wade softball fields — and the only time a TV news personality was invited to participate in the game.

Starfire’s fabulous mohawk appears near the end, although the quality of the video doesn’t do it justice.

Vietnamese Lantern Review

I know this a Duluth blog, but I wanted to get the word out about the Vietnamese Lantern in Two Harbors. I ate there last night and it blew my socks off. The food was amazing!
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Like shopping? Fixing things? Hanging out in the hardware aisle?

Combine your passions into a volunteer position at the Twin Ports ReStore! The Twin Ports ReStore is a retail outlet specializing in new and gently used building materials donated by our community and offered for sale at a deep discount. All proceeds help to build and repair homes for families in need right here in the Twin Ports. Volunteers are needed to do everything from running the cash register to accepting, sorting and pricing donations to making minor repairs to donated materials.

Intrigued? E-mail Susan at volunteer @ twinportshabitat.org or call 218-722-3875 or visit our website at twinportshabitat.org to find out more.

Minnesota Wine Exchange Review

I spent last Friday evening at the Minnesota Wine Exchange for the first time.  It is a fantastic place to enjoy Minnesota wines and beers right in the center of Downtown Duluth (Lake Ave & Superior St.).  If you’re interested in sampling wines, you can purchase a “flight” consisting of three glasses, each filled 1/3 full with a different wine for the reasonable price of $5. 

If you’re hungry, there are appetizers and sandwiches which I plan on trying some day soon when I go there for lunch. If you want to relax and enjoy conversation with friends, this is the place to go. Background music for listening with local art exhibited on two levels for viewing. The  paintings of the late John Peyton are currently being displayed.

This is a locally owned business selling Minnesota products which is a win-win situation. If you haven’t been there, I would encourage you to try it. The day I went there was a perfect Duluth day indeed!

Beaver Relocation in Downtown Duluth

This beaver was in the downtown Duluth area, near the on-ramp for the adjacent freeway. Farzad from Wildwoods captures it. It is later released outside of town by a creek. Video courtesy of Duluth PD Officer Jayme Carlson.

Zoo News

From Lake Superior Zoo: We are very sad to announce that one of our wolves has died. “Cohen,” who was on loan, along with his brothers “Capone” and “Dillinger” from the Wildlife Science Center in Columbus, MN was euthanized after emergency exploratory surgery on Tuesday, June 18.
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Does anyone have any info on the Craft Brew Village in September?

On the Bayfront Festival Park website it lists one of the 2013 events as Craft Brew Village, Sept. 20-22. The Hot Air Ballon Festival is also going on at the same time. Just curious if anyone has any more information. That weekend coincides with the official start of Oktoberfest in Munich, so I’m wondering if this maybe is Fitger’s Oktoberfest.

Tree Planting in Duluth

Almost exactly a year after the historic flood, we found the timing to be refreshingly ironic as we set off on our annual tree planning exercise. Employees from Loll Designs, Epicurean, and Intectural all joined to plant trees in four areas around Duluth (Amity Creek, Hartley, Kingsbury Creek, and Featherstone Drive). As it is known, erosion from stream beds were hit hard from the flood and we saw that first-hand as we sought to plant and rehab those areas. (more…)

Placing Literature in Duluth

Check it out: Placing Literature is a new website that maps scenes from novels that take place in real and familiar locations — like, you know, places in Duluth, as shown above. On the site you can zoom around the map worldwide and add new points of literary interest. (The hot spots right now are New York, California, around Lake Superior and the Orient.)
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