PDD News Sieve
Earth Rider lands gold at 2025 World Beer Cup
Superior’s Earth Rider Brewery won a gold medal in the oatmeal stout category at the World Beer Cup, held May 1 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. North Tower Stout, an ale with malty accents of chocolate, coffee and dark fruit balanced with a restrained hop presence, earned the award. The beer has now won three medals in its category at the World Beer Cup, having previously won a gold medal in 2022 and a bronze medal in 2018. (more…)
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners – “Dashboard Dandelion”
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners have finished recording their next album, Two Trees, which will include the single “Dashboard Dandelion.” The band has Kickstarter campaign underway to raise money for mixing, mastering and releasing the new record.
Canada fights back, boycotts Duluth
In addition to imposing 25% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, Canada is boycotting “vacation hubs like Oshkosh and Duluth.” That’s according to the satirical news website The Onion.
Maria Bamford displaced by L.A. fires
Sincere apologies for any inconvenience, but due to being displaced from the California fires, I need to cancel these upcoming dates.
If you have tickets, you will be contacted by the venue about rescheduling dates, or you can get info from https://t.co/mUIj4kbaRN.
❤️Thank you pic.twitter.com/87DwWuVIeC
— Maria Bamford (@mariabamfoo) January 17, 2025
According to several social media posts today, Duluth native Maria Bamford has canceled four upcoming comedy shows on the East Coast due to being displaced by the wildfires in Los Angeles, where she has been a longtime resident. Her website lists the tour resuming on Jan. 31 with a string of shows in California.
Duluth 2024 General Election Results
With 4,103 of 4,103 precincts reporting, here are the statewide general election results for races relevant to Duluth.
—FEDERAL OFFICES—
President and Vice-President of the United States
Kamala D. Harris and Tim Walz – 1,653,657
Donald J. Trump and JD Vance – 1,514,261
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan – 24,426
Jill Stein and Samson Kpadenou – 16,669
Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat – 15,620
Write in – 13,269
Cornel West and Melina Abdullah – 3,508
Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia – 3,423
Shiva Ayyadurai and Crystal Ellis – 3,226
Rachele Fruit and Dennis Richter – 857 (more…)
Duluth 2024 General Election Sample Ballot
This sample ballot is specific to Duluth’s western neighborhoods. Races for Minnesota State Representative and St. Louis County Board of Commissioners vary throughout the city. (more…)
Minnesota Historical Society acquires Wing Young Huie archive
A collection of 5,000 photographs by Duluth native Wing Young Huie will soon be available online through the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. The images capture a view of community life in Minnesota.
The first part of the collection, 965 images and supporting material, is already available in the searchable Collections Online database and the Gale Family Library. The full archive of 5,000 photographs and related material will become publicly available over the next five years.
Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Winners for 2024
Nine books have been recognized for this year’s Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards, which celebrate books that substantially represent the history, culture, heritage or lifestyle of northeastern Minnesota. (more…)
Ursa Minor earns bronze at Great American Beer Festival
Duluth’s Ursa Minor Brewing won a bronze medal for its Equanimity Irish Style Red Ale at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver on Oct. 12. It’s the brewery’s second bronze medal at the festival; the first came in 2019 for Thistle Dew in the Scottish-Style Ale category.
Equanimity also won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2022 and another gold at the World Beer Cup in 2023. (more…)
Duluth’s Ten Most Endangered Places in 2024
The Duluth Preservation Alliance has announced its 2024 list of the ten most endangered places. The list includes buildings with active plans for demolition, properties with uncertain futures and underrecognized places with overlooked history that might be vulnerable to future threats. (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Results
With 4,102 of 4,102 precincts reporting, here are statewide primary election results for races relevant to Duluth. (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Perhaps the most important thing to note about the Aug. 13 primary ballot is what isn’t on it. There are no city of Duluth or Duluth School Board races in this election cycle. There are several state, county and judicial offices that have no primary, so those candidates go straight to the general election on Nov. 5. And there is nothing on the primary ballot related to the U.S. Presidency because that is up to party delegates to determine. (more…)
MiigWitches Brew drive-thru coffee kiosk open
MPR News reports MiigWitches Brew, a new Native-owned drive-thru coffee kiosk, opened in June at 1810 Big Lake Road on the Fond du Lac reservation, about 15 miles east of Duluth.
Villiard aims high with ‘Waiting for Beds’
The Native American news website Buffalo’s Fire reports on Duluth artist Moira Villiard’s new project, “Waiting for Beds,” which looks at what happens to people who have to wait for a bed during a crisis, such as domestic violence, homelessness or addiction. The exhibit is on display at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Duluth’s church at 835 W. College St. through September.
Duluth and the Climate Haven Bandwagon
The British Broadcasting Corporation mentions Duluth among the cities that have “jumped on the climate haven bandwagon.”
“But is any place really going to be spared from climate change?” the story asks. “And does moving to one of these cities represent a sustainable solution to the crisis?”
Duluth is No. 10 on CNN’s Best Towns to Visit in 2024
“Duluth is proving to be a Superior travel spot,” according to CNN, “thanks to its lakeside setting, outdoor activities and creative spirit.” The Zenith City landed at No. 10 on the cable news channel’s list of “American’s Best Towns to Visit.”
Above & Below: The rise, fall, and rise of the Duluth underground
The July 2004 issue of Twin Cities monthly magazine The Rake included a feature on the Duluth music scene. The Rake existed from 2002 to 2008 and its archives, including the Duluth article, are available online. The text of the now 20-year-old story also appears below, with images from the magazine. (more…)
Cherry Koch: Homebody
Minnesota Public Radio reports Duluth artist Cherry Koch is working on a new series of paintings called “Homebody,” is preparing for an Aug. 24 fashion show at The Main Club, will put the series “Rug on Fire,” back on view again for Duluth Superior Pride in August and September, and is co-curating the group show called “The Gayest Art Show Ever” at Prøve Gallery which opens Aug. 30.
Mark’s Great Duluth Alley Rally Urban Mountain Biking Route
Duluth has become known for it’s mountain biking trails in recent years, and for decades the paved Munger Trail has been a favorite of those with road bikes. But what about the unofficial street routes created just for the sake of being weird? Well, Perfect Duluth Day’s own Mark Nicklawske has established a route through the Endion, Chester Park and Congdon Park area that “climbs and plummets more than 1,300 feet in about 10 miles” according to a review on Medium by Nicklawske’s friend Keith Uhlig of Wausaw. (more…)
Duluth 2024 Primary Election Primer
The filing period for candidates running for federal, state and county offices in Minnesota is from May 21 to June 4. The primary election is Aug. 13; the general election is Nov. 5. (more…)
Make Music Day Superior Open Call for Musicians
Siggy’s Musical Garden is presenting the third annual Make Music Day in Superior on June 21, the day of the year with the most daylight. The goal of the event is for “every kind of musician — young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion” to set up on “streets, parks, plazas and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors and strangers.” The open call application for musicians is online at makemusicday.org/superior.
Versions of Make Music Day take place all over the world. Last year Superior had about 40 musical acts performing mostly outdoors.
DuluthiLeaks: Duluth Foghorn Facts
It’s been 100 years since Duluth’s original diaphone fog siren was installed at the Duluth Shipping Canal. That siren was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1968 and replaced by an electric whistle. In 1983 another old diaphone foghorn was acquired and installed. It was used on a ceremonial basis until 1995, then returned to regular service as a maritime aid to navigation. Community members immediately complained it was too loud. The controversy raged on until the horn was dismantled in 2006.
For the sixth edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s series in which public documents are presented as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we present “Duluth Foghorn Facts,” a document and collection of images compiled by Jeffrey L. Laser of Bellville, Ohio. At some point after 1996, Laser put together the information below, delving into the nitty gritty of the diaphone foghorn that was housed in the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light from 1983 to 2006. (more…)
R. I. P. Florian Chmielewski
Florian Chmielewski, leader of the Chmielewski Funtime Band and a Minnesota state senator from 1971 to 1976, died last week at his home in Sturgeon Lake at the age of 97. (more…)
Alan Sparhawk announces solo album in New Yorker article
The New Yorker published an article today on Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk, chronicling his career in the seminal indie-rock band Low and concluding with news about his latest recordings. “The fruits of this work will be released this fall under his own name, as a record called White Roses, My God,” reads the article’s final sentence.