November 2019 Posts

FeMN Fest scaling down before ramping up

Last year’s FeMN Fest organization team was made up of Diona Johnson, Jesse Dykhuis, Abigail Mlinar, Brittany Lind, McKenzie Howe and Melissa La Tour. Photo by Jes at Mad Chicken Studio.

Since 2017 “a team of womxn-identified bosses” have brought “an unapologetically feminist festival” to Duluth. In its first two years FeMN Fest featured womxn-lead music, art, workshops and vendors. The third annual event on Friday, Nov. 15, at Pizza Lucé is a scaled-down version featuring three musical acts: Me-N-Her, One Less Guest and Wild Flower.

Duluth’s Emerson School: 1892 to 1982

A post on the Duluth Public Library’s Vintage Duluth blog looks at the “Early History of Duluth’s Emerson School.”

Video Archive: Average Sun – “Good Night”

A 1997 video from Duluth band Average Sun for a track from the album Light and Shadow. Band members included Andrew and Scott Hauswirth, Bill Nelson and Griffin Vittone. The group was formed around 1994.

Vittone and Scott Hauswirth continued on into the next millennium with a revamped version of the band that included keyboardist Tim Shepard. By 2003 the group consisted of Hauswirth as the lone original member, joined by guitarist Corwin Pederson, bassist Ethan Thompson and drummer Chad Hulter.

Jim Hall chases time after five decades on stage

Jim Hall played a Halloween party at the Duluth Owls Club last month. On Saturday, he’s playing at Sacred Heart Music Center, a celebration of his 50 years on stage in the region.

Those familiar with the music of Jim Hall over the years would be right to do a double take when they hear one of his sets these days. The already basso troubadour has kicked his voice into even lower gear, and with a growl. That’s how Hall has been fighting an alarming and mysterious change in his vocal chords earlier this year. Even his talking voice changed.

The Slice: Ceremonial Flag for Veterans

Duluth VFW Post 137 Honor Guard Captain John Marshall and Second Lieutenant Dan Streu talk about the strict protocol they follow in preparing and presenting the flag and offering support to families upon the death of veterans who serve their country.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

The Undefeated Minnesota Gophers Football Squad

The 2019 Golden Gophers football team is undefeated and ranked No. 7 by the Associated Press. It’s the highest the team has been ranked since it was No. 5 on Nov. 19, 1962. Dating back to last season, the Gophers have won 11 straight games, tied for the third-longest winning streak in the nation. The 9-0 record this season is the team’s best record since the 1904 squad went 13-0.

Duluth All Souls Poetry Celebration

I went to the Day of the Dead / All Souls event at the Depot Underground on Friday. The theme of the reading was remembering ancestors who have played important roles in our lives and community. Featured readers, of whom I took pictures, were Zomi Bloom, Brady Kamphenkel, Sheila Packa, Ellie Schoenfeld and Gary Boelhower. An open mic followed; I got a pic of Eric Chandler reading. Richie Townsend played electric guitar.

Warriors hockey offers recreation, resources for local veterans

In a region where hockey rules among recreational sports, one team takes to the ice to help fellow veterans readjust to life after service. The 31-player Duluth Warriors hockey team boasts members of varying ages from all five branches of service.

Climate>Duluth: Jamie Harvey

Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Bag it Duluth Coordinator Jamie Harvie at the PACT-TV Studio in Duluth.

Beijing Restaurant could reopen before end of 2019

Fox 21 News reports Beijing Restaurant at 1918 London Road is close to reopening after a 2018 fire forced its closure.

PDD Quiz: Northland Statues

Put your art smarts to the test with this quiz on area statues.

The next PDD quiz, reviewing this month’s headlines, will be published on Nov. 24. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 20.

Western Waterfront Trail will share corridor with excursion train

The Duluth News Tribune reports a plan has emerged to extend Duluth’s Western Waterfront Trail via a rail corridor, while maintaining a scenic train service that would continue to use the same route. The proposed future name of the trail is “Waabizheshikana” — pronounced: waa-bah-zhay-kuh-nuh — meaning “Marten way, path or road.”

Freediving the Edmund Fitzgerald

It would be possible to dive to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the strength of a single breath. Even at the wreck’s depth of 530 feet, it might actually be safer to dive unsupported by scuba tanks than to scuba dive to it. This essay is intended to hypothetically explore the intersection of different types of diving, the wreck itself, and the lake in general. At a minimum, I am suggesting that the freediving possibilities of Lake Superior have not been fully explored.

My interest is provoked because I utilize some freediving breath-hold techniques in my underwater videography as Lake Superior Aquaman. I have never scuba dived, and so I think of the lake in freediving terms. I do not intend to offend the families of the deceased by invoking the Fitzgerald tragedy. However, its iconic stature as a deep wreck in Lake Superior makes it ideal for these illustrative purposes.

I am not suggesting any actual dives to the Fitzgerald. For one thing, both freediving and scuba diving present significant risks, especially beyond 100 feet deep. Also, it has been illegal to dive to the wreck since 2006, unless approved by the Canadian government in whose waters it lies. This is because of successful lobbying by the victims’ families to keep the wreck sacrosanct.

They take blue balls pretty seriously in Rice Lake, Wis.

From the Rice Lake Chronotype of Rice Lake, Wis., about 100 miles south of Duluth. Via @hometownpolicelog on Instagram.

The Richardson Brothers Podcast: Charlotte Montgomery interviewed by Jim Richardson

The first of a projected series of Duluth music scene interviews. Jim Richardson interviews the multi-talented Charlotte Montgomery: solo singer-songwriter, member of the band Red Mountain, and dancer in the Duluth Dolls. This interview features a performance of one of Charlotte’s original songs – “West” – and it is a barn-burner. Charlotte is leaving town after eight years; her farewell performance was at Blacklist Brewing, Saturday Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.

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