Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #28: KBJR Edition
Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers. (more…)
Dylan Thomas – “Duluth Street”
It’s not easy to find reliable information online about musician Dylan Thomas, since he shares the name of a famous Welsh poet. But what seems to be the case is that in 2007 Thomas released the album Pieces of an Overhead View, featuring a song with Duluth in the title and the lyrics. (more…)
A Day in the Temperance River Watershed
The cold weather arriving makes me long for an August day camping and hiking the Superior Hiking Trail. Here’s a video I made this past summer of such a day.
Hillside Grievers
This is an epilogue to a previous Saturday Essay, published in 2018.
Poppy the Mini-Rex rabbit doe never had babies. She pulled out her fur and made nests for nothing. It wasn’t her fault: the buck we tried to breed her with was past his prime. His owner called to apologize.
“I am sorry I didn’t notice that Frodo’s man-parts shriveled up. But good news: he has a son!”
Whenever I thought about calling the number on the sticky note labeled “Buck,” I remembered we had something to do in thirty days when the kits would be born. Then came winter and another summer. Now it’s too late.
In the middle months, that time people in other places call “Spring,” we adopted a puppy.
Lola showed us that the rabbits were just a warm-up. So were our own babies, for that matter. Once again, Jeremy and I took turns waking through the night and keeping track of bowel movements. Soon we found ourselves having those ridiculous, sleep-deprived “I’m doing all I can!” arguments of yore. (more…)
Selective Focus: “Everyday Mayhem” by Kip Praslowicz
Photographer Kip Praslowicz has a show opening Thursday, November 21 at the Kruk Gallery on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Much of his work has a very matter-of-fact feeling to it, a straightforward documentation of places, people and scenes. But there is a dry sense of humor in his work, especially when taken in as a larger collection. This week we get a preview of the show, and hear how the pieces for the show were chosen.
Was there a criteria for the images selected for this show?
1) The exposure made sometime between 2010 and 2019
2) The exposure was made on color, medium format film. 6x6cm or 6x9cm (more…)
Zenith News has gone dark
Another alternative publication in Duluth appears to have fallen to the wayside. Zenith News has not published an issue since April. (more…)
FeMN Fest scaling down before ramping up
Last year’s FeMN Fest organization team was made up of Diona Johnson, Jesse Dykhuis, Abigail Mlinar, Brittany Lind, McKenzie Howe and Melissa La Tour. Photo by Jes at Mad Chicken Studio.
Since 2017 “a team of womxn-identified bosses” have brought “an unapologetically feminist festival” to Duluth. In its first two years FeMN Fest featured womxn-lead music, art, workshops and vendors. The third annual event on Friday, Nov. 15, at Pizza Lucé is a scaled-down version featuring three musical acts: Me-N-Her, One Less Guest and Wild Flower. (more…)
Duluth’s Emerson School: 1892 to 1982
A post on the Duluth Public Library’s Vintage Duluth blog looks at the “Early History of Duluth’s Emerson School.”
Video Archive: Average Sun – “Good Night”
A 1997 video from Duluth band Average Sun for a track from the album Light and Shadow. Band members included Andrew and Scott Hauswirth, Bill Nelson and Griffin Vittone. The group was formed around 1994.
Vittone and Scott Hauswirth continued on into the next millennium with a revamped version of the band that included keyboardist Tim Shepard. By 2003 the group consisted of Hauswirth as the lone original member, joined by guitarist Corwin Pederson, bassist Ethan Thompson and drummer Chad Hulter.
Jim Hall chases time after five decades on stage
Jim Hall played a Halloween party at the Duluth Owls Club last month. On Saturday, he’s playing at Sacred Heart Music Center, a celebration of his 50 years on stage in the region.
Those familiar with the music of Jim Hall over the years would be right to do a double take when they hear one of his sets these days. The already basso troubadour has kicked his voice into even lower gear, and with a growl. That’s how Hall has been fighting an alarming and mysterious change in his vocal chords earlier this year. Even his talking voice changed. (more…)
The Slice: Ceremonial Flag for Veterans
Duluth VFW Post 137 Honor Guard Captain John Marshall and Second Lieutenant Dan Streu talk about the strict protocol they follow in preparing and presenting the flag and offering support to families upon the death of veterans who serve their country.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
The Undefeated Minnesota Gophers Football Squad
The 2019 Golden Gophers football team is undefeated and ranked No. 7 by the Associated Press. It’s the highest the team has been ranked since it was No. 5 on Nov. 19, 1962. Dating back to last season, the Gophers have won 11 straight games, tied for the third-longest winning streak in the nation. The 9-0 record this season is the team’s best record since the 1904 squad went 13-0. (more…)
Duluth All Souls Poetry Celebration
I went to the Day of the Dead / All Souls event at the Depot Underground on Friday. The theme of the reading was remembering ancestors who have played important roles in our lives and community. Featured readers, of whom I took pictures, were Zomi Bloom, Brady Kamphenkel, Sheila Packa, Ellie Schoenfeld and Gary Boelhower. An open mic followed; I got a pic of Eric Chandler reading. Richie Townsend played electric guitar.
Warriors hockey offers recreation, resources for local veterans
In a region where hockey rules among recreational sports, one team takes to the ice to help fellow veterans readjust to life after service. The 31-player Duluth Warriors hockey team boasts members of varying ages from all five branches of service. (more…)
Climate>Duluth: Jamie Harvey
Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Bag it Duluth Coordinator Jamie Harvie at the PACT-TV Studio in Duluth.
Beijing Restaurant could reopen before end of 2019
Fox 21 News reports Beijing Restaurant at 1918 London Road is close to reopening after a 2018 fire forced its closure.
PDD Quiz: Northland Statues
Put your art smarts to the test with this quiz on area statues.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing this month’s headlines, will be published on Nov. 24. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Nov. 20. (more…)
Western Waterfront Trail will share corridor with excursion train
The Duluth News Tribune reports a plan has emerged to extend Duluth’s Western Waterfront Trail via a rail corridor, while maintaining a scenic train service that would continue to use the same route. The proposed future name of the trail is “Waabizheshikana” — pronounced: waa-bah-zhay-kuh-nuh — meaning “Marten way, path or road.” (more…)
Freediving the Edmund Fitzgerald
It would be possible to dive to the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the strength of a single breath. Even at the wreck’s depth of 530 feet, it might actually be safer to dive unsupported by scuba tanks than to scuba dive to it. This essay is intended to hypothetically explore the intersection of different types of diving, the wreck itself, and the lake in general. At a minimum, I am suggesting that the freediving possibilities of Lake Superior have not been fully explored.
My interest is provoked because I utilize some freediving breath-hold techniques in my underwater videography as Lake Superior Aquaman. I have never scuba dived, and so I think of the lake in freediving terms. I do not intend to offend the families of the deceased by invoking the Fitzgerald tragedy. However, its iconic stature as a deep wreck in Lake Superior makes it ideal for these illustrative purposes.
I am not suggesting any actual dives to the Fitzgerald. For one thing, both freediving and scuba diving present significant risks, especially beyond 100 feet deep. Also, it has been illegal to dive to the wreck since 2006, unless approved by the Canadian government in whose waters it lies. This is because of successful lobbying by the victims’ families to keep the wreck sacrosanct. (more…)
They take blue balls pretty seriously in Rice Lake, Wis.
From the Rice Lake Chronotype of Rice Lake, Wis., about 100 miles south of Duluth. Via @hometownpolicelog on Instagram.
The Richardson Brothers Podcast: Charlotte Montgomery interviewed by Jim Richardson
The first of a projected series of Duluth music scene interviews. Jim Richardson interviews the multi-talented Charlotte Montgomery: solo singer-songwriter, member of the band Red Mountain, and dancer in the Duluth Dolls. This interview features a performance of one of Charlotte’s original songs – “West” – and it is a barn-burner. Charlotte is leaving town after eight years; her farewell performance was at Blacklist Brewing, Saturday Nov. 9 at 8 p.m.
Cloquet’s Northeast Bar & Grill calls it quits
The Northeast Bar & Grill, also known as NE BBQ & Smokehouse, formally announced its closure on Facebook today. The last day of business was Oct. 12.
“We so loved our patrons and are so very sad to end the business that we loved so well,” part of the message read. “Unfortunately, we are receiving more inquiries now than we ever did while in business. That said: If you love a place, support it and patronize often. We have several surviving businesses in town that need that type of support.” (more…)
Dave Mehling – “Big Time Sadness”
Duluth native Dave Mehling has a new album on the way — Beach Boy. Here’s the video by Ben Abrahamson for the first single.
Emily Haavik & the 35s – “Take Me to the City”
Duluth native turned (Twin) city girl Emily Haavik has a new video, produced by AMPonStage, featuring a new song recorded at Underwood Recording studios in Minneapolis. The video also features another Duluth native, Dave Mehling, on guitar.
Haavik is opening for Matthew Mayfield at First Avenue’s 7th St Entry on Dec. 10.