News and Current Affairs
National Geographic: Saving the Great Lakes
Duluth and Lake Superior were featured in the cover story of the December issue of National Geographic magazine. (No, that’s not Duluth on the cover image; it’s the Empire Bluff Trail in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. Yes, the article has been out for two months; we’re behind on our reading.)
The article delves into a variety of environmental stressors threatening the Great Lakes, including invasive species, toxic chemicals, agricultural pollutants and coastal development. The full article is available on nationalgeographic.com, but it’s behind a paywall, so get your subscription dollars ready. (more…)
Shredded aluminum cans found on Park Point beach
The city of Duluth and the U.S Army Corps of Engineers are urging caution for anyone using Park Point beach between the shipping canal on the lakeside to 13th Street South as pieces of shredded aluminum cans have been found. The cans are believed to have been inadvertently deposited when dredge materials were placed on the far north beach section this past fall. Dredge material was placed on the beach after the Park Point Community Club and Park Point residents approached the city and other partners with shoreline erosion concerns exacerbated by high water levels. (more…)
Shuttered Park Point church orchestrates big land sale
Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church sits on just under one acre of land adjacent to Lake Superior on Minnesota Point. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A historic church building perched on Lake Superior beachfront property is up for sale and the top bidder will win the largest developable site available in the Park Point neighborhood.
Our Lady of Mercy/St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church officials will open bids for Our Lady of Mercy church, 2002 Minnesota Ave., on Feb. 1. The small neighborhood church was closed in July 2016 and its nearly one-acre lakeside parcel was listed for sale three months ago. The asking price is $650,000. (more…)
Despite pandemic challenges, Duluth area sees new crop of restaurants and bars in 2020
Kai Soderberg stands outside the Jade Fountain in March, prior to remodeling the former Chinese restaurant and opening it as a tiki bar in August. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A surprising number of intrepid entrepreneurs opened new restaurants and bars in the Duluth area in 2020, despite the global pandemic. One notable trend is the number of new Black-owned businesses. (more…)
A look at Duluth-area food and drink spots we lost in 2020
Left: Maggie’s restaurant in Bayfield marked 40 years in business in August and announced its closure in October. Right: The Crooked Spoon Cafe in Grand Marais was destroyed by fire in April. (Photos via Facebook)
The scourge of COVID-19 has challenged restaurant and bar owners at every level. The temporary closures during the pandemic are too long to list, and the industry outlook for 2021 is filled with uncertainty, but surprisingly few businesses announced they were calling it quits in 2020.
Two of the region’s most notable restaurant losses occurred in small towns away from Duluth, and COVID-19 was perhaps only loosely to blame. (more…)
PDD Quiz: 2020 in Review
We bid a fond farewell good riddance to 2020 in this year-in-review quiz!
The PDD quiz will return on Jan. 17 with a winter-related quiz. Send question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 14. (more…)
Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2020
It might be no surprise that 2020 saw more Duluth action on change.org than any year before it. And it’s hardly surprising that the petition with the most virtual signatures is a plea for Duluthians to wear masks. (more…)
Artists sought to create visuals for Highway 61 Revisited project
Duluth Waterfront Collective is seeking four artists to create visualizations of its Highway 61 Revisited project. As first reported on Perfect Duluth Day in May, the project attempts to redesign the I-35 corridor where it splits Downtown Duluth and the Canal Park Business District. (more…)
PDD Quiz: November 2020 in Review
How much do you remember about the news that made headlines in November? Take this weeks current events quiz to find out!
The next PDD quiz will be published on Dec. 13; it will look at some Twin Ports records (steepest street, tallest building, etc.). Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 10. (more…)
Mayo Clinic Mask Study
With vaccines on the brink of being rolled out it is conceivable that we can have a post-COVID summer next year, but we need to try to avoid spreading the virus in the meantime. A new Mayo Clinic Study shows that two unmasked people have a 100 percent chance of exposure at 1 foot apart, 17 percent exposure at 3 feet apart, and 3 percent exposure at 6 feet apart. With both people masked there’s a 0.5 percent exposure risk even at just 1 foot apart. Even if you yourself are feeling bulletproof, this is about protecting others.
(more…)Duluth-area Thanksgiving Takeout Guide 2020
OMC Smokehouse turkey – Photo by Rolf Hagberg
The pandemic will quash many extended family and group gatherings this Thanksgiving. Opting out of cooking entirely and ordering takeout is a totally reasonable option for the smoldering dumpster fire that’s left of 2020.
A bevy of Twin Ports restaurants are offering Thanksgiving meals to go, so no one has to miss out on a full turkey dinner with all the traditional trimmings. Below is Perfect Duluth Day’s list of options to soothe the cumulative stress induced by the past nine months with some savory comfort food.
Try to muster up some gratitude. Whatever you do, leave room for pie. (more…)
Bayfield’s Adventure Club marks a year of brewing
Wisconsin’s northernmost brewery kept a bit of a low profile in its first year. Adventure Club Brewing owner Matthew Gerdts said his small-batch operation has been “Bayfield’s best-kept secret,” but the news is slowly getting out. (more…)
Duluth 2020 General Election Results
With all 4,110 of 4,110 Minnesota precincts reporting, below are the statewide numbers for races relevant to Duluth.
FEDERAL OFFICES
United States President and Vice President
Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris | 1,714,327
Donald J. Trump and Michael R. Pence | 1,483,157
Jo Jorgensen and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen | 34,967
Write in | 10,009
Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker | 10,043
Kanye West and Michelle Tidball | 7,956
Brock Pierce and Karla Ballard | 5,687
Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente and Darcy Richardson | 5,620
Gloria La Riva and Leonard Peltier | 1,258
Alyson Kennedy and Malcolm Jarrett | 700 (more…)
Pastoret Terrace burns again
The vacant Pastoret Terrace building at 129 E. First St., condemned since a 2010 fire, once again was ablaze on Sunday. (more…)
Duluth reference in Sarah Cooper’s “Everything’s Fine”
Fourteen minutes into the Netflix comedy special, Aubrey Plaza, playing a shopping channel host, takes a call from a QAnon follower in Duluth who wants to know what her naan order really means.
PDD Quiz: October 2020 in Review
Test your memory of October 2020 headlines with this edition of the PDD Quiz.
The next PDD quiz will focus on Superior’s Central High School; it will be published on Nov. 15. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 11. (more…)
Golden Bulldog owner still struggling to open pub near UMD
Imran Khan’s longtime vision of a drinking establishment in Duluth’s Endion neighborhood briefly came to fruition in February. Then the COVID-19 shutdown happened.
Since late August, Khan has described the status of his business as “partially open,” though the doors have generally been locked. Those hoping to try out the Golden Bulldog will need to wait while the search for a bar manager continues. (more…)
Hoops Brewing wins gold, Earth Rider two silvers at GABF
Duluth’s Hoops Brewing won its first Great American Beer Festival medal at the 2020 awards ceremony held Oct. 16. Hoops’ 325 Pineapple Chili was awarded the gold medal in the Chili Beer category. It’s the fourth year in a row that a Duluth or Superior brewery has won a gold medal at the festival.
Earth Rider Brewery in Superior took home two silver medals this year — Royal Bohemian Pilsner in the Kellerbier or Zwickelbier category and North Tower Stout in the Oatmeal Stout category. (more…)
Lake Superior Brewing gets new owners, will move to Lakeside
Seth and Sarah Maxim have purchased Lake Superior Brewing Company and plan to move operations into the former Xcel Xercise fitness center at 5423 E. Superior St. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
An iconic craft brewery, the first of its kind in Minnesota, has been sold and new owners plan to move operations from Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood to Lakeside. (more…)
Weekend Update: Dateline Duluth
Duluth made a brief appearance in Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update this week. The appearance is at the 2:54 mark.
R.I.P. Mike’s Western Cafe
In an Oct. 7 Facebook post, Mike and Deb Pracher announced the closing of their family restaurant at 2803 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District.
“With heavy hearts, we will be closing the doors of Mike’s Western Cafe after 38 years of business,” they wrote. “Thank you so much for your support over the years. We have met so many people, made lots of great friendships and made MANY lasting memories. We appreciate all of you more than you know. Thank you for everything.”
Mike Pracher told Fox-21 he was 23 years old when he bought the restaurant. He said the COVID-19 pandemic led to its demise. “I thought it was going to be a week, two, or three,” Pracher said. “It’s already been six months and I just can’t wait it out.”
Pracher also told Fox 21 he might someday open a restaurant in Carlton County.
Witherspoon brothers plan revival of soul food restaurant
Solomon, left, and Stephan Witherspoon plan to open a new soul food restaurant in Duluth next year. The brothers will use their father’s time-tested recipes. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
Inspired by their father’s long-gone West Duluth restaurant, two brothers have announced plans to open a new eatery that will feature time-tested fried chicken recipes taken directly from the family cookbook.
Stephan and Solomon Witherspoon said last week they are actively searching for a location to house a new restaurant to be named Doc Witherspoon’s Soul Food Kitchen. The Witherspoons will launch a series of fundraisers this week and plan to open their new establishment and catering business in 2021. (more…)
Global art dealer Arne Glimcher grew up in Duluth
Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher was recently profiled in WSJ Magazine, the news and lifestyle monthly published by the Wall Street Journal. The article notes: “Glimcher grew up on a ranch in Duluth, Minnesota, until his artistic talent led his mother to move the family to Boston.”
Pace Gallery has locations in New York, Palo Alto, London, Geneva, Hong Kong and Seoul.
Glimcher has also produced and directed films such as The Mambo Kings and Just Cause.
PDD Quiz: September 2020 in Review
Step right up to another PDD current events quiz and see how much you remember about this month’s headlines!
The next PDD quiz will look back at Halloween high jinks; it will be published on Oct. 11. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 8. (more…)
Reservoir ruins sale offers cliff views, odd history
The ruins of the 1884 Duluth Gas and Water Company reservoir can be seen from West First Street, just west of Point of Rocks. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)
The sprawling and mysterious stand of stone and brick ruins that occupies perhaps the best clifftop view over Duluth’s harbor is for sale. (more…)