PDD News Sieve
Duluth’s Frozen Wiener Storm of 2017
Photo by Shawn Thompson
The city of Duluth is advising the public that locations in Canal Park may not be accessible due to windy conditions and high waves causing water to flood some areas. The Marine Iron Parking lot located closest to the canal, some segments of Canal Park Drive and Harbor Drive have standing water. The city has put up barricades where the areas are not passable. (more…)
C.J. Ham’s “Fullback Life”
A tweet this morning by Duluth’s C.J. Ham shows the bent upper rim of his face-mask after the Minnesota Vikings hard-hitting victory over the Baltimore Ravens. Fullback life indeed.
Bent Paddle 14° ESB grabs gold at Great American Beer Festival
Bent Paddle Brewing won Duluth’s first Great American Beer Festival gold medal two weeks ago. It was the third time 14° ESB won a medal in the Extra Special Bitter category. It took the silver medal in 2015 and the bronze in 2014. (more…)
R.I.P. Sneakers Sports Bar & Grill
Sneakers Sports Bar & Grill announced on Facebook today it has closed after 32 years in business. The bar will become part of the new Lyric Kitchen and Bar, which is also replacing Porter’s restaurant as part of a series of renovation projects at Duluth’s Holiday Center.
A news release by Holiday Inn & Suites-Duluth and Lion Hotel Group notes the Lyric will open for business on Oct. 30 and will feature “a full bar and light-hearted dining experience that celebrates all things Duluth.” The menu will include burgers, pizzas and steaks. Breakfast will be served seven days a week.
Duluth 2017 General Election Sample Ballot
District city council and school board races will appear only on ballots in the appropriate precincts. The location of candidates’ names will be different in each precinct; the names are rotated in accordance with the law.
The League of Women Voters 2017 Voter Guide is available in PDF format at lwvduluth.org.
Duluth residents who wish to vote absentee may do so in person in City Hall room 330 from Oct. 31 until Nov. 3 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or Monday, Nov. 6, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents who are not registered with their current address must show proof of residency by providing one of the means allowed by law.
DuluthiLeaks: Historic Bridge Report for DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5
How historically significant is West Duluth’s old ore dock and its viaduct and bridges? The Minnesota Department of Transportation retained the consultant team of LHB, Mead & Hunt and 106 Group to produce a multi-purpose study in 2014 that was part of a more comprehensive process involving numerous agencies looking at 140 historic bridges. Part of the goal of the “Local Historic Bridge Report” for the “DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5 Approach” was to gather historical information should the property owner — Canadian National Railway — wish to request a nomination be prepared for the National Register of Historic Places.
For the third edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we peak into a study of four steel-beam bridges that are part of the mile-long approach to DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5. (more…)
CN Duluth Intermodal Terminal: Opening new markets
Last week an official ribbon cutting was held at the CN Duluth Intermodal Terminal. Politicians and transportation business leaders gathered to tout the partnership between Canadian National Railway Company and Duluth Cargo Connect, which created the first rail-served intermodal container ramp in the Twin Ports, positioning the region for direct transportation of containerized imports and exports to East, West and Gulf Coast ports via Duluth.
Duluth Cargo Connect is a working partnership of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Lake Superior Warehousing. The rail-served facility is located at Clure Public Marine Terminal on Rice’s Point.
Why is a full-service, multimodal hub for domestic and international trade so important? Lake Superior Magazine explains in an article published Sept. 20: Going Intermodal.
Bob Dylan on cover of final Village Voice print edition
The 62-year-old New York-based news and culture paper Village Voice published its final printed edition on Sept. 20. It features Duluth-born Bob Dylan on the cover — a photo taken on Jan. 22, 1965 in Christopher Park near the old Voice offices.
The Voice announced in August it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to a fully digital format.
(more…)
PDD at Fall Fest
Despite a little drizzle, Fall Fest is happening today as scheduled, Saturday, Sept. 16, at Chester Bowl Park, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Join us in the PDD tent, located between the playground and the stage. You can hang with us in our photo booth and listen to Woodblind, Ingeborg von Agassiz and Mama’s Stolen Horses perform throughout the day. Keep up with happenings via #pddfallfest.
Duluth 2017 Primary Election Results
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results.
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top four candidates advance to General Election
Zack Filipovich – 3,859 | 27.97%
Barbara Russ – 2,797 | 20.27%
Janet Kennedy – 2,462 | 17.85%
Rich Updegrove – 2,456 | 17.80%
Jan Swanson – 1,222 | 98.86%
Brandon Sorvik – 604 | 4.38%
Richard L. Williams – 369 | 2.87%
Duluth Fourth District City Councilor
Top two candidates advance to General Election
Renee K. Van Nett – 622 | 44.94%
Howie Hanson – 468 | 33.82%
Tom Furman – 294 | 21.24%
Duluth At-large School Board Member
Top four candidates advance to General Election; two are elected
Sally Trnka – 3,929 | 30.00%
Josh Gorham – 3,558 | 27.17%
Harry Welty – 2,406 | 18.37%
Bogdana (Dana) Krivogorsky – 1,642 | 12.54%
Loren Martell – 1,560 | 11.91%
Cramer Tunnel in Lake County
About 70 miles northeast of Duluth, near Crosby Manitou State Park, is a unincorporated community named after its pioneer merchant, J.N. Cramer. There sits Minnesota’s longest train tunnel, connecting the former LTV Steel Hoyt Lakes taconite plant with its ore dock at Taconite Harbor. A recent post on photographer Dan Turner’s Substreet website features a collection if interesting summer and winter photos from the tunnel and surrounding area. (more…)
Duluth featured on Gear Junkie website
Gear Junkie, a Minneapolis-based online publication for outdoor adventure news and product reviews, published a feature on Duluth this week as part of its series on “The Great Urban Outdoors.”
Charlie Parr discloses depression in City Pages feature
Duluth musician Charlie Parr is featured in this week’s issue of the Twin Cities tabloid City Pages. In an interview with freelance writer Erica Rivera, Parr acknowledges a life spent battling depression and suicidal thoughts.
“It affects everything that I do, all day, every day — and all night,” he says.
Story link: Man of constant sorrow: Charlie Parr’s quiet battle to stay alive
Parr performs at Sacred Heart Music Center on Thursday in support of his new album, Dog.
Missing Person: Julie Huntington
The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a missing person. Julie Marie Huntington was last seen on the 300 block of South Lake Avenue in Duluth’s Canal Park district on Sept. 1 at approximately 7 p.m. She is described as a 34-year-old Caucasian female, 5-foot 7-inches tall, 300 lbs., blue eyes and blonde hair. Huntington was last seen wearing a grey tank top, black hooded sweatshirt and black leggings. The DPD would like to check the health and welfare of Huntington along with getting her home. Anyone who knows of her whereabouts is asked to contact the Duluth Police Department by calling 911.
Portion of Chester Park Trail washed out
A segment of the hiking trail in Chester Park on the east side of the creek, between Skyline Parkway and the Eighth Street bridge, washed out during recent heavy rainfall. Trail closure signs are in place leading up to and around the area, along with orange fencing.
Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division requests hikers avoid the washed-out area and instead use the trail on the west side of Chester Creek. The pedestrian bridge near Eighth Street is open for trail users to safely cross the creek to the west side.
Lyric Kitchen and Bar will replace Porter’s
Holiday Inn & Suites-Duluth and Lion Hotel Group announced today the name and concept for their new restaurant — Lyric Kitchen and Bar. It will open in October, following four months of renovations to the space in the Holiday Center formerly occupied by Porter’s restaurant.
The name is a nod to Duluth’s past. The restaurant is located at 205 W. Superior St. on the historic Lyric block in Duluth, which was once home to grand theaters and touring opera companies. (more…)
What She Said! Short Play Festival Submission Call
The Underground theater is planning an event featuring short plays and monologues written by women playwrights celebrating women and what they have to say. The What She Said! Short Play Festival will be staged May 24-26. In the meantime, scripts for short plays and monologues written by women and people identifying as women, are being sought. (more…)
Jansen preparing to close the Main Club in Superior
Fox 21 reports the Main Club, Superior’s first openly gay bar, is closing after 34 years in business. Owner Bob Jansen told reporter Joey Nelson his last day of business will be shortly after the Duluth-Superior Pride Festival, which concludes with a drag show at the Main on Sept. 3.
Jansen said the bar has struggled in recent years because younger people feel less of a need for gay-specific bars.
“The younger crowd can go anywhere,” he told Fox 21. “So their support for some of the gay communities — institutions — have fallen by the wayside.” (more…)
Duluth 2017 Primary Election Sample Ballot
There are a mere two races on Duluth’s citywide Primary Election ballot for 2017 — city council at large and school board at large. Voters in District Four, the area highlighted on the map below, can also vote to whittle down the choices for that council seat. (more…)
Inside Duluth’s Armory
Photographer Dan Turner’s latest adventure on his Substreet website shows off the gritty and crumbling Duluth Armory, including a basement shooting range. (more…)
Missing Person: Edward Lepage
The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Edward Lepage. He was reported missing on Aug. 2 and was last seen at the 5800 block of N. Pike Lake Road on July 31.
Lepage is homeless and often travels between Duluth and Superior. He is described as a 63-year-old white male, 6-foot 1-inch tall, 200 lbs., and walks with a distinctive limp. He is possibly driving a 2002 tan Dodge Intrepid with Minnesota plate 125WKH. Both Lepage and his vehicle have been entered into National Crime Information Center as missing and endangered due to a medical condition. The DPD is continuing to investigate the case. Anyone who knows where Lepage is or has heard from him is urged to call 911.
Port Town Trolley drops 50-cent fee; free service starts Aug. 4
Effective Friday the Duluth Transit Authority will discontinue the collection of all passenger fares on the Port Town Trolley service. The free rides are being offered to encourage use of the trolley service to and from Canal Park, particularly for those parking at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center and downtown parking ramps. (more…)
Girl from the North Country reviews are in
The Stage, a weekly British newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry, has compiled reviews of the new Bob Dylan-inspired play set in 1930’s Duluth. Girl from the North Country, written and directed by Conor McPherson, opened earlier this month at the Vic Theater in London.
Critic Fergus Morgan notes the show “boasts a large, diverse cast, and 20 Dylan songs from across his career, pared down and rearranged for the stage by Simon Hale and performed by a live, onstage band.” The setting is described as “a run-down Minnesota guesthouse during the Great Depression. We’re in Duluth, Dylan’s place of birth, seven years before the singer-songwriter entered the world.” (more…)
Missing Persons: Ronald and Mary Tarnowski
Update: On Aug. 5 at approximately 3:44 Ronald and Mary Tarnowski were found deceased. Their vehicle was discovered in a remote location west of Highway 2 in the Brookston area by a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter. The family has been notified. The investigation into their deaths continues, but foul play is not suspected. The death investigation is being handled by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. (more…)