Schwinning and Losing
When I was a kid I had a blue Schwinn Sting-Ray Fastback 5-speed banana-seat bicycle with ape-hanger handlebars. It was classic and beautiful. I hated it.
That bike was a relic handed down from my significantly older brother, Scott, who bought it in the late 1960s with his paper route money and used it to expedite his collections process. I took it over just as the 1970s turned into the 1980s, and by then banana bikes weren’t cool. Freestyle bikes were the new rage.
In West Duluth at the time we called freestyle bikes “dirt bikes,” a term that would get them confused with motorized dirt bikes in other neighborhoods or other periods in history, but there was no confusion among us. The Huffy BMX is a popular dirt bike I remember, along with Diamondbacks. I wasn’t really tuned into what all the hot brands were, nor was I much of an enthusiast for stunt biking, I just knew I wanted one of those bikes so I could blend in and not look ridiculous when it was time to jump over stuff and race through mud or whatever. But I didn’t want it bad enough to get a paper route and pay for it, I just wanted fate to hand me one. Because if fate hands you anything in this life, it immediately entitles you to think it will hand you things over and over again. (more…)
Call for Volunteers: Goose Deterrence!
Do you enjoy paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, or some other form of water recreation? If so this is a good opportunity for you! We are currently working on a research project to determine the effect of goose herbivory on northern wild rice and how water recreation such as kayaking or canoeing can effect how much the geese eat the wild rice. In this study I need to get people to scare geese for 1-2 hours at each site, if you are interested in volunteering to go out to some select bays to deter geese, get some exercise, and explore a bit please respond to this post!
Thank you,
Sam
Selective Focus: #duluth
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBacO5HcFS/
A few images of people recently Duluthing. (more…)
Knife River Documentary
Justin Christopher Ayd and Jennifer Lillemo Ayd of H8C Productions in Minneapolis have been working on a documentary about Knife River, a small community about eight miles northeast of Duluth. The trailer above reflects the quiet tone and style that will characterize the completed film.
Toppers Pizza open in Duluth’s East Hillside
Duluth’s East Hillside just got a bit cheesier. Toppers Pizza is holding a soft opening today and tomorrow. At the shop’s grand opening on Saturday it will give 50 people free pizza for a year. (more…)
Kickapoo Coffee will replace Big Water in Bayfield
Business North reports that Kickapoo Coffee will open this summer at 117 Rittenhouse Ave. in Bayfield. It’s the former location of Big Water Coffee Roasters, which closed the coffee shop last fall and slowly wound down coffee roasting operations in the following months. (more…)
Bubble Tea Company of Duluth open in Miller Hill Mall
Duluth has a Taiwanese pearl-milk tea shop. Fox 21 reports that Bubble Tea Company of Duluth opened in May at the Miller Hill Mall in the former Teavana location. (more…)
Duluth’s Best Bread opening breakfast cafe at Endion Station
Duluth’s Best Bread will open a European style bakery-cafe on July 7 at Endion Station Public House in Canal Park. The cafe will operate from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Fridays through Sundays, before Endion Station’s typical business hours.
Duluth’s Best Bread at Endion Station will serve sweet pastries including French-style croissants, monster cinnamon and caramel pecan rolls, and homemade Pop Tarts. It will also serve new savory items, including a classic quiche with bacon and ham. (more…)
Duluth City Council has an open seat; here’s how to fill it
Duluth City Council President Elissa Hansen announced last month she will vacate her at-large council position on July 17 to focus on her new job as president and CEO of the Northspan Group. Hansen began her at-large term in 2016; her replacement will be expected to hold the position until January 2020.
Applications for appointment to Hansen’s soon-to-be-open at-large council seat are available in the city clerk’s office and online at duluthmn.gov.
Completed applications must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 9. Applicants will be interviewed by the council on Thursday, July 12, following the regular agenda session.
The process for filling the vacated seat was established by City Council Resolution 18-0471R, adopted by the Duluth City Council on June 11.
Low – Double Negative Triptych
Here it is, a Low triple feature — three new music videos for songs from the album Double Negative, scheduled for release Sept. 14 on Sub Pop Records. (more…)
Martin Ledin – “The Coldest Season”
Martin Ledin, a musician based out of the Bayfield Peninsula, released this music video last week for a track from his self-titled 2017 album. The video was created during a live performance at his album release party last fall. It features Ed Willet on cello and Dane Hauser on percussion. The video was directed by Kjell Kvanbeck of True Norse Films. The sound engineer was Ryan Rusch.
Ledin will performing this Thursday ahead of King Cardinal at Blacklist Artisan Ales. The show starts at 9 p.m.
Petition for Net Neutrality
A three-person majority of the Federal Communications Commission voted to give control of the internet to four corporations. All but rich corporations will become second-class internet “citizens,” and voices of dissent will be further marginalized. Please sign this petition and call your representative and tell him/her this is not acceptable.
Corktown Deli & Brews and Love Creamery will open June 13
Two new eateries, next door to each other at 1906 and 1908 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, will officially open full hours on Wednesday, June 13. (more…)
Golfing in Duluth
I was talking sports, violence, and masculinity with friends and as we rattled through sports that made me, at least, uncomfortable, I went for the one I know I like — golf. No one gets hurt (football) or damaged (running). Yes, there are stories of obsessive coaches doing immense damage to their charges, but I imagine those coaches would have abused anyway — the sport of golf just normalized the behavior.
Maybe golf is what we need, what I need. Golf may be a good walk, ruined, to some, but I could stand a good walk. (more…)
PDD Quiz: PDD at 15

In honor of Perfect Duluth Day’s 15th anniversary, this quiz looks back at some famous (and infamous) PDD posts, memes, events and features. Hat tip to Paul Lundgren for supplying question ideas.
The next PDD quiz, a recap of current events from June 2018, will be published on June 24. Email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 21. (more…)
I Knew A Guy …
I knew a guy named Aman who had been a commander in the Mujahideen, the predecessors of the Taliban in Afghanistan, back in the ‘80s when Islamist militants were on our side in the Cold War effort to kick the Soviets out of their country. One of the things Aman did back home was defuse Soviet bombs and rewire them for later use — thus his Coke bottle glasses and missing digits. I met him when he was washing dishes in a Minneapolis restaurant with a couple of his cohorts, one of whom, being an example of the crossroads which is Afghanistan, looked like any Irishman you’ve ever met. In those innocent, pre-9/11 days, Aman came into the kitchen one morning, and a young jewish cook said, “Hey, Aman, how’s the jihad going? Have you killed the Great Satan yet?” Aman merely waved his hand, and groaned, “Ah, Jewish,” and from there, as usual, we all got along quite swimmingly. A controversy at the time began when the president, George H. W. Bush, for some reason told the press he didn’t like broccoli, and the local TV station came to the restaurant for some counterpoint. Aman was enlisted for some filming which, alas, didn’t make the final cut, but there he was, our Mujahideen commander, eyes bulging behind thick glasses, ascending the stairs from the cooler with a case of broccoli on his shoulder. Coming to get you, George! God is great! And broccoli. (more…)
Steve Earle was in Deluth
According to the back of the tour shirt, Steve Earle made a stop in Deluth recently. He must be friends with Christie Brinkley — when she visited Duluth in 2016 during John Mellencamp’s tour stop she Instagrammed photos from around town and noted that she loves “Deluth.”
The Slice: Robot Rickshaw
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 pieces are created by WDSE-TV and submissions from viewers.
This video features Troy Rogers, the man behind Robot Rickshaw.
Selective Focus: Travis Novitsky
When you get away from city lights and can look at a clear night sky, it’s remarkable how much is up there. Travis Novitsky takes this experience even further with his photography, showing the amazing detail of stars, the milky way and auroras that shine down on our world every night.
TN: I have been making photographs for over 25 years, specializing in images of Lake Superior and the Minnesota North Woods with a passion for the night sky. A self-taught photographer, my knowledge about photography has come primarily from reading books on the subject and from countless hours of experimentation with the camera. I “got my start”, I guess you could say, early on in high school. My first camera was a very basic point-and-shoot Pentax film camera. After that I graduated to a Minolta X-700 SLR film camera which I used until purchasing my first digital camera in 2001. Since then I have used a variety of camera brands including Olympus, Canon, Nikon and Sony. All have helped me create unforgettable imagery. What’s more important than what camera you use, however, is your way of looking at the world around you. How you interact with that world and how you choose to photograph what is around you.
(more…)
Five-star Customer Review of Richardson Brothers Duluth-based Amazon Kindle Book
Thought you should know about this. We published a novella on Kindle a while back and this review just appeared. The novella is Menno Zwonk: Amish Outlaw, which we excerpted in the Transistor over the course of several years:
This hyperfantastic shitstorm of a story will make about as much sense as anything in 2018 without the frightening public policy implications. Filled like an overflowing park garbage can on Memorial Day weekend with biologic catastrophes, double and triple crossing henchmen, some forgivable juvenalia, ungodly sea mutants, Duluth references, and hope in the form of ecoterrorist lesbians, the Meatco minions can’t possibly know who really works for who as experiments become kill triggers plowing through law enforcement and launching giant lamprey. Can’t wait for Book Two.
Duluth Experience launches Lincoln Park Craft District tour
The buzz around Duluth’s burgeoning Lincoln Park Craft District continues. Now the neighborhood has its own walking tour, where people can learn more about the area and some of the key entrepreneurs driving its growth.
The Duluth Experience developed the tour. The company, now in its fifth year, also provides including biking, brewery and kayak tours. Knowledgeable guides lead the Duluth-centric outings, which include interesting tidbits about the city as well as historical context. (more…)
Duluth 2018 Primary Election Primer
There are plenty of federal and state offices up for grabs in 2018, and a little bit of St. Louis County action, but no Duluth City Council or Duluth School Board races.
Remember: Aug. 14 is one of those Primary Elections in which voters must choose a party. One can’t, for example, vote for a Republican governor and a DFL congressman. On the partisan portion of the ballot citizens must vote for the same party in all races. Below are the contests that will be on that ballot, and some notes about what will be part of the Nov. 6 General Election.
All candidates representing the Minnesota Green Party, Legal Marijuana Now Party, Independence Party, Libertarian Party or Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party are unopposed in the Primary Election and will appear on the General Election Ballot, as will any unaffiliated candidates. (more…)
























