Month: May 2018
Three Duluth Stories
I moved to Duluth in March of 1998. It was during the El Nino winter, in which every single human with whom I interacted informed me that this winter was NOT NORMAL FOR MINNESOTA. It came up in every conversation, which, over the course of the six months that normally would comprise one Duluth winter, provided a more vigorous facsimile of the suspended, punishing experience; only instead of shivering from the cold, I was shivering from collective dread, carefully cultivated by the city’s entire populace. In the wake of such calamitous portent, simple freezing fucking winter was actually a relief. Thus it was that I spent an entire terrifically warm winter in Duluth scared shitless, forming alliances and hoarding dry goods, waiting for real winter to come, like Duluth was some kind of folksy, sitcom version of Game of Thrones.
In fairness, Duluth is a really strange place. It was going to be strange, whether or not the winter was briefly co-opted by an exotic air current. I have a hundred examples of Duluth’s magnificent wackiness, but that’s too many for today. So here are three. (more…)
Selective Focus: Nick Wroblewski
Nick Wroblewski gets beautiful layers of color and detail from his woodcut printing process. You may have seen his work in local galleries and shops, and you might also be seeing it in your refrigerator on 6-packs of Earth Rider beer. Simpler, limited-color versions of his art are being used on the Earth Rider packaging. Be sure to check out the video at the end of the post to see how he builds up the layers of color for some stunning effects. He will be talking about the work for Earth Rider tonight (Friday, 5/18) at the Cedar Lounge, and doing a demonstration tomorrow (Saturday, May 19) at Zeitgeist Art’s “Spirit of the Times” event.
NW: The medium I am working in is called woodcut printmaking, and it’s been my primary medium for about 15 years. All the images that I make are printed from the inked surface of a carved block of wood. This technique is an ancient method used to create multiples of a single image. I was first drawn to this technique because of the way that it combined elements of drawing and painting with sculpture and woodworking. (more…)
When the wind suddenly picks up on Lake Superior …
During the Duluth Yacht Club’s Wednesday Night Races a boat was pulled into the Aerial Lift Bridge, nearly flipping the boat before the mast broke.
VIdeo by Joaquin Figueroa.
Opening in June: Corktown Deli and Brews
Jeff Petcoff and Conor Maki – Photo by Lissa Maki
Corktown Deli and Brews is busy prepping for an early June opening. The fast-casual eatery in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District is inspired by the iconic sandwich traditions of New York City. (more…)
Duluth-area Radio Station Guide for 2018
The Duluth/Superior radio market is noted for two striking characteristics — an uncommon number of public-interest stations and an uncommon number of Christian stations. The commercial broadcast signals that fill out the rest of dial are mostly owned by two entities — Midwest Communications and Townsquare Media — although there are a few smaller station owners, like Northwoods Radio and Twin Ports Radio. (more…)
This is Duluth
Twenty-six pages of Duluth propaganda circa 1981. (more…)
Seriously? with Elias Mokole
A new radio feature on KUMD features my friend Elias Mokole as the inaugural guest. (more…)
Selective Focus: Run, Smelt, Run! Parade 2018
Select photos via Instagram of the 2018 Run, Smelt, Run! Parade. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Duluth Goes Hollywood
In a world where trivia abounds, a quiz emerges to challenge your knowledge of Duluthians in the film industry. Only the buffest of film buffs will prevail; do you have what it takes to arise victorious?
Zenith City Online was an invaluable source of research for this quiz. For more information on these and other Duluth performers, check out their biographies at zenithcity.com.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing headlines from May 2018, will be published on May 27. Email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 24. (more…)
Nanay’s Kitchen and Asian Food in the Twin Ports
I had a small window Saturday between the end of my workday and the end of the serving of food at Nanay’s Kitchen.
Once or twice a month, Beth will prepare a standard meal, and for about ten dollars, you eat a variety of Phillippine foods. This month, the menu was:
- Pork Adobo (the real reason I go; this pork belly entree is amazing)
- Chicken Caldereta with Coconut milk and Peanut Butter
- Pancit (noodles)
- Lumpia (Beth’s famous egg rolls)
- Jasmine (rice)
Dancing About Architecture
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture — it’s a really stupid thing to want to do.
— Martin Mull, maybe?
All good writing strives to say the unsayable.
— Louis Jenkins
I stupidly want to do that thing, and I am ill-equipped for doing it as well as I would prefer, but here we go.
If I still owned a bunch of record albums I’d probably still do a version of what I did with Mom and Dad’s collection when I was a kid: lay or kneel on the carpeted floor in front of the cabinet where the records were stacked vertically spines facing out; flip through the stack, bathing in whooshes of sacred aging-cardboard air as they albums gently slapped against each other; hold worn cardboard covers to my face and inhale in the same way any decent human being does when they pick up an old book; pull out single records or small stacks or maybe the whole collection to flip the covers back and forth back and forth while reading the long notes on the back or the inside and try to figure out how all those words and images and that musty-seductive smell relate to the sounds in the vinyl grooves and the lives of the people who created the sounds; try to figure out what it all meant. What it all means. All of it. (more…)
Selective Focus: David Barthel
This week, photographer David Barthel talks about building a career from his art, how his photography evolved from a hobby and curiosity as a kid, the turning point of a job loss, and some of his inspirations from our area.
DB: I’ve been photographing the natural world for over fifteen years, with a primary focus on the North Shore of Lake Superior and a secondary emphasis on the vast and rugged American West. I’m often asked how long I’ve been involved with photography, a question that would seemingly demand a concise answer. The reality is, my journey into photography didn’t result from any single moment of epiphany, but rather the gradual development of a long-held hobby. (more…)
Lake Superior Writers 2018 writing contest winners announced
The winners have been announced in Lake Superior Writers annual writing contest. Winner in each category receive a prize of $250 and publication on the Lake Superior Writers website. (more…)
Fitger’s Brewhouse wrangles beer distribution arrangement
Fitger’s Brewhouse owner Rod Raymond told Fox 21 News this week he is handing his company’s beer recipes over to his son, who will establish a separate enterprise to produce the products for distribution statewide. Brewhouse beers sold at Fitger’s Brewhouse and other establishments owned by parent company Just Take Action will continue to be brewed separately at Fitger’s as always.
Beau Raymond’s new entity will be called Bold Brewing and will sell the Duluth Brewhouse brand through the Duluth distribution company Bernick’s to liquor stores and restaurants. Fitger’s Brewhouse has been unable to legally distribute its product or produce more than 3,500 barrels per year because it is considered a brewpub under state law. (more…)
Video Archive: Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and “Macho Man” Randy Savage cut wrestling promos for 1988 Duluth show
Thirty years ago — May 10, 1988 — the World Wrestling Federation brought a card to Duluth for the sixth time. A television crew came along to capture matches for four episodes of the syndicated weekly program Superstars of Wrestling. (more…)
Webster House
Yesterday, for some reason, Perry Webster came to mind. Perhaps the milestone of Starfire’s 50th birthday got me thinking of Legends of the Twin Ports. Along with Scott Lunt and Slim Goodbuzz, the “Mount Rushmore” of Duluth would certainly include at least one of the Websters. With that — “The Webster House” — part Airbnb, part youth hostel, part “Lincoln Bedroom,” part homeless shelter, part fraternity/sorority, part halfway house, part fact and part fiction came to mind. (more…)
North Tower Stout wins bronze at World Beer Cup
The beards were polished and groomed at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn. last week. Earth Rider Brewery of Superior claimed a bronze award in the 2018 World Beer Cup, a global beer competition that evaluates beers from around the world.
Awards were given in 101 beer-style categories. Earth Rider award was in the Oatmeal Stout category for its North Tower Stout, an ale with malty accents of chocolate, coffee and dark fruit balanced with a restrained hop presence. (more…)
DuluthiLeaks: Diversity, Inclusion and Bulldog Athletics
In April the University of Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey team won a national championship and an oil refinery in the neighboring town battled a dangerous fire. Those events seem to have overshadowed the biggest story of March: UMD women’s hockey coach Shannon Miller winning a discrimination lawsuit.
To recap: UMD officials opted in December 2014 to not offer Miller a new contract, despite her record leading the Bulldogs to five national championships. Miller filed suit against the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, alleging discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, age and national origin, and that UMD retaliated against her for making sexual discrimination complaints. The jury awarded Miller $3.74 million — $744,832 in lost wages and $3 million in emotional distress.
For the fourth edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s series in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we present Chancellor Lendley Black’s email to the community following the trial, and the UMD Faculty Senate’s rebuke of the chancellor’s “seemingly casual dismissal of the unanimous judicial verdict” and “unwillingness to accept a hard-to-hear truth.” (more…)
Bear cub sneaks into Duluth basement, trapped in laundry basket
A black bear cub fell into a Duluth basement through a window. Homeowners Linda and Abdon Friend chased it around. Police officers trapped it in a laundry basket and set it free.
Jeff Wagner of WCCO-TV has the story.
Whatever happened to Frisky the Bear?
Indianapolis Star — June 7, 1959
Anyone remember old Frisky, promoter of Duluth as the vital player in the new St. Lawrence Seaway? (more…)
Sun in the First Weekend of Summer
It was sunny out this past weekend. I argued a little bit with a friend about how warm it was, until I realized that I was at the top of the hill. How quickly I forget that the top of the hill is warmer in summer by as many as ten degrees.
[That temperature phenomenon is discussed here and here.]
But it was a fun weekend of stories in the sun. (more…)
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Refinery
On April 26 at the Husky Energy Oil Refinery in Superior, public safety officials responding to a series of petroleum explosions that rocked the area were also concerned a tank holding 78,000 lbs. of hydrogen fluoride was going to explode. Being unfamiliar with this substance, perhaps as many of you were, I was compelled to explore the many wonders and uses of hydrogen fluoride. (more…)
Duluth on CBS Sunday Morning: “Bringing our towns back to life”
Duluth was featured prominently in a CBS Sunday Morning story today. Correspondent Lee Cowan visited Bent Paddle, Loll/Epicurean and Cirrus. (more…)
Homegrown Kickball Classic: Saturday wins, leads series 10-9
Team Saturday celebrates its 2018 victory in the Homegrown Kickball Classic. The 5-2 win brought Saturday into a 10-9 overall series lead.
After losing nine of the past 10 games, the Saturday bands came back to beat Friday 5-2 in the 19th Homegrown Kickball Classic, pulling ahead in the overall series 10-9. (more…)