November 2013 Posts

Trampled by Turtles – “Pipe Knot”

Video by Daniel McCord, shot live at the Georgia Theatre on Nov. 14. Next local TBT gig: Dec. 21 at Papa Charlies in Lutsen.

Fond du Lac Park’s Winter Sports Center: The Lake Placid of the Northwest

The subject of Fond du Lac’s old Winter Sports Center came up on PDD once before, about a year ago. Earlier this week, I came across this Feb. 4, 1940, Duluth News Tribune clipping at the Duluth Public Library, reporting on construction of the ski jumping hill and amenities.

The floods of 1972 marked the end of this western Duluth attraction, when the ski jump was removed due to erosion.

Thankful in Duluth — 2013 Edition

It’s an annual tradition at PDD to take a moment and reflect on what we are thankful for. How unique, right?

For starters, we’re thankful for the new old Nordic ski trails at Spirit Mountain, Sax-Zim Bog, wicked North Shore icicles, artisan bread at the Red Mug, lift-accessed mountain biking at Spirit Mountain, animated music videos, Boreal owl irruptions, Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe and a lot of other things I’m thankful I don’t have time to link to because it’s time to make the Thanksgiving glogg.

Lefse-perate

Too much?

I’m looking for gluten-free lefse. Has anyone seen any around?

Could Duluth lose Christmas City status?

This story is four days old, but I just heard about it and it’s pretty much the biggest controversy in the history of Duluth, so it needs some space on PDD.

Apparently the commentators of the Christmas City of the North Parade telecast — Michelle Lee, Kevin Jacobsen and Barbara Reyelts — did their announcing in front of a green screen inside the Northland’s NewsCenter studio. And they still wore jackets.

This revelation, of course, has me fearing that Santa Claus might strip Duluth of its Christmas City of the North status and perhaps bestow it on Superior or Thunder Bay.

Motorcycle Trials at Spirit Mountain

August 23-25 of 2013 marked the weekend of the American Motorcyclist Association NATC Motorcycle Trials Rounds 9 and 10, which were held at Spirit Mountain.  This is a short video recap of some of the riding that took place that weekend.  The event was quite amazing to watch.  These riders have unbelievable skill and balance and have definitely honed their craft.  If you ever have the chance to see this type of competition in person I highly recommend it!

PDD Gift Guide 2013

Get your commerce on. Here is PDD’s annual reminder that the real purpose of Christmas is to obtain material things … as long as they are locally made.

This being the fifth year of the PDD Gift Guide, most of you know the drill by now, but for uninitiated newbies the concept is simple: The folks behind the curtain at PDD select 15 locally-based holiday gift ideas. The community at large is free to add other suggestions and links in the comment section below, with some effort to not be too redundant and repeat items from the Gift Guides of Christmases Past.

This week: motorized snow sports, turkey and the Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

  

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

Want to make the old Nettleton School into a paintball course? A Buddhist temple? A cereal museum? Let the Duluth City Planning Commission know at the public meeting tonight at Old Central High.

The UMD Women’s Hockey Team takes on the Russian National Team at Amsoil Arena on Tuesday.

Thursday is Thanksgiving with free dinners being served at the DECC and at Faith UMC in Superior.

The Duluth National Snocross starts Friday and runs through Sunday at Spirit Mountain.

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

Call for Vendors

Hardworking craftspersons and working artists looking to share their creations and make some extra cash during the holidays are invited to participate in Washington Studio Artist Co-op‘s upcoming Holiday Arts & Crafts Festival.

Paved Trails at Hartley

I was out at Hartley Park this morning and saw that someone had posted signs letting visitors know that the city is considering paving a bunch of trails there. I looked up the mini master plan for Hartley that SRF Consulting Group prepared, and it does indeed call for paved trails running through the park to provide access for bikers, wheelchairs, and parents with strollers. I’m curious about what other PDDers think of this proposal.

… and now for the jury of public opinion

Duluth police officer Jouppi found not guilty of assault

What do you think?

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This poll is now closed. The results are:

This is total bullshit — 90.6 percent
Jouppi was defending himself and the jury’s decision was wise — 9.4 percent

Good activities for visiting relatives

I have three coming over for Thanksgiving, including a conservative brother in law. Here’s what I have so far: comedy at Dubh Linn, Karpeles Manuscript Museum, Duluth Art Institute and Bentleyville. Hockey game? For the girls: pedicures, possible drag show? I have lots of fun eating places lined up; may need more other stuff. I know — we can sit around and play cards and board games, too.

Help-Portrait donations/volunteers needed

Duluth’s Help-Portrait Committee is organizing the second annual Help-Portrait event to take place on Dec. 7. Donations are needed to help provide free portraits this holiday season to those who may have never had the opportunity to have a professional photograph. We also need volunteers in the form of photographers, hair and make-up artist and people with big hearts.

This fall at Lake Voice

This fall, Lake Voice News has been going stronger than ever. With each writer pursuing different interests and publishing at least one story a week, we have gathered a lot of different content. A few highlights from this past issue include:

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Photo credit: Kim Hyatt

1. On Veteran’s Day, two ROTC cadets stood at attention watching the flag outside UMD, undeterred by freezing weather. Kim Hyatt covers the full story behind their watch, as well as a following up with more information about the 24 hour watch that occurred. Click here for the ROTC cadets, and click here for the follow up.

A few images from the Woodland Middle School auction

Amid the chaos of the auction, I managed to snap a few shots for posterity. I was only there for an hour, but I wouldn’t be surprised to hear this auction went on from 4 p.m. to midnight. There was a lot of stuff, a lot of bidders, and things weren’t going cheaply. Wanna buy an auditorium? A pool?

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