Paul Lundgren
A Tribute to the ol’ Cooper SK-100 Helmet
As the outdoor ice melts on another hockey season, I’d like to take a moment to honor my Cooper SK-100 helmet. We’ve been through a lot together.
Brewing beer in Duluth and Superior
Topic #1: According to a story from the Associated Press, a Minnesota House panel will consider a bill today that would make it legal to brew beer in basements. The story specifically references home brewers. Personally, I have brewed beer in at least two different Minnesota basements, and I had no idea it was illegal to do so.
Reading what I think is the overview of the bill, however, it seems to have nothing to do with home brewing. It’s about producing “beer or other beverages for commercial sale.” Am I missing something?
Topic #2: The local micro brewing industry sure seems to be taking off. In addition to Lake Superior Brewing Co., Fitger’s Brewhouse and Thirsty Pagan Brewing, Carmody Irish Pub began brewing beer recently and a brewpub is in the works at Clyde Park. Further into the future, another brewpub could be popping up in Canal Park at the old Duluth Spring Co. location. I wonder how the total gallons produced in the area will compare to 50 years ago.
Could any of these gals still be around?
As you can see, this picture is dated 1919. The girls look to be of elementary school age, so maybe one of them is still around today.
The location of the picture is the old Denfeld High School on Central Avenue, which is now Laura MacArthur Elementary School. There must have been elementary classes in the old Denfeld, or these are just random kids from the neighborhood, because none of them look old enough to be in high school.
The old Denfeld/MacArthur building will be torn down after the new MacArthur is built, but hopefully the old house in the background will keep on keepin’ on.
Cross City Trail in Duluth — Connecting the Munger Trail and Lakewalk at last
The links below are to PDF files of maps showing proposed routes for the Cross City Trail, connecting the Willard Munger State Trail with the Duluth Lakewalk.
Page 1 – 75th Avenue West to 66th Avenue West area
Page 2 – 66th Avenue West to Central Avenue area
Page 3 – Central Avenue to Ramsey Street area
Page 4 – Ramsey Street to 40th Avenue West area
Page 5 – 40th Avenue West to 29th Avenue West area
Page 6 – 29th Avenue West to 18th Avenue West area
Page 7 – 18th Avenue West to Mesaba Avenue area
Page 8 – Mesaba Avenue to the Lakewalk area
Storytelling/Poetry Open Mic Night
Monday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Teatro Zuccone
“Bitch, I want some Sammy’s Pizza”
I’ve been enjoying the latest addition to the Songs with “Duluth” in the Lyrics or Title list. It’s called “Duluth Minnesnowta” by the hip hop act Good Knight (Alex Knight on vocals; Mike Ward is DJ).
Visit the group’s MySpace page to listen to the Duluth song and three other tracks.
“The medal drought is over!”
Has anyone found video online of Duluth’s Chad Salmela at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games calling the exciting finish to Sunday’s race? For the first time in 86 years, an American won an Olympic medal in Nordic combined.
Duluth’s Tentative Good News
So, which are you most excited about?
* Duluth being in the running for ultra-high speed Internet access.
* Duluth being in the running for a plant making wind turbine tower tops.
* Plans to finally connect the Munger Trail and the Lakewalk.
* The recent interest by developers in creating student housing at the old Armory on London Road.
What are the odds-makers saying? Can Duluth nail down all four of these? Even one would be awesome. I’ll bet we get at least two.
MPR interview with Mayor Ness – Duluth tries to land high-speed Internet via Google
The mayor of Duluth is ready to throw his city’s hat in the ring for a new Google experiment to test ultra-high speed Internet access.
MPR’s Steven John talks to Don Ness about his city’s plan.
Wilco is sold out – Win tickets here
Did you come to party, Duluth? I know you did.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kVHBZV3iuQ
Tickets to Friday night’s Wilco show at the DECC Auditorium are sold out. If you’d like to win tickets from PDD, here’s how:
If you went to the foggy, rainy 2007 concert at Bayfront Festival Park, share your favorite memory of that show in the comments. If you didn’t go, maybe you have a good excuse for missing such a sensational show, so share that.
At some point either tonight or tomorrow, I’ll pick a winner from those who comment.
(Oh, and I know the audio is crappy on the embedded video, so you don’t need to comment about that.)
A Special Valentine from Rachael Kilgour and Paul Lundgren to All Y’all
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMK5WWO4Qgo
Rick Boo is totally comfortable with this song. It is not sitting well with him.
Threaded Comments – Aborted
As explained in this post, Perfect Duluth Day experimented with threaded comments for a few days. The benefits of it seemed to be outweighed by the complications of it, so the experiment is now over and comments are back to working like they used to.
Since previously threaded comments are now unthreaded, we hope it won’t create too much confusion to readers who haven’t been following along.
Sympathy for the Ball Slasher
Below is video footage from last Wednesday’s “Paul Lundgren Happy Hour” at Teatro Zuccone. As a primer for the video, you might want to read my latest column.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3ewHHyibbU
Props to Dean Vogtman and Dan Fitzpatrick, videographers extraordinaire.
Threaded Comments – This is only a test
Those of you who are regular PDD readers may have noticed that the comments have changed to allow threading — so you can respond directly to one comment rather than having it appear several comments below the one it is relevant to.
PDD administrators turned this function on today to see if it works good or crappy. We might get rid of it right away. We might keep it and tweak it to work better. So try not to fall in love with it or hate it too much.
Denfeld and Ordean – DNT nails it
I think today might be the third time the Duluth News Tribune has editorialized that Duluth’s two high schools (when the long range facilities plan is complete) should be called Denfeld and Ordean. (‘Denfeld,’ ‘Ordean’ preserve past, discourage east-west divide.)
I couldn’t agree more, and I wish the school district would finally put this issue to rest. Are you with me, people?
Paul Lundgren Happy Hour
No, I haven’t formed an angry heavy-metal band, although this photo might suggest otherwise.
I’m hosting three happy hour events at Teatro Zuccone. Each show features a special guest performer (or member of my angry band).
All three shows are on Wednesdays. They all start at 6 p.m. and will be over by 7 p.m. so you can socialize at the Zeitgeist Arts Cafe afterward and still be home well before bedtime.
Admission is free. Don’t thank me, thank ARAC.
The first show will be Feb. 10 and will feature musician Rachael Kilgour. The Feb. 17 show will feature actress Christa Schulz and the Feb. 24 show will feature poet Ryan Vine.
Did I mention I have a book now? It’s called The Spowl Ribbon. You can purchase it at any of my various performances, or rip me off and read the PDF for free.
My name is Paul Lundgren; I’m here for your amusement.
NorShor Centennial
A post from Feb. 3 about the Ripsaw’s history featured some comments about the NorShor Theatre’s history, which led to an interesting point:
The NorShor Theater turns 100 this year.
And so I put this question to PDD’s history detectives: What is the exact date the NorShor–then the Orpheum Theatre–first opened its doors?
UPDATE: As Gea reports, the magic date is Aug. 22, 1910.
Adams School in Duluth’s West End
School faculty must have thought this was a major pain, but I think in the long run it proves worthwhile to drag an entire student body out to pose for a photo in front of the building.
Adams School was built in 1885 at 1721 W. Superior St., serving children in Duluth’s West End neighborhood. Architects of the building were McMillen and Stebbins.
The school closed in 1951, and was demolished in 1960.
Uptown Boys at Pizza Luce Feb. 5
Uptown Boys * The Acceleratii * Anthony Bennett
Humanoid (Solonoid) and DJ Horsefist
Friday, Feb. 5, 10 p.m.
Pizza Luce, $5
Proceeds benefit Clubhouse Studios
Remembering the Ripsaw’s Transition
It’s been 10 years since the Ripsaw published the last of its monthly scandal sheets and converted to an “alternative newsweekly” format. Here’s a look back at the old monthly editions of Duluth’s most infamous rag.
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Duluth KCWV-TV Channel 27
Have any of you noticed Duluth has a new broadcast TV station? Is anyone able to get decent reception of it?
The station runs programming from the My Family TV network, which features “programming to entertain, educate and edify,” including “uplifting spiritual” shows. In other words, a bunch of preaching and paid programming with some Andy Griffith and Bonanza mixed in.