Quarry Park: Let’s Have Sex
Though it is important to first point out that applying graffiti on rocks or any other thing in a city park is just plain wrong, we should also not let the medium distract from the message.
A Sea Change for Lake Superior: When the Ice Melts
Notoriously cold Lake Superior is among the fastest warming of the world’s large lakes. This excerpt from the upcoming public television documentary A Sea Change for Lake Superior documents research at the Large Lakes Observatory at University of Minnesota Duluth investigating how variations in winter ice-cover plays in that change.
The documentary is a coproduction of the Center for Global Environmental Education at Hamline University and WDSE-TV PBS North. It is scheduled for release in December.
PDD Quiz: Restaurant Roundup
This summer has seen lots of movement on the restaurant front: new restaurants are popping up and existing restaurants are moving or expanding to additional locations. Dig into this week’s quiz to test your knowledge of the local food scene.
The next PDD quiz comes your way on Aug. 27; it will review the month’s headlines and happenings. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 23. (more…)
Video Archive: Duluth cineplex announced in 2003
It was 20 years ago that Duluth Entertainment Convention Center officials announced plans to build an eight-screen movie theater next to the DECC’s Omnimax theater. Within a few weeks the plan expanded to 10 screens and had the name Canal Park 10. When it opened on Dec. 22, 2004, it bore the name Duluth 10 and was operated by Cinema Entertainment Corp. (more…)
Literary History: Duluth Manuscript Club
As I’m exhuming? excavating? exploring? the literary history of Duluth (largely by scooping up books from thrift stores and picking up connections with people wherever I can find them) I find the weirdest things, like books published by the Duluth Manuscript Club. (more…)
Dave Rave and the Governors – “Lear Jet”
Canadian rocker Dave Rave has been teaming up with Minnesota-based musicians for more than a decade, performing as Dave Rave and the Governors. Although the Minnesotans in the group are mostly from the Twin Cities, Duluthians will recognize Rich Mattson of Sparta playing guitar at far left in this music video.
“Lear Jet” is from the band’s new album, Seven, recorded at Mattson’s Sparta Sound studio. Video by Reggie Pype.
Postcard from the Alworth Building in 1913
This postcard of Duluth’s Alworth Building was mailed Aug. 11, 1913 — 110 years ago today. Someone named Mary sent it from Duluth to Miss Julia Heskin in Minneapolis. (more…)
Bali Asian Cuisine bringing Pan-Asian food to Duluth
Bali Asian Cuisine owner and chef Nevi Mariadi stands in front of her Lincoln Park restaurant bar.
A restaurant featuring Indonesian food and an array of other Asian fare will open in Lincoln Park as early as September. Bali Asian Cuisine will serve up fresh and flavorful food, according to chef and owner Nevi Mariadi. (more…)
Whither the Depot Foundation?
As there is such a tussle coming about the Depot, I wondered — what is the role of the Depot Foundation in keeping the Depot afloat? (more…)
Duluth 2023 Primary Election Results
With 34 of 34 precincts reporting, here are the unofficial results of Duluth’s municipal primary election. (more…)
Riding High on the Aerial Lift Bridge
This wacky postcard was mailed 55 years ago today — Aug. 8, 1968. The caption on the back reads: “Riding High on the Famous Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth, Minnesota.” (more…)
Booze in the Blender on the Beach with Troy Rogers
Troy Rogers, the artist behind the cart full of musical robots known as Robot Rickshaw, has developed a drill-powered blender for use on the beach. Park Point will never be the same.
Part Way to the Majors: The 1970 Duluth Dukes
The 1971 educational film Part Way to the Majors, a documentary produced by ABC News for the Sunday afternoon series Discovery, follows the Duluth-Superior Dukes as they road trip to Sioux Falls, S.D. The film starts and ends at Wade Stadium in Duluth. (more…)
Postcard from a “Log Raft”
The location this photo was shot from is not entirely clear, but the caption on back reads, “Log Raft as seen along the Lake Superior Circle Route.” It’s from an undated postcard published by Gallagher’s Studio of Photography in Duluth.
Ripped at ‘R’ Place Bar & Grill in 2003
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the archive of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Twenty years ago the Sultan of Sot paid a visit to ‘R’ Place Bar & Grill and wrote the article below for the Aug. 6, 2003 issue of the Ripsaw newspaper. ‘R’ Place, located a few miles outside Superior at 6611 State Highway 13 in South Range, has been out of business for many years.]
The first thing I do when I walk into ‘R’ Place is check to see if Jake is still alive. It’s hard to tell sometimes. He tends to sprawl out in the middle of the floor for extended naps. Sometimes he’ll look up when you step over him, but not always.
Jake, by the way, is an old, fat golden retriever. But he’s no ordinary old, fat golden retriever. He’s on a short list of candidates for being the best bar-dog ever. That’s because, when he is awake, he knows how to entertain. His best trick goes like this:
1) You take a dollar bill and present it to him like food. (more…)
Seeking Urban Ground Café Photos
Seeking photos/videos of the Temple Opera Block (inside and/or outside) from 1995-6 when it housed the Urban Ground Cafe.
If you’re ever up in Duluth, remember to look me up
The 1981 comedy/action film The Cannonball Run includes a mention of Duluth. Lamborghini Girls #1 and #2, played by Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman, respectively, are pulled over for speeding. In a successful effort to sweettalk the highway patrol, the girls supply him with a phone number.
“If you’re ever up in Duluth, remember to look me up,” Buckman says.
An Important Announcement from Kip
Duluth’s Kip Praslowicz has made a modest name for himself in recent years as a photographer and YouTube video producer. But now he stands on the cusp of mega-influencer status, having achieved an unprecedented feat in photography.
In Honor of Minnesota’s New Pot Situation
I published this in the Ripsaw News more than two decades ago in my strip “Crackbrained Comix.” Thank you Governor Walz and everyone who finally legalized/decriminalized pot in Minnesota, as of today.
Duluth 2023 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Duluth’s Municipal Primary Election is on Tuesday, Aug. 8. The first two races on this sample ballot — mayor and at-large city council — appear on ballots citywide. The fourth-district council race is pertinent to the Lincoln Park, Piedmont Heights and Duluth Heights neighborhoods. The third-district school board race is pertinent to Duluth Heights, Piedmont Heights, Central Hillside, Central Business District and Park Point. (more…)
Duluth Waterfront Aerial Photo Circa 1903
This image from the Minnesota Digital Library, contributed from the Kathryn A. Martin Library Archives & Special Collections is estimated to be from the year 1903 — 120 years ago. It shows the Duluth Shipping Canal prior to construction of the Aerial Bridge, along with views of Canal Park, Rice’s Point and the old West End. (more…)
PDD Quiz: July 2023
As we close out another month of summer, take this week’s PDD quiz to see how many July 2023 headlines you remember.
The next PDD quiz will be published on Aug. 13. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 9. (more…)
State fast-tracks funds for I-35 pedestrian bridge in Lincoln Park
A cyclist travels over I-35 on the Lincoln Park pedestrian bridge last week. The bridge has been targeted for replacement by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A longstanding I-35 pedestrian bridge that connects Lincoln Park to its working waterfront and serves two well-traveled trail systems through the city has been fast tracked for replacement by state officials. (more…)
What AI thinks “Lake Superior fish” look like
I used stablediffusionweb.com to make these, using prompts like: “Lake Superior fish,” sometimes including “angler” and phrases like “catch of the day” or “look what I caught.” Then I switched to “a meal of Lake Superior fish,” “Lake Superior fish on a plate,” and so on. You will see some “breaded fried Lake Superior lampreys.” Bon appétit!
West Duluth before the Interstate
1939 aerial photo from the UM
MnDOT’s John Bray wrote in The Will and the Way: “Approximately 700 homes were razed or moved in West Duluth” to make way for Interstate 35. (more…)