Bent Paddle nabs Great American Beer Festival gold again
Bent Paddle Brewing won its second Great American Beer Festival gold medal this weekend in Denver, Colo. The Duluth brewery’s saison took the top honor in the Classic Saison category. (more…)
Only Three and a Half
I felt homesick. Lonesome for Ms. LaCount and the soft comforts of our home. Gloomy in my stomach and behind my eyes because of some absence or presence I couldn’t discern. I’d expected all that. I also felt like I might barf every time I looked at or just thought about food. That was unexpected.
It was Wednesday, August 14 of this year. On Sunday the 11th I’d paddled away from Crane Lake, MN, headed east toward Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry point #12 on Little Vermilion Lake. I planned to reach Lake Superior by way of the Grand Portage on Saturday the 17th or maybe the day after that.
The anticipated homesickness had come on full-force during the second day. I didn’t enjoy the sensation, but I knew I could deal with it, and I did, by reminding myself of how lucky I was to be in that place doing what I was doing and just continuing to move forward. The unanticipated pukiness had imposed itself midway through the first day. It got worse any time I tried to choke down a mouthful or two of sustenance and it was, partially because of the mental state a relative lack of food helped create, a tougher problem to solve. (more…)
Selective Focus: #perfectduluthday
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnSH9TOFuT5/
Summer is over, but don’t fret. Everybody knows fall is actually the best season. Here are some recent #perfectduluthdays. Get out and enjoy.
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T-Icy rolls across Duluth
This hibachi-style Thai rolled ice cream treat is called “Monkey Family.” It is flavored with Nutella-brand hazelnut spread and banana. The choice of toppings featured here are strawberry slices, cinnamon sticks and mango-flavored boba pearls. (Photo by Suenary Philavanh)
T-Icy Roll Ice Cream is preparing to open a second Duluth location this winter. An awning with the store name is already up at 202 E. Superior St., the former location of Lake Superior Art Glass. (more…)
Dovetail Cafe to open in October
Duluth Folk School Director & Co-Founder Bryan French outside Dovetail Cafe – Photo by Lissa Maki
If all goes as planned, Dovetail Cafe and Marketplace will open in the second week of October. The unique eatery, housed within the Duluth Folk School at 1917 W. Superior St., will serve up meals made from scratch, products from local vendors and a side of education for those inclined to learn. (more…)
Where in Superior?
For the 181st edition of Perfect Duluth Day’s ultra-thrilling photo-trivia sensation “Where in Duluth?” we exit the city limits and cross the bridge to Superior. Can you name the location where this sign hangs? (more…)
Split Rock Review, Fall 2018
From Split Rock Review
A new issue of local literary magazine Split Rock Review has been released. Visit splitrockreview.org to check it out.
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Rebel Robin” featuring Betty Boop
New video by Duluth artist Ingeborg von Agassiz for a song from her debut album O Giver of Dreams.
Video Archive: The Tisdales – “Find it in Me”
Uploaded to YouTube 10 years ago today — Sept. 18, 2008 — is this track from Duluth band the Tisdales. The song “Find it in Me” appears on the group’s 2008 album “Bakers Dozen.”
Swimming with Nancy – “Fourth Street”
This Duluth song doesn’t actually have the word “Duluth” in its lyrics, but is loaded with Duluth references. It’s from the self-titled 2005 album by Duluth band Swimming with Nancy.
Hannah Johnson Fabrics working toward expansion
Janet Anelli, owner of Hannah Johnson Fabrics, preparing cut fabric.
A fabric store in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood is expanding into space where baked goods were the longtime order of the day. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Bygone Festivities
While any given perfect Duluth day is chockablock with events, there are a number of festivals, carnivals, and other shenanigans that are no longer celebrated. This quiz looks back at these festivities of yesteryear, perhaps begging the question: should we bring some of them back?
The next quiz, on this month’s headlines, will be published on Sept. 30. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 27. (more…)
Words and Phrases That I Hate
What follows is an incomplete list of words and phrases I dislike. There is no real rhyme or reason to them; some are things I’ve encountered in my school or work circles, while others are just things I’ve stumbled across here or there. I list them in rough order of hatred, beginning with the most repulsive and concluding with the merely annoying.
Resiliency. This is an awful word devised by someone who deserves to be expelled from the urban planning field. The perfectly good “resilience” says the exact same thing in one less syllable. Even that is overused to the point of emptiness, but at least it doesn’t sound like an invented piece of jargon designed to make one sound intelligent. Which is exactly what it is.
Any scandal ending in “-gate.” This construction stopped being amusing circa 1974. Now it just shows a lack of creativity.
Outstate. This is a Minnesota word invented by Twin Cities people to refer to people who are not like them. It implies that people not in the Twin Cities are somehow out of the state, and plays into the conceit that Duluth, Worthington, Moorhead, Grand Marais, and Little Falls all share something other than the misfortune of not being the cool big city. Attempting to use it innocently with a resident of Greater Minnesota (an acceptable alternative) is a good way to lose any credibility you might have aspired to. (more…)
Low – “Rome (Always in the Dark)”
Low‘s new album Double Negative is out today on Sub Pop Records. The new music video, “Rome” is directed by Aaron Anderson and Eric Timothy Carlson.
Selective Focus: North Country Craft
Erin Welch is an illustrator, painter and … pyrographer or woodburner. She creates game boards inspired by Duluth and Minnesota. She’ll be at Earth Rider Brewery’s one-year anniversary events Sept. 14 and 15 as part of the Art on Tap series.
Although I love to work in a variety of mediums if the inspiration calls, pyrography (wood burning) is the medium that is the main aesthetic of North Country Craft. I’ve always loved trying out new mediums and somewhat fell into working with wood and making custom wood burned cribbage boards by accident. I realized I didn’t have a cribbage board in my apartment and made one for myself one night. That spun into family and friends asking about custom boards and eventually led to launching an Etsy site which took off and launched my custom cribbage business. (more…)
UMD faculty union and senate denounce outgoing U of M president’s compensation package
In a letter to the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, leaders of two faculty organizations on the Duluth campus call the compensation package of the outgoing system president “excessive” and a “golden parachute.”
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler announced in July his intention to step down from his position in 2019, saying in a statement that his seven years as president exceeds the national average and the university will benefit from a fresh perspective.
“Quite simply, it is time,” he said, noting he intends to work as president emeritus for one year to continue momentum on the university’s $4 billion “Driven” campaign. The fundraising effort is seeking to raise $1 billion for students, $2 billion for faculty and research, and $1 billion for university initiatives and outreach. (more…)
West Theater renovation adds second theater property
Duluth Reader publisher and West Theater owner Robert Boone has purchased 321 N. Central Ave., next to his West Theater renovation project. The building, constructed in 1913, is the former Alhambra Theater and most recently housed Interior Tomato, a hydroponic gardening store.
An alternative weekly newspaper publisher currently renovating a West Duluth movie theater has purchased a second historic but mostly forgotten theater adjacent to his current project. (more…)
Ursa Minor Brewing opening Sept. 26
Ben Hugus, Mark Hugus and Andrew Scrignoli – Photo by Lissa Maki
Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District will gain a third brewery by the month’s end. Ursa Minor Brewing, a five-barrel brewery that will also serve wood-fired pizzas, has announced it’s opening Sept. 26. (more…)
Crashing into 2332 W. Third St.
Left: 2018 crash at 2332 W. Third St. (Duluth News Tribune photo by Steve Kuchera)
Right: 1965 crash at same location. (Duluth News Tribune staff photo)
It happens at least once every 53 years or so. A motor vehicle smashes into the storefront on the corner of 24th Avenue West and Third Street.
Sept. 11, 2018 | Bus crashes into runaway SUV in Lincoln Park
Aug. 12, 1965 | Freak crash sends auto inside store
Duluth 2018 General Election Primer
With federal, state, county and judicial races on the ballot — and a triad of Duluth School Board questions — there’s plenty for voters to sort through this fall.
The countdown is on with eight weeks left to study up; the General Election will be held on Nov. 6. Below are the races that will appear on ballots in Duluth. Only one of the three Minnesota State Representative races affecting Duluth will appear on individual ballots. See the note on each for a description of which geographic areas apply.
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Summary of Make Canal Park Pop! and 2001: A Space Odyssey
I spent part of Friday at Make Canal Park Pop! and Saturday at 2001: A Space Odyssey. The events felt oddly similar, and my experience of both was disjointed if not entirely cynical. (more…)
Matt Wahl – “Just Look at the Lake”
Nettleton Elementary School 1962 First Grade Class Photo
Among the students in the Nettleton Elementary School first-grade class of 1962 is famed street photographer Wing Young Huie, seated in the middle of the second row. In August Huie was selected as the McKnight Foundation’s 2018 Distinguished Artist. He is the first photographer to receive the honor. (more…)