News and Current Affairs
Nine final designs chosen for new Duluth flag
Options for the new Duluth city flag have been narrowed down to nine. Finalists were selected by the city’s volunteer flag committee with consideration of input received from an online survey, flag design principles, artist descriptions of the meaning, and overall sense that the flag represents Duluth. (more…)
Thirsty Pagan transitions to new location; grand opening June 8
Photo by Lissa Maki
Thirsty Pagan Brewing entered its 14th year of business on May 1. There was no fanfare, simply because owner Steve Knauss was so busy he forgot. Knauss and his staff have been working around the clock to ready the brewpub’s new spot at 1615 Winter St. for opening. (more…)
Grandma’s restaurant owner buys building in Lincoln Park
The owner of a well-known Duluth restaurant and several other Canal Park properties has purchased a historic building in a Lincoln Park neighborhood booming with new breweries, eateries and art galleries. (more…)
Fly High Duluth Flag
Props to the person who answered “the phrase ‘fly high duluth'” on the city’s flag survey!
I’m also amused by “This town is dying. Thanks.” Savage, yet polite – quintessential Duluth! (more…)
Missing Person: Julian Daniel Decoux
On May 5 an adult foster care home in Canosia Township, about five miles north of the Duluth International Airport, reported a resident was missing. Julian Daniel Decoux was last seen outside the home earlier in the afternoon. Deputies and volunteers from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office searched the area around the foster home, aided by both canines and aerial drone technology, and did not locate Decoux.
The sheriff’s office is asking for help from anyone who may have seen Decoux or knows where he is.
Decoux was last seen wearing a bright green winter hat, an orange hooded sweatshirt, a black vest, black pants and new grey tennis shoes. Anyone with information should call 911 or contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigative Division in Duluth at 218-336-4350. (more…)
Taco Arcada opens May 5 in Duluth’s Lincoln Park
Jeff Petcoff, Mike Atkinson (pinball mechanic/manager) and Tom Hanson – Photo by Lissa Maki
A new establishment opening Sunday in the Lincoln Park Craft District will cater to adults who like to eat and play. Taco Arcada features an array of classic pinball and video games and will serve up Mexican-style street tacos. (more…)
Superior bakery brings donuts back to Duluth’s Lakeside
A Dozen Excuses owner Melissa Kingren serves up fresh sweet rolls at her Tower Avenue bakery in Superior.
Donuts are coming back to Lakeside. A Dozen Excuses bakery in Superior has leased space to open a satellite location at 4328 E. Superior St. in Duluth. Johnson’s Bakery closed its Lakeside outlet in March 2018 leaving the neighborhood without an independent donut shop for the first time since 1955. (more…)
Honking Tree case remains a mystery 10 years later
Left: July 2001 photo of the Honking Tree from the Two Harbors Forum website. Right: The modern remains of the Honking Tree stump between Larsmont Road and Isaacson Road southwest of Two Harbors. Photo by Mike Creger.
I asked Lake County Sheriff Carey Johnson this month if there was anything new in the now 10-year-old Honking Tree case.
“You mean the white pine murder investigation?” he said straightaway. (more…)
PDD Quiz: April 2019 in Review
Photo by Jim Rosvold
Put your current affairs knowledge to the test with this edition of the PDD Quiz.
The next quiz, scheduled for May 12, will explore Duluth parks. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 7. (more…)
Tweed director Ken Bloom to retire in June
Ken Bloom, director of the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota Duluth since 2004, will retire in June. UMD’s School of Fine Arts made the announcement Friday afternoon, noting there will be a nationwide search for a new director.
Bloom will return to his lifelong photography career and continue to offer his accumulated museum and artistic expertise as a freelance curator and consultant. (more…)
Duluth-area beer production nearly tripled from 2014 to 2018
A bevy of craft breweries and brewpubs have found the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin to be fertile ground for growth. Five years ago, area craft breweries produced almost 20,000 barrels of beer. By 2018 that number nearly tripled to roughly 57,000 barrels. (more…)
Aunt with eventful romantic life lands Duluth in Onion again
Duluth is once again in the dateline of a story on the satirical news website The Onion. According to the article, nephews and nieces of Janine Harrison have confirmed she “managed to somehow both marry and divorce two separate times since the last time they had seen her.”
It’s the 15th time Duluth has been the location of an Onion story, by Perfect Duluth Day’s count. Just 33 days ago Moose Lake was featured.
Duluth Flag Redesign Project
The city of Duluth is holding an initiative to redesign the city flag. All members of the public are encouraged to participate regardless of skill. The purpose of the project is to create a new symbol that all Duluthians can identify with. Submit ideas for the flag contest before Friday, April 12, at 5 p.m.
Wild State Cider opening April 16
Andrew Price and Adam Ruhland – Photo by Lissa Maki
Cider seekers will soon have another Duluth option to swoon over. Owners of Wild State Cider say opening day will be April 16. A grand opening event is planned for the weekend of April 26-27. (more…)
Annual reminder: Stay off muddy trails in spring
Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division has put forth its annual reminder that all natural-surface trails are closed until further notice due to wet soil conditions from the annual spring thaw.
So, where should people hike in April? (more…)
PDD Quiz: March 2019 in Review
Time to test your current events acumen with this week’s PDD quiz!
In a nod to Homegrown Music Festival, the next PDD quiz (scheduled for April 14) will feature other things that were “homegrown” in the Northland. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 11. (more…)
Five years after it opened, Red Herring Lounge slated to close
Red Herring Lounge owner Bob Monahan posted on Facebook today that “barring some sort of wildly unforeseen circumstance” his music club in Downtown Duluth “will close its doors permanently on June 10.” (more…)
Duluth Children’s Museum latest to buy into Lincoln Park
The Lincoln Park Cafe building, former home to Randy’s Cafe, was recently sold to the Duluth Children’s Museum. Long range plans call for the museum to relocate into the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Add a museum to the list of new attractions and amenities planned for Duluth’s booming Lincoln Park neighborhood. Duluth Children’s Museum purchased the former Randy’s Café building at 2125 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park March 18. Minnesota Department of Revenue records show longtime building owners Michael and Rochelle Delich of Superior sold the property for $345,000. (more…)
Taqueria El Oasis Del Norte open in Superior pub
Eduardo Sandoval – Photo by Lissa Maki
Everyday options for authentic Mexican food in the Twin Ports have vastly improved. Earlier this month, El Oasis Del Norte food truck started serving up items like tacos, burritos and tortas at Average Joe’s Pub in Superior. (more…)
T-Icy Roll Ice Cream opens Downtown Duluth location
Duluth’s second T-Icy Roll Ice Cream shop opens today at 202 E. Superior St., the former location of Lake Superior Art Glass.
Owner Daniel Huang and manager Michelle Lin opened the first T-Icy shop on Aug. 10 in the Denfeld Retail Center in West Duluth. The shops specialize in hibachi-style Thai rolled ice cream treats.
Renovation of former Carlson Book building nearly complete
The Lange Motors building at 206 E. Superior St. was constructed in 1915 and served as an automobile showroom and service center for four decades. A complete building rehabilitation is nearing completion.
Major restoration work on a historic auto dealership now located in a Downtown Duluth entertainment district appears close to completion and owners say they will begin marketing the space this spring. (more…)
Moose Lake woman nervous for boyfriend to meet person she becomes around parents
There have been 14 Duluth datelines in The Onion by Perfect Duluth Day’s count, but now Moose Lake is part of the action. The satirical newspaper reports that Erika Moreau is “nervous for dinner this evening, when her boyfriend will finally meet the person she turns into around her parents.”
The Onion: Woman nervous for boyfriend to meet person she becomes around parents
Brittany Lind is new host of “The Duluth Local Show”
The Duluth Local Show has a new host. Brittany Lind recently took the helm of the Sunday night radio program that features music by Duluth-area musicians. Her first broadcast was March 3.
Lind replaces Mike Novitzki, who hosted the show from May 2016 to December 2018. Andrea Swensson served as interim host.
The one-hour show on St. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio’s the Current is broadcast on Sundays from 8 to 9 p.m. on three Duluth satellite stations — 90.9, 94.1 and 104.3 FM. It does not air in the Twin Cities market, but is on the Local Current stream on Mondays at 2 p.m. and archived at thecurrent.org. (more…)
New Scenic Café celebrates 20 years
Photo by Lissa Maki
New Scenic Café will mark its 20-year anniversary on April 1. Although Chef Scott Graden has carefully refined his approach over the years, the acclaimed destination eatery on Lake Superior’s North Shore continues to emphasize quality and culinary artisanship. (more…)
R.I.P. Transistor
The Transistor, a weekly arts ‘zine published by Adam Guggemos, has folded. The publication existed from Valentine’s Day 2004 to Valentine’s Day 2019. For more than 14 years the Tranny existed in print; most of the final year’s issues were published online only.
Duluth News Tribune: “Publisher declares end to Duluth’s Transistor“