PDDTV Posts

Video Archive: Iron Ore from the Mesabi Mines in 1920

This 1920 silent documentary film depicts the mining, shipping and processing of iron ore from the Mesabi Range. Scenes from Duluth begin at the ore docks at the 1:55 mark and conclude at the shipping canal at the 3-minute mark.

Grand Marais’ New Bike Skills Park

A new bike skills park recently opened next to the Cook County Community Center, temporarily installed on the community skating rink. Superior Cycling Association President Jay DeCoux tells the story in this video produced by WTIP North Shore Community Radio.

One of the park’s users, Bo Christianson, probably summed it up best: “This place is fricken sick.”

Cold War Secrets of Northern Minnesota

This 2024 PBS North documentary, now available on YouTube, digs into the Cold War and northern Minnesota’s role in the global conflict. It features Cold War heroes like Ray Klosowski, Jim Chapman and Ronald Hein, and visits military sites in Duluth, French River and Finland.

Dāv Kaufman Eats the North Shore

Following his Duluth episode, Dāv Kaufman heads up the North Shore in this week’s edition of Dāv Kaufman Eats the World.

Dāv Kaufman Eats Duluth

Minneapolis native Dāv Kaufman “travels to new, remote, and sometimes dangerous wild destinations on every continent on earth” to shoot videos for his four YouTube channels. In this week’s edition of Dāv Kaufman Eats the World, he travels to the most remote and wild of destinations possible: Duluth.

Music in the Weeds: Barbara Jean Meyers and Mike Lewis

A short way up the Kadunce River on the east side of Cook County, hikers on the Superior Hiking Trail can view a large natural cave next to a waterfall just off the trail. Local musicians Barbara Jean Meyers and Mike Lewis trek across the river and perform two original songs, “Big and Small” and “Traces,” inside the cave in the woods.

Music in the Weeds is a new video series from WTIP North Shore Community Radio that showcases northern Minnesota artists performing original music at scenic and meaningful locations around Cook County. It is produced by M. Baxley and Will Moore.

Ten Months of Critters in Voyageurs National Park

The latest montage video from the Voyageurs Wolf Project features highlights from a trail camera set up in a remote section of Voyageurs National Park for more than 10 months. The camera captured the typical cast of elusive forest characters, including wolves, moose and lynx. A bear helps direct the video by adjusting the camera.

Video Archive: Walter & Sheila’s Cheese Hole

To mark the 40th anniversary of the “Weird Al” Yankovic album Dare to Be Stupid, Nick Prueher posted a Facebook Reel with a clip from a July 7, 1985 AL-TV segment on MTV in which Yankovic runs down a list of fake tour stops, including Walter & Sheila’s Cheese Hole in Superior.

Yankovic actually did play a gig in Superior that year; he was a featured act at the Head of the Lakes Fair on Aug. 9, 1985.

Music in the Weeds: Watershed Group

Watershed Group is an experimental jazz band specializing in improvised jams that can turn both ambient and psychedelic. Featuring Adam Kirsch on clarinet, Cory Quirk on drums, and producer Will Moore on bass, the band performed this original piece on the edge of a cliff high above the town of Grand Marais.

Music in the Weeds is a new video series from WTIP North Shore Community Radio that showcases northern Minnesota artists performing original music at scenic and meaningful locations around Cook County. It is produced by M. Baxley and Will Moore.

Minnesota Historia: Top 10 Voyageur Statues

[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source. The launch of the next season of Minnesota Historia has been postponed, perhaps until September.]

Minnesota Historia is a PBS North web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Wild Horses – “Sioux Falls”

Grand Rapids-based Americana band Wild Horses has released a new single, “Sioux Falls.” The lyric video was shot and edited by Cooper Baumgartner.

Lighthouse Live Sessions: Lydia Boyum

Lydia Boyum released her debut EP, Paradise Lost, in February. In this session from Lighthouse Recording Company in West Duluth, Boyum is joined by frequent collaborator Ryan Lane on background vocals and acoustic guitar. Together they performs three songs from the EP — “Beautiful Ruse,” “Eden” and “Psychedelic Daydreams.”

Denfeld Lip Dub 2025: “Crazy in Love”

Denfeld High School students marked the end of another school year by releasing the traditional lip-syncing video. This year’s production is set to Beyoncé’s 2003 hit song “Crazy in Love.” It was edited by Denfeld sophomore Tamia Bowles.

James G – “Birds”

JamesG‘s latest video finds him in an absurd bird situation.

Grandma’s Marathon 2024 Double: Bad Grandmas

Eric Strand has been running what he calls the “Grandma’s Marathon Double” since 2012. The concept is simple: start at the marathon finish line, run to the starting line, then turn around and run the regular marathon. Strand’s crew in 2024 included Dusty Olson, who Strand refers to as “the OG Grandma’s Marathon Doubler.”