News and Current Affairs
Book store will replace Wild West Liquor; other slow-moving changes in the works on Central Avenue in West Duluth
The former Wild West Liquor building, at left, is being remodeled and new owners plan to open a used book store there next summer.
A Carleton College professor and his wife have purchased a former West Duluth liquor store and plan to open a used book shop in a business district targeted by city officials for redevelopment.
Bob and Angel Dobrow of Northfield bought the Wild West Liquor building, 318 N. Central Ave., in July for $214,000 and plan to open Zenith Bookstore in the space next summer. The couple, along with friends and family, have gutted the 1890s building and exposed its original floors, tin ceilings and brick walls. They will eventually fill the store with thousands of books from their collection, recent purchases and new finds. (more…)
PDD Quiz: August 2016
[This quiz was embedded from a platform that is no longer available.]
August is waning. How’s your short term memory? How much do you remember of what happened in and around Duluth this month? Let’s find out.
R.I.P. Monty
Monty Lee Wilkes
We mourn the passing of Monty Lee Wilkes, local boy who made good.
Twin Ports couple in New York Times Style section
With photos by Duluth’s Derek Montgomery. (more…)
New owners reopen Cedar Lounge in Superior
Tim and Naomi Nelson pose inside the Cedar Lounge just off Tower Avenue in Superior.
Trailblazing craft brewery owner and longtime Duluth bar developer Tim Nelson is ready to launch his newest drinking establishment in a historic, working waterfront neighborhood on the Superior side of the Twin Ports.
The Cedar Lounge, 1715 N. Third Street, just off Tower Avenue, opens in the shadows of the Harvest State Co-op grain elevators Friday, Aug. 26. Nelson and his wife, Naomi, purchased the historic bar building in December and the property has undergone a seven-month restoration. (more…)
The Red Plan’s little brother
As the Duluth school district struggles to find money to pay for the insanely expensive Red Plan, a similar situation is playing out to the north. In 2009, St. Louis County School District officials and consultant Johnson Controls argued that closing several old schools and building new consolidated schools would result in significant savings for the school district. Anyone who followed that publicity campaign could not have failed to notice marked similarities with Duluth’s Red Plan, which was also pushed by Johnson Controls.
In fact, as Marshall Helmberger points out in a recent Ely Timberjay story, almost all of the claims and promises have turned out to be worthless. (more…)
Google Fiber experiment over; Duluth spared
Bob Collins reported this week for Minnesota Public Radio that “Duluth dodged Google’s fiber optic bullet.”
Six years after Duluth came up short in its bid to be a test community for ultra-high speed internet connections, the experiment is looking like an expensive boondoggle. After digging up a half-dozen cities to lay fiber-optic cables, the company is now shifting into plans to transmit fast internet through the air.
Duluth’s C.J. Ham looking good in purple
Duluth native C.J. Ham is the Minnesota Vikings leading rusher over the first two preseason contests. He has gained 60 yards on 20 attempts, including a game-winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in week one. He also has three receptions for 27 yards.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Ham told WCCO-TV. “Just having the opportunity to be in the NFL and be with the team I grew up watching, it’s a dream come true.” (more…)
Cast Iron Bar and Grill fills Le Grand Supper Club void
Duluthians don’t typically venture north of Hermantown to eat dinner, but now there’s a reason for the ride. The Cast Iron Bar and Grill opened three months ago in the old Le Grand Supper Club space in the Pike Lake area. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Tall Ships Festival 2016
[This quiz was embedded from a platform that is no longer available.]
The tall ships are coming! How much do you know about the ships coming (or not coming) to this year’s festival? Let’s find out!
Duluth 2016 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Minnesota’s State Primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 9, in all election precincts within all cities, towns and unorganized areas of St. Louis County. Shown above is the state partisan side of the ballot for the Duluth area. Shown below is the state and county nonpartisan side of the ballot. (more…)
Missing Person: Roger Wayne Swanson
Update: On Monday, Oct. 10, at 4:37 p.m., Duluth Police responded to the end of Park Point; in the area of 4800 block of Minnesota Avenue after receiving a report of a person locating the remains of a human body. Officers arrived at the scene and located the remains of human body. Police are investigating the incident and believe the remains of 53-year-old Roger Wayne Swanson, who went missing on Aug. 1. At this time, the preliminary investigation indicates the death of Mr. Swanson is not suspicious. This incident is still under investigation and no other information is available.
The Duluth Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating Roger Wayne Swanson. He is a 52-year-old white male, 5’8″ tall, 150 lbs., has brown grayish hair and brown eyes. Swanson was last seen in the Woodland area near the 100 block of College Street. The Duluth Police Department needs the public’s assistance in locating Swanson to ensure he returns home safely and receives his prescribed medication.
‘Tis the season for car prowls, theft
There’s an old saying in Duluth that cold weather keeps the riff raff out. Logic follows that summertime is the peak season for car prowls and even the occasional theft. A blue Audi A4 convertible like the one shown above was stolen on the evening of July 31. (Update: Police have recovered it.)
Duluth Police routinely remind citizens to lock their vehicles, remove valuables and report suspicious activity to 911. (more…)
Imagine Duluth 2035 Survey
Imagine Duluth 2035 is an update to Duluth’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan, the road map for future development of Duluth. Citizens are encouraged to share their thoughts on the future of the city by taking the Imagine Duluth survey.
R.I.P. Jim Northrup
Noted writer Jim Northrup died Aug. 1 from complications with kidney cancer. He was 73.
A U.S. Marine veteran of the Vietnam War, Northrup attributed his cancer to exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the U.S. military in herbicidal warfare.
Northrup was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Duluth News Tribune notes he “was an ardent keeper of Anishinaabe tradition. He and his wife started a summer Ojibwe language camp on the reservation, made birch bark winnowing baskets, took part in the yearly sugarbush to make maple syrup and harvested wild rice on the reservation’s lakes.” (more…)
Duluth CBS affiliate moves to channel 6.2; CW moves to 3.1
Several channel changes happened at KBJR and KDLH-TV on the morning of Aug. 1. Viewers who receive signals over the air using an antenna might need to re-scan their television sets, although some televisions will automatically adjust the changes. Viewers using a cable or satellite service are not affected.
The move is part of the sale of KBJR and KDLH announced in November. As part of the deal Channel 3, the long-time CBS affiliate in Duluth, is now owned by Quincy Media Incorporated and is a digital sub-channel of KBJR, also owned by Quincy Media. KDLH is owned by Sagamore Hill Broadcasting and will become the CW affiliate in the Duluth-Superior market.
KBJR will remain an NBC affiliate on channel 6.1. The new CBS 3 will become channel 6.2 and My 9 will become channel 6.3.
KBJR engineering assistance is available at jwalters @ kbjr.com or 218-720-9635.
PDD Quiz: July 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz that no longer exists at its source.]
What happened around Duluth in July 2016? Think you know? Let’s find out.
Liquor is legal in Lakeside. Who will serve it?
It’s as clear as 100-proof vodka that the first bar in the long-temperate Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth will be located on East Superior Street. The commercial corridor bends almost three miles from Northland Country Club to the Lester River. The road cuts through the heart of a bedroom community that includes close to 10,000 residents. It’s a neighborhood that has never seen a neon Leinenkugel sign or heard a last call. (more…)
Send in the Drones
Sitting up in Woodland going on 128 hours with no electricity. Where is the cool aerial drone footage of the damage at Hartley Park (or anywhere else, for that matter)?
Grill Wars 2016
Why no Grill Wars this year?
Changes in Bookstores in the Duluth Region and Nationally
Local and national media are reflecting on the fate of the bookstore in Grand Rapids, Minn., about 70 miles from Duluth.
It’s small, smaller even than the Bookstore at Fitger’s, although it was crammed to the gills with books.
(more…)On tap at Bayfront: a plethora of craft beer
Duluth’s beeriest festival, All Pints North, is coming up on Saturday. Organized by the Minnesota Craft Brewer’s Guild, the tasting extravaganza at Bayfront Festival Park will include more than 120 breweries.
All Pints North began in 2012 and has mushroomed each successive year. In 2015, an estimated 3,500 people attended. The beer fest primarily highlights the guild’s roughly 100 members, but some national breweries participate as well. (more…)
Duluth Storm Damage Recap
Crumbled chimney bricks on the roof of the Board of Trade Building.
A severe storm ripped through the Duluth area around 3:30 a.m., knocking down trees and leaving many without power and running water. (more…)
Duluth Gate and Wayfinding Master Plan
Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division is in the planning stages of a Gate, Wayfinding and Trail head/Orientation Plan. A public meeting took place in June where the city’s consultants provided five concept designs to be used for park entries, trail heads, information kiosks and historical markers. The city is seeking additional input from the public until July 20 using an online survey, after which a summary of the survey will be provided to the Duluth Parks Commission.
The five concept designs and additional background are online at duluthmn.gov.
Direct link to design options PDF | Direct link to survey tool
Pokemon Go Duluth Update
Does anyone have any crazy Pokemon Go Duluth stories? I see tons of evidence that the Rose Garden is overrun with Pokemon. And I saw eight kids staring into their phones at Pizza Lucé, which is a Gym across the street from a PokeStop or whatever it is.
Mix 108 has a list of sites. So does Reddit. And so does Duluth.com.
Remember, injured and orphaned wildlife should be brought to Wildwoods. Even Pokemon.