U.S. Administrator of Standards
The middle of Donald Trump’s presidency might be a strange time to make a pitch for establishing a new cabinet position. Or it might be the perfect time. Either way, I have little to lose by suggesting the new job is needed and insisting I’m the best person to fill it. A more rational and reputation-conscious president might not give my ideas serious consideration. The Trump Administration is likely the best hope I have for acquiring short-term autocratic power.
I’m not interested in any of the existing cabinet positions. Those jobs are pretty much filled anyway, although some are “acting” cabinet members — and it’s understood the door is figuratively revolving at the White House and heavily treated with WD-40.
The various secretaries, directors, ambassadors and administrators who serve at the pleasure of the president are already busy at work to make America as great as it was at some undefined point in the past, and they aren’t really clamouring for my help, but I do have a few simple ideas that could improve America and the whole planet Earth for that matter, and I feel like it would really only take me until noon on my first day at work to sort those things out. That would leave plenty of time for cleaning out my already empty desk after hearing on the news about the tweet announcing the termination of my employment. (more…)
Shooting with Sparky: Canada Lynx Jinx Broken
Sparky Stensaas had a rare Canada Lynx encounter in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota on March 21.
“As I came over a rise, there it was,” Stensaas wrote on his blog, the Photonaturalist. “It saw me and bounded off the road and into the 3-foot deep snow. I stayed put thinking that it might come my way via the pine woods. And after a few tense minutes of me second-guessing my intuition, it did!”
Wild State Cider opening April 16
Andrew Price and Adam Ruhland – Photo by Lissa Maki
Cider seekers will soon have another Duluth option to swoon over. Owners of Wild State Cider say opening day will be April 16. A grand opening event is planned for the weekend of April 26-27. (more…)
Annual reminder: Stay off muddy trails in spring
Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division has put forth its annual reminder that all natural-surface trails are closed until further notice due to wet soil conditions from the annual spring thaw.
So, where should people hike in April? (more…)
The Mysterious and Ferocious Serpent Monster of Lake Superior
Duluth politicians can keep bragging about keeping Lake Superior free of sharks, but what about the “enigmatic lake monster”?
What about the “giant and ferocious serpent”? The “underwater panther”? The “lizard like fish around 10 feet long” with “a head like a turtle”? The “hideous” thing “cruising through the water with a 15-foot long neck and a huge jaw”? The “immense humped creature” with “huge horse shaped head and large dark left eye” with a nose bearing “a visible catfish type whisker, maybe two feet in length and wiggling”? The “gigantic serpent with 3 to 5 humps” rising out of the water?
Well, for those into myths, legends and stories short on attribution but with the words “supposedly” and “apparently” repeated throughout, there’s a new article that has it all. (more…)
Selective Focus: @fatherfigures
We all know living on Lake Superior is epic, but these images from @fathersfigures take landscape photography to a whole other galaxy. Be sure to check out the behind-the-scenes Instagram stories.
Monthly Grovel: Bonus tip about PDD Calendar map view
Before delving into this month’s pitch for donations to keep the PDD Calendar chugging along, we’re taking a moment to offer a little tip on a different way to use it.
There are numerous ways to sort, filter, view and search events on the PDD Calendar. By default the calendar shows a list view in chronological order. That’s obviously the best way to look at what’s happening in the moment and scroll to the future. But there are three other view options — day, map and photo. We’ve never taken time to explain that before, because it’s always seemed obvious to us that list view is the best option. But our traffic statistics are starting to show more and more people using map view, so perhaps it’s time to mention it. (more…)
Duluth Band Profile: Attom
Kyle Stern’s first show wasn’t at a VFW or an empty coffeehouse. It just happened to be Bonnaroo Music Festival. Under the moniker Attom, Kyle explains how he fits into the changing world of electronic music. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
May 3 at Rex Bar at Fitger’s during Homegrown Music Festival
Postcards from Duluth Motel
According to this postcard, Duluth Motel sat in some mysterious forest, perhaps offering the only toilet available for miles and miles. In reality, “Northwest’s Most Luxurious Motel” was near Denfeld High School and surrounded by West Duluth homes and businesses. A lush, undeveloped hillside was indeed in the distance, though not very similar looking to the illustration on the postcard. (more…)
2019 Duluth Homegrown Mix Tape
2019 Duluth Homegrown Mix Tape Curated By: Gaelynn Lea by Duluth Homegrown Music Festival
Duluth’s Lodging & Dining … circa 1979-’82
This promotional pamphlet is from roughly 1980. Within the text might be clues that narrow down a specific year. (more…)
Duluth Band Profile: Prone
Prone dabbles in the realms of hip-hop and electro-funk. Chris LeBlanc explains how the group started out of necessity. Click on the image above to hear the podcast.
Upcoming gig:
May 4 at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon during the Homegrown Music Festival
Joan Osborne to perform Dylan tribute in his native Duluth
Grammy-nominated singer Joan Osborne will perform a special Bob Dylan tribute concert on the eve of his 78th birthday at Sacred Heart Music Center, just blocks from where the legendary songwriter was born in Duluth. (more…)
Iceberg Ride
Robot Rickshaw and I sailed into our imagination on an iceberg, a doomed expedition worthy of Shackleton. Do not attempt. We selected a vessel and set sail from the Lakewalk around the Va Bene area. The wind was at our backs as we navigated down the shore past Fitger’s, where we disembarked just as our vessel began losing seaworthiness. We had sailed approximately 500 feet. However the real journey was into the depths of the human heart. Do we in fact have missing time as we suppose? Did we sail into a mist and live on the Isle of Avalon for untold years, before charting a course back to our day-to-day lives?
PDD Quiz: March 2019 in Review
Time to test your current events acumen with this week’s PDD quiz!
In a nod to Homegrown Music Festival, the next PDD quiz (scheduled for April 14) will feature other things that were “homegrown” in the Northland. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 11. (more…)
With Apologies to Carl Rogers and His Work
Carl Rogers was a significant psychologist and teacher. He was 85 when he died in 1987. The humanistic approach he’s known for gets applied across a variety of fields including therapy and politics. In education the approach is the basis of a process often called “learner-centered” teaching. Rogers describes its basics in five hypotheses that start with, “A person cannot teach another person directly; a person can only facilitate another’s learning.” He wrote a bunch of books including Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become, which spends 300 or so pages discussing learner-centered teaching. I have two hardcover copies of the 1969 edition. I revere what they say to a probably unwise degree. I also cherish them as objects, partially because they smell exactly as books of their vintage ought to smell. They also contain a version of the short essay “Personal Thoughts on Teaching and Learning,” which has been published in various forms in a lot of venues since the 1950s. (more…)
Five years after it opened, Red Herring Lounge slated to close
Red Herring Lounge owner Bob Monahan posted on Facebook today that “barring some sort of wildly unforeseen circumstance” his music club in Downtown Duluth “will close its doors permanently on June 10.” (more…)
Homegrown Music Festival Field Guide 2019 has arrived
The 21st annual Homegrown Music Festival is just a month away. The 100-page Field Guide, with all the who/what/when/where/why was trucked in from the printer this morning and will be available at local bars, restaurants and other businesses over the course of the next few days.
This year’s Homegrown will feature about 190 musical acts at more than 40 venues in Duluth and Superior. The festival runs April 28 to May 5. An updated schedule is on the Homegrown website at duluthhomegrown.org/schedule. (more…)
DM&N Railway Ore Docks in West Duluth, early 1900s
This photo of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway ore docks in West Duluth is from Detroit Publishing Company. The Library of Congress dates the image as “between 1900 and 1915” and notes it shows “probably Dock No. 1 at left” and lists the three freighters in the foreground as George H. Russell, Sultan and James E. Davidson. (more…)
Perfect Fish Fry: The Breeze Inn
Competition to name the Perfect Duluth fish fry was fierce but the The Breeze Inn managed to angle ahead of the others to claim the title with 36 percent of the vote among the final three.
Do country-bar fish fries fare better? It’s notable that the three top-ranked fish fries are all just outside of Duluth city limits. Breeze Inn is in Rice Lake Township while Billy’s in Lakewood Township was the runner up with 33 percent of the vote. Wabegon in Superior Township came in third with a respectable 31 percent. Among establishments within Duluth city limits, Bridgeman’s had the most votes. (more…)
Duluth Children’s Museum latest to buy into Lincoln Park
The Lincoln Park Cafe building, former home to Randy’s Cafe, was recently sold to the Duluth Children’s Museum. Long range plans call for the museum to relocate into the Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Add a museum to the list of new attractions and amenities planned for Duluth’s booming Lincoln Park neighborhood. Duluth Children’s Museum purchased the former Randy’s Café building at 2125 W. Superior St. in Lincoln Park March 18. Minnesota Department of Revenue records show longtime building owners Michael and Rochelle Delich of Superior sold the property for $345,000. (more…)
Selective Focus: Spring Ice Breaking
Photojournalist Derek Montgomery and MPR News bring amazing images of the annual breaking of the ice on the Duluth Harbor.
Don’t Tell Mom
Frank Hoolihan sent this postcard to Mrs. Galivan in Buffalo, NY imploring her to tell Sarah not to let anyone know that he’s in Duluth. He doesn’t want his mom to find out. I suspect he sailed up the Great Lakes to Duluth to get away for some reason. Or maybe he was just on a lark. It does raise a few questions. I can’t make out the year in the postmark but I’m guessing around 1909 or so. (more…)