Duluth MN News and Current Affairs from Perfect Duluth Day

St. Louis River Corridor Parks Mini-Master Plans

Apr 11, 2016 No Comments

Duluth’s Parks and Recreation division is seeking public comment on 11 neighborhood parks mini-master plans, which cover improvements and additions to neighborhood parks within the St. Louis River Corridor. The included parks are Piedmont, Midtowne, Harrison, Merritt, Irving, Grassy Point, Keene Creek, Norton, Riverside, Smithville, Morgan, Blackmer, Fond du Lac and Historical.

The draft plans and comment form are available at duluthmn.gov. The plan will be presented to the Parks Commission on April 20; vote for approval will be at the May 11 meeting. Public comments are being accepted through April 20.

News and Current Affairs St. Louis River

Historic Androy hotel bar gets makeover as Steel Toe Pub

Apr 09, 2016 1 Comment

Ben and Margie Regner

Steel Toe Pub quietly opened in February in the historic Androy Hotel’s lobby at 1213 Tower Avenue in Superior. Patrons of the former Androy Lounge might find the pub unrecognizable as the space has been extensively renovated in the past year.

Owners Margie and Dave Regner have also been proprietors of the hotel since 1986. Margie said her husband and sons did much of the work on the bar themselves, ripping out layers of false ceilings and taking down several walls to reveal exposed brick. “We totally gutted the whole place,” she says.

Christie ♥ Deluth

Apr 08, 2016 No Comments

Supermodel Christie Brinkley was in town with the John Mellencamp tour. Warning: She is a creative speller.

News and Current Affairs

Hollywood rumor: Will Ferrell will star in film about snowmobile adventure hatched over drinks at Duluth’s Pickwick

Apr 05, 2016 2 Comments

Just two weeks ago Perfect Duluth Day linked to a New York Times article about Ralph Plaisted’s 1968 expedition to the North Pole by snowmobile. Yesterday the online infotainment website Deadline reported producers Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen and actor Will Ferrell will make a movie about the Minnesota adventurers.

“They’ve acquired Guy Lawson’s article for The New York Times Magazine, with a title that tells you everything you need to know: ‘Ice Pack: An Insurance Salesman and a Doctor Walk Into a Bar, and End Up at the North Pole,’ Deadline reports. “They will build the film around Ferrell.”

Commerce on the River: Symphony Boat Company

Apr 05, 2016 1 Comment

Marcel LaFond grew up on Kraemer Lake, about 10 miles west of St. Cloud, where he spent nearly all his time around water and boating. His childhood home was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, which he believes inspired a love of timeless design at an early age. Those influences led him to found Symphony Boat Company three years ago in Duluth’s Riverside neighborhood, where he builds attractive and unique boats from aluminum, marine plywood, foam and epoxy.

“When the economy tanked five or six years ago I found that, like many other people, I was looking to reinvent myself,” he says. Ready to take a risk and follow through with ideas he’d had stewing in his mind for years, LaFond let fate steer him to the St. Louis River.

Live Stream from Trump Rally in Superior

Apr 04, 2016 No Comments

News and Current Affairs, Politics

New Alakef CEO launches City Girl Coffee

Apr 04, 2016 2 Comments

Alyza Bohbot poses in front of Alakef's original roaster with City Girl Coffee swag

Alyza Bohbot poses in front of Alakef’s original roaster with City Girl Coffee schwag

Alyza Bohbot never intended to take over Alakef Coffee Roasters, her family’s wholesale coffee roasting business. She was living on the East Coast and had just finished a master’s degree in school counseling when her parents, Nessim and Deborah, told Alyza, their only child, of their retirement plans.

Alyza says she had a “gut check moment.” She realized she didn’t want to see the business her parents worked so hard to build leave the family. She agreed to move back to Minnesota for a six-month trial period to determine if it was a good fit. Three years later, with her parents’ guidance and the help of veteran Alakef staff, Alyza is running the company and taking it in an interesting new direction.

Swim Creative rebrands

Apr 01, 2016 5 Comments

Duluth-based marketing agency Swim Creative has at times been confused with swimwear companies and pool manufacturers, so today it changed its name and launched a rebranding effort. Check it out at DesignsByPatrice.net.

News and Current Affairs Advertising, Hoaxes - Fake News - Satire - Folklore

Michael Novitzki will host The Duluth Local Show on the Current

Mar 31, 2016 2 Comments

The Current announced in a news release today that Michael Novitzki will host its revamped version of The Duluth Local Show, which will launch May 1 on the low-power 90.9 FM and air every Sunday at 8 p.m. Also announced in the release: Cecilia Johnson has been named Local Current blogger.

Duluth on HBO’s Vinyl

Mar 30, 2016 1 Comment

The new HBO series Vinyl references Duluth in season 1, episode 7. Richie and one of his lackies are in Las Vegas and pick up a couple of women. One says she’s from “St. Paul … Duluth, actually … trying to be fancy.” Richie cracks some joke about flying over Duluth.

News and Current Affairs References to Duluth in Film/TV or Other Media

PDD Quiz: March 2016

Mar 27, 2016 No Comments

March is nearly over. Time to recap. What do you remember about March in Duluth? What did you miss? Let’s find out.

Our next quiz will be on April 10 and the theme will be “April Fools.” What does that mean? I don’t even know yet. Send your suggested quiz questions (and answers) to lawrence @ perfectduluthday.com by noon on Wednesday, Apr. 6.

News and Current Affairs PDD Quiz

Lot D … for Duluth

Mar 25, 2016 3 Comments

The Duluth Economic Development Authority has issued a request for proposals for the future development of waterfront real estate on the Lake Superior harbor, referred to as “Lot D.” The site is 12 acres of flat land, zoned as mixed-use waterfront, and is sandwiched between Compass Minerals packaging facility and the Pier B Resort development. The appraised value of the property is $2.1 million.

News and Current Affairs Real Estate

Quarry Park Mini Master Plan Draft

Mar 24, 2016 1 Comment

The plan for a proposed 30-acre multi-purpose park at Casket Quarry in West Duluth is in its final draft stage. Duluth’s Parks Recreation Division is seeking public comment until April 6.

Quarry Park will offer accessible trails, connections to other surrounding hiking and biking trails, multi-use gathering spaces, disc golf and ~~a rock climbing wall~~ rock- and ice-climbing opportunities.

Click here to view the Mini Master Plan PDF.

Click here for the public comment form.

Public comments will be compiled and incorporated into a final version of the plan, which will be presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission at a special meeting on April 20.

News and Current Affairs Quarry Park / Casket Quarry

Craft brewers rolling out variety of vessels

Mar 22, 2016 No Comments

Duluth beer drinkers have more choices than ever — not just in terms of brands and styles, but also in packaging. A variety of new bottle and can styles have entered the local market, and more are on the way.

Two prominent examples are the 750ml bottles Fitger’s Brewhouse used to package its late-winter series, and the 16 oz. cans Castle Danger Brewery will soon release for its seasonal offerings.

Whole Foods Co-op – Denfeld set to open March 16

Mar 10, 2016 No Comments

Duluth’s second Whole Foods Co-op store will open March 16 at 4426 Grand Ave., a few hundred feet from Denfeld High School on the site of the former Jefferson Lines bus station.

Those familiar with shopping at the co-op’s Hillside location at 610 E. Fourth St. can expect similar whole, organic, local and regional food offerings at the West Duluth store, plus an expanded deli area with hot and cold grab-and-go foods.

News and Current Affairs Posts