News and Current Affairs Posts

Getting to the Bottom of the Proposed Polymet Mine Part 2, Winona LaDuke

After much, much hand wringing and editing and processing and sweating and arguing with myself, here is a passable video of the lecture by Winona LaDuke that was delivered on Feb. 8 at the College of St. Scholastica. I think that the message she is sharing is important to hear and try to understand, whether or not you agree with her conclusions. One of her central theses seems is that people have been living and thriving in this region for thousands of years and in the past 100 or 200 years there have been significant and undesirable, even toxic, changes to the land, the waters, and the creatures and people who populate this region.

Getting to the Bottom of the Proposed Polymet Mine, Part 1

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I’m hoping that this video, featuring Paula Maccabee of Water Legacy, will be the first of several that I will be able to share over the next few weeks.

Twenty-two consecutive days below zero

Dylan Super Bowl Commercial

I was probably one of the few who enjoyed seeing Dylan in the Super Bowl commercial last weekend. That being said, I was a little confused about the song choice, “Things Have Changed.” For an advertisement that was supposed to spark renewed faith in the American auto industry, Chrysler picked a song that is clearly about not giving a sh*t anymore. Also, last night the Northland’s NewsCenter mis-reported that this commercial was set to “I Want You,” which was actually featured in a yogurt commercial in 1996, not the Super Bowl commercial.

R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman

He was, by far, our best actor working. I am so saddened by the loss.

Philip Seymour Hoffman found dead in NYC Apartment

Duluth knows how to do snow removal, but where does it all go?

I was very impressed to happen upon this epic snow removal operation on Second Street on Thursday at about 11 a.m.

You might be able to see in the photo that this clean-up convoy of sorts includes numerous heavy construction vehicles stretching from where this was taken at about Second Avenue East, all the way back to Fourth Avenue West.

NorShor: Duluth’s big bet on Old Downtown

“Ghosts and spirits make the place. So when you sit down and play a place like the NorShor, not only do you have a group of people sitting around you, but you have another community of history sitting around you, too.” — Charlie Parr

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Stage set for restoration of NorShor Theatre in Duluth

2014 John Beargrease Aerial Drone Video

The PDD Drone was back in the skies yesterday capturing the start of the 30th annual John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. The weather was great and the winds held off just long enough to get in some air time above the race starting line at Duluth East High School.

Music courtesy of the4onthefloor (www.4otf.com)

Battery of a police officer or excessive force arrest? Here we go again.

Natasha Lancour was arrested in the parking lot of the Keyport Lounge on Jan. 5 for allegedly striking Superior Police Officer George Gothner. Above is the unedited dashboard-cam video; below is a report from WDIO-TV.

Created Equal at the Zinema

Yesterday, I spent five hours at the Created Equal event at Zinema 2. Below, I have links to the videos, if you want to watch from home.

Vacant city council seat up for grabs

The Duluth City Council is accepting applications for the recently vacated Second District council seat previously held by Patrick Boyle, who recently was elected to the St. Louis County Board.

Call Me Mental

Tomorrow I will be embarking on a story-telling campaign to break the stigma of mental illness. The project, ‘Call Me Mental,’ is a partnership between the Human Development Center and Lola Visuals. Stories will be released in episodes online along the trip and a feature length documentary will follow later this year.

We are also asking people to submit their stories, in any format, to our website. If you choose to remain anonymous, that is absolutely okay. You can also check out our Kickstarter if you would like to help support this project.

District 2 St. Louis County Commissioner Special Election Result

With 11 of 11 precincts reporting:

Patrick Boyle — 2,783 (65.5 percent)
Jim Stauber — 1,465 (34.5 percent)

Shipping Season Finale!

The tug, Heritage Marine, was busy breaking ice in a Duluth harbor slip in preparation for one of the shipping season’s last arrivals. Still photographs of the ice breaking may be accessed the NorthStarNerd’s Flickr stream.

Duluth/Superior in the New York Times



Twinned cities now following different paths

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