News and Current Affairs Posts

Twin Ports breweries nab three medals at World Beer Cup

Representatives of Bent Paddle (left) and Earth Rider (right) accepted medals at the 2022 World Beer Cup.

Bent Paddle in Duluth and Earth Rider in Superior each won gold medals at the World Beer Cup on May 5. It’s the first time more than one medal was won by the region’s breweries at the competition. Bent Paddle also took home a bronze medal.

Blush nightclub to close at the end of May

Hip-hop artist Tarli performing May 7 at Blush during the Homegrown Music Festival. (Photo by Paul Lundgren)

Owners of Blush, a community-based art gallery, music venue and drinking establishment, have announced it will close at the end of May.

Great Lakes Now episode “Mushrooms and Mobsters”

Regional news from Great Lakes Now, an initiative of Detroit Public Television. At 21:00 there is a blurb about a proposal in Congress for a Federal Great Lakes Authority, envisioned as a “one-stop shop” for Great Lakes promotion, education, and environmental restoration.

PDD Quiz: April 2022

Review this month’s happenings and headlines in this current events quiz!

The next PDD quiz will be the third installment in the series on Duluth parks. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 11.

Thoughts about the new ad campaign

The new campaign to increase tourism for Duluth had, I guess, a “soft open” this week, covered in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and on Fox 21.

A look at the two-level infill house in West Duluth

Enter, a digital biweekly publication from the creators of Architecture MN magazine, takes a look at “a new prototype for building affordable houses on narrow lots in Duluth.”

Hotel Pikku, an early Lincoln Park revival project, is up for sale

The building at 1923 W. Superior St. was constructed in 1899 and houses the Hotel Pikku and Hemlock Leather works. (Photo: gregfollmer.com)

A small, stylish boutique hotel that opened in a renovated historic building and helped transform Lincoln Park into a hip, trendy neighborhood is now for sale.

The three-suite, second-floor Hotel Pikku, 1923 W. Superior St., opened after owners Chelsy Whittington and Andy Matson purchased the building in 2016 and spent more than a year remodeling it. Hemlock Leatherworks, a custom shoemaker, is located on the ground floor.

PDD Quiz: March 2022

See how many of this month’s headlines you remember with this week’s current events quiz!

The next PDD, coming your way on April 10, will look ahead to the Homegrown Music Festival. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 7.

Sacred Heart releases album recorded during lockdown

Sacred Heart Music Center is releasing an album recorded during empty-building, pandemic-lockdown concerts live streamed over its YouTube channel in 2020 and 2021.

A listening party for Live from the Heart: The Sacred Heart Music Center Quarantine Sessions will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, March 20 at Ursa Minor Brewing, 2415 W. Superior St. in Duluth. The free event will feature the first public airing of the album, CDs for sale, drink specials, pizza and more.

Trampled by Turtles announce grant and Bayfront concert

Bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles has announced its return to Bayfront Festival Park. The Duluth-formed group will perform July 9 with special guest Jenny Lewis.

The band also announced it is partnering with the Homegrown Music Festival on a grant to “battle against artistic mediocrity.” The $5,000 Palomino Grant is available to musicians in, or within 20 miles of, Duluth and Superior and can be used for things like recording, gear and touring. Applications are being taken through Google Forms, which must be submitted by the first day of Homegrown, May 1. The grant winner will play the opening slot of the Bayfront concert.

PDD Quiz: February 2022

Test your memory of February 2022 headlines with this week’s PDD quiz!

The next PDD quiz will mark Women’s History Month with a quiz about notable Duluth women; it will be published on March 13. Send question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 10.

Duluth curler among stray Olympians in Beijing streets

John Landsteiner of Duluth, at right in the image, was among “hundreds of stray Olympians” who “had been left behind after the 2022 Winter Games,” according to the satirical news website the Onion. With Landsteiner in the photo is his curling teammate Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wis.

Trapp family in Esko tallest in the world

Averaging 6 feet, 8.03 inches, the members of the Trapp family in Esko are the tallest in the world. Pine Knot News reports that Guinness World Records has declared it official. In the article the heights of each family member are broken down: “Adam Trapp 7-foot, 3.7 inches; Savanna 6-foot, 8.5 inches; dad Scott Trapp 6-foot, 8.2 inches; Molly (Trapp) Steede 6-foot, 5.8 inches and mom Krissy 6-foot, 3.5 inches.”

R.I.P. Esmond Building

The Duluth News Tribune reports the former Seaway Hotel, also known as the Esmond Building, was demolished on Wednesday. The building had been gutted by a fire on Jan. 10.

Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie in Duluth

Episode 5 of Pam & Tommy, the biographical drama series about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, mentions Duluth. The same Duluth joke comes up twice, and it’s also used as the title of the episode: “Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie in Duluth.” The episode premiered today on the streaming service Hulu.

The two scenes with the Duluth mentions are strung together in the video above. The setting for both scenes is the writer’s room for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1995.

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