Below are more items from an old trivia deck I bought at Savers.
1. How far out onto Lake Superior can the light atop Enger Tower be seen?
2. Who was the first postmaster for the Duluth region?
3. How man grain elevators were on Duluth’s waterfront at the turn of the twentieth century?
4. When was the Duluth Peony and Iris Society founded?
5. In what building did JFK speak in Duluth?
6. Who began conducting the DSSO in ‘seventy-seven?
Help the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council celebrate the best artists and arts advocates in the region. Many of us know an artist or arts advocate who deserves a little more recognition. Nominate that special artist for the Arrowhead Arts Awards. ARAC wants to recognize those who contribute to the arts in the region with two prestigious awards, which include cash awards. The deadline to nominate an individual is Dec. 7.
From Split Rock Review
A new issue of local literary magazine Split Rock Review has been released. Visit splitrockreview.org to check it out.
I spent part of Friday at Make Canal Park Pop! and Saturday at 2001: A Space Odyssey. The events felt oddly similar, and my experience of both was disjointed if not entirely cynical.
Coldsnap
John Gregor of Coldsnap Photography takes a picture. I melt.
I left Panera for the Realistic Joneses at the Zeitgeist while, it seemed to me, a woman was in a tree. I’m not entirely sure about the tree part — I know she was in the woods, alongside the creek behind the parking lot separating the Panera from the Aldi complex, and I know that the police and EMTs were looking upward as one of the pines was shaking. I didn’t see her. I could only hear her voice, sadly crying that people believed that something was wrong with her. I felt a sadness that mirrored hers. There was no way for this story to end which didn’t fulfill her words. I wished there were a way for people to just turn their backs and let her leave, if that would be what she wanted.
“In farming terms, field trials are an opportunity to determine effectiveness of experimental techniques in agriculture.”
On Sunday I went to the Free Range Trials at the Food Farm in Wrenshall. Free Range Trials is a lab for artistic process and creative experimentation through the exhibition of work by Kathy McTavish and Cecila Ramon. The lab will be open daily between 2 and 5 p.m. through Sept. 3. To learn about Ramon, you can listen to KUMD here.
Moose Lake is close enough to Duluth, I feel like I should have an opinion about the recent court decision that lets the Minnesota Sex Offender Program continue operating as it has been, despite the fact that as of two years ago, “nobody has ever been fully released. More than 40 have died while in commitment. The oldest man here is 94, and several are older than 70” [via PBS].
I don’t know anyone in the facility. I don’t know anyone who works for the facility. I believe in rehabilitation but I might be naive. I believe life sentences should be part of the court’s sentencing, not a civil commitment after, but that might be splitting hairs.
I don’t want to imagine that someone in the government could decide I could never walk free again without recourse to a trial by my peers. But I would not commit the kind of crime these men have.
I could stand some help thinking this through.
I tasted T-Icy Roll Ice Cream yesterday at 4602 Grand Ave., next to an old favorite, Zhong Hua.
This ad appeared in the Sunday Duluth News Tribune and other Forum Communications publications. I bet there’s a story here.
SEEN OR HEARD SASQUATCH? REPORT DISCREETLY.
If you’ve heard or seen something similar to what is described below, we want to know. You are one of many people in this area who have had a possible encounter. You’re not crazy. This is real, and I want to hear from you. If you’ve experienced High Pitched Sustained Screams, Long Howls, much deeper then that of a Wolf or Coyote, Loud Penetrating Roars, Grunts, Growls, Wood Knocks, Yelps, Whoops, Barks, Stacked Rock Displays, Stick Shelters, Organized Tree Structures made with Uprooted Uncut Sticks, or even if you’ve seen Heard Indistinguishable Talking, found Footprints or witnessed the Animal itself, please contact me. Your name will not be used without express permission from you. As a side note, it can be quite liberating to speak to someone who knows the truth. I want nothing from you except your story. Call, Text or email me. Jeff 651-302-3800, jjs5perctr @ gmail.com
This past weekend I met Kym Garvey, who has been rescuing donkeys for about 10 years, now as part of the larger mission of Save the Brays Donkey Rescue.
It was nearly three hours from the Twin Ports to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in South Minneapolis to visit the opening of “Art and Healing: In the Moment.” But Duluth is participating in a national dialogue on race; it has for decades, since we started to acknowledge our own history of racial violence and our current racial inequalities. Participating in a national conversation means listening to what others have to say, about their experiences, too.
I sat in the balcony to watch a preview (or Sponsor Night) performance of The Music Man by the Duluth Playhouse at the Norshor Theatre. The performance was enjoyable, the text is enjoyable, if complicated for the 21st century, and as this was my first trip into the new Norshor, I have some thoughts about that.
Michael Fedo on Associative Agnosia:
During my 1940s and 50s elementary school years in Duluth, Minnesota, I was the only boy in my class who could not identify automobiles by make. Chevrolets, Fords, Plymouths—all appeared indistinct to me. I couldn’t recognize one from another, unless I happened to spot the name on its hood or trunk.
Fascinating read by one of Duluth’s most prominent exports, in the new issue of You & Me.
