Paul Lundgren

River Walk West development seeks city land on trail in Riverside neighborhood

The view looking out to the St. Louis River from land the could become part of the River Walk West development.

On the Duluth City Council agenda for a first reading on July 12 is an ordinance authorizing the sale of city property in the upper Riverside neighborhood between Spirit Mountain and the U.S. Forestry Department’s Superior National Forest headquarters. (more…)

Northwoods Music Fest – July 17

10am Aurora Baer
11:15am Kristy Marie
12:30pm Mad About Jane
1:45pm James Moors
3:15pm The Fractals
4:30pm Uprising
5:45pm Arcadia
7pm Natalie Gelman

Facebook Invite

Tornado Warning in Duluth?

Today is the first Wednesday of the month, and that’s when the emergency sirens are routinely tested, but today’s drill was a little unusual. The siren went off three times, and the middle siren was followed by a “tornado warning” and instructions to “take cover.”

I guess the snafu two weeks ago wasn’t an isolated incident.

Bayfront Reggae Festival – Win Tickets

A free pair of tickets to the Bayfront Reggae Festival go to the first person to reply in the comments with the correct answer to this question:

Guess who’s coming to dinner?

Here’s who’s coming to the Bayfront Reggae Festival stage on Saturday, July 10 at Bayfront Festival Park:

11am DJ Sound of Fujun
noon Max Dakota and Modern Life
1pm Uprising
2:45pm Zili Misik
4pm Queen Omega
6pm Dub Tonic Kru
7pm Tosh 1
8:30pm Michael Rose

Canal Park Brewing Company

Plans for a brewpub in Canal Park are moving forward, targeting summer 2011 to open.

Canal Park Brewing Co.
300 Canal Park Drive
Former Duluth Spring Co. plant
Next to Canal Park Lodge

RunCenter: Goucher and Flanagan in a verbal sparring match

Duluth native Kara Goucher and her Olympic teammate Shalane Flanagan are friends and training partners … or are they?
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Explore Minnesota Radio

Explore Minnesota and 89.3 The Current have partnered to put together a sampling of popular music from Minnesota bands.

Among the 59 tracks are songs by Retribution Gospel Choir, Cloud Cult, Low and the Alrights.

Click here to check it out.

And, of course, you can hear Minnesota music every Wednesday in Duluth at 5 p.m. on 103.3FM KUMD‘s “The Local.”
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Dial 715 for Superior

Beginning July 17, Duluthians must dial area code 715 to call Superior. The good old days are over.

Starting Aug. 14, some new numbers in the 715 area code will be issued area code 534. What are local calls now will still be local calls, but you’ll have to dial the extra numbers, so it’s pretty much the end of the world as we know it.

Happy seventh birthday to us


Perfect Duluth Day is seven years old today — Tuesday, June 29. Join us for a small degree of antics at Pizza Lucé’s bar around 8:30 p.m.

Tofu raffle * Cocktail consumption * Cliff-dweller camaraderie

Where in Superior?

Presenting Duluth’s Lineup of Wholesome Fun for the Whole Family, 2010 Edition

In addition to the usual Duluth summertime hoopla there seems to be quite a few new or newish attractions this year.

The luxury expedition vessel Clelia II returns to Duluth five times this summer — June 26, July 10, July 24, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18.

Spirit Mountain’s Timber Twister Alpine Roller Coaster opens July 1. Rides are $8.

International Explorations is bringing its Treasure Adventure to the
former LaFarge cement terminal site from July 24 through August 8. Treasure hunter Scott Mitchen will display over $8 million of lost stuff. (Link to short video.)

Eight Tall Ships will visit Duluth between July 28 through Aug. 3.

Walking With Dinosaurs comes to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center Aug. 6-8.

Wicked Storm in Duluth

4:30pm — Holy cow the emergency siren went off and a tornado watch has been issued in Duluth. I can’t remember ever hearing that siren go off for realsies before. And it’s so nice out.

According to the National Weather Service’s Duluth forecast office: “Hail and heavy rain reported on Highway 20 just inside St. Louis County.”

4:50pm — It’s actually a severe thunderstorm warning. The tornado watch siren was sounded by mistake. And it’s still sunny and hot in Duluth.

5:30pm — Clouds are creeping in. Faint traces of drizzle. People who are mowing their lawns have begun jogging.

5:45pm — Rumblings in the distance. Is that thunder or an airplane?

6:00pm — A little lightening over the hill. The storm seems to be mostly north of Duluth.

6:20pm — Things seem to be slowly shifting … slowly … holy cow! Run for cover! Or grab a swimsuit and have some fun! No! Don’t do that! Haaaaail! Watch out for flying deck furniture!

6:25pm — Whew. I guess that’s it. Just a little rain now. National Weather Service’s Duluth forecast office: “An aluminum flag pole was snapped in half by the wind (in Proctor). Pea-size hail.”

8:15pm — Lordy mama! Is it coming back? Yikes. Well … I guess it’s not as furious this time. Or maybe I’m less easily impressed.

9:16pm — National Weather Service’s Duluth forecast office: “A 6-to-7-inch-diameter tree snapped off, State Highway 27 (in Brule).”

Another opportunity for Amsoil

Superior-based Amsoil is paying $6 million for naming rights to the new arena at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. So, is $20,000 too much to ask to get the logo tattooed on a dude’s arm?

I mention this because a guy from Superior has taken out an ad on Craigslist offering his arm “to be tattooed for an advertisement.” Specifically, he notes it will go on his forearm and be approximately 2-1/2 inches by 7 inches.

Break out the jean jackets, Tribute Fest is two months away

Oooooh yeeeeeah, you better believe Perfect Duluth Day is a proud sponsor of Tribute Fest at the Buffalo House.


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Another PDD birthday is upon us

Next Tuesday, June 29, is the 7th anniversary of the first post on Perfect Duluth Day — which is what we call PDD’s birthday.

We’ll be having a little cocktail affair, as usual. This year it will be at Pizza Luce, in the bar. Let’s say 8:30ish.

There will be a tofu raffle, we’ll give away our last two-dozen PDD bumper stickers and … gosh, I don’t know, maybe you should dress up as your Gravatar.

Anyway, mark your calendar or whatever. I’ll remind you again next week.

By the way, trivia fans, PDD shares its birthday with comedian Richard Lewis and actors Gary Busey and Slim Pickens.

Romano’s is Jacqui’s

What’s with the cute little curtains at Romano’s Grocery?

Romano’s, 231 E. Superior St., has been transformed into Jacqui’s Deli, Grocery and Gifts. Homemade soups and sandwiches is the focus.

It opened June 16.

Minnesota Skipping Club

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz0weT2E9oc

Superior reeks with booze and filth

This headline and illustration are from the August 18, 1917 issue of the Duluth Rip Saw. The story is without a byline, but was no doubt written by the paper’s publisher, John L. Morrison.
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NorShor sale to DEDA official

From the news release:

The path is now clear for the historic NorShor Theater to again become a focal point for Duluth arts and entertainment activities with the Duluth Economic Development Authority’s completed purchase of the NorShor Theater, Temple Opera building, and Norshor Annex.

Today, Mayor Don Ness announced that DEDA closed on the purchase of the buildings from Eric Ringsred and said plans are already underway to reestablish the NorShor Theater as an important part of the downtown waterfront district.
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Congratulations, Shelly M. — You’re the NASCAR Fan of the Week at the Pit Stop Bar in beautiful Proctor, Minnesota

Don’t forget to bring a designated driver. And say hi to Dozzer on behalf of PDD.

Speaking of the old Viking

Isn’t it about time for some kind of consensus on the proper rendering of the name?

Leif Ericson
Leif Erickson
Leif Ericsson
Leifr Eira­ksson
Leif Erikson
Leifur Eiricksson
Lsif Erickson

What is your favorite Anglicisation? I think we can settle on “Leif” for the first name. The patronym seems to most often be either “Erickson,” “Ericson,” or “Erikson.” Duluth needs a referendum on this.

Memoir by former DNT editor/reporter Laurie Hertzel due out in September

Laurie Hertzel’s memoir, News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, is scheduled for release in September by University of Minnesota Press. Hertzel is books editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and a former Duluth News Tribune editor and reporter.

Check out Ann Klefstad’s informal review and talk with Hertzel on mnartists.org.

G.B. Schneider & Co. open in West Duluth

G.B. Schneider Co. opened on Tuesday in the Denfeld Retail Center. It’s in the space formerly occupied by Grandma’s Grand Ave. Cafe. The focus is on comfort foods: ravioli, pot roast, meatloaf, etc. (more…)

Is tonight Ladies Night at your favorite bar? Dept. of Human Rights would like to know.

I’m not naming names here, but I know of at least one bar in Duluth that has Ladies Night specials.

Minnesota Daily is reporting that free and discounted drink specials which apply specifically to women may be a violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

“Gender-based pricing violates the Human Rights Act,” says Minnesota Dept. of Human Rights Commissioner James Kirkpatrick.

Five Twin Cities bars are being investigated.

Raw milk is either going to kill us or make us live forever, according to experts

Apparently, according to the Minnesota Dept. of Health, if raw milk from one dairy farm in Minnesota is contaminated with E. Coli, then raw milk in general presents a serious health risk.

And apparently, according to a dairy farm accused of having contaminated milk, there’s no way it could be their fault, even though five people have been hospitalized and the same strain of E. coli found in several animals at the farm in question has been found in the sick people.

Sure, it’s possible that the dairy industry somehow has manipulated the Dept. of Health into scaring people off raw milk from family farmers — after all, it did a good job scaring Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle last month. But isn’t it possible that one farm can screw up without an entire product being considered dangerous?

And let’s not even get into whether raw milk is healthier than pasteurized milk or not, since even that seems to be a major debate, with both sides telling us the other milk is going to kill us.

Anyway, we might as well have the regular people who don’t know anything spout off about it on PDD. So, is raw milk going to kill us or make us live forever? Or is it just as dangerous as other food products and probably not much more nutritious, but comes from a nice little farm where the cows are treated well and that’s good enough?