May 2020 Posts

PDD Quiz: Duluth’s Architectural Details

Can you identify some of Duluth’s historic architecture based on decorative details (and a few hints)? Quiz on to find out!

The next PDD quiz will test your knowledge of May 2020 headlines; it will be published on May 31. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 27.

Low Instagram Concerts

Low has been doing Instagram concerts on Fridays during the coronavirus, with tips benefiting charity, too. Because the shows are on Instagram, they seem to vanish within a day. But apparently, they give permission to fans to post to other media platforms. This is the only one I can find. Are they available in other places or through other YouTube users? Help appreciated.

Signed, — A Fan Whose Greatest Disappointment Was That Moving To Duluth In 2005 Did Not Mean Seeing Low Every Weekend

Nurses and COVID-19

“The world breaks everyone and afterward
many are strong at the broken places.”

~ Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms

Donna Heil is a registered nurse working in Duluth during the Covid-19 pandemic. Every morning or night, depending on the shift, she wakes up and goes to work. Earlier in her career she took care of children in an intensive care unit, and would fly in helicopters when needed to help pediatric patients. Now she works in radiology, helping people who are sometimes very sick.

She became a nurse after living through a horrific automobile crash in which her husband died. That is why I turned to Hemingway and his words, “many are strong at the broken places.” He wrote those words in his novel about the first world war and the time he spent in Italy recovering from a wound he suffered as an ambulance driver and the nurse who took care of him while he was convalescing. Donna is a tremendously strong, loving, caring woman which is why she is a great nurse filled with compassion and empathy.

My Favorite Writers/Biggest Influences: Jorge Luis Borges

I read, and re-read, the same few authors. I find them impossible to put down. Here are my favorites,  the biggest influences on my own writing — and why.

Jorge Luis Borges was born in Argentina in 1899.

This Week in Social Distancing: May 15

This is the final episode in our series of social-distancing highlight videos. We appreciate all the people who entertained and got wacky virtually in this weird time. Thanks for making 2020 more bearable. Consider following their social media, contributing to their Venmos or PayPals, buying their merch, or supporting their programs.

Be smart, stay safe and keep other people safe.

Monthly Grovel: May 2020 Edition

(Enter the amount of your choice.)

The PDD Calendar continues to soldier on through the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping you informed about virtual events and things that might or might not happen in the fuzzy future.

Once a month we reach out with a beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events on Perfect Duluth Day. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account, yo.

Documents from the Northeastern Minnesota COVID-19 Community Archive Project at UMD are now live

History is being written today.

Documents from the Northeastern Minnesota COVID-19 Community Archive Project at the University of Minnesota Duluth are now live. More information about the project can be found at lib.d.umn.edu. If you would like to learn more, including information on how to submit, please check out the research guide.

This is a great resource, including art by UMD colleagues and friends.

Video Archive: The Litter – “Blue Ice” (Duluth Armory, 1970)

Recently unearthed Super 8 footage of the Litter performing at the Duluth Armory on May 15, 1970 has been set to a studio recording of the song “Blue Ice.”

Members of the band were: Mark Gallegher, Dan Rinaldi, Tom Murray, James Worthington and Sean Jones.

A Trip to the Dentist

I went to the dentist today, the first day (I think) that Park Dental has been open at its Downtown Duluth location in the Medical Arts Building. There is a Park Dental location near my workplace, but I have an affection for running errands downtown, normally.

Squatting All Over Duluth

If this video by Eric Torvinen is any indication, Duluth could soon be overrun by squatters.

Postcard from Mesabi Open Pit Iron Mine in Virginia

This undated postcard shows scenes from the Mesabi Iron Range, the largest of four iron ranges in northeast Minnesota. The card uses a spelling more often associated with a roadway in Duluth — Mesaba Avenue.

“Freshwater” Trailer

515 Productions of Minneapolis / Des Moines is working on a feature-length documentary about surfing Lake Superior. Freshwater is scheduled for release this fall.

The Menu: New Scenic Café

As we continue staying safe with our social distancing practices, Perfect Duluth Day continues to showcase local take-out and delivery dining options with “The Menu.”

New Scenic Café is available for both curbside pickup and deliveries. Orders can be placed at newsceniccafe.com/store. The meal kit service, “Mise en Place Marketplace,” offers a variety of options for delivery within a 30-mile radius of the center of Duluth. In addition to prepared meals, grocery store items will begin to appear in the online store as the service is continued.

Pick-up and Delivery Days:
Delivery and pickup for meal kits and other foods is available on Mondays and Fridays only.

Orders placed Sunday through Wednesday are delivered on Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or are available for pickup on Friday from noon to 2 p.m.

Orders placed on Thursday through Saturday are delivered on Monday from noon to 5 p.m. or are available for pickup on Monday from noon to 2 p.m.

Duluth Lakewalk Mural

Duluth photographer Dennis O’Hara presents this look at Duluth’s 12-foot-high by 580-foot-long “Image Wall” along the Duluth Lakewalk.

Muralists Mark Marino and Sandra Ettestad placed 6,960 12-by-12-inch tile assemblies and more than 1.7 million 3/4-inch ceramic tiles to create a timeline of Duluth’s shipping history.

The Slice: Free Seed Libraries in Duluth

The Duluth Community Garden Program has built and installed seed libraries across the city.

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.