There’s no place like home …
Video and music by Hans Johnson. Soundtrack available at on SoundCloud.
Duluth Broadcast Television Station Guide for 2017
The number of broadcast television stations in Duluth has reached 14. Keeping track of them started getting confusing in 2016, when reorganizing at KBJR/KDLH led to “CBS 3” broadcasting on channel 6.2. In an effort to prevent the whole thing from turning into an Abbott & Costello routine, Perfect Duluth Day periodically provides an updated list of channels.
There have been two changes since the 2016 KDLH/KBJR shuffling. In early 2017 WDSE-TV dropped its “2nd Chance” programming on channel 8.2 and adopted a new broadcasting stream, PBS Explore, which is focused heavily on programs for children. On Sept. 27, WDIO-TV added subchannel 10.3, broadcasting the Ion television network. An updated list is below. (more…)
Video Archive: Wally the Beer Man
Here’s a look back to 1987 — when the Minnesota Twins won their first World Series and Wally the Beer Man was in the limelight. (more…)
PDD Quiz Update
We plan to launch the next PDD Quiz, on Northland beers and breweries, on Oct. 15. Thank you for your patience!
PDD Video Lab: Another Day
In this edition of PDD Video Lab we present 41 seconds of Duluthiness cut out of a 17-minute-long set of old movie clips that for the most part don’t seem to be shot in Duluth. (more…)
Mystery Photo #54: Jerry and Becky, August 1970
Just because this old photo was stored with a bunch of Duluth pictures doesn’t necessarily mean it was shot in Duluth or features Duluthians. Still, the odds are pretty good someone will recognize Jerry and/or Becky. They looked like pretty cool customers back in August 1970, that’s for sure.
Were they Duluthians? Are they still Duluthians? Who are these hot-rodding sweethearts? All the back of the photo indicates is their first names and the month it was shot.
Running for Our Heroes 5K
I ran, then jogged, then walked in the “Running for Our Heroes” 5K. I learned something about running, about 5Ks, about myself. (more…)
Denfeld vs. Central: 1922 Football Stalemate
Duluth’s Jay Sonnenburg found these 1922 photos among his grandfather’s collection. They depict scenes at Athletic Park in West Duluth, where Duluth Central and Denfeld did battle on the gridiron. (more…)
Ripped Smoke-free in 2007
[Editor’s note: It’s been a decade since smoking cigarettes was permitted in Duluth bars. The Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act was expanded by the 2007 state legislature to include “Freedom to Breathe” amendments intended “to protect employees and the public from the health hazards of secondhand smoke.”
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. Ten years ago he went out on the first smoke-free night at Duluth bars and published this report for Duluth’s weekly Transistor.]
There’s something strange in the air tonight at R.T. Quinlan’s Saloon. It’s called oxygen. Minnesota’s statewide ban on smoking in workplaces took effect on Oct. 1, and now people like me, who indeed consider bars to be “workplaces,” can breathe easier. As a result, I intend to work even harder now, starting with this gin and tonic.
Although I’m likely to live longer and need to spend less money on laundry thanks to the smoking ban — both of which will allow me to drink more — there are a few negative side effects. For one, the air is now so clear in here that’s it’s possible to see all the way across the room, increasing the odds that my landlord will find me. (more…)
Selective Focus: Makers Mercantile
A new shop has opened in West Duluth’s Spirit Valley area selling locally made goods. Makers Mercantile will host its Grand Opening on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 3 to 7 p.m. Owners Sara and Scott Clifton talk about opening and what they see for the future of the shop.
M.M.: Scott and I moved up to Duluth for college, and it didn’t take long for us to feel right at home. We love the people, the businesses, and everything the beautiful North Shore has to offer. We are creators and dreamers. Through observations and many discussions around the dinner table, our crafting ideas moved beyond creating products ourselves into creating a platform for local makers. We love the creativity and craftsmanship in our region, but started noticing that locally made goods were more difficult to find than expected, unless you went to a craft show or knew a specific maker to buy from. This observation spurred on an idea — to combine the values of handcrafted and local. We spent the last few years mulling over this idea, and decided this past winter to start pursuing it. Makers Mercantile just opened, and it is all about local, handmade goods.
Duluth: A Year ’round Playground
Promotional brochure from back in the day. Click the image to view it at a readable size.
Remembering the Vietnam War
Glen’s Neighbor – “Time To Go”
Here’s the video for the latest single from Duluth-based bluegrass band Glen’s Neighbor off the album Your Unknown. Directed and edited by Shane Rock Nelson with cinematography by Dan Huiting.
Duluth vas dere best
Here is yet another “Dutch Kid” pennant postcard, similar to “I hafe a feller in Duluth,” “Mit best wishes from Duluth,” “Vilkome to our city of Duluth” and “Iff you vill come to Duluth ve vill lock up all de cops.”
Because nothing illustrates Duluth exceptionalism better than a postcard gimmick where the same cards are distributed in various places with different city names printed on the pennant, right? (more…)
Trail City: The Bikers, Builders and Believers of Duluth, MN
Filmed and edited by Kyle Ilenda and Spencer Johnson for Freehub Magazine.
DuluthiLeaks: Historic Bridge Report for DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5
How historically significant is West Duluth’s old ore dock and its viaduct and bridges? The Minnesota Department of Transportation retained the consultant team of LHB, Mead & Hunt and 106 Group to produce a multi-purpose study in 2014 that was part of a more comprehensive process involving numerous agencies looking at 140 historic bridges. Part of the goal of the “Local Historic Bridge Report” for the “DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5 Approach” was to gather historical information should the property owner — Canadian National Railway — wish to request a nomination be prepared for the National Register of Historic Places.
For the third edition of DuluthiLeaks — Perfect Duluth Day’s feature in which public documents are released as if they contain secret information leaked from an anonymous whistle blower — we peak into a study of four steel-beam bridges that are part of the mile-long approach to DM&IR Ore Dock No. 5. (more…)
Poll: What is the best restaurant in the South Shore-area?
With your help, we’ve compiled a list of nominees for the perfect South Shore-area restaurant poll. Now it’s time to vote.
What type of restaurant is capable of earning the perfect restaurant title? Whether a pizza shop, tavern or a fine dining establishment, each nominee begins on equal footing. It’s a matter of personal taste and will be determined by good old-fashioned democracy.
Out of 24 nominees, 20 were eliminated in early voting and the four top restaurants remained: Delta Diner, Maggie’s Restaurant, the Rivers Eatery and Wild Rice Restaurant.
This poll is now closed. The results will be posted soon.
Video Archive: Denfeld Class of 1992
Break out the Aqua Net and backward baseball caps, we’ve dug deep into the video vault to bring you a little “DHS VHS.” Yes, it’s the full and glorious one-hour and 13 minutes of the clumsily titled Duluth Denfeld Senior High School Class of ’92 Senior Class Video, compiled by Cyborg Productions of Prior Lake, Minn. (more…)
CN Duluth Intermodal Terminal: Opening new markets
Last week an official ribbon cutting was held at the CN Duluth Intermodal Terminal. Politicians and transportation business leaders gathered to tout the partnership between Canadian National Railway Company and Duluth Cargo Connect, which created the first rail-served intermodal container ramp in the Twin Ports, positioning the region for direct transportation of containerized imports and exports to East, West and Gulf Coast ports via Duluth.
Duluth Cargo Connect is a working partnership of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and Lake Superior Warehousing. The rail-served facility is located at Clure Public Marine Terminal on Rice’s Point.
Why is a full-service, multimodal hub for domestic and international trade so important? Lake Superior Magazine explains in an article published Sept. 20: Going Intermodal.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1947 visit to Duluth
Two years after U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died in office, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt traveled to Duluth. While here she was made an Honorary Ambassador Extraordinary of the Dushy of Duluth — the ambassadors program of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce. The photo above shows her receiving the citation from Arthur C. Young, “Prince of the East.” (more…)
Bob Dylan on cover of final Village Voice print edition
The 62-year-old New York-based news and culture paper Village Voice published its final printed edition on Sept. 20. It features Duluth-born Bob Dylan on the cover — a photo taken on Jan. 22, 1965 in Christopher Park near the old Voice offices.
The Voice announced in August it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to a fully digital format.
(more…)Positive Thinking Meets Bad Car-ma
I had one simple objective that fateful day in December 2016. I just wanted to walk my dog before the sun went down. It seemed like a realistic goal.
After a morning spent working, I had a quick lunch, resumed working and before I knew it the clock read 2:30 p.m. So much for my realistic plan.
I had a dental appointment at 3 p.m. and that was a 20-minute drive away, so it was already time to leave. Since the sun sets around 4:30 in Duluth during December, my opportunity to walk in the daylight had pretty much already passed. Still, I clung to hope.
I actually had two dental appointments back to back that day — a scheduled cleaning and a checkup on the progress of a recent implant, which replaced a molar that had collapsed a few months earlier due to the incredible bite-resistance of a simple graham cracker. Stories of dental calamity aside, by the time I got out of the reclining chair and removed my slobber bib the sun was disappearing. I no longer clung to hope, but I had intentions of making the most of the dusk. (more…)
Selective Focus: Karen Owsley Nease
Karen Owsley Nease paints large images of waves, capturing the characteristics of the water and its shapes with layers of transparent oils. She is hosting an opening of the work at the UWS Kruk Gallery on Oct. 5.
Tell us about the medium you work in, and how you came to work in your style.
K. O. N.: I am a visual artist whose primary medium is paint. My most recent works are oil paintings built up with numerous layers of thinly applied glazes. This particular method of painting dates from very early in the history of painting and I employ it because the rich luminosity I can achieve within the paintings from its use. My current series of paintings are intensely observed close- ups of breaking waves. This subject matter lends itself to explorations on many levels, both formally and intellectually. (more…)
Nominees for Perfect South Shore-area Restaurant Poll
The South Shore of Lake Superior is shockingly underrated. Its scenic beauty rivals that of the more popular North Shore. Visitors to the South Shore can expect a more laidback experience, sandy beaches and an array of unique eateries running the gamut from traditional Wisconsin tavern to farm-to-table bistro.
In the interest of giving kudos to the eateries of our underappreciated neighboring region, Perfect Duluth Day is running the Perfect South Shore-area Restaurant poll. (more…)
Go Skateboarding Day 2017
Call us three months late in the celebration, but Damage Board Shop skate team member Stephen Pestalozzi just recently uploaded this clip from June 21 — National Go Skateboarding Day.