Paul Lundgren
Summer of ’65: Council considers pay rides on Aerial Lift Bridge
Fifty years ago — Aug. 20, 1965 — the DNT reports the Duluth City Council will consider a proposal to permit “scenic rides on the Aerial Lift Bridge at a fee of 25 cents.” (more…)
Ore Boat Cribbage Board
This mighty ore-boat cribbage board, acquired at a rummage sale, is not quite as buoyant as one might expect. Though the peg-holed deck quickly floods, the vessel remains afloat. This cherished antique has all the signs of having been someone’s high-school shop project, so we salute the mysterious nameless craftsperson for the worthwhile contribution to society. It looks like a name may have been penciled on the bottom at one point, but it’s far from legible now.
Summer of ’65: Griggs Hall opens at UMD
Fifty years ago — Aug. 19, 1965 — the DNT reports a new, unnamed residence hall, designed to house 202 students, will be dedicated on Aug. 20. (more…)
Summer of ’65: New TV station in the works for Duluth
Fifty years ago — Aug. 18, 1965 — the DNT reports the Duluth Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on a proposal to grant a special permit to Channel 10, Inc., to operate a television station. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Arenas planned for Two Harbors and Silver Bay
Fifty years ago — Aug. 17, 1965 — the DNT reports plans are in the works for community arenas to be built in Two Harbors and Silver Bay. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Bob Magie wins big one, ends Leo Spooner’s reign
Fifty years ago — Aug. 16, 1965 — the DNT reports Leo Spooner’s four-year domination of local golf had ended at the hands of two youngsters. (more…)
Summer of ’65: USS Duluth Christened by Humphrey’s Daughter
Fifty years ago — Aug. 15, 1965 — the DNT reports (via AP wire out of New York) several top-ranking Minnesota officials were among the 300 persons at a ceremony to christen the USS Duluth. (more…)
“Hey, where is your lawn chair, and can you bring me a Hamms?”
The Proctor Police Department received this picture today from the Proctor Journal of a bear standing on someone’s porch. “Be safe out there,” the PPD warns. “It’s that time of year when they are out forging around for food so they can hibernate this winter.” (more…)
Summer of ’65: UFO Sightings Reported Over Duluth
Fifty years ago — Aug. 14, 1965 — the DNT reports sightings of unidentified flying objects over Duluth. The article’s title, by the way is …
… which leads one to believe there was another story on the subject in previous days, but careful eyes couldn’t find one in the Aug. 1-13 editions. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Car Crashes into Hank’s Grocery
The Duluth News Tribune’s Aug. 13, 1965 edition reports three persons sustained minor injuries when a 71-year-old Duluth woman crashed into the front of Hank’s Grocery at 2332 W. Third St. in the friendly West End neighborhood. The location is the present-day site of Bark Avenue Pet Grooming. (more…)
Summer of ’65: I-35 Route Proposed on DM&IR Railway
Fifty years ago — Aug. 12, 1965 — the DNT reports the St. Louis County Legislative delegation will explore a proposal to route Interstate Highway 35 over Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway right-of-way. The great I-35 debate, of course, wouldn’t ultimately be settled for another two decades. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Duluthian Talked Off High Bridge
Fifty years ago — Aug. 11, 1965 — the DNT reports a 25-year-old Duluth man stood perched atop the center span of the Duluth Superior High Bridge — now known as the John A. Blatnik Bridge — threatening to jump to the water. “The incident was apparently brought about by a family argument,” the paper noted. “His mother talked him down from his lofty stand.” (more…)
Summer of ’65: NLRB Sets Hearing in Labor Dispute
Fifty years ago — Aug. 10, 1965 — the DNT reports the National Labor Relations Board will hold a hearing on charges of unfair labor practices against six Duluth waterfront unions engaged in a labor dispute. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Ground Breaking Set for New YMCA
Fifty years ago — Aug. 9, 1965 — the DNT reports there will be a groundbreaking ceremony the next day for a new $1.4-million Duluth YMCA. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Weather Pushes Folk Festival to Armory
Fifty years ago — Aug. 8, 1965 — the DNT reports the 18th annual Duluth International Folk Festival abandoned its home at Leif Erikson Park to avoid rainy conditions, moving the party across the street to the Duluth National Guard Armory. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Weather Steals Show from Portorama Parade
Fifty years ago — Aug. 7, 1965 — the DNT reports a “powerful nor’easter” threatened to put a damper on the annual Portorama Parade, but some 30,000 spectators toughed out the inclement weather. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Duluth Moving Toward Fifth Avenue Mall
Fifty years ago — Aug. 6, 1965 — the DNT reports the Duluth City Council is reviewing a proposal for the development of a $1 million mall at Fifth Avenue West in the area where the Radisson Hotel and Duluth Public Library were later built. The context of the story seems to indicate the discussion is not about a shopping mall, but instead something like the decorative median with trees that stands in the middle of the avenue today. (more…)
Four recent changes in West Duluth
Spirit Valley Days are underway in West Duluth. Here are a four observed changes in the neighborhood in recent days:
- Construction for the new Kwik Trip on Raleigh Street and Grand Avenue has kicked into high gear. The building went up late last week, making a fall opening seem likely.
- Around the same time the Kwik Trip went up, the former Auto Stop four blocks away was demolished. It had closed roughly five years ago. Materials for the Grand Avenue reconstruction are piled on part of the property at present.
- Wild West Liquor at 318 N. Central Ave. closed its doors at the end of July. There is a for-sale sign in the window. All four West Duluth liquor stores that operated before Super One Liquor opened in 2010 are now gone. Liberty Liquor closed when Super One acquired its building. The former Spirit Bottle Shoppe closed in 2012 and became Shake It, a nutritional protein shake and juice bar. The old Sportsman’s Liquor at 3904 Grand Ave. is now the Law Office of Jessica L. Sterle.
- Kosta’s Gyros abandoned its operation at the Minit Mart (formerly Little Store, still brandishing the Little Store name) on Central Avenue. Word has it there’s a new Kosta’s by Menards in Hermantown.
Also, the Duluth News Tribune reports that Community Action Duluth plans to build a greenhouse at the former Westminster Church location on Grand Avenue near Denfeld High School.
Summer of ’65: Norwegian seamen face Twin Ports soccer team
Fifty years ago — Aug. 5, 1965 — the DNT reports of Norwegian seamen giving the Twin Ports soccer team “an hour of stiff competition … with the local booters squeaking out a 1-0 victory.” (more…)
Summer of ’65: Du Lhut’s Statue on Way Here
Fifty years ago — Aug. 4, 1965 — the DNT reports a bronze statue of Daniel de Gresolon, the Sieur Duluth, is on a ship at Leghorn, Italy, and due to arrive in Duluth in about three weeks. It will be installed in the courtyard at the University of Minnesota Duluth. (more…)
Duluth National Citizen Survey Results 2015
According to the results of Duluth’s annual National Citizen Survey, conducted by the National Research Center, 76 percent of Duluth residents believe the city’s overall reputation has improved in the past ten years.
From the news release:
“This decade of successes is really only the beginning stages of a renaissance in Duluth,” says Mayor Don Ness. “Our sustained sense of confidence in Duluth is the key to turning our recent wave of accomplishments into long-term stability and vibrancy.”
Based on this year’s NCS and the compelling story of the recent surge in Duluth development and redevelopment, Duluth received the honor of the Voice of the People Award for Transformation in Built Environment by the NRC. The award is only given to cities that best use the survey responses to help drive community improvement. Duluth residents reported the most notable improvement in satisfaction with built environment compared with all other participating jurisdictions — another indicator of the national significance of Duluth’s story.
Low – “What Part of Me”
Ones and Sixes, the new album by Duluth band Low, is scheduled for worldwide release on Sept. 11.
Summer of ’65: Brunette Awarded Seaway Laurels
Fifty years ago — Aug. 3, 1965 — the DNT reports on the ongoing Portorama Festival, with the crowning of Miss Seaway VI LaVonne Rae Englund. The “19-year-old hazel-eyed brunette” won the pageant held at Denfeld High School. Runners up were Laurel Josephine Cahill and Joyce Diane Hietalati. (more…)
Summer of ’65: Trailer at Dredging Project Hit by Bomb
Fifty years ago — Aug. 2, 1965 — the DNT reports of a bomb explosion at a house trailer used by Ryan Construction of Janesville, Wis., on a dredging project at Rice’s Point. No one was injured. (more…)