Frost River has gone solar
Frost River, a maker of canvas packs in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District, is now powering its manufacturing facility and retail store with solar panels. The new rooftop panels are from EPF Solar of Minneapolis and were installed by Belknap Electric. (more…)
Video Archive: Norway’s royal couple given stirring welcome
Although Crown Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Norway did visit Duluth in 1939 for the dedication of Enger Tower, the footage in this silent film seems to all have been shot in Los Angeles a month earlier. Nevertheless, images of Duluth News Tribune stories are splashed across the screen at the start of the film. (more…)
Come on Duluth, pull your socks up!
Looking at Duluth in isolation, it has shrunk by 20 percent since 1960. In real terms, Duluth netted a population loss far greater when viewed in a regional context that accounts for the modest growth rates of Fargo, Rochester and Sioux Falls cited in the article. Had Duluth kept pace with those cities since 1960, Duluth would today have a population of 300,000. A nice sized, comfortable metro city.
Why doesn’t Duluth work?
Shooting with Sparky: Odd Bull-moose Behavior
Mark “Sparky” Stensaas visited the Superior National Forest in January and recently put together the footage for this episode of “Shooting with Sparky.” Watch as a bull moose attempts to mount another bull who’d lost its antlers. Also: twelve spruce grouse, boreal chickadees and a great gray owl.
Rodolfo Nieto – “The Minnesota Beer Song”
Minneapolis-based actor/singer Rodolfo Nieto penned this new anthem for Minnesota beer, accompanied on piano by Jared Miller and backed by a chorus. The song references two breweries from northeast Minnesota — Bent Paddle Brewing and Castle Danger Brewing.
Nieto notes that he would “love it if others created their own pun-filled verses in the future, using the names of other Minnesota breweries.”
Making it Up North: Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna
Justin Juntunen of Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna extols the notion of Duluth becoming the spa capital of the Midwest.
WDSE-TV‘s Making it Up North explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Duluth’s Old City Hall to become boutique hotel
Duluth restaurant and hospitality company Just Take Action is in the process of converting Duluth’s Old City Hall into a 13-room hotel with four hostel rooms and a Roaring Twenties theme. (more…)
Curley the Trapper brings body of scurvy victim through Duluth
One hundred years ago today a Duluth native completed his mission to recover the body of a former Duluth man who died of scurvy deep in the woods of Manitoba. (more…)
Low – “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
Low’s cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is available on the Dylan Revisited CD, available with the June 2021 issue of Uncut magazine. The album features 14 recordings of Dylan songs alongside an unreleased Dylan track.
2104 announces livestream schedule for week of Homegrown
Sunday, May 2
• 6pm Kaylee Matuszak
• 7pm Bill Flannagan
• 8pm Sugar on the Roof (more…)
Glitteratti – Joseah!
Duluth band Glitteratti has released the second video promoting its forthcoming album Rectify! Like the previous video, it is comprised entirely of footage from Marc Gartman’s bar mitzvah in 1987.
Flight 3247 to Duluth
In what must be the most trivial Duluth reference ever reported on Perfect Duluth Day, we note that season 6, episode 4 of the animated television show Archer includes a scene at a Chicago airport where the flight information display system shows a scheduled Duluth departure as “on time.”
Monthly Grovel: April 2021
As pokes in the arm are liberally distributed and people move from six feet apart to four or five, the PDD Calendar continues to catalog local events — some in person, many online. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
CNN: Duluth is becoming a safe haven for climate refugees
“People are moving to Duluth, Minnesota, for one particularly big reason,” CNN reports in a new video for its Project Planet series. “Is anywhere safe from the climate crisis?” the story asks, answering that some say Duluth is “the new ‘climate refuge.'” (more…)
Robot Rickshaw’s Spring Rite
The Embassy wrapped up its first season of “plaguestreams” earlier this month, and now Robot Rickshaw has released this excerpt of a spring rite. (more…)
UMD literary magazine Roaring Muse reactivated
Cover of Roaring Muse.
From the story on UMD’s website:
UMD’s literary magazine Roaring Muse is a student-led magazine that was started in 1997 by UMD’s Literary Guild. Often including poetry, prose, and artwork, and edited by students, Roaring Muse sought to highlight the great work by UMD’s community, and at one point solicited submissions from community members outside the campus. Since its beginnings in ’97, the magazine has been published on and off and is currently back up and running. (more…)
Douglas County Historical Society Museum circa 1949
The postcards shown here were sold at the Douglas County Historical Museum circa 1949. Above is the pioneer kitchen display at the museum. (more…)
R.I.P. Robert’s Home Furnishings building
The former Robert’s Home Furnishings building at 2102 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park was torn down last week. Robert Rothenberger launched furniture retail business in 1987 and closed its doors in October 2018 upon retirement. Roberts was part of the “big three” furniture stores that anchored the West End for decades. The building was constructed 1890 as a lumber warehouse. Rachel Development, based in St. Michael, Minn., plans to build a four-story, 74-unit housing project on the site. Rothenberger died in November. Photo by Mark Nicklawske.
Last Rites of John Defoe
One hundred years ago today the Duluth Herald reported on military honors given to John Defoe, who the paper credits as “the first American Indian who fell in the World war to be returned to his native land for burial.” (more…)
Heely Tricks with JamesG: March 2021
Another quick selection of wheeled sneaker stunts by former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.
PDD Quiz: Duluth Parks II
Test your knowledge of Duluth’s western parks in this week’s quiz! As with the previous quiz on Duluth parks, Tony Dierckins’ and Nancy S. Nelson’s Duluth’s Historical Parks: Their First 160 Years was an indispensible resource. Historical images from the Kathryn A. Martin Library’s Northeast Minnesota Historical Collection were accessed through the Minnesota Digital Library, another excellent resource for local history buffs.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing this month’s headlines, will be published on April 25. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 21. (more…)
Aerial Video: St. Louis River in Spring at Sunset
Adam Jagunich takes his Yuneec Typhoon H Plus on it’s maiden flight over the St. Louis River as the sun sets in western Duluth.