Great Gray Owl Tightrope Walking
Birder Richard Hoeg was in Sax-Zim Bog last week and observed an interesting tightrope act. He assembled 95 photos into this clip, showing a great grey owl training for the circus.
Selective Focus: Fall Colors 2021
The Arrowhead region is awash with color once again. Track the progression of fall and peak color with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Fall Color Finder.
Featured here are select images from Instagram showcasing this year’s fall color display. (more…)
Postcard from the Incline Railway with View of Minnesota Point
This postcard was mailed from Superior on Sept. 27, 1906 — 115 years ago today — by W. F. McMannis. The recipient was Miss Mabelle Reed of West Dover, Ohio. The image depicts the Duluth Incline Railway, showing the view from the top of the Duluth harbor and waterfront district, and of course Minnesota Point. (more…)
PDD Quiz: September 2021 in Review
Fall into this month’s quiz of local-ish headlines and happenings!
The next PDD quiz will celebrate the season by exploring local spookiness; it will be published on Oct. 17. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Oct. 14. (more…)
Minnesota’s Mountain-biking Trail Boom
Minnesota Public Radio reports that professional builders have constructed more than 100 miles of mountain-biking trails in northeastern Minnesota in the past five years.
Duluth’s Ten Most Endangered Properties in 2021
The Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railway Dock #5 has not been used since 1985. The Duluth Preservation Alliance has listed it as an endangered property. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)
A slowly disappearing neighborhood rich in Native American history, a large building once home to a radical labor college and an iconic, unused iron ore dock are included in a list of places historians fear may disappear from the Duluth landscape.
The Duluth Preservation Alliance released a Top 10 Most Endangered Places list during an event outside the soon-to-be demolished Esmond Building in Lincoln Park Saturday, Sept. 25. The list, regularly compiled by the group, is designed to raise preservation awareness and encourage the reuse of historic properties. (more…)
MN Moder featuring Q – “4/20”
Duluth-based hip-hop artist Zachary Moder, aka MN Moder, has a new video for a not-so-new song. “4/20” is from his 2019 album Modervation.
Meryl Streep: HACK
THIS IS A JOKE WE ACTUALLY LOVE MERYL STREEP. One night I dreamed my step-brother Martin in Kansas City called Meryl Streep a hack. When I told him about it, we both thought it was so funny, and cracked jokes about it for days. The result is this probably misguided video making fun of Meryl Streep WHOM WE ADORE
The Pettersen Gals at Point of Rocks
And the award for best Duluth photo of 1911 pretty much has to go to this postcard image of three gals on Point of Rocks looking out over the city. And someone was smart enought to write their names on the back. Nora, Emma and Inga Pettersen posed for this shot 110 years ago. (more…)
Anthony Bennett – “Damn Duluth”
Duluth’s Anthony Bennett presents this cover of the classic A.J McLean song “Damn, Duluth,” from the forthcoming compilation album Duluth Does Damn Duluth.
If you don’t understand, see “AJ Mclean praises and damns Duluth on TikTok.”
9/11, on the 20th Anniversary of ten days after the events
It’s a week or so since 9/11, and the special issues of magazines unsold in the checkout lane are being reported unsold, stripped of their covers and reported destroyed. The television guide on my Roku is no longer choked with 9/11 documentaries and “looks back.” In fact, I can barely tell it happened.
I remember how difficult it was to return to normal after 9/11 — how many days it took before the late night shows could broadcast, for example. It feels like we snapped back awful fast this time.
Well, I didn’t. Here’s my last post on 9/11 for Perfect Duluth Day, looking at some writings, some poetry, after 9/11, talking about what life is like after. (more…)
Postcard from the Central Motel in West Duluth
This postcard of the Central Motel was mailed Sept. 20, 1956 — 65 years ago today. The address, 24 N. Central Ave., is now greenspace across Main Street from Irving Park. The land is controlled by the idled Duluth paper mill, which was sold by Verso Corporation in May to ST Paper. (more…)
AJ Mclean praises and damns Duluth on TikTok
AJ Mclean, the singer, actor, dancer and model best known as a member of the Backstreet Boys, was in Duluth this weekend for a wedding, according to videos on TicTok. In his first Duluth post, from the edge of Lake Superior, he notes he has “never seen something so serene and beautiful” in all his life and calls it “a little taste of heaven.” In the second post, however, he’s a bit miffed that there are no Ubers available. There is also a third post with some wedding-day fun. (more…)
The Slice: Where the Hummingbirds Go
Hey, Are You Married?
I had just crossed lazily through the intersection toward Wells Fargo Center, gently swinging my bag in the late afternoon heat. I had also decided that day to make friends with the hips I had developed over the past six months and lean into them … literally.
I saw him, 30-ish, scruffy, with a dirty T-shirt and a backward hat, leaning against the building. Our city has its contingent of panhandlers. They add a little paprika to our lives and I didn’t pay him any mind — until he called out to me as I passed by him.
“What?!” I asked, incredulously while laughing, stopped in my tracks.
‘I asked if you were married,” he answered with a crooked smile.
“Yes,” I replied and started to walk away. He wasn’t done, though. “Can I get your number and text you?” he yelled at me.
I turned around. “HAPPILY married!” I shot back and spun around on my heel and walked off, laughing. (more…)
Heely Tricks with JamesG
Another installment of the latest wheeled sneaker stunts by former Duluthian James Geisler, also known as the hip-hop artist JamesG.
Postcard from the Coal Docks in 1911
This postcard was mailed Sept. 18, 1911 — 110 years ago today. For some reason it took more than a month to reach it’s destination. It bears a second postmark of Oct. 26; indicating it took 38 days to travel about 250 miles from Duluth to Miss Martha Moe in Wood Lake. (more…)
Mystery Photos: Undeveloped Roll of Film from 2004
Duluth photographer Kip Praslowicz occasionally acquires old point-and-shoot cameras that still have a roll of film in them. In this video he shows off black-and-white images from a Samsung IBEX 3x camera.
Clues in the background of two of the mystery photos indicate the images might be from the Minnesota State High School League Region 7AA Visual Art Festival in early 2004. That’s as much as we know so far.
The Gentleman Out of Duluth
Have you heard about the gentleman out of Duluth who developed his own word processor? You should have heard about him seven years ago in episode 9 of the television drama Halt and Catch Fire.
The clip above features the Duluth mention, which aired on the AMC cable network on July 27, 2014.
The Fishing Wolves of Voyageurs National Park
The discovery that wolves in Voyageurs National Park hunt freshwater fish came in 2017 and was reported in the Duluth News Tribune, New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio and other outlets in 2018, when the first videos emerged. (more…)
Mary Bue – “Tequila Song”
Mary Bue has a new music video for a track from her 2020 album The World is Your Lover. “Tequila Song” is produced by Jon Hain. (more…)
Postcard from the College of St. Scholastica, 1931
This postcard of the College of St. Scholastica was mailed Sept. 13, 1931 — 90 years ago today. Robert Strauss of Snyder, N.Y. was the recipient. The message on the back is from his parents, who write: “Hello Boy. On our way to Seattle.” (more…)
Warrior Brewing’s stout takes silver at Great American Beer Fest
Co-owner and head brewer Ben Gipson and his wife Emily show off Warrior Brewing’s silver medal from the Great American Beer Festival. (Photo via Warrior Brewing Company)
Duluth’s newest brewery is also its newest medal winner. Warrior Brewing Company was awarded the silver medal for its Barbarian Imperial Stout at the Great American Beer Festival. The Lincoln Park neighborhood business released its first batch to liquor stores in June.
It’s the fifth year in a row that a Duluth or Superior brewery has won a medal at the festival. (more…)
PDD Quiz: Duluth Laws
How well do you know the finer points of Duluth’s legislative code? Dive into this week’s trivia and test your legal smarts.
The next PDD quiz, on current events, will be coming your way on Sept. 26. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 22. (more…)
Monthly Grovel: A Decade of the PDD Calendar
It was 10 years ago today — Sept. 12, 2011 — when PDD officially launched its event calendar. Since then our team of PDD Calendar cruise directors have published an estimated 68,000 listings of Duluth-area happenings — from concerts and plays to blood drives and cribbage tournaments.
In recent years we’ve reached out once a month with a beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar events, and that’s what this anniversary edition of the Monthly Grovel is about. So if you appreciate the event calendar, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account. (more…)