Gavin St. Clair “Goodbye” EP Release Show

Duluth-based folk singer Gavin St. Clair has a new EP titled Goodbye and performed a livestream concert last night on Facebook. The show starts around the 3:25 mark on the video above. Fundraising campaigns can be found at paypal.me/gavinstclair and venmo.com/gavin-clair.

Music, VideosAlbum Releases, Gavin St. Clair

Matinee Musicale: 120 Years of Chamber Music

Matinee Musicale has been putting on chamber music performances in Duluth since 1900. This year the entire season of performances will be online, for free, released monthly on Matinee Musicale’s YouTube channel. (more…)

History, Music, VideosMatinee Musicale
Ashwabay Alliance / Big Top Chautauqua
Vision Pro: Year End 2026

Duluth points of interest penciled on an old postcard

“Are well and trust this will find you all the same. Write soon. John.”

HistoryPostcards

Halloween Banners


Got some photos of awesome Halloween memories? Want to share them with the PDD ghouls and goblins? Send them our way, we will add them to the banner rotation — the long skinny photos at the top of the page when you view Perfect Duluth Day on a desktop computer. (There are no photo banners if you are on a smartphone.)


(more…)

PhotosHalloween
Vision Pro: Year End 2026

Lake Superior Brewing gets new owners, will move to Lakeside

Seth and Sarah Maxim have purchased Lake Superior Brewing Company and plan to move operations into the former Xcel Xercise fitness center at 5423 E. Superior St. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

An iconic craft brewery, the first of its kind in Minnesota, has been sold and new owners plan to move operations from Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood to Lakeside. (more…)

News and Current AffairsBeer and Breweries, Lake Superior Brewing Company, Lakeside

The Slice: Jazmin Wong

Jazmin Wong, a pianist from Superior, shares about how her family inspires her to compose music.

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.

Music, VideosJazmin Wong, The Slice, WDSE-TV - PBS North
Ashwabay Alliance / Big Top Chautauqua
Vision Pro: Year End 2026

The Brothers Burn Mountain – “I Just Walk Away”

The third video release from the Brothers Burn Mountain‘s new album The Dark Exchange was shot by Ryan Dermody. The brothers are joined musically on this track by Alan Sparhawk on electric guitar and vocals, and Brooke Anderson and Dawn King on vocals.

Music, VideosThe Brothers Burn Mountain

Creating Apart: Lyz Jaakola

Lyz Jaakola is a musician and teacher from Cloquet, Minnesota. In this video by documentary filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Lyz talks about how her family responded to the pandemic with music. (more…)

Art, Music, VideosCOVID-19, Lyz Jaakola, Mike Scholtz
Glensheen Lantern Tours 2026

Postcard from the Moose Lake Fire of 1918

This postcard shows the aftermath of the infamous Moose Lake Fire. Written in white across the image is the date of the fire, Oct. 12, 1918, though the photo was almost certainly shot in the days that followed, not during the blaze. (more…)

History, PhotosFire, Moose Lake

Weekend Update: Dateline Duluth

Duluth made a brief appearance in Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update this week. The appearance is at the 2:54 mark.

News and Current Affairs, VideosReferences to Duluth in Film/TV or Other Media, Saturday Night Live
Ashwabay Alliance / Big Top Chautauqua

PDD Quiz: Halloween High Jinks

Duluth News Tribune, Oct. 29, 1922.

There are more tricks than treats in this week’s PDD quiz, which looks back at bygone Halloween pranks reported in the Duluth News Tribune. All articles, photographs and cartoons come from database America’s Historical Newspapers, which covers the years 1855-1922. For a look at more recent Halloween shenanigans, check out Mike Creger’s 2014 Duluth News Tribune article.

The next PDD quiz will review this month’s headlines; it will be published on Oct. 25. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 21. (more…)

HistoryPDD Quiz

Duluth You & Me: Glensheen Mansion

Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Glensheen Mansion

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.

ArtDuluth You & Me, Glensheen
Pizza Luce: Butternut Squash
FDLTCC: Pumpin Run

Ripped on Sunday in 2000

[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 our anti-hero took a Sunday-night tour of drinking establishments in Proctor and nearby townships.]

“Oh yeah, now, Flip’s Bar, I’d stay away from that place,” this inebriated wastoid in a Motorhead T-shirt told me about three months back. “No, Flip’s is the roughest place in Proctor. It’s a real dive. You don’t wanna go there.” Naturally, after hearing this, I did want to go there. So when Sunday boredom started to get the best of me, I decided to stir things up and head to Flip’s.

There were two cars in the parking lot when I arrived, and one of them was for sale. I walked in the door to find no one there except an old guy behind the bar, who I presumed was Flip himself. I didn’t hang around to find out. Before the old dude even knew I had opened the door, I was back in my El Camino, swearing to milk this night for whatever I could get. (more…)

RandomBars / Drinking Establishments, Saturday Essay

R.I.P. Mike’s Western Cafe

In an Oct. 7 Facebook post, Mike and Deb Pracher announced the closing of their family restaurant at 2803 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District.

“With heavy hearts, we will be closing the doors of Mike’s Western Cafe after 38 years of business,” they wrote. “Thank you so much for your support over the years. We have met so many people, made lots of great friendships and made MANY lasting memories. We appreciate all of you more than you know. Thank you for everything.”

Mike Pracher told Fox-21 he was 23 years old when he bought the restaurant. He said the COVID-19 pandemic led to its demise. “I thought it was going to be a week, two, or three,” Pracher said. “It’s already been six months and I just can’t wait it out.”

Pracher also told Fox 21 he might someday open a restaurant in Carlton County.

News and Current Affairs, RestaurantsLincoln Park Neighborhood / The Friendly West End
Glensheen Lantern Tours 2026

The Slice: Virtual Opera with LOON

Duluth-based Lyric Opera of the North is creating a virtual experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theater group is teaming with the newly formed Decameron Opera Coalition, comprised of nine U.S.-based companies, to premiere Tales from a Safe Distance, a multi-week virtual opera inspired by an historic text, Boccaccio’s The Decameron. LOON presents the first act tonight, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. (more…)

Art, EventsLyric Opera of the North, The Slice, Theater, WDSE-TV - PBS North

Steve’s Overpopulated One-Man Band – “Productivity”

Iron Ranger Steve Solkela lives for ripping up a to-do list. His overpopulated one-man band expands to two on this track, with Matti Jarva on percussion.

Music, VideosSteve Solkela
Pizza Luce: Butternut Squash
Vision Pro: Year End 2026

Creating Apart: Karen Savage-Blue

Karen Savage-Blue is one of the artists featured in the Tweed Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, “Creating Apart: Local Artists Respond to a Global Pandemic.” In this video by documentary filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Karen talks about a painting she created as a direct response to the pandemic. (more…)

Art, VideosCOVID-19, Karen Savage-Blue, Mike Scholtz

Video: Henry V in Ordean Court at UMD

Theater students at the University of Minnesota Duluth recently finished a run of outdoor performances of William Shakespeare’s Henry V. Auditions were in May, about three months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Art, Events, VideosTheater, UMD
FDLTCC: Pumpin Run
Pizza Luce: Butternut Squash

Postcard from Duluth Harbor South Breakwater Inner Light

This undated postcard features an image of the lighthouse on the Minnesota Point side of the Duluth Ship Canal. The card must be from the first half of the 20th Century, because the postage rate noted on the back is one cent and the U.S. postcard rate switched to two cents in 1952. The lighthouse was first lit in 1901 and remains there today. It was sold at auction in 2008 to Steven Sola and Matt Kampf, but the U.S. Coast Guard continues to maintain it.

HistoryDuluth Harbor South Breakwater Inner Light, Minnesota Point and Park Point, Postcards

Jeff Tweedy – “Gwendolyn”

Look for Duluthian Gaelynn Lea — or at least part of her — singing along in this new video by Jeff Tweedy.

There are also other people you may have heard of.

Music, VideosGaelynn Lea, Jeff Tweedy
FDLTCC: Pumpin Run
Glensheen Lantern Tours 2026

Monday Night Trivia at Earth Rider

So I’m looking for outdoor activities during the pandemic, and while Souptown is in Wisconsin, it is host to some of the coolest events. (more…)

EventsEarth Rider Brewing

Dave Mehling – “Show Biz Kids”

The latest release from Duluth native Dave Mehling‘s forthcoming album, Beach Boy, is this Steely Dan cover.

Music, VideosDave Mehling
FDLTCC: Pumpin Run

The Slamming Doors – “Grown Man”

The Slamming Doors released volume one of a multi-part album titled Brown Bears this past summer. The video for the track “Grown Man” was shot at Quarry Park in West Duluth in early August.

Music, VideosQuarry Park / Casket Quarry, The Slamming Doors

Creating Apart: Joe Klander

Joe Klander is one of the artists featured in the Tweed Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, “Creating Apart: Local Artists Respond to a Global Pandemic.” He’s an artist and ophthalmology tech at St. Luke’s Hospital. In this video by documentary filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Joe talks about how the pandemic gave him time to work on one of his dream projects. (more…)

Art, VideosCOVID-19, Joe Klander aka Kurokumo Clutch, Mike Scholtz
Weis Eye Center
Pizza Luce: Butternut Squash

Duluth You & Me: Golf Courses

Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Golf Courses

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.

ArtDuluth You & Me, Golf