Postcard from the Duluth/Superior Interstate Bridge
This undated postcard, published by the Illustrated Postal Card Company of New York, shows the Duluth/Superior Interstate Bridge, referred to on the front of the card simply as the “Duluth and Superior Bridge.” (more…)
Ripped at 21 North in 2006
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the drunken compendium 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 21 North, a short-lived nightclub at 21 N. Fourth Ave. W. in the Duluth Athletic Club building, and composed this article for the March 13, 2006 edition of the Ripsaw newspaper. 21 North closed in April 2007, when the Tap Room moved out of the Fitger’s building into its space. Less than a year later, the Tap Room closed.]
The first thought I have as I walk into 21 North is that somehow, suddenly, I’ve managed to walk into a room full of the type of guys who shave their pubes. Please don’t misunderstand; everyone here is fully clothed. This is just a suspicion I have. We’re talking hairy stomachs, hairy legs and a big pink arc of smoothness around the genitals.
I order a $4 whiskey-Coke, and it’s amazing how weak it is. While I might complain about a lot in this town, one thing’s for certain: No matter where you go, you rarely get a weak pour. Why the hell would a bartender care how much booze you get? In fact, it’s in his best interest to get you hammered because drunk people are very loose and generous with their money. Luckily, I’ve developed a policy for places like this: First sip, then tip. (more…)
Duluth: Gateway to Lake Superior
Former Duluthian Ian Grant travels all over the world as host of the Emmy-award winning series Culture Quest, which looks at “life through the lens of the world’s artists, artisans and keepers of culture.” The latest episode is all about the place Grant spent his childhood in the 1970s and ’80s: Duluth. The show explores how Lake Superior influences the people, culture and stories of the city.
Lisa Fitzpatrick recognized with environmental film award
Lisa Fitzpatrick creates a tiny tableau of the St. Louis River estuary in “River Creatures,” an artwork that is part of “The River Speaks” exhibit at Wussow’s Concert Cafe, organized by the St. Louis River Alliance. (Image via the St. Louis River Alliance’s Instagram page.
Duluth-based artist, animator and climate advocate Lisa Fitzpatrick was recognized with an Outstanding Environmental Film Award at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest., an event in Cleveland, Ohio that highlights short features. Her submission, Love Song for Earth, was part of the festival’s environmental program on March 4. (more…)
Making it Up North: Steger Mukluks
Susan Steger, founder of Steger Mukluks, recounts her history as a winter survival instructor, her 9-month expedition to Ellesmere Island and the 40-year evolution of her iconic footwear brand.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
From Duluth to Grand Marais in a Winter Paradise
Twin Cities realtor Jesse Lynch packed up his video gear, and dog Oscar, for a trip to Duluth and the North Shore of Lake Superior in February following a heavy snowstorm and produced this travelogue, capturing frozen waterfalls and snowy landscapes along the scenic route. (more…)
A & Dubs set to reopen this summer
Computer-generated illustration of A & Dubs in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood courtesy of the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Duluth’s iconic A & Dubs seasonal drive-in restaurant will reopen after sitting idle for two summers. The new owners, Mike Koralia and Ryan Spears, wrote in a post on the A & Dubs Facebook page they plan to announce an opening date soon. (more…)
Duluth, America and Public Disorder
Chris Arnade, a writer who is walking around the world and recently posted about “Walking Duluth,” references the Zenith City in his latest piece, “America and Public Disorder.”
Three weeks ago, in Duluth, half the riders on every bus I took were mentally tortured and/or intoxicated. The downtown Starbucks, pedestrian malls, and shuttered doorways of vacated buildings all housed broken people. Same in Indianapolis, El Paso, New York City, Jacksonville, LA, Phoenix, and almost every community I’ve been to in the U.S., save for those gated by wealth.
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out
Meet the Moment: Writers Speak Out was held at Wussow’s Concert Cafe on Feb. 26. (more…)
Minnesota All Hockey Hair Team 2026: Flow for Gold
Experience all the gold medal salad from St. Paul and see who earned their spot on the FLOWdium. John King and Pulltab Sports present an Olympic-themed hockey hair-a-lympics full of salad shenanigans from the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament. (more…)
Three Versions of “Opiate War”
Oh, Duluth.
It began with watching addicts scream in the alley. Then it got electric. Then it got louder.
I’m not sure where it’s going, but I know how it ends. (more…)
Climate>Duluth: Shodo Spring
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews Shodo Spring, author of Open Reality: Meeting the Polycrisis Together With All Beings.” The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio.
Six Century-old Postcards from Duluth
Not much is known about the six postcards featured here, but they all have appeared in recent eBay sales by LL Vintage Antiques of St. Paul. They are collected in this post simply because they are of a similar style and are cards that haven’t appeared on Perfect Duluth Day before. (more…)
Ursa Minor Brewing cooks up new Bean & Bear Bagels shop
Amanda Agamaite, left, and Ben Hugus of Ursa Minor Brewing stand in front of the future home of Bean & Bear Bagels. The Lincoln Park brewery is remodeling the north end of its production facility at 202 S. 26th Ave. W. A deck will be built in the current parking lot. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A Lincoln Park brewery famous for its beer and wood-fired pizza combination is opening a new restaurant space that will specialize in made-from-scratch bagels for the breakfast and lunch crowd.
Ursa Minor Brewing will open Bean & Bear Bagels, a grab-and-go bagel shop, on the north end of its brewery and warehouse facility at 202 S. 26th Ave. W. this spring. The new location will feature fresh bagels, bagel sandwiches and specialty coffee. (more…)
Making it Up North: Catherine Meier
Visual artist Catherine Meier shares her journey from hauling cattle across the Great Plains to creating deeply immersive animations and drawings on Minnesota’s North Shore.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Cloud Cult – “It’s All Burning to Begin”
The new song and video from Cloud Cult “feels like the prelude birthing of a new album,” according to bandleader Craig Minowa’s description on YouTube. “The ground this new musical nursery stands on was Ho Chunk. The Kickapoo River hugs this recording studio on three sides and is considered by some geologists to be one of the oldest in the world — 2 million years. There is spirit here, and it has stories to tell.” (more…)
Duluth Deep Dive #14: The Last of the Transporter Bridges
Germany’s Osten-Hemmoor Bridge with a postcard of Duluth’s transporter bridge in the foreground. (Photo by Matthew James; postcard from the University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, University Archives)
Growing up in Duluth, I often heard that the lift bridge was the only bridge of its type in the world. I later learned that the world is full of lift bridges. Wikipedia lists 137 of them. But that doesn’t mean the claim isn’t true. The lift bridge was once a transporter bridge, a far more rare type of bridge. Aside from various hand-cranked bridges that basically amount to art projects, fewer than two dozen transporter bridges have ever been built anywhere in the world. Only eight of those are still in use. And the world only has one converted transporter bridge in operation: Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge. This Duluth Deep Dive takes a closer look at what Duluth’s bridge was like before its conversion by recounting my visit to two of the world’s remaining transporter bridges. One is the closest surviving counterpart to Duluth’s original canal bridge. The other gives a sense what the Duluth bridge might have looked like if the city had modernized the gondola instead of making the conversion to a lift bridge. (more…)
The S.S. Meteor Placemat
Found at a thrift store in Webster: a packet of 50 paper placemats promoting tours of the SS Meteor in Superior.
Making it Up North: Java Moose
From starting a makeshift weather update during a forest fire to becoming a daily staple for locals and tourists alike, Java Moose is more than just a coffee shop, it’s a community hub.
Making it Up North is a PBS North series that explores stories of creative artists, artisans and entrepreneurs engaged in honing their skills, following their passion and realizing their dreams.
Duluth looked best on paper in 1906
Some harsh criticism from a postcard sender 120 years ago.
Jonathan Thunder’s Digital Tampering Reel
This compilation shows various animation projects Duluth artist Jonathan Thunder has worked on in the past decade, including his own projects, collaborations and works for hire.
Postcard from a Bird’s-eye View of the Duluth Post Office in 1916
This postcard was mailed Feb. 23, 1916 — 110 years ago today. It shows the beginnings of the Duluth Civic Center, with the old Duluth Post Office at the center. (more…)
Arrowhead Community Garden seeks new members
Arrowhead Community Garden has a 35-year history of growing fresh vegetables and building community by providing space for gardeners to grow food on land in Duluth’s Kenwood neighborhood. Openings are available for the 2026 season, so the group is seeking new members. (more…)
Exhibitions celebrate Indigenous art
Illustration by Carl Gawboy.
Two fine-art exhibitions and the music of a Minneapolis recording artist are featured at the Duluth Art Institute in shows running through April 3. A reception for the artists is on March 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. (more…)
Mark Twain and Joseph Conrad Destroy a Duluth Hotel Suite
Introduction
Historic hotels worldwide falsely claim the globe-spanning author Joseph Conrad was a former guest. However, it should come as no surprise that, while struggling with the untitled manuscript that would become Heart of Darkness, Conrad stayed the winter of 1898-1899 in a top-floor suite of Duluth’s Spalding Hotel. It was a suite he destroyed with Mark Twain after the two writers met in the gilt-muraled hotel bar and things got out of hand. The incident might have been forgotten but for the young Duluth Herald reporter on the scene who wrote an article about it.
Conrad, 41, the Polish exile living in England, was stranded in Duluth because he’d missed the departure of his cruise ship. He’d dashed into town to get a tooth pulled and it simply took too long. He was going to catch the next steamer out, but the freighter Marchande wrecked at the mouth of the canal. Then winter arrived and shut down the shipping season anyway — and he was only interested in traveling by ship. So although he missed his wife of two years back in England, he decided to winter in the Spalding, dreaming up ideas for his manuscript, and hopefully, a title. (more…)