MPR interview with Mayor Ness – Duluth tries to land high-speed Internet via Google

The mayor of Duluth is ready to throw his city’s hat in the ring for a new Google experiment to test ultra-high speed Internet access.

MPR’s Steven John talks to Don Ness about his city’s plan.

YMCA Camp Miller Could Win $50K Grant, 14 Days Left To Vote!

Two weeks ago, you may have seen this Pepsi Grant Link on Perfect Duluth Day.  Duluth’s Local YMCA Camp Miller is STILL in the running (Currently #11, while the top ten applicants all win) for this grant and could potentially win!  With only 14 days left to vote, every vote counts!  Please take one moment each day to click for this exceptional nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the lives of children!

www.refresheverything.com/YMCACampMiller

Wilco (the city) = Duluth

Wilco’s fog show in Duluth was the equivalent of two young lovers waiting out a downpour in a phone booth (if the weather wasn’t so bad we’d still just be holding hands).

I loved that show – the fog, the ore boat, the Brewhouse beer, the unseasonable cold, and a band who seemed to thrive in the elements.   It was perfect because it was such an authentic Duluth experience and Wilco seemed to appreciate it every bit as much as we did.

It seems to me there something special going on between Wilco and Duluth, a sense of connection between band and city.  Duluthians recognize and appreciate the authenticity, the talent, the lack of pretense – it’s all those qualities that we see and expect from our local rock stars (Al, Mimi, Charlie, Turtles, Jerree, Tony B, etc).

So, here’s the deal, since there is nothing in the Charter that strictly prohibits me from doing so, I’m going to officially proclaim Wilco as an honorary Duluth band.  I need your help to define exactly what that means…

1)  We need to come up with some sort of “official trinket” that represents their honorary Duluth band status

2) We need to present the ground rules for being a Duluth band – with power comes responsibility

3) What are the special perks to being a Duluth band in good standing?

Obviously, they would now be eligible to play Homegrown (we’ll have to remind them that registration closes at the end of February).

Thanks for your help.

Poet Lucille Clifton Dies at Age 73

“homage to my hips”

these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don’t fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don’t like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!

*This is one of my favorite poems. Ms. Clifton. I have yet to develop an opinion on her last book of poetry, “Voices”. But she left many great works before her death.

It’s Time to Talk About It: Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness Week at UMD

Calendar of events:

Monday, February 22:

Classroom Seminar: The Biological Basis of Sex Differences in Body Shape.  Presented by Colleen Belk, Department of Biology.  Chemistry 150, 3-3:50pm.  Join us for this classroom lecture and discussion as part of the Biology of Women course.

Wilco is sold out – Win tickets here

Did you come to party, Duluth? I know you did.

Tickets to Friday night’s Wilco show at the DECC Auditorium are sold out. If you’d like to win tickets from PDD, here’s how:

If you went to the foggy, rainy 2007 concert at Bayfront Festival Park, share your favorite memory of that show in the comments. If you didn’t go, maybe you have a good excuse for missing such a sensational show, so share that.

At some point either tonight or tomorrow, I’ll pick a winner from those who comment.

(Oh, and I know the audio is crappy on the embedded video, so you don’t need to comment about that.)

Duluth Home Improvement

So with spring right around the corner (let’s pretend, shall we?) it’s time to start planning all of those lovely projects that are part of the joys of being a home owner.  This year, our house is definitely going to need to be repainted, but because of the way we’re nestled into the hillside, this is not a project we want to attempt on our own. We’re dreading spending the money, but it must be done!

Please help ease our anxiety by sharing your recommendations for reputable house painters.  Anyone know how much one might generally expect to pay for a typical two-story home on the hill to be scraped/washed and painted?

While we’re at it, we plan on pricing out maintenance-free siding.  Recommendations for type of siding and contractors are also appreciated!

And just because we’re not feeling poor enough yet, also on our wish list are some new windows.  What brands are the best?  Who should we hire to install them?   Just to cover all of our bases, if you know a good plumber, now is the time to sing their praises!

Is that a long enough list?  Share your horror stories and happy endings here!

Travel Advice

Heading to Park City in June with my wife and kids [ages 4 and 6].  I’m looking for advice on a route and adventure along the way.  We are looking to mix up camping and some more traditional resort/hotel/cabin accommodations.

Where can I get loonies and toonies in Duluth?

I need to get some Canadian money here in Duluth. The last time I tried at a local bank – a branch of a national chain – they told me they’d have to order it; they didn’t have any on hand. I didn’t search any further at that time.

I’m betting some bank in town has Canadian currency readily available. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

A Special Valentine from Rachael Kilgour and Paul Lundgren to All Y’all

Rick Boo is totally comfortable with this song. It is not sitting well with him.

Ski Jumping at Chester Bowl Sunday

OK, so nobody’s going off Big Chester, but there will be a basics of ski jumping demonstration Sunday at Chester Bowl.

I believe anybody can try – registration at 11:30, bring your own alpine skis and helmet. Jumping from 12:30 – 2:30

Threaded Comments – Aborted

As explained in this post, Perfect Duluth Day experimented with threaded comments for a few days. The benefits of it seemed to be outweighed by the complications of it, so the experiment is now over and comments are back to working like they used to.

Since previously threaded comments are now unthreaded, we hope it won’t create too much confusion to readers who haven’t been following along.

Saturday, Feb. 20 | The People Say Fox & Tiny Moving Parts

Tiny Moving Parts (math rock from Benson,MN)
The People Say Fox (local alt favorites)
Lions & Creators (first show, members of Road Warrior and Infected Wednesday w/ special guest; Greta Konkler)
Leif Hinkel (acoustic positivity)
5 p.m. | $4 | All Ages
@The Encounter | 201 E. First Street

Holy Crap. I Want One!

Sympathy for the Ball Slasher

Below is video footage from last Wednesday’s “Paul Lundgren Happy Hour” at Teatro Zuccone. As a primer for the video, you might want to read my latest column.

Props to Dean Vogtman and Dan Fitzpatrick, videographers extraordinaire.

Click here for info about next week’s Happy Hour.

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