Videos
Rich Mattson and the Northstars – “Trip to a Flame”
Video by Reggie Pype from the Northstars new album, Starmaps.
Duluth Works Steel Mill Presentation
Sammy Maida produced this documentary about U.S. Steel’s Duluth Works operation. Maida built a 20-by-6-foot model diorama of the mill that was on display at Saint George Serbian Orthodox Church in June.
Video: Red Fox at Sunrise on Park Point
Richard Hoeg captured video of this red fox at sunrise this morning on Park Point. “Twas neat to watch the fox do its morning grooming and occasionally play with some sticks,” he wrote on his 365 Days of Birds blog.
Kaszuba leaves Brewhouse for Bev-Craft
Frank Kaszuba announced recently on Facebook he is leaving his position as head brewer at Fitger’s Brewhouse. His new employment is with Bev-Craft, a Superior-based consulting firm that helps new breweries by providing “development assistance, brewhouse planning, recipe formulation, ingredient selection, brand creation, and sales planning and assistance.” (more…)
Waterfalls with Wern
Video by Kyle Zirbes.
GinStrings from Minneapolis at the Gunflint Tavern
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5JFVaNMHls
These guys killed it last night at Gunflint Tavern in Grand Marais. 10.14.16 – Check these guys out the next time you have a chance. #minnesotaproud
How to Talk Minnesotan (Mocumentary)
Visiting or moving to Minnesota? Learn the native language and customs and feel right at home with simple lessons from the 1993 Twin Cities Public Television documentary “How to Talk Minnesotan.”
Haley Bonar Tiny Desk Concert
Former Duluthian Haley Bonar is MPR’s featured Tiny Desk Concert performer today. She sings three new songs — “Hometown,” “Jealous Girls” and “Called You Queen” — from her album Impossible Dream.
Manitou River Falls Minnesota North Shore
Here are some shots from the seldom seen Manitou River falls on Lake Superior near Highway 61. There are two main sets of falls between Highway 61 and the lake, the last set drops 40 to 50 feet directly into Lake Superior, making it one of only a few waterfalls that drop directly into Lake Superior. (more…)
What’s all the folio fuss?
Dr. Krista Twu, associate professor of Medieval literature at UMD, and Matt Rosendahl, director of UMD’s Kathryn A. Martin Library, chat with Almanac North hosts Julie Zenner and Dennis Anderson about the rare copy of the Bard’s “First Folio.”
Floating Dead Rabbit
As seen in “Diving the Condos” video, I found a dead rabbit in a Lake Superior tidepool. Three days later, 200 yards away, I stumbled upon what must have been the same rabbit, worse for wear…
Canoe Paddle to the Cave with Jeff’s Crazy Dog
Waning days of summer, early September
Minnesota Summer: A Drunken Retrospective
Cole Benson’s “Minnesota Summer” video features plenty of Duluth scenes, mostly involving craft beer consumption. Music by the4onthefloor and Bob Dylan.
Jeff Morris – “The BPMs”
Steppenwolf meets Spinal Tap in this video for the greatest song since “Fighting for Duluth.”
According to bpmmc.com, the Minnesota Chapter of B.P.M. formed in the early 1960s and presently has chapters in Duluth, the Iron Range, St. Cloud, Anoka and New Prague. Although, as noted at the end of the video, this song does not “reflect any of the sentiments, attitudes or views of any of the members of the BPMs.”
Totally Employable
Here’s a little reminder to enjoy your work, via Choice Unlimited, a Duluth nonprofit dedicated to supporting adults with disabilities and individuals who are experiencing barriers to employment and community inclusion.
Music: “Bills” by LunchMoney Lewis.
The Little Black Books – “Buffalo Pit”
Former Duluthian Mark Lindquist has been busy in his basement in Baxter. A five-track EP by his one-man band the Little Black Books titled The Don’ts has been showing up in the mailboxes of some of Lindquist’s Duluth friends. It bears the famous Shaky Ray Records label, founded in 1995 on Duluth’s East Hillside. “Buffalo Pit” is the second track on the new EP.
Watch Spike the Lake Superior Zoo porcupine dance
Spike is an orphaned, hand-reared porcupine who, due to his close relationship to humans, was deemed unreleasable. Lake Superior Zoo gave him a forever home. Jessica Shold, Spike’s keeper at the zoo, says he has exhibited this “dancing” behavior his entire life — the result of being raised by humans instead of porcupines.
“We have a daily enrichment and natural feeding program in place as well as positive reinforcement training to ensure he has the best possible welfare and is content for his entire life,” Shold says.
Music: ZZ Top vs. Pink.
Diving the Condos, Early September
Duluth has a stretch of Lakewalk with condos plopped down on it. I am used to diving farther up the shore a ways, but took the day to dive in front of the condos to see what was down there. This was early September, a weekend morning, the last truly great dive day of the summer: warm air, warm water, excellent visibility, and blue skies. I spent several hours in the water in a state of bliss. For a while there was the gentlest of currents and I just let it sweep me up the shore. As soon as I got out the weather turned — I had caught the last of these perfect conditions. This is my favorite form of recreation in this northernmost beach town. Here is what I saw. I wasn’t setting any depth records, average depth 10 feet or so but so fulfilling. Thanks for watching.
Video Archive: Nesbitt Island on Pokegama Lake, 1978
Jay Freborg’s YouTube description:
In the mid-1970s the drinking age was 18 and friends built elaborate houseboats from whatever material they could find. Going out to “The Island” is what the typical high schooler tried to to do every weekend in the summer. It wasn’t uncommon to have 300-500 people under the age of 21 along the shores of Nesbitt. Over the years, Nesbitt Island’s sandbars and beaches have eroded but the memories have not. Thanks to Bernie Orhn for his forsight to shoot this 8MM film that I edited and put to music.
Fairyland Park near Marble, Minnesota
This undated postcard depicts “Alice in Wonderland,” one of more than 30 scenes from favorite fairytales at Fairyland, a roadside attraction that operated from 1948 to 1972 just west of the village of Marble, about 80 miles northwest of Duluth. Pretty much anything one might want to know about Fairyland can be found on a PDF compiled by Tim Wick, son of Melvin and Faith Wick who bought the park in 1960. (more…)






