News and Current Affairs
Creative Ideas for Old Downtown Issues
I would love to hear any creative ideas or solutions to the safety, crime, loitering issues that are growing in Old Downtown.
Rediscovering the Art of Neighboring
Is anybody else doing this? Very cool that it’s happening in Duluth. I took the plunge and met my “scary” neighbors, and it turned out they weren’t so scary after all
Smooth Sailing on I-35
This just in from the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation:
All lanes of I-35 in Duluth open to traffic
I-35 Mega Project substantially finished
DULUTH, Minn. – All Interstate 35 lanes and ramps in Duluth are open to traffic now that crews have completed the majority of work on the I-35 Mega Project.
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What’s all the fuss about AimClear and Visit Duluth?
Like with parenting and other stuff I write about, I understand just enough about social media, search engine optimization and search engine analytics to be dangerous. But I think I might understand more than the marketing “gurus” at Visit Duluth.
Marty Weintraub is a nationally (internationally?) sought out speaker and consultant on every kind of web marketing that you can imagine – Social Media, Keyword Search, Ad Placement, and so on. He also, apparently, loves Duluth. So he did some research on how the community is being marketed online and produced a study for free to give us all some food for thought on how Visit Duluth is spending its (tax generated) budget and if it couldn’t be optimized to deliver better results in the digital age.
Did $10 Million In Destination Marketing Make Duluth Famous? (more…)
Fiber in Duluth – What’s the haps?
Since this summer, I’ve seen several large, blaze orange coils of fiber optic cable being installed throughout the city. As of today I spotted some by Holy Rosary and up near Home Depot on Central Entrance.
Does anyone know if our Google overlords are trying to pull a fast one on us? Were area ISPs startled into actually building out their networks up here? Please tell me I’ll be browsing the Internet at satisfyingly fast speeds in the near future.
Get Ready to Ruuuumble
So, one of the possible redistricting plans has Michelle Bachmann and Chip Cravaack squaring off against one another in what would become the new District 6.
Occupy Duluth? Who?? Wha?!?
Here is a brief interview with a couple of local personalities, David Ross (head of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce) and Joel Kilgour (activist and member of Loaves & Fishes) re: Change and the Occupy movement.
httpv://youtu.be/DyzGigMPsWI
If you’re interested in what’s going on, locally, check out the Occupy Duluth Facebook Group.
Enger Tower Rededication Photos
Pictures from the rededication of Enger Tower can be found at the Duluth Public Library’s Reference@Duluth blog.
Center for Ethics and Public Policy
Director of the Center for Ethics and Public Policy
Shane Courtland, 2001 UMD alum and assistant professor of the Department of Philosophy, has been appointed director of the Center for Ethics and Public Policy. He is a member of the Bio-medical Ethics Committees at St. Luke’s and at SMDC Health System.
The Center’s next event is: Intersections of Racism, Sexism, and Warism, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. (UMD Library Rotunda).
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Bike Share in Duluth-Superior?
Discussion is getting underway today about setting up a bike share system here in the Twin Ports, modeled after the Nice Ride MN nonprofit in the Cities. In case you missed it, check out this article in the DNT.
The basic idea behind the Nice Ride system is to provide affordable access to bicycles for short trips inside the city, as an alternative to taking the bus or driving a car. (more…)
Michele Bachmann at her most coherent
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFB6LQ1-WKU
Zombies invade UMD Oct. 27
Join us for a zombie-themed symposium that is free and open to the public. Six UMD professors will give talks about how their work relates to zombies. Refreshments appropriate for the topic will be served. BYOB (Bring Your Own Brain). (more…)
Lions & Creators – “Growing”
Lions&Creators just released their album in Duluth on Saturday and now the whole thing is up to stream on our Bandcamp, which is here. You can buy it there for only $5! (and it comes with a few extra surprises too). Physical copies will be available at The Electric Fetus soon. All hand made, designed by the band.
Give me your Twin Ports Halloween events!
I will post them on HauntedDuluth.com for free! If it’s a major Halloween bash or a tiny haunted garage on Halloween night, I want to add it to my site!
Post your event info as a comment in this post, or email me from the HauntedDuluth.com contact page.
2011 Duluth General Election Sample Ballot
Brush up on your referendums, kids. The city and the school district have some wordy questions for you. (By the way, you should be able to click on the images below to see them larger and read them more easily. The city question is the back side of the ballot, and is a separate image below.)
Another note about the ballot: As usual, depending on what neighborhood you live in, you might also vote on a district city councilor and/or school board member. This ballot has the district council race blanked out and does not include a district school board race.
Last Place on Earth raided
At 1:02 p.m. today Duluth Police executed a search warrant at the Last Place On Earth, a head shop at 120 E. Superior St.
According to police, the search warrant is part of an ongoing investigation into the sale of “illegal synthetic marijuana,” and Last Place will remain closed until investigators have cleared the scene.
No arrests have been made, so whether illegal products were being sold along with legal ones is yet to be determined.
Designer drugs were the subject of cover stories in the Duluth News Tribune and Star Tribune on Sunday.
DNT: Synthetic drugs bring new rush hour to downtown Duluth
Strib: Bath salts hit U.S. ‘like a freight train’
Duluth Dinkytown?
Anybody have thoughts on this?
Duluth School Board authorizes sale of Woodland site; developer envisions mini ‘Dinkytown’
I know the family that lives on the east end of the wooded area. They have been trying for over a year to purchase some of that land to leave as green-space and a buffer. They were assured that the developer would take the neighborhood “into consideration.” Can anybody fire up their crystal ball and see how this plays out? Or should I invest in vinyl siding as it takes a lot of plastic to wrap buildings over 21 acres.
Duluth 2011 Primary Election Results
With 36 of 36 precincts reporting and 6,620 total ballots cast:
At-large Duluth City Councilors
(Two positions; top four candidates advance)
Emily Larson – 4,918 | 40%
Linda Krug – 4,860 | 40%
Tim Riley – 947 | 8%
Chad Smith – 645 | 5%
Eric Edwardson – 446 | 4%
Gareth W. Bates – 442 | 4%
Fourth District Duluth City Councilor
(Top two candidates advance.)
Jacqueline Halberg – 695 | 44%
Garry Krause – 649 | 41%
Ryan Miles – 134 | 9%
Wallace Newquist – 59 | 4%
Travis Silvers – 29 | 2%
At-large Duluth School Board Member
(Top two candidates advance.)
Michael Miernicki – 3,783 | 61%
Ryan Stauber – 1,882 | 30%
Doug Frisk – 515 | 8%
Local Perspective on 9/11
Tomorrow (9/9) at 10am KUMD 103.3 FM will air a panel discussion called “Reflections of 9/11.” Hosted by Northland Morning’s Lisa Johnson, the program includes Paula Pedersen from the UMD Psychology Department, Dan Martin from the UMD Sociology Department and Nik Hassan from the Twin Ports Muslim Center.
The show will re-air on Sunday morning at 7.
KUMD will also be airing songs inspired by 9/11 throughout the day tomorrow.
Million Minute Family Challenge
Join the Duluth Area Family Y in celebrating the 11th Annual, Nationwide: Million Minute Family Challenge! Board games and card games offer true face-to-face interaction that is disappearing in daily in the lives of our families across the nation. Playing a game creates a relaxed environment to converse, laugh and really get to know one another.
Register online at millionminute.com to receive a free organizer kit and game ideas.
Gather your friends and family for a Sunday Afternoon of free play at the Y! The game center will be open from 3:30 to 4:30 on Sundays starting Sept. 11 through Dec. 18. Any and all ages are welcome to participate!