Benevolent God to Crayfish and Minnows of Lester River

Two crayfish, an alpha and a beta who was a little smaller.

Amanda and Rick and the new bike

Yesterday I saw this rain-soaked note clinging to the propane cage outside the Walgreen’s on Superior and 12th…

I thought it was odd enough to post on a well-known social media platform as a curiosity. Then Scott Lunt (aka Starfire) saw it and posted this version of the note he saw on 4th Street…

Even on rainy days Duluth still best outside city in country

Shot on and around Ely’s Peak with a cheap pocket camera and enhanced with stolen Cloud Cult music. Keep Duluth weird.

Oh, and vote in that thing if you want to. The numbers have been bizzaro, to the point where the mayor thought it might have been hacked …

Lakewalk Parking

I went down to the Lakewalk in Canal Park a few days ago after not being down there for a few years and was very disappointed. First realizing that there is a minimum $2 charge for parking. What person knows how long they will be gone? Going for a walk, run, etc or stopping to have a bite to eat, let the kids play. I paid my $2 and made it back to my car in time, but within 30 seconds of starting my car, I was informed by the meter maid, that my time was up. I even looked into other places where parking used to be free. Nope it’s all gone. I will never go down there again and am certainly passing the word around to look somewhere else for Duluth’s beauty.

RSI hiring children’s behavior specialists

Residential Services’ Wicklow children’s foster care home is seeking patient, self-motivated staff to work with children with severe and persistent mental illnesses, including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Behavior Disorder.

This position entails working with children with challenging behaviors, transition skills and adaptations necessary in skill development, social skills, independence, etc. Experience working with children, disabilities, and behavioral modification planning and crisis prevention, intervention and de-escalation of crisis and is preferred.

Hours will vary, applicants must be able to work days, evenings and every-other weekend. Day shifts are typically 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The home is located in Duluth.

For more information or to apply online, please visit residentialservices.org.

Where is the banana tree?

I am wondering what happened to the banana plant that was collected by Chester Congdon and used to be at Lester Park Greenhouse. It’s not at the UMD greenhouse or at Glensheen. It might be in a senior apartment with a greenhouse but I don’t know which one. I saw the plant when the greenhouse was still open in early 2000. I wrote briefly about it in the current Look at Lakeside newsletter.

Bananas Grown in Lakeside?

Employees at the Lester Park Florist would enjoy a banana split made with bananas grown from a banana plant in the greenhouse. The plant had been a gift from Elizabeth Congdon to the shop in the 1950s and was brought from South America by Chester Congdon in the 1920s.

The beginnings of that greenhouse at 6030 E. Superior St. date back to 1897. The final owners were the LaFaves who owned it for 25 years. The business closed ten years ago in the Spring of 2004.

DSFF Day 3 & 4

Last night, I saw Sorcerer and the Shorts festival at the Duluth Superior Film Festival… and I will be adding more to my thoughts before I post them.

Kathleen RobertsBut I ran into Kathleen Roberts, a local poet and a leader in the Duluth arts scene (one of the engines behind Prove Gallery). I teased that she would probably spend the weekend watching the movies in her gallery, but this is what she shared with me, instead — the movies she wants to see in the festival. Maybe she or I will see you there?

Duluth Public Library dedication riot

Does anyone remember that in the early 1970s there was a dedication for the groundbreaking of the new Duluth Public Library, and suddenly a group of war protesters, marching down Michigan Street, were raided by the police.

I was about 4 years old and remember seeing the cops using their billy clubs to best long-hair teenagers.

Does anyone remember any details?

Shaoxing wine in Duluth?

Is there a source for Shaoxing rice wine in Duluth? It’s a common ingredient in Chinese cooking. I really don’t want to have to drive to Minneapolis to get this.

Golden Hour trailer

The Minnesota-made short-narrative film “Golden Hour,” screens tonight at Prøve Gallery as part of the Duluth Superior Film Festival. Filmed in just eight days, it features ten different locations across Minnesota, including Duluth’s Park Point.

Duluth News Tribune online classifieds frequently down

The Trib revamped its website several months back. For some reason since then if you go to the classifieds and click on a category such as “Garage Sales-Lakeside/Lester Park” it just goes to a page with all the stuff around the edges, but the actual classifieds are missing.

I keep e-mailing them, they blame it on some cache issue or say it was down earlier, but they can never seem to permanently fix the problem. Is this some sort of jquery issue?

Film Fest Night 2: Stop the Pounding Heart

Last night was night #2 of the Duluth Superior Film Fest, and I made an evening of it.

Duluth vs. Minneapolis

Vote Duluth

Duluth is nearing the finals, and as of right now (9:25 a.m.), we’re leading against Minneapolis! Vote for us at VoteDuluth.com.

Camera crews, form a semi-circle. It’s time to remove the Last Place on Earth sign.

Among the throng of photographers and videographers, Lane Ellis captured this 17-minute don’t-miss-a-moment-of-the-action version of the Last Place on Earth sign being removed by city workers.

First Tick of the Year — 2014 Edition

It was actually last week — Friday, May 23 — when the first tick of 2014 crawled up my neck after a short hike near Kingsbury Creek. Although this time of year is prime time, ticks aren’t expected to be worse than usual in 2014. Mike McLean, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, told KSTP-TV, there was a “depression in their numbers” in 2013 because of late-season snow, and that could carry into 2014.

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!