PDD News Sieve
Minnesota 2020 Presidential Primary Election Results
In the statewide race, with 4,110 of 4,110 precincts reporting, Joe Biden is the projected winner of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor presidential primary.
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Nomination for President of the United States
Joseph Biden – 287,553
Bernie Sanders – 222,431
Elizabeth Warren – 114,674
Michael R. Bloomberg – 61,882
Amy Klobuchar – 41,530 (more…)
Duluth 2020 Presidential Nomination Primary Sample Ballots
Minnesota’s 2020 Presidential Nomination Primary will be held on March 3. Voters must pick a team: Republican or Democratic-Farmer-Labor party. The Republican sample ballot is above, DFL is below. The Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party and the Legal Marijuana Now Party are not participating in the nomination primary. (more…)
UMD considering sale of KUMD radio station to WDSE-TV
KUMD has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent with Duluth-Superior Area Educational Television Corporation that could lead to the station being acquired and operated by WDSE-WRPT.
Lake Superior Magazine 2020 Photo Contest Winners
Duluth photos took first and second place in the Artsy/Altered category of Lake Superior Magazine‘s 25th Annual Photo Contest. Lou Nicksic of Bellingham, Wash., shot the first-place ship image in Canal Park. Dan Lee Vander Ark of Duluth shot the second-place image with the Bong Bridge in the background. Numerous Duluth photos received honorable mention in various categories.
Galleries of all the winning photos and runners up can be seen on lakesuperior.com. The winners are featured in the magazine’s February/March issue.
The overall grand prize went to Shannon Hart of Williamston, Mich. for an image of Lake Superior at Miners Castle in Munising.
Beijing reopens; Valentini’s on the move to Hermantown
The restaurant options on London Road in Duluth are changing: Beijing Restaurant is reopening this week after a fire kept it shuttered for more than a year. Valentini’s Vicino Lago Italian Restaurant will close later this year as the business transitions to a new Hermantown location. (more…)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus in NYT: BWCAW “unfathomably beautiful”
Actors Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are featured in the New York Times series “20 Odd Questions” today, promoting their new movie Downhill. When asked to name the “most underrated destination in America,” Louis-Dreyfus gave a nod to Quetico-Superior country, responding:
“The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. I went canoeing and I loved it. It is just unfathomably beautiful.”
Upper Deck restaurant at Bong Airport will become hangar
The Upper Deck Restaurant at 1415 N. 46th St. in Superior has been closed for more than a year. Its contents were auctioned off on Jan. 31. According to the Superior Telegram, the new owner will be turning the building into an airplane hangar. (more…)
WDSE-TV launching fifth channel, PBS Kids
WDSE-TV will begin broadcasting the PBS Kids channel on Friday, Jan. 31. It will occupy channel 8.5 in Duluth; WIRT viewers in the Hibbing area will find it on channel 31.5.
The network features educational programming all day, and is available for live streaming at pbskids.org. Some notable programs include Arthur, Sesame Street and Wild Kratts.
It’s WDSE’s fifth channel, joining PBS North (8.1), Create (8.2), Explore (8.3) and MN Channel (8.4).
The primary PBS channel, PBS North, will continue to feature a PBS Kids daypart during the week and on weekend mornings. The schedule of children’s programming on PBS North will be different from PBS Kids. (more…)
Viking Octantis cruise ship plans Duluth stops in 2022
Another cruise line is planning stops in Duluth. WDIO News reports that Viking Cruises plans to bring its Viking Octantis, currently under construction, to port here multiple times in 2022. Two weeks ago the Duluth Monitor reported Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will bring the Hanseatic Inspiration to Duluth twice this summer.
St. Louis River remedial action plan open to public comment
A draft version of the 2019 St. Louis River Area of Concern Remedial Action Plan is available on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource’s website. Public comments are being accepted through 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 21. (more…)
JamesG brings the Heely tricks on TikTok
Who’s that guy wearing the University of Minnesota Duluth hoodie while doing Heely tricks on Tik Tok? It’s James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG. The former Duluthian is generating views by the thousands on the short-form mobile video service, while performing stunts on wheeled sneakers around the Twin Cities area.
Check it out at tiktok.com/@jamesmakesmusic.
Duluth online business Noihsaf Bazaar in New York Times
Duluthian Kate Lindello and her Instagram-based business Noihsaf Bazaar are featured in the New York Times today with other business in an article titled “How to Make Friends Online the Old-Fashioned Way (Buying Clothes Together).”
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Denfeld takes Heritage title; Hermantown wins Hilltopper

Denfeld’s hockey team celebrates its victory in the Heritage Holiday Classic.
(Photo by Bruce Woodman)
The Denfeld Hunters emerged as the 2019 Heritage Hockey Classic champions on Dec. 28, while the Hermantown Hawks captured the trophy in the Hilltopper Holiday Classic. Prep hockey tournaments on the weekend after Christmas have become an annual tradition in Duluth during the past decade.
Denfeld defeated Owatonna 2-1 in overtime to claim its title, with Griffin Lehet scoring the game-winning goal.
Hermantown dominated the Hilltopper tourney, defeating Buffalo in the final game by a 7-1 margin.
Grace Holden will dance with Lizzo on Saturday Night Live
Grace Holden, a Bemidji native and longtime trumpeter and dancer for Duluth band Red Mountain, has also been dancing with Minneapolis-based pop star Lizzo for nearly five years. The Bemidji Pioneer reports Holden will be part of the act when Lizzo appears as musical guest on the Dec. 21 episode of Saturday Night Live.
(more…)
Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2019
From successful to silly, and potentially both, Duluthians remain as active as ever on the petition website change.org. Not that fewer than a dozen petitions per year is technically active, but it is as active as ever.
As is generally the case, a petition pertaining to the local colleges was the most popular, but with an asterisk. A statewide petition that relates to Duluth deserves equal mention. (more…)












