News and Current Affairs
Peace Pipeline: Duluth-based Yes Men video takedown of Line 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLsddzXOUjY&t=8s
My brother Allen Richardson and I were “Yes Men” for a day. This is how the amazing project went down.
R.I.P. Shorty’s Pizza & Smoked Meats
Shorty’s Pizza shortly after it opened in 2013. (Photo by Cindy Vu)
Shorty’s Pizza & Smoked Meats in Superior announced today via Facebook it has ceased operations due to a labor shortage in the hospitality industry. (more…)
PDD Quiz: May 2021 in Review
Test your knowledge of May 2021 headlines with this week’s PDD Quiz!
The next PDD quiz, on notable Duluth animals, is coming your way on June 13. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 10. (more…)
Duluth-area beer production holds tight through pandemic
When Perfect Duluth Day last tallied regional craft beer production in 2018, the Twin Ports and surrounding region had tripled output over the previous five years, quenching area thirst with about 57,000 barrels of beer. Suds production has certainly slowed and dipped a bit since the previous audit. This mirrors the national trend, which indicates a 9 percent decline in production by small and independent brewers in 2020. (more…)
Elvis slept here: Radisson opens Legends Suite
Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview Sales and Marketing Director Nancy Kilpo poses with Duluth musician Todd Eckart, impersonating Elvis Presley, in the hotel’s newly redecorated Legends Suite. Presley stayed in the 15th floor suite following Duluth performances in 1976 and 1977. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
Elvis Presley fans who want to live like the king of rock and roll now have a special place to stay in Duluth.
The Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview, 505 Superior St., has redecorated and renamed its 15th floor suite where Presley stayed following Twin Ports performances in 1976 and 1977. The Legends Suite features concert photos, posters, a ticket stub and other memorabilia recognizing the Presley visit as well as tributes to singer-songwriter Bob Dylan — who was born in Duluth — and country music outlaw Willie Nelson. (more…)
R.I.P. Duluth Electric Fetus
View through the glass door to the Duluth Electric Fetus store on April 13, 2021. (Photo by Paul Lundgren)
Duluth’s Electric Fetus store, 12 E. Superior St., announced today it will not reopen. The store was best known for selling compact discs and other music products, though items like jewelry, clothing and gifts made up a larger chunk of the sales. The company’s Minneapolis location will remain open. (more…)
Blacklist Brewing finds new space downtown
Blacklist Brewing Company will move its taproom and brewing operations from 120 E. Superior St. to the Lange Motors building one block east this summer. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).
A Downtown Duluth brewery and taproom is moving into a larger, newly renovated space just an axe-toss away from its existing location on East Superior Street.
Blacklist Brewing Company will move its brewing operations, taproom and axe-throwing lanes one block east into the historic Lange Motors building at 206 E. Superior St. The move will almost double its serving and entertainment space and increase its brewing capacity. (more…)
Hartman tapped for DECC director job
After a national search, the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center announced today that Dan Hartman will serve as its next executive director. Hartman has been director of Glensheen Mansion since 2013 and prior to that was curator at Veterans Memorial Hall. He also served on Duluth’s city council from 2010 to 2014.
As a senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2006, Hartman led the student campaign to build the DECC’s Amsoil Arena. He follows interim executive director Roger Reinert, who has headed the DECC since August. Hartman will start in his new role at the DECC on June 14.
Demolition, apartments is new plan for Esmond building
The Esmond Building – formerly the Seaway Hotel – at 2001 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park. The now vacant, city-owned building would be demolished and replaced with a mixed use housing project under a new redevelopment proposal. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A historic but blighted building in the heart of the Lincoln Park craft district could be headed for demolition after plans to renovate the city-owned property fell through and officials started working with a new developer. (more…)
PDD Quiz: April 2021 in Review
Wake up your brain with this week’s current events quiz!
Duluth’s Old Central High School will be the focus of the next PDD quiz on May 16. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 12. (more…)
Frost River has gone solar
Frost River, a maker of canvas packs in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District, is now powering its manufacturing facility and retail store with solar panels. The new rooftop panels are from EPF Solar of Minneapolis and were installed by Belknap Electric. (more…)
Duluth’s Old City Hall to become boutique hotel
Duluth restaurant and hospitality company Just Take Action is in the process of converting Duluth’s Old City Hall into a 13-room hotel with four hostel rooms and a Roaring Twenties theme. (more…)
CNN: Duluth is becoming a safe haven for climate refugees
“People are moving to Duluth, Minnesota, for one particularly big reason,” CNN reports in a new video for its Project Planet series. “Is anywhere safe from the climate crisis?” the story asks, answering that some say Duluth is “the new ‘climate refuge.'” (more…)
R.I.P. Robert’s Home Furnishings building
The former Robert’s Home Furnishings building at 2102 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park was torn down last week. Robert Rothenberger launched furniture retail business in 1987 and closed its doors in October 2018 upon retirement. Roberts was part of the “big three” furniture stores that anchored the West End for decades. The building was constructed 1890 as a lumber warehouse. Rachel Development, based in St. Michael, Minn., plans to build a four-story, 74-unit housing project on the site. Rothenberger died in November. Photo by Mark Nicklawske.
Video: Duluth State of the City Address 2021
Via WDIO-TV, Duluth Mayor Emily Larson outlines priorities for Duluth with her State of the City address.
Amtrak wants to return passenger service to Duluth with funding from Biden’s infrastructure proposal
Amtrak’s North Star parked at the Duluth Depot, July 19, 1981. (Photographer unknown)
It’s been 36 years since Amtrak ended its 10-year run of passenger service from the Twin Cities to Duluth. This past week the company, which provides medium and long-distance service in the contiguous United States and nine Canadian cities, announced a vision for up to 30 new routes, including a return to Duluth … if Congress passes President Joe Biden’s $2-trillion infrastructure proposal. (more…)
PDD Quiz: March 2021 in Review
Test your trivia smarts with this month’s current affairs quiz!
The next PDD quiz will be another installment in a series exploring Duluth parks; it will be published on April 11. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 11. (more…)
Duluthian’s film starring Bob Saget in production
Duluth’s Matthew Dressel is in the Cayman Islands working on a feature-length film starring Bob Saget, the Duluth News Tribune reports.
Dressel was featured on Perfect Duluth Day in a 2019 Selective Focus post and his short movie Just Coffee appeared on PDD in 2018.
AP: University of MN Anomalies Department tests gravity-refracting material in Duluth
The Arthur M. Anderson fitted with gravity-refracting hull invented by Dr. Mallard McPurdy of UMD
AP: University of Minnesota Duluth – The university’s Anomalies Department worked closely with the local Institute for Sideways Research to develop the space-age material necessary for hovering ships, seen lately in the skies over this Midwestern beach town. The hulls of cargo ships (called “ore boats” on the inland seas) were irradiated with strangelet particles discovered by UMD’s Dr. Mallard McPurdy in 2018. These particles were later commercialized by the Institute for Sideways Research which specializes in gravity refraction. The Institute’s founder, Dr. Horace Zontal, explained, “With this innovative particle, we were finally able to refract gravity a full 180 degrees in the hull of the revered Arthur M. Anderson.” The shipping lanes of the world are expected to be revolutionized in the coming years to take advantage of the new phenomenon. Dr. McPurdy estimated, “Costs will be slashed by two-thirds leading to cheaper commodities for all humanity.”
Amazing Grace grocery transition complete; sit-down cafe service and music will return after pandemic
Connor Riley – Photo by Lissa Maki
Amazing Grace Bakery and Cafe, a Canal Park mainstay over the past 25 years, is branching out into the grocery business in 2021. Owner Connor Riley said sit-down dining and music will eventually return to Amazing Grace, but for now he’s focused on the new boutique grocery store aspect of the business, which opened in January. (more…)
PDD Quiz: February 2021 in Review
Test your memory of February 2021 headlines with this week’s current events quiz!
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the next PDD quiz will look at Irish (and Irish-adjacent) things in the Twin Ports; it will be published on March 14. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 11. (more…)
Duluth’s Sharon McMahon on the Daily Show
Former government teacher Sharon McMahon appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Monday, sharing why she started her fact-based Instagram account @sharonsaysso and explaining how she separates fact from conspiracy, breaking down the difference between a lie and bias.
The Duluth News Tribune reports McMahon was president of the political science association at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She taught in St. Paul, the San Francisco Bay area and a Maryland suburb of D.C. before returning to Duluth.
Duluth News Tribune: “Duluthian appears on ‘The Daily Show,’ CNN for her viral Instagram account that slays conspiracies, promotes facts”
Ice Angler Rescue
Ice anglers rescued after ice sheet breaks away from shore.
KBJR. WCCO-TV. Star Trib. Duluth News-Tribune.
I was skating that ice 48 hours ago, so I’m going to crawl under my bed now.
Warrior Brewing Company: Coming to Duluth This Spring
Matt Caple and Ben Gipson – Photo by Lissa Maki
A new veteran-owned brewery is moving into the former Lake Superior Brewing Company space at 2711 W. Superior St. Owners Matt Caple and Ben Gipson plan to have Warrior Brewing Company up and running by April to be sure their product makes it to liquor stores before summer. (more…)
PDD Quiz: January 2021 in Review
The first month of 2021 is in the books! See how much of it you remember with this week’s current events quiz!
The theme of the next quiz, which will be published on Feb. 14, is “I Like it in Duluth.” Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Feb. 10. (more…)