akjuneau Posts

$363,142 Questions

I was at Cub Foods tonight, bagging up my groceries, when I spotted the ATM at the Wells Fargo branch and decided to withdraw some cash. As I waited for the transaction to go through, I glanced at a stray ATM receipt sitting atop the machine. And boy, was it more interesting than I expected:

A withdrawal from a checking account with a balance of $363,142.39!!!

Duluth Smelting


Rick LeBlanc of Hermantown surpassed tradition by biting the head off not just his first smelt, but about two dozen others, too, at the Lester River on May 5, 1983. (Duluth News-Tribune file photo)

At this time of year, 20 or 30+ years ago, the hot topic in Duluth and Superior would have been the status of the smelt run.

Duluth’s mostly-vanished smelting tradition has been discussed on Perfect Duluth Day at least once before. It’s been a frequently requested item for the News Tribune Attic to cover.

So, by popular demand, the latest post in the News Tribune Attic includes a bunch of photos and a couple contemporary accounts of smelting in Duluth in the early 1980s. Enjoy!

Duluth Arena archive photos and timeline

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With the grand opening of Amsoil Arena, the News Tribune Attic has been featuring a look back at its predecessor, the Duluth/DECC Arena, with photos and a timeline of notable events.

Socrates runs aground on Park Point in Duluth

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Tugs try to free the freighter Socrates from the sandy shallows of Park Point on Nov. 22, 1985. The ship had run aground several days earlier during a strong storm. Crowds of onlookers flocked to Park Point to watch in the days after the ship got stuck. (Photo by Charles Curtis / News-Tribune)

Upset Duluth: In case you missed it

It took a few days to pull together, and the link was kind of buried in the Upset Duluth thread, but in response to demand a gallery of portraits has been started over at the News Tribune Attic. It includes the 1995 photo above, by the News Tribune’s Bob King, of a Superior resident concerned about the condition of the sidewalk near his home. There are photos of people without concerns, too.

I’ll keep adding to it if there’s reader interest in seeing more.

There’s always something in the fine print

After hearing about all the great berry-picking this year, I decided today to go on a mission to pick wild blueberries for the first time. I headed up onto forest backroads way north of Two Harbors, in search of a good patch to harvest, and then of course keep as a closely held secret. Miles off the pavement, in the middle of nowhere on a rutted, rocky, bumpy single-lane track, I came around a curve and saw this…

Duluth Milk Bottle Mystery

I was out on a walk with the dog yesterday evening on a country road north of Duluth, the same road I’ve walked literally hundreds of times the past few years.

Anyone around here see this last night?

Video from an Iowa sheriff’s deputy’s dashboard camera, about 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Where can I get loonies and toonies in Duluth?

I need to get some Canadian money here in Duluth. The last time I tried at a local bank – a branch of a national chain – they told me they’d have to order it; they didn’t have any on hand. I didn’t search any further at that time.

I’m betting some bank in town has Canadian currency readily available. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Hearing voices in the parking ramp

I’ve had the occasion to park in the Tech Village ramp a few times in the past week, and while I was able to exit promptly each time (unlike others’ experiences), I did notice something odd about the machine that takes validated tickets as you drive out.

More retro Duluth TV

Someone just posted a bunch of old WDIO news, sports and weather promos on YouTube. Here is an assortment of 1970s-era holiday spots — lots of glimpses of old TV news sets and technology … and a brief appearance by Dennis Anderson.

Your help needed

Duluth police are looking for a vehicle that struck and critically injured a pedestrian on Rice Lake Road this morning. The driver did not stop.

So, what’s your take on Dylan’s Christmas album?

Much has been written the past few days about Bob Dylan’s new Christmas album.

Anyone here in his birthplace care to weigh in?

Looks like Superior is one-up on Duluth today…

… that is, unless Duluth has produced any Nobel laureates (has it? Does anyone know?)

Superior native Oliver Williamson shares this year’s Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences…. stories here and here.

Has the Piggly Wiggly name wiggled on out of Duluth?

I pulled up to the stop sign at Calvary and Woodland in the heart of Woodland yesterday, looked ahead, and… it’s gone!

The blast-from-the-past, decades-old Piggly Wiggly facade, cherished by… well, at least me, and featured in a PDD banner of yore, is no more! See for yourself:

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