Paul Lundgren
Fastest Vote in the West
Most precincts, like mine in West Duluth, have only two races on the ballot this year. At least we get to vote for two candidates in each.
Click here for a list of candidates that includes all the district races.
Job opportunity: Become the leader of Duluth’s music scene bureaucracy
The Homegrown Music Festival is looking for a director to follow in the footsteps of Paul Connolly, who has stepped down from the position.
Homegrown is Duluth’s yearly celebration of local music, featuring eight days of concerts with performances by well over 100 bands.
The 12th annual Homegrown will be held May 2 to 9, 2010.
The festival director is responsible for the overall management of Homegrown. (more…)
How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Minnesota with Daniel Johnston, Laura Ingalls Wilder, my great-great-grandparents and a bunch of short-fiction writers
There comes a time in every Minnesota man’s summer when he climbs into a rusty conversion van with the love of his life and sets out across the state in search of everything and nothing in particular.
Once the dog and the cooler of beer are secure in back, it’s off we go.
From the Rock Poster Archive | 1999
Ten year’s ago, the hottest chainsaw-weilding band in the country played at Stargate in Superior. For some reason I held on to the poster, even though I did not attend. I did see Jackyl open for Damn Yankees at the DECC in 1992, however.
Did anyone see the Soup Town show? Anyone? Anyone?
Fall allergy season begins!
It started for me today. Anyone else?
My favorite remedies are sleeping 12 hours a day and eating every second that I’m awake. Snorting cromolyn sodium also helps.
1935 Wheaties box featuring Frank “Butch” Larson
Duluth native Frank “Butch” Larson appeared on Wheaties cereal boxes in 1935. Finding one of those boxes after 74 years might be a challenge. (more…)
You better shutup all that screamin’
Three kids are playing or doing whatever in their backyard. I can’t see them, I can only hear them because they’re all yelling at each other.
Suddenly, the voice of what is likely the father drowns them all out with, “You better shutup all that screamin’!”
I’m not questioning this parenting method at all; I’m just telling the story as a fan of irony.
(Additional irony is that this follows the “Peaceful Waves” post. Serenity now!)
It’s hard to watch a house come down
This house at 738 N. Central Ave. in West Duluth was ripped down yesterday to make way for the new Laura MacArthur Elementary School. I think the new school will be great, and I have no particular reason to be sentimental about this house or any of the others on the block, but there’s something that punches me in the gut when I watch a house get smashed to bits. (more…)
Historic Day at Denfeld
Ten new members were inducted into Denfeld High School’s Hunter Hall of Fame on Saturday. At the end of the ceremony, descendants of Robert E. Denfeld and Walter Hunting were brought to the stage. Although the phrase “Denfeld Hunters” has been around since the 1930s, the Denfeld and Hunting families had never met before. (Photo by Butch Williams)
Sgt. Hamil’s behind-the-back strikeout pitch
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3suTQo_kM
August 3, 2009 | Wheeler Fields, Duluth MN
“Most luckiest” indeed, as Sarge has thrown at least one behind-the-back pitch every game this season without success, knowing eventually he’d land one. The batter seems frozen in disbelief, not even considering taking a swing.
End of Stagecoaches in Duluth
On August 1, 1870, the St. Paul and Lake Superior Stagecoaches ceremoniously quit service with the opening of the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad. On this day, the first train arrived in Duluth from St. Paul, a roughly 150-mile trip that took 16 hours.
–Susan Marks, Historic Photos of Minnesota
Turner Publishing Company, 2009
Yeah! Demolition Derby! Yeah!
Thank you, Head of the Lakes Fair.
I think the announcer said a guy named Matt from Superior was the winner. Really, in a smash-up derby, everyone wins.
Not that this is a newsflash or anything, but holy living Christ God Almighty does Ticketmaster suck big, wet ones or what? I mean, REALLY? Are they EFFing serious?!?
Tickets to Daniel Johnston at First Avenue are $14 each. So, two tickets would be $28, right? That seems reasonable to me.
What? Oh, there’s a service charge. Well, I suppose that’s not a big deal. How much more could it be, really?
What? Over 60 percent more? All right, in that case I guess I’ll just throw my keyboard through my monitor and change my plans for Aug. 13.
Advance tickets/ages 18+ with valid ID — US $14.00 x 2
Total Building Facility Charge(s) — US $1.00 x 2
Total Convenience Charge(s) — US $4.95 x 2
Additional Taxes — US $0.74
Order Processing Charge(s) — US $4.57
Standard Mail — No Charge
TOTAL CHARGES US $45.21
Last Look at Three West Duluth Structures
Anticipating the demolition of the Duluth Motel and Star Enterprises in West Duluth, I took a few photos two weeks ago. Both buildings are rubble now.
River Walk West
Spirit Valley Land Co., developer of BayHill on the River townhomes, is planning another development in West Duluth. Read John Ramos’ report on the Cheerleader Blog.
It’s the last day to file for office in Duluth
Have you made up your mind yet? Are you running for a City Council or School Board seat? Well, it’s too late now, unless you want to be a write-in candidate.
Back to Basics
Pickup Baseball Game
Sunday, July 19 | 3:30 p.m.
Chester Bowl Park
That’s baseball, not softball. This is a pickup game for grownups who can’t remember the last time they felt the ol’ wood smack the cowhide. Pitches will be lobbed, not that anyone who can throw hard will show up anyway.
There’s nothing official about this game, I just got the invite and was told to spread the word. If there’s an organized youth soccer game or something else going on at Chester, the game might get moved to Woodland or something, so it might help to show up on time if you want to be in the know about a possible relocation.
Miss West Duluth Pageant 2009
An annual tradition that goes along with the Miss West Duluth Pageant is my attempts to stir up controversy about it.
My initial objection came in 1987, when the first Miss West Duluth was a young lady from Morgan Park. It seemed to me that if the title was going to be “Miss West Duluth,” the contestants should all be from West Duluth.
I was told back then the criteria was that girls must live within the attendance boundary for Denfeld High School to be eligible. Although I thought “Miss Western Duluth” might be a more appropriate name, I was satisfied with this Denfeld rule, so I shut up about it for a few years.
Then, in 1996, a graduate of Hermantown High School was a contestant. I assumed she lived in the Denfeld area but chose to attend Hermantown, which would get around the rules enough to allow her to compete. In subsequent years I’ve noticed Proctor High School students in the list of contestants.
Give a contest an inch and it takes a mile. One of this year’s contestants is a senior at East High School, according to the Spirit Valleys Days insert in the Budgeteer News. (UPDATE: She lives in Morgan Park, according to comments to this post.)
Now, I don’t mean to fan the east/west flames here, so I’m just going to suggest we call this thing the Miss North America Pageant already and get it over with.
The Hillside Flyers
Remember that dazzling group of tumblers? They just randomly somersaulted into the nostalgia part of my brain this morning. I can’t remember anymore why the group disbanded. Did the coach move away or something?
MPR story from 2001: “Flying High In Duluth”
Baby’s Got Back
Conversation between two pre-teen boys jumping on a trampoline in West Duluth today:
Boy #1: Says something about some girl.
Boy #2: Dude, that chick is UGLY.
Boy #3: At least she’s got some ass.
Aw, they grow up so fast.
Wild berry season in Duluth
I saw this one on Monday — a rubus of some sort (raspberry? cloudberry?). A few weeks from now should be a tasty time for a hike.