PDD News Sieve
MNDOT names eight more plows for 2022
After tallying 60,000 votes, MNDOT has named eight more plows in the fleet. They join Plowy McPlowface and Duck Duck Orange Truck from last year’s naming contest. In Duluth, you can be on the lookout for No More Mr. Ice Guy to be clearing the roads. (more…)
America’s Curling Heroes in Parade Magazine
“A humble Midwestern team” that “made curling cool” is on the cover of this week’s Parade magazine.
The U.S. men’s Olympic curling team members pictured are, left to right: John Landsteiner, Duluth; Chris Plys, Duluth; John Shuster, Superior; John Landsteiner, Duluth; Colin Hufman, Minneapolis; and Matt Hamilton, McFarland.
Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie in Talkhouse
Musicians Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie talk about how Duluth informs both their music and their outlook on the website Talkhouse, a media outlet where artists share firsthand perspectives and offer insight into their creative work.
DECC COVID-19 testing tips
In the midst of the Omicron-variant surge the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has published an “Insider’s Guide to COVID Testing.” Best walk-in hours? From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parking? Free in the DECC lot if you tell the attendant that’s what you’re there for.
R.I.P. Louie Anderson, sitcom Duluthian
Comedian Louie Anderson died today at age 68. Part of his credentials in the entertainment industry is a CBS sitcom set in Duluth. Six episodes were produced; five were aired in 1996. (more…)
Condemned Esmond building gutted by fire
The Duluth Fire Department tweeted this photo at 7:55 a.m. noting a heavy fire on the second floor of the Esmond building.
The former Seaway Hotel, more recently known as the Esmond building, burned for seven hours today while fire fighters struggled in sub-arctic temperatures to extinguish it. The condemned structure at 2001 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has been vacant since 2020 with future plans for demolition and redevelopment. (more…)
Two Superior warehouses destroyed by fire
Warehouses at 1507 and 1515 N. First St. in the North End of Superior were destroyed by fire this morning. The Blatnik Bridge was temporarily closed due to smoke from the blaze. (more…)
Superior looking to save Princess Theatre
The building at 1310 Tower Ave. in Superior — known in modern times as the home of Frankie’s Tavern — is the subject of a feasibility study to determine the cost of saving it. The Superior Telegram reports it was built as a theater. (more…)
Roy Halvorson: Christmas Tree King
From the December 1957 issue of Flying magazine, “the world’s most widely read aviation magazine,” comes the story of Duluth’s Roy Halvorson, “Christmas Tree King.” (more…)
Sherman Associates plans to develop Duluth Armory
Plans are in place for the Duluth Armory at 1305 London Road to “serve as an economic, cultural and entertainment hub for northeastern Minnesota,” according to a news release from the Armory Arts and Music Center. The organization announced a partnership on Monday with Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates to rehabilitate and develop the armory building, targeting an opening in 2024. (more…)
Missing Person: William Terry
Update: Deputies from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office located the deceased body of William Terry today. He appears to have died by suicide. Terry was reported missing from his residence on Munger Shaw Road in Grand Lake Township on Dec. 6; he had not been seen since Nov. 27. The township is adjacent to Hermantown, about six miles northwest of Duluth.
Deputies had searched Terry’s home on Dec. 6, but after receiving new information concerning the layout of the residence, a follow-up search was conducted and the body was located in a previously undiscovered hidden room. No foul play is suspected.
R.I.P. Ben Boo
Former Duluth mayor and Minnesota representative Ben Boo died on Dec. 1 at age 96.
Boo was Duluth’s 35th mayor, holding office for two terms from 1967 to 1975. He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1984 to 1992. He also directed the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District and the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission in between his political terms. (more…)
Cross-country skiers push for Duluth to be ‘fluoro wax-free city’
As the national SuperTour race hits Spirit Mountain in Duluth this weekend, Minnesota Public Radio delves into the potentially harmful effects of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances found in the fluorinated ski wax used by elite cross-country ski racers.
KUMD is now WDSE 103.3 FM “The North”
After 64 years of affiliation with the University of Minnesota Duluth, 103.3 FM is now a product of the Duluth Superior Area Educational Television Corporation, the public media organization that also owns WDSE/WRPT-TV, the Duluth area’s PBS affiliate. (more…)
Low’s latest album nominated for Grammy as best engineered
Duluth band Low‘s new album, Hey What, received a major nod from the music industry yesterday. The record has been nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical” for the work by mastering engineer BJ Burton. (more…)
Chuck Haavik – “Middle of June”
Is Duluth’s Chuck Haavik living five months in the past or seven months in future? Either way, he’s chosen the middle of November to release “Middle of June.” It’s available for download on Bandcamp and other platforms.
The song features his daughter, Emily Haavik, on vocals, with Dave Mehling on organ and Beau Jeffrie on bass.
New Ingeborg von Agassiz album features ‘dark holiday music’
Duluth-based electro-folk artist Ingeborg von Agassiz is releasing an album of “dark holiday music” titled Coventry Carols. The album will be available digitally and on compact disc on Nov. 19. Discs can be ordered online at ingeborgvonagassiz.com/shoppe. (more…)
Former Duluthian reviews trio of tree books
Los Angeles Review of Books has a brief mention of Duluth in the opening sentence of a review of three books focused on trees. The reviewer, Barbara Kiser, is a former Duluthian who has lived in London since the 1980s.
Duluth General Election Results 2021
With all precincts reporting, the results are …
Duluth At-large City Councilor
Top two candidates are elected
Terese Tomanek | 7,959
Azrin Awal | 6,882
Joe Macor | 6,131
Timothy L. Meyer | 1,302
Write in | 108 (more…)
Kingsbury Bay and Grassy Point restoration completed
The Bong Bridge spans the background in this view of Grassy Point wetlands.
A three-year habitat-restoration project on the St. Louis River in West Duluth was completed this month. Sediment contaminants at Kingsbury Bay and Grassy Point have been remediated and heavy equipment has been removed. (more…)
I-35 tunnel at Leif Erikson Park completed 29 years ago today
The History Channel website mentions Duluth today in its “This Day in History” feature, pointing out that Duluth Mayor Gary Doty cut the ribbon opening the 1,480-foot–long Leif Erickson Tunnel on Interstate 35 on Oct. 28, 1992. (more…)
Wouldn’t we all rather have sex in Duluth?
About once a year, satirical news website the Onion references Duluth in a story. The 2021 example appears in a list of “What Your Partner Is Actually Thinking During Sex,” published this week. (more…)
How a Superior librarian hired and fired Frank Lloyd Wright
An article published this week in the online magazine Slate explores the letters exchanged circa 1940 between a Superior librarian, Edith Carlson, and the staff of Frank Lloyd Wright. She wanted the famed architect to design her modest home. It got as far as preliminary sketches and building instructions. (more…)