Paul Lundgren
Randy Moss a Viking again?
ESPN, the NFL Network and Boston Herald are reporting that Randy Moss has been traded by the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings for a third-round pick.
Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams … and now Moss? That’s way too many superstars on one team, isn’t it?
At the very least, it’ll be interesting … if true.
Roast Beef Dinner at Chester Park Church
Chester Park United Methodist Church Men’s Club is serving
its famous family-style roast beef dinner.
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 4:30 to 7 p.m
$12 for adults and $6 for children under 12
Drive-through and carry out will be available. There will also be homemade apple pie and a cookie walk.
Chester Park Church is at 819 N. 18th Ave. E. in Duluth, near Chester Creek Café.
Duluth City Cycling Scavenger Hunt
YMCA news release:
The Duluth Area Family YMCA is kicking off a new year of Youth in Government programming with a bicycle scavenger hunt fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 17. This citywide event welcomes community members of all ages and abilities. Teams of 3-5 will compete in one of two tracks, one beginner and one challenging.
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This guy likes to show off his junk
At 5:23 p.m. Saturday I was driving west along Grand Avenue and had to stop for a red light at Central Avenue. A tall, bald guy in a red jacket and black pants started walking across the crosswalk, then stopped and turned to look at the young lady sitting in the car in front of me. He reached for his belt … and … well … what follows is my thought pattern from there.
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Schedule for Free Ice Skating at Duluth Heritage Sports Center
Adult skating is on Thursday mornings, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Family skating is on Wednesday nights, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Duluth Parks and Recreation sponsors the free skating sessions. The Heritage Sports Center is located at 120 S. 30th Avenue W. in Duluth’s friendly West End. Bring your own skates.
Thome at the Plate
I guess this one is right up there with “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?” and “Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio.”
Inside Denfeld’s Renovation
This is the view looking up from inside the new main entrance to Denfeld High School. The main floor of the new addition connects to the old building through the auditorium lobby. The main floor of the addition will include a new cafeteria and common area, administrative offices and media center.
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The Rentola
Here are two historic photos of the Rentola, a Finnish boarding house at 4 N. 59th Ave. W., in West Duluth. The top photo is from Karl Hagglund, whose grandmother was a maid at the Rentola. The next photo is from 1961, courtesy of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center. So the story goes, there was an old steam house nearby where Rentola residents took saunas. (more…)
Beaner’s One Week Live, Day Five
Friday, Sept. 24 | 8 p.m. | $8
Beaner’s Central, West Duluth
Mark Anderson Trio * Atlantis Quartet
Kilometers Davis * Billy Don’t Be a Hero
Yep, we’re doing it again. The first person to comment on this post will be on the guest list for free admission to tonight’s show.
Today’s vocabulary word: Varicocele
A varicocele is an enlargement of the veins of the scrotum, frequently causing a knotted or swollen appearance.
Fortunately, Duluth’s Progressive Medical Association had a “master specialist” back in the day. He considered the cause of a varicocele to be “often indiscretion” and listed as references some of “the leading businessmen of the city.”
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Beaner’s One Week Live, Day Four
Thursday, Sept. 23 | 8 p.m. | $8
Beaner’s Central, West Duluth
Yeltzi * Tony Furtado
Steve Isakson Band * The Brushstrokes
Rainy day fun! Get into the show free by being the first person to comment on this post.
West Duluth 100 Years Ago
The photo above is from 1910. It was almost certainly shot from North 59th Avenue West, near where Tacony Street intersects it. I tried to replicate it with the modern shot below, but trees, fences and houses kept me from shooting at the same spot, and the view is much more limited.
Behind all the trees across the street is a rock outcropping that matches the one in the 1910 photo.
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Beaner’s One Week Live – Day Two
Tuesday, Sept. 21 | 8pm | $6
Teague Alexy Trio * Sarah Krueger Band
The Breeze * Shaunna Heckman Band
The first person to comment on this post gets in free with a guest.
Beaner’s One Week Live – Day One
Monday, Sept. 20 | 8 p.m. | $6
Beaner’s Central, West Duluth
Excuse Me Princess * Wyatt Famous
James and Younger * Hattie Peterson and the Black Frames
Dodge the cover charge by being the first person to comment on this post. PDD will get you on the guest list x2.
Presenting the most complicated ballot question of all time!
If you live in Duluth, this fall’s ballot asks the question below, which I will not even try to simplify.
School District Ballot Question
Approval of School District Bond Issue
Shall the School Board of Independent School District No. 709, Duluth, be authorized to issue general obligation bonds totaling $128,000,000 to be used with an estimated $66,092,086 in bonds and investment earnings previously approved by the board for alternative facilities to build two new middle schools and two new elementary schools; repair and remodel three high schools, one middle school, and five elementary schools; repair and expand two elementary schools; and repair and remodel Old Central High and the Secondary Technical Center?
My question to you, PDD readers, is do you even want anyone to explain what this means?
It would be awesome if a local TV news show asked people on the street what they think this question means. The answers would be precious.
Hawk Weekend in Duluth
Debbie Waters, education director at Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory, shows off a red-tailed hawk during Hawk Weekend activities today.
You would like it in the Northern Plains: Duluth, Minnesota
This ad for Northern Natural Gas Company ran in Time magazine on Sept. 17, 1965. Hats off to Susie LeGarde Menz for the find. (more…)
Denfeld vs. Central: The Pranks
Now that the Denfeld and Central High School student bodies have been united, it seems like a good time to look back at some of the pranks students played on each other.
The most infamous, of course, was during the 1974-75 school year. Denfeld kids somehow managed to hoist a Volkswagon to the top of Central High School. The car had “Hunters” painted on the side.
The statute of limitations is probably up, so anyone willing to come forward, admit participation and explain how it was done will surely be held harmless. (Although I can’t promise some middle-aged Central grad won’t toilet paper your house. And I suppose administrators could still revoke your diploma. Better keep quiet.)
One rumor I heard was that the whole prank was based on a lesson from a physics class at Denfeld.
Another prank I remember hearing about, I think also from the 1970s, involved Denfeld kids setting a greased pig loose at Central. Again, anyone with details should chime in on the comments.
And, of course, there was the fall of 1979, when Central kids threw eggs at the Denfeld marching band before the Homecoming game, which prompted Denfeld kids to throw eggs at Central’s band during halftime. I think that was the last significant prank before Duluth Public Schools entered an era of civility and brotherhood and whatnot.
Certainly there were some other good pranks not mentioned here. Let the discussion begin. Hell, we’ll even let cake eaters participate.
Douglas County 2010 Election Results
Statewide results for Wisconsin races related to Douglas County and Duluth’s neighboring port, the city of Superior:
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States Senator, Republican Party
Ron Johnson — 500,925 | 85%
Dave Westlake — 61,303 | 10%
Stephen M. Finn — 29,005 | 5%
United States Representative, Wisconsin District 7
Democratic Party
Julie M. Lassa — 28,576 | 85%
Don Raihala — 5,016 | 15%
United States Representative, Wisconsin District 7
Republican Party
Sean Duffy — 41,032 | 66%
Dan Mielke — 21,100 | 34%
STATEWIDE OFFICE
Wisconsin Governor, Democratic Party
Tom Barrett — 210,972 | 90%
Tim John — 22,268 | 10%
Wisconsin Governor, Republican Party
Scott Walker — 360,032 | 59%
Mark W. Neumann — 237,870 | 39%
Scott S. Paterick — 16,609 | 3%
Wisconsin Governor, Independent Candidates
Jim Langer — 12 | 67
James James — 6 | 33
(This result is for Douglas County only. No one seems to be tracking this race statewide.)
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, Democratic Party
Tom Nelson — 107,029 | 52%
Spencer Coggs — 43,535 | 21%
James L. Schneider — 37,269 | 18%
Henry Sanders — 19,297 | 9%
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor, Republican Party
Rebecca Kleefisch — 259,318 | 47%
Brett Davis — 139,211 | 25%
Dave Ross — 80,433 | 15%
Robert Gerald Lorge — 52,199 | 10%
Nick Voegeli — 21,082 | 4%
Wisconsin State Treasurer, Democratic Party
Dawn Marie Sass — 129,510 | 67%
Dan Bohrod — 62,761 | 33%
Wisconsin State Treasurer, Republican Party
Kurt W. Schuller — 169,232 | 37%
Scott Feldt — 166,148 | 36%
Jim Sanfilippo — 123,315 | 27%
United States Steel Duluth Works
It’s amusing to me that the soundtrack to this slideshow is by Dokken. You might think that’s a poor choice, but I remember 20 years ago the only Duluth kids into Dokken were from Morgan Park, so it makes sense.
Also, tragically, the one sentence of text in the video contains multiple errors, but oh well. (more…)
Best of the Twin Cities: Duluth winners from 1999 to 2011
A collection of Duluth-related stuff from City Pages’ Best of the Twin Cities issues over the years.
2011
Best Blues Artist
Charlie Parr
Charlie Parr is the real deal. A Duluthian through and through, he’s about as unpretentious as they come. Climbing up on stage dressed in a flannel shirt, carpenter’s pants, and work boots, he wields his steel-stringed guitar like it’s an extension of his body, effortlessly gliding over the frets with a slide and letting it reverberate before trading it for a banjo or a 12-string. Sometimes when he plays he’s accompanied by an unassuming young lad who looks like he’s been plucked straight from the ore mines on the Iron Range, who clangs on train spikes and steel bars while Parr sings and strums. And while Parr’s guitar playing is technically complex and seemlingly effortless, it’s his voice-a blues howl with a soft side, which can climb up from a sweet moan into a loud bellow at a moment’s notice-that accentuates the stark, sad nature of his songs, painting vivid portraits through lyrics about loneliness, the devil, and making things right with the Lord. (more…)