MNDOT names eight more plows for 2022
After tallying 60,000 votes, MNDOT has named eight more plows in the fleet. They join Plowy McPlowface and Duck Duck Orange Truck from last year’s naming contest. In Duluth, you can be on the lookout for No More Mr. Ice Guy to be clearing the roads. (more…)
America’s Curling Heroes in Parade Magazine
“A humble Midwestern team” that “made curling cool” is on the cover of this week’s Parade magazine.
The U.S. men’s Olympic curling team members pictured are, left to right: John Landsteiner, Duluth; Chris Plys, Duluth; John Shuster, Superior; John Landsteiner, Duluth; Colin Hufman, Minneapolis; and Matt Hamilton, McFarland.
Postcard from a View on Duluth’s Hillside
This undated postcard shows Duluth’s Aerial Lift Bridge, ships on the lake, the Duluth Arena-Auditorium, parts of the Downtown and Canal Park areas and more circa perhaps 1980 or so. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: February 2022
As we ease in and out of mask mandates and public health challenges, the world of arts, athletics and leisure carry on. And the PDD Calendar has all the details as usual. Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)
Philip Jones Keeping the Stairway into Chester Park Clear
As I struggled to get down into and then out of the Chester Park ravine during a walk, I recalled this short video interview I made with Philip Jones in 2017. Enjoy Philip’s thoughts on stairways, community, and the fact that the Hillside was built for trolleys, not for thousands of cars!
Quiz regarding the location of the Northeast Passage to follow!
A Bit More about Helen Futter
A reader has sent some information about Helen Futter, the subject (I think) of some thoughts I’ve had about record collections, midcentury media, and pop culture. (See here, here, here, here, and here.) Generally, reflecting on what (I think) was Helen’s record collection, donated by her estate to Gabriel’s Books in Lakeside, I treated her like a “typical teen,” listening to records on her “Victrola.” (more…)
Red pennants make sliding safe for kids at street intersections
An update to the post “Sledding Duluth’s Avenues in 1921“:
By 1922 it was determined that the safe thing to do is hang red pennants to warn drivers about popular sledding intersections. (more…)
Selective Focus: Beargrease 2022
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXjjXHpZZS/
The 38th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is underway. Collected here are a few select photos via Instagram. The 300-mile race is expected to finish on Feb. 1 in the afternoon. (more…)
Duluth on Judge John Hodgman’s Great Lakes Beach Report
The fake internet court podcast Judge John Hodgman, where pressing issues are decided by Famous Minor Television Personality John Hodgman, Certified Judge, once again mentioned Duluth, this time at length in the concluding segment of its Great Lakes Beach report. (more…)
PDD Quiz: January 2022
Welcome to 2022! This week’s quiz looks at headlines and happenings from this first month of the new year.
In honor of the upcoming games, the next PDD quiz will look at Northland Olympians; it will skate your way on Feb. 13. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Feb. 9. (more…)
Titties
I push through the door — it’s late, but the massive cowboy hat on the roof glows red — and step into something more like a nightclub than an Arby’s. Steady, throbbing beats pulse across the rafters of the dim dining room, threading through stacks of waxed cups, snapping plastic straws with reverb.
This roast beef hashery is my kind of joint.
Eyes float to the menu board; simultaneously, my chin begins to bob. Anticipating the imminent rush of potato cake puissance, my body ticks with the vocals.
Suckin’ on my titties like you wanted me,
Callin’ me, all the time like Blondie
“OH MY GOD!” the blondie behind the counter shrieks as she looks up from tying a trash bag. My presence has startled her.
Her first reaction is to hunch low, bending torso toward linoleum, hiding her body behind the cash register. Her second reaction is to screech, barely audible over the racy lyrics shaking the dining room, “JOE. TURN IT DOWN. TURN IT OFF. TURN IT DOWN. OH MY GOD. TURN IT OFF NOW!” (more…)
Video Tour of Former Finland Air Force Base
“The right amount of elbow grease” is what the narrator recommends during this video tour of the former Finland Air Force Base, located about 50 miles northeast of Duluth, which is listed for $800,000.
The catch? It’s a superfund site. (more…)
Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie in Talkhouse
Musicians Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie talk about how Duluth informs both their music and their outlook on the website Talkhouse, a media outlet where artists share firsthand perspectives and offer insight into their creative work.
Mystery Photo: Carl Thiel Cabinet Card
The identity of the woman in this photo is almost certainly lost to history, but on Perfect Duluth Day it’s always worth trying. What we know about this photo is the photography studio it came from and roughly when it was shot. (more…)
Nat Harvie – “Dog”
Duluth native Nat Harvie has a new EP, Married in Song, set for release Jan. 28.
Postcard from a Scene in Fairmount Park
This postcard depicts a scene in Fairmount Park where Kingsbury Creek flows under the Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway bridge in West Duluth. It’s not clear if the postcard predates the 1923 opening of the Duluth Zoo, now the Lake Superior Zoo, just downstream of the location shown. The bridge is still there, now part of the DWP multi-use trail. (more…)
Trampled by Turtles and Deer Tick – “White Freightliner Blues”
Trampled by Turtles performed at Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater in Austin, Texas on Jan. 14. Opening act Deer Tick invited TBT to join in a cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “White Freightliner Blues.” The video was shot by Evan Adamson and Scott Perry, edited by Scott Perry and mixed by Adam Krinsky.
The Slice: Ellen Sandbeck
Ellen Sandbeck is a paper cut artist in Duluth. Her exhibit “As Long as the Rivers Shall Run” is on display in the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center until Feb. 24.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Book Trailer for Eric Chandler’s Kekekabic
I’m happy to announce that my new book, Kekekabic, is for sale now at Finishing Line Press! From now until March 25, you can preorder a copy of my book and it will ship to you on May 20. You can get a copy for $19.99 at finishinglinepress.com. (more…)
DECC COVID-19 testing tips
In the midst of the Omicron-variant surge the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has published an “Insider’s Guide to COVID Testing.” Best walk-in hours? From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parking? Free in the DECC lot if you tell the attendant that’s what you’re there for.
R.I.P. Louie Anderson, sitcom Duluthian
Comedian Louie Anderson died today at age 68. Part of his credentials in the entertainment industry is a CBS sitcom set in Duluth. Six episodes were produced; five were aired in 1996. (more…)
My message to FedEx about their Duluth branch
Messaged this to FedEx’s Facebook page even though I was off the clock (I am not speaking for my unnamed place of business in any capacity but only as a private concerned citizen): “Hello – I work for a Duluth MN business that is having consistent problems with your drivers being unmasked in violation of our store policy, FedEx policy, and a citywide masking ordinance.
The Slice: Duluth Harbor Cams
Take a look at the sights and sounds of Lake Superior via web camera at duluthharborcam.com.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.