News and Current Affairs
Ventura vs. DHS & TSA
Jesse Ventura is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration for violating his rights.
The former governor was patted down by a TSA agent in November and he says his “basic rights to privacy and dignity, and his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures” were violated.
Let’s Discuss Social Security
Someone recently wondered why there had not been a PDD post regarding Social Security being “bankrupt.” Here goes:
Social Security currently has a 2.5 trillion dollar surplus. This is partly due to Ronald Reagan raising SS taxes on working people. Then he started to raid the fund to make it look like he could cut taxes on the rich and corporations, bloat the military, and still “balance” the budget. Well, he still wound up turning a surplus into a massive deficit, but I digress.
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Kessler leaving Northland’s NewsCenter — third notable Duluth TV departure of 2011
The Duluth News Tribune is reporting that Northland’s NewsCenter meteorologist George Kessler is leaving Duluth for the state of Virginia.
This follows the previously announced career change of Eyewitness News‘ Sandy Drag and retirement of Dennis Anderson.
The icons fly from us.
Minnesota woman’s pregnancy survives
falling cow, tornado
And the dish ran away with the spoon!
From the Star Tribune.
A Minnesota woman who was pregnant when a tornado dropped a cow on her last summer has given birth to the baby.
Do words, language and images matter?
I grew up with a father and friends who were hunters. Hunting is a way of staying connected to the land and procuring food, at least that’s what it was when I was growing up. My father rented a meat locker, we ate venison, and Mom and I each got a leather coat, gloves and matching purses. Mine was a buckskin fringe jacket, the envy of my Minneapolis cousins. I wore it for five years, then my brother wore it for another five years. One thing we did not do: Joke about guns or shooting someone.
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Karen Diver and Barack Obama
Fond Du Lac Chairwoman Karen Diver seated next to President Barack Obama at the 2nd White House Tribal Nations Conference in December. You can read about it in this months’s Fond Du Lac Band Tribal newspaper.
This story also made the DNT but somehow it only rated a “Faces and Names” mention in the DNT, below Shania Twain, Jermaine Jackson and Stephen Baldwin in the online version that I called up today. Who knows? Maybe they did another story somewhere but I missed it.
Scott Tridgell has been found!
Duluthian Scott Tridgell has been found in Oklahoma City. He’d been missing since Dec. 14. (more…)
New Year’s Eve Road Report
Anyone been out there today? What’s the story on the road conditions? We may venture out for a bit tonight if we can make the ice-filled walk to the car and then navigate the inch of ice on the driveway.
Grand Marais’ Lonnie Dupre to attempt Denali in January
Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais wants to be the first person to summit Denali solo in January. I wish him good luck and look forward to following his blog at lonniedupre.com along the way!
Learn More Here:
Who’s running for mayor in Superior?
Dave Ross is out after two terms as Superior mayor. He’s taking a job as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Candidates must file the required number of signatures by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 4 to get on the ballot for mayor in Superior. (more…)
Duluth Arena archive photos and timeline
With the grand opening of Amsoil Arena, the News Tribune Attic has been featuring a look back at its predecessor, the Duluth/DECC Arena, with photos and a timeline of notable events. (more…)
Am I the only one who sees this coming?
I have been reading a lot about peak oil and peak natural gas production lately. To me, these seem like they will be the biggest issues of the 21st century. We need oil and natural gas to drive our cars, heat our homes, grow our food, transport our goods, etc. Our whole economy relies on cheap, non-renewable fossil-fuel energy, so why is nobody talking about this?! I honestly feel that most of our national problems (the war in the Middle East, the economic recession, etc.) are largely due to a declining production of energy.
I know that some people are aware of this issue, but it seems most folks either don’t understand the full implications or simply just don’t care. It just grinds my gears when people assume that we will always be able to run our economy the way we’re running it now. What do you all think about this? Should we start preparing Duluth for a post-oil world, or do we just ignore it and see what happens?
Peerless Auto Body Fire
I woke up at 4 a.m. to pee and saw a blaze out my window. It was so huge, we thought it might be Prax-Air. As of 8 a.m., it’s still burning.
Cool new census tool
New York Times: “Mapping America: Every City, Every Block”
Do with it what you will. I think it is very interesting.
Annual chakra tune up & house concert
Tuesday, Dec. 21, 5-8pm
Rooted Folks Community Wellness (above Electric Fetus).
Join us on the Solstice, which also happens to be a full moon and a lunar eclipse, to realign your being. Singer, songwriter, world traveler, life enthusiast Nate Stevens — from the cities — is going to lead us on a journey using young living essential oils and music therapy.
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Missing Person: Scott Michael Tridgell
UPDATE: Tridgell was found on Jan. 5, 2011.
Duluth Police Dept. news release:
Scott Michael Tridgell, age 26, of Duluth was reported missing by his family on Dec. 14. Family members said Tridgell left his residence in Duluth on the morning of Dec. 13, leaving a note that he was going to a job interview. He has not been seen or heard from since.
Tridgell suffers from a form of amnesia which limits his ability to recall important details regarding his personal life, such as where he lives or where he has been. In 2007, Tridgell was listed as a missing person by the Edina, Minnesota Police Dept. after he failed to show up at his residence there. He was located three weeks later by police at a rest stop in Menominee, Wis. He had no ties to that city.
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Metrodome Roof Collapse Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAyLX2hY7E0
Kind of like the Vikings’ 2010 season collapsed, right?. (more…)
Duluth’s Pine Knot Cabin on Minnesota Point: Its History, its Removal and the Future of the Land
Photo by William Mittendorff
The removal of the Pine Knot Cabin on Minnesota Point raised a lot of questions and caused a good deal of speculation among Duluthians. To clear up some of the facts, Perfect Duluth Day interviewed Steve Wilson, regional Scientific and Natural Area specialist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Why was the cabin removed and what’s the deal with the DNR’s SNAs? The answers are below. (more…)
Challenged Ballots in the Minnesota Governor’s Race — Duluth Edition
Now that the challenged ballots from St. Louis County are available online, here’s a look at the nine from Duluth.
The first one is from precinct 3 (Lakeside) and the next two are from precinct 7 (Hunters Park).
In the next set, the first is from precinct 11 (Kenwood) and the next two are from precinct 19 (Downtown).
In the last set, the first is from precinct 24 (Duluth Heights), the second is from precinct 27 (Piedmont Heights) and the third is from precinct 34 (West Duluth).
Someone explain why this is so fun.
Park Point cabin abducted!
I went for a run on the Park Point trail today. Just after the water station I noticed something different about the trail. It was wider and torn up a bit. (My dog, Essa, was also a witness.)
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Challenged Ballots in Minnesota
Here’s an afternoon killer: Take a look at the challenged ballots in the Minnesota governor’s race recount.
(The three above are from Aitkin County.)
Is Duluth’s fake-reefer madness over?
With the DEA’s emergency ban on the synthetic marijuana compounds used in K2 and other brands, is the local battle between the Duluth City Council and the Last Place on Earth and others over? Should it ever have started?
It was torture to have the City Council’s attention and efforts focused on what was clearly a federal or state issue. With all the money we dump into federal regulatory agencies, we can be certain that if there is something to regulate, they will get around to it. Synthetic reefer had no real special interest or political support. So what were the local yocals we elected spending all their crusade power on? Did they really need to focus their efforts on what chemicals to ban? The last time I checked (about an hour ago) we still had a high rate of unemployment and many people in need. Didn’t we elect council members to improve our local economy and quality of life.
The DEA ban goes into full effect on the Dec. 24. All I want for Christmas is local government that does some real work to make Duluth more perfecter.
This just in: Ice is slippery
Be careful out there.