This Week: nerds, boogers, robots and more

Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
The Nerds are having another Nite at Teatro Zuccone, the 22nd annual Empty Bowl fundraiser is at the Depot on Tuesday, The Boogers are at the Duluth Public Library, there’s a fundraiser for the Duluth East robotics team and the Miller Hill Mall is the site of the Kelly Services Job Fair.
The Tom Lehrer revue Tomfoolery opens at UWS, the Shrine Circus comes to town, Episode 14 of Kirov by Night goes down at the Underground, lawyers rock Clyde Iron and DS Pride honors Dan Hanger at Greysolon Plaza.
Selling 2.5-inch squares for fun and profit
For the first time in three years, Perfect Duluth Day has an opening on its advertising sales force. Click here for the full job description. In addition to healthy financial remuneration the position comes with tremendous prestige and the occasional pastry item.
Literary Northland
This week has been a week of literary experiences for me, from International Falls to Minneapolis, from Icebox Radio to Holy Cow Press.
I drove with friends from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council to International Falls. It was both planning/working/friendly talking time with Ashley (grants manager) and Bob (executive director) and time to visit friends in International Falls. (more…)
Wildwoods: Deer and Eagles
From Wildwoods: a heartwarming, yet bittersweet story about people who saw animals in trouble and decided to do something about it. Then, a depressing story, so sad.
42 Days in Duluth: Kip’s Memory Card Dump
Photographer Kip Praslowicz “went a little crazy with the burst mode” and filled his memory card in under two months. This video shows all the photos, from Feb. 26 to April 8, set to random free music available on YouTube.
Selective Focus: Trees

Hansi Johnson, untitled
I’ve heard there is an austere beauty to deserts, though I have never lived in one. Still, I can’t imagine, being from the North, a landscape without trees, or being without their practical, aesthetic, poetic, mythical, and allegorical implications — all there is of oxygenation, fuel, foliage, building, climbing from our simian origins, tree of life, the axis mundi, tree of knowledge… (more…)
When the geeks inherited the Earth
Duluth Band Profile: The Farsights
The Farsights take one part storyteller and one part punk for a rocking good time. Phil Jents, Ryan Nelson and Brynn Sias explain how they developed the band’s sound. Click on the image above to hear the interview.
The Red Door brightens Duluth’s East Hillside
Hibbing native Sharon Kangas has been a Head Start teacher and cosmetologist. Now she’s an entrepreneur. In September 2013 she opened the Red Door, an ornate consignment shop in Duluth’s East Hillside neighborhood. (more…)
I want to raise and slaughter sheep in my Duluth backyard
Lambs rather … I enjoy the old-world taste of their meat and find it difficult to procure at my local super mart. I feel their presence would reduce the amount of lawn mowing while cutting down on my risk of heart attack or stroke as they sooth me with their constant bleating and licking of salt from my fingers. I’m talking like one or two maybe, but there is some (dumbass) rule in zoning preventing me from doing this legally, or they’d be everywhere. What if it was small and I kept a muzzle on it at night?
Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Awesomeness
Do you want to see what your regional arts council is funding in your community? Check out the list below, congratulate friends and neighbors who won money, then take a look at the bottom of this message for more about ARAC. (more…)
Homegrown Photo Show Wants Your Photos
It is open call for entries this year for the Homegrown Photo Show. Any photos you have that somehow relate to the Duluth Music scene are eligible. Deadline for submissions is April 10th. Additional information and entry system can be found at the following url.
Duluth Band Profiles: Ire Wolves
Ire Wolves mixes a healthy blend of melody and metal. Guitarist Mike Trepanier and bassist Dustin Fennessey explain the theme behind The Ascetic. Click on the image above to hear the interview.
Jade Fountain purchased by owner of neighboring restaurant
Bill Kalligher has been owner of Gannucci’s Italian Market for four years. During that time the three-decades old West Duluth eatery expanded in both size and scope, and in October was featured on the cable television show Diners, Drive-in and Dives. Last week Kalligher expanded his holdings by acquiring one of the area’s oldest restaurants, Jade Fountain.
Located at 305 N. Central Ave., two doors down from Gannucci’s, Jade Fountain has been a staple in West Duluth since George Wong opened it in 1968. Wong sold it in 1997 to Sick Cheung Lee, who had just immigrated to the United States. Lee died in November and his widow Kwok Chun Mak was looking to sell. (more…)
Popular Minneapolis chef will open resort restaurant in Pengilly
Sarah Master has announced she will leave her position as executive chef at Minneapolis’ Café Barbette to open a restaurant and resort 75 miles outside of Duluth in the Iron Range city of Penguilly. Her partner in the venture is Dan Beckwith, who had been working as the financial controller of Bryant-Lake Company.
Mr. Roberts Resort is expected to open on June 1 at 28179 East Shore Drive. A news release announcing the plans refers to it as “a unique combination of a full-service restaurant, bar, cabins and RV sites, all situated in a bucolic setting on Swan Lake in Northern Minnesota.”
(more…)Easter Sunday Fire at Applewood Knoll Apartments
A Facebook page has been established for “Donations for the victims of the Easter fire Duluth MN.” (more…)
This Week: brews, tunes, flicks and more

Here’s a bit of what you’ll find on this week’s PDD Calendar:
Fans of internet cat videos are getting their own festival, Mike Scholtz will screen a film and then defend his selection, the Arrowhead Home and Builders Show gets underway, multi-instrumentalist David Lindley performs at Sacred Heart and people can sample local music and local beers at Mitchell Auditorium.
Minnesota rock legends Soul Asylum play the Sports Garden, underwater photography is exhibited at the Red Herring, science is celebrated at UWS, the 2015 Fitger’s 5k Run and Walk goes down on Saturday morning and the Gitchee Gumee Brewfest hits Wessman Arena.
R.I.P. DNT
Don’t worry, the Duluth News Tribune is still a thriving enterprise and the sign on the back of the building is holding strong. The visibility of the sign, however, is slowing diminishing as the future Maurices headquarters climbs skyward.
The Potluck: An integral part of our functionality
A brief peak into conversations at the UMD Costume Shop during last month’s run of Detestable Madness.
Thirsty Pagan’s Allyson Rolph profiled in The Growler
Allyson Rolph, head brewer at Thirsty Pagan Brewing in Superior, discusses spruce tips, Lake Superior, her pathway into a male-dominated field and just about everything else in the latest issue of Minnesota’s craft-beer lifestyle magazine, The Growler.
Article: Allyson Rolph brews Wisconsin, lives Minnesota, wins all day
Selective Focus: Underwear

Zach Kerola, “Marcus
This week’s feature is somewhat scant due to fewer than usual submissions. However, the several photos that did arrive were clever, imaginative interpretations of our theme (in particular, Cheryl Reitan’s take on underwear, or lack thereof). Next week’s theme will be something else we’re all acquainted with, although possibly less bashful about exhibiting- “trees.” (more…)
Maddy Siiter – “Runaway” (Live on The PlayList)
Proctor’s Maddy Siiter performs “Runaway” on the March 26 episode of WDSE-TV’s The PlayList.
Upcoming Maddy Siiter gigs: April 9 at Jefferson People’s House, April 12 at Pizza Luce and May 2 at Chester Creek Cafe Wine Bar during Homegrown.
Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers
Lola Visuals produced this documentary about the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers, a program that provides hospitality to crew members of the various vessels that navigate Lake Superior and port in Duluth or Superior.




















