Recommendations Posts

Duluth Mountain Biking for Beginners and Kids

Lester ParkA friend asked me last week where beginners should go for a good first-time mountain biking experience in Duluth.

“I want good views — not afraid of some hills — but nothing crazy where I would have to be an expert,” she said.

I don’t mountain bike, so I can’t answer the question … or maybe that makes me the perfect guinea pig for an experiment. Anyway, a quick search of the internet seems to suggest Lester Park has a good “easiest” trail. Is there a middle-aged klutz out there who can endorse the Lester experience as a good trail for a first-time mountain biker? Or is there somewhere better suited to persons of limited balance?

DuluthiLeaks: 87 Places to Drink ’em Up

LiquorHaven’t you always wanted a checklist for places to get soused in Duluth? Well, fortunately the city’s Alcohol, Gambling and Tobacco Commission provides that very list. For the second edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s new feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we take a look at the list of on-sale liquor licenses issued in Duluth. The list breaks down which places can be open on Sunday, have more than one bar, permit dancing, stay open past 2 a.m. without serving alcohol, or serve alcohol between 1 and 2 a.m.

Gathering of the Juggalos – Northern Edition

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Make it happen, people.

Multiple sclerosis as a catalyst from being a burnt out cubicle jockey to self-taught artist and entrepreneur

Kloss

Perhaps you’ve wondered what it takes to open your own retail space. Here is the formula that worked for one of my neighbors: intense physical pain + $7,200 in startup costs + burnout and restlessness + a debilitating medical diagnosis + a whole lot of elbow grease = one art gallery. And that’s about all it takes.

The story of Lakeside Gallery, Aaron Kloss’s new venture, is incredible. Check it out at Ed’s Big Adventure.

Price Check: Off! Deep Woods Insect Repellent

OFF!BugSpray

It does not matter if you are eating at a restaurant with a lakeside seat, boating on Lake Superior, or strolling on the Lake Superior Hiking Trail, you are bound to encounter the force of the squitos.

Saying “avoid the outdoors at dusk and dawn” to protect yourself from mosquito bites is like saying “stay indoors to avoid sunburn.”

Purchasing a 6 oz. can of Off! Deep Woods is more practical than avoiding the outdoors for a third of the day. The aerosol spray contains 25 percent DEET, which is an active ingredient to repel mosquitoes, ticks, biting flies, gnats and chiggers.

The stench of insect repellent may “bug” you even after a few showers, but it beats the days of putting Xs on squito bites with your longest fingernail (or scratching with the nearest sharp object).

Here lies the ninth feature for the Price Check series where we compare prices of products and services in Duluth. The prices below reflect the rate the establishment charges with tax included. The combined tax in Duluth is 8.375 percent. This is the summation of Minnesota sales tax (6.875 percent), St. Louis County transit sales/use tax (0.5 percent) and Duluth general sales tax (1.0 percent). Hermantown’s general sales tax is the same as Duluth, and the same state and county taxes apply.

The Loop

Looking for an article about “The Loop.”

Recommendations For Alligator Removal Service?

AlligatorBakery

Can anyone recommend a good alligator removal service? My brother and I own Duluth’s Best Bread and have had quite a few guests and workers eaten in the past month. I think they are coming in through the pipes or something.

I was planning on ignoring it but OSHA says if we don’t get the gators out in 90 days we have to pay like a $200 fine.

Wrestling with a $90 turkey

12243176_10153326734618562_1760330127768819617_nNinety dollars for a pastured turkey. Are you kidding me??? When I agreed to take the extra bird off the farmer’s hands, I assumed it might cost about half that. At the time I was working minimum wage as a part-time farmhand. I traded nearly two days of work for this bird, and probably half that in bike time just to get to and from the Food Farm. Take a peek at Ed’s Big Adventure to find out if the final product was worth all the blood, sweat, and tears. You just might wind up planning your Thanksgiving celebration today.

The Last Singles Night (for now)

I attended the final Singles Night … for June. I promised I would not write about it (because when I am thinking about writing I am no longer “present”) and there was disappointment among some folks. So a final post about the final Singles Night (for June). It will go on, in August, if there is desire and support.

Shopping Alternative Ways of Thinking

Duluth Alternative Shopping

I went shopping in the most unusual shops in Downtown Duluth.

Funding Sources for Low Income Families in Duluth

DAI Youth CampsI’m hosting the first ever Teen Zine Camp at Duluth Art Institute in August.

My concern as the instructor is multiple families have asked me about funding assistance for their children to attend. The camp is $90 (DAI members) and $110 (non-members) for the week. I would like to make this camp more accessible to all community members so I’m wondering if anyone has ideas of camp assistance or programs in Duluth for low-income families?

Thanks for any tips or ideas of local resources! I’m going to do whatever I can to promote zines and youth zines in our community. You’re help is much appreciated to keep young artists inspired.

Price Check: Duluth Coffee Company’s Peru Cajamarca Norte

Duluth Coffee Company launched as a boutique wholesale roaster in 2011 and expanded to open a retail café in Downtown Duluth in 2012. The café sells roasted coffees, brewing devices, grinders and coffee brewed by the cup to order.

Peru Cajamarca Norte is a full-city roast grown in Cajamarca, Peru. There is some oil on the surface of the bean, whereas light roasts have no oil and dark roasts are oily. Other characteristics of this coffee are heavy body and bitterness, with a rich and dark color. Duluth Coffee Company roasts beans onsite in a 3-kilo roaster, exposing the beans to higher temperatures for a darker roast.

Tanks a lot

Anybody know who might remove an old pretty-much-empty oil tank from my basement?

Volunteers needed for local film festival

Duluth Superior Film Festival 2016 PosterThe seventh annual Duluth Superior Film Festival delivers film, music and art to the Twin Ports region June 1-5. In its short history, the festival has presented a distinctively imaginative and diverse lineup of international, American independent and regional films.

To help maintain the merriment, volunteers are needed.

You probably haven’t heard of KTWH-FM of Two Harbors

KTWHThere’s something amazing going on at a little community radio station in Two Harbors. If you haven’t heard of KTWH it is most likely due to its recent arrival upon the airwaves and its status as a low-power community radio station. If you live outside of its broadcast range, streaming online will be your only recourse, but it is well worth the effort. It is something I haven’t heard since the advent of FM in the early 1970s. DJs playing music that has merit and meaning rather than having the potential for being the opening theme song for the new CSI, set in Bugtussle, KY.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!