JP Rennquist
Lake Superior Brewing wins Gold Medal at World Beer Championships
Lake Superior Brewing Company‘s Oktoberfest won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships.
Not sure why I feel like the resident apologist for Lake Superior Brewing especially since I’ve never tasted the stuff but … somehow I am a big booster of this gem of a Duluth business and I was very glad to see them get some recognition. Who knows? Maybe this is a stepping stone to better and better things for them and our fair Lincoln Park. Congratulations Dale and boys.
Christmas Eve Celebration Downtown Duluth @ Encounter
Forecasters are calling for some big time Christmas Eve snow so this could be a classic opportunity to snowshoe downtown, get a great meal, celebrate the original meaning of Christmas and maybe even walk away with a gift or two for the kiddies. My favorite part? After years of being part of all kinds of spiritual traditions around the world, finally at this party I see people of all shapes, stripes and shades joining together as one. That is truly a beautiful very Duluthy thing for me and I’d love to see some of my PDD pals there, too.
In any event, Merry Christmas, folks.
Coal Train (Soultrane?)
Parked (?) train blocks view of Lake Superior from https://duluthdailyphoto.vox.com/
I thought this was intended as a temporary winter seawall.
But Duluth Daily photo (above) and later the Duluth News Tribune had some good coverage of this that straightened me out, apparently these coal cars are just being stored on those tracks, even though they do sit in a storm prone spot. Now, DNT’s Brandon Stahl writes that the train will be moved to Leif Ericson Park. (more…)
A North Country Holiday
A few months ago in this post about Bob Dylan’s Christmas CD someone remembered an old radio show that I did called “A North Country Holiday.” It was never released as a CD but it was distributed to stations and a few other media outlets using CDs since neither of the stations I did it for (KAXE-Grand Rapids and KUMD-Duluth) had a satellite uplink. (more…)
What’s wrong with this picture?
I took this picture at about noon yesterday … What’s wrong with this picture? I noticed about 5 things right away, maybe there are more.
Redneck Sighting in Canal Park
My wife got this in a mass forwarded email today. I’m still trying to figure out who took the picture, someone at SMDC was the first to forward it as far as I can tell. Anyone who knows anything else please post it here or contact me so I can credit the intrepid photographer. I’d really love to congratulate the intrepid ATV-or-bust-redneck who managed to strap the vehicle to his car car, (and yes, I know it was a he) but that might be asking too much. I think this image has got some real PDD banner potential.
Northland’s “News” Center?
I’d be interested in hearing PDDs thoughts on this discussion about KBJR from one of my twitter pals, media insider gossip muckraker Red and Nater:
Last week, they had to pull a story about murderer Donald Blom after a Facebook protest. Then they claimed the promo they had aired about the story was wrong.
Tonight (Tuesday), they had to do a live four-minute interview with a Cirrus executive off the top of their 10:00 news to make up for a story they ran at 5 in which they claimed the company was “in crisis.” Their 5:00 report was based on the fact that Cirrus hasn’t paid rent for using a city-owned facility, but that had been widely reported by other media a month or more ago.
This is on top of the the constant day-behind news and bad video. When will Granite (or NBC or CBS) realize what’s going on in Duluth?
view in context at Red and Nater blog
Twelve Moons on Gichigami – Canal Park Film
Not sure if this has ever been posted here before, but figured I’d share it just in case.
(not so) Fresh Duluth
In 2008 Pro Video Productions in Duluth, in cooperation with a number of big employers and VisitDuluth.com produced a slick documentary “Fresh Duluth.” It was posted and discussed by many of us here on Perfect Duluth Day
I liked the film just fine and from my lay person’s perspective it was well done. The idea was to use it to lure employees to the city and maybe some businesses or conventions or whatever … It features great action shots of the outdoors, culture and business and interviews with a number of well-lit, Ken Burns style “expert” interviews with prominent folks talking about how great the city was including …
–Ann Klefstad DNT arts and culture reporter who was laid off in one of several mass lay offs that the DNT did that same year. Just a few months after the video premiered
–A Cirrus Design Exec (Alan Klapmeier, I think) who was fired/quit/demoted from the organization earlier this year.
And rounding out the list …
–Rod Raymond a prominent local businessman, endurance athlete, and (somehow he also finds time to be a) fitness professor at UMD whose name and reputation are now bound up in allegations of Sexual Harassment at UMD, plus lots and lots and lots of rumors and allegations, that may never end, regardless of the truth.
Now … I’m having that not so Fresh Feeling …
Silver Creek Cliff (less than an hour from Duluth)
Paul Lundgren kind of stole my thunder on this with his excellent photo-essay on the North Shore earlier this week, but I was out in the same neighborhood for a work project last week myself. Truly I was in a big hurry and swamped with about a dozen things, but I just couldn’t help but stop for half an hour and snap some photos on the way back. It was the same day as the big Vikings-Packers game and I thought if they turned out it might make a good PDD post/tip for armchair quarterbacks on a great (brief) weekend road trip, but … that didn’t happen and now we may be past peak colors up in those woods. Still its a great drive anytime of year. And it’s fun going through the tunnel, too. (more…)
Chip Stewart
Chip Stewart has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Thousands of people knew Chip and his wife Marcie as proprietors of the amazing Amazing Grace Bakery & Cafe in the DeWitt-Seitz Building in Canal Park.
I don’t have any more details right now, but hopefully those will materialize as is possible. But what I can tell you is that Chip was a very great man who I first met in 1997 when I was working on a story as a freelance reporter. Amazing Grace was hosting a counter-rally when anti-gay freakshow activist Fr*d Ph*lps was coming to Duluth. And that was the beginning of many, many conversations. In 2004 he gave me the biggest business break that I never deserved when (despite owning a successful food service operation of his own) he allowed my little food stand to come in and sling some wienies during events at the Historic NorShor Theater, which he was hoping to revive at the time. Chip was a friend to many, many people. The bread, coffee and all the food at Amazing Grace is fantastic, he provided a great venue for live folk music in Duluth, and he also provided a great place for people to sit in a non-rushed atmosphere. One of his least heralded but possibly most important gifts to all of us was providing a safe and fun place for young people (and sober people) to gather, play cards, surf the net and socialize, there was nothing quite like it in Duluth before it opened, and it remains a one-of-a-kind institution with Chip’s fingerprints all over it. He gave big breaks to many more musicians, artists, waitresses, bakers, baristas and entrepreneurs than just me, dozens, maybe hundreds of people’s lives and careers were enhanced by contact with this man. I feel safe in saying that his impact on our community will reverberate not just for days and weeks, but for generations.
My heartfelt prayers go out to his wife Marcie and all of his family, and to the rest of us, his chosen family. May you rest in peace, my brother.
If someone has a good photo or two of Chip, please post it here or provide a link to where we can all see them.
NorShor
Tonight the Duluth City Council will consider suspending the Norshor “Experience” liquor license.
Here’s a picture of among other things, future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Link Wray who had one of his last public performances in the United States at the NorShor before he died a few months later. He played with a number of Duluth rockers, some of you were there, it was pretty amazing.
Haunted House Rummage Sale Sat-Sun (updated)
Sale this weekend at my brother’s old Babbitt-esque house at 1616 Jefferson St. (lower Endion, in the Loaves and Fishes zone if that helps anyone to place it). The kids and their friends have nicknamed it the “haunted house” because it’s one of those creeky old, not-quite-a-mansion-places that is just creepy enough to be fun, but not outright scary, and it is very popular with sleepovers for our kids, their friends and more.
I am selling stuff I can’t even believe I’m selling … (more…)
Renegade Duluth makes “the Network”
I had given up on much Duluth art being discussed ever on MPR, after forever of hearing the Pioneer Press’ Dominic Papatola’s eye-rolling, painfully self-conscious weekly host chats, (yes, “host chat” a la Regis and Kelly, only if you added a condescending air to their blather). But then they added this interesting feature “Art Hounds” which is a great step in the right direction, only they’re very Twin Cities centric, as is standard for “the Network.” THEN, today I heard a familiar voice: Lucie Amundson, who is (if I’m not mistaken) a PDD and/or Park Point regular. Haven’t heard her on the “network” since election day. They should use her more. Good work, Lucie. Would love to hear you do stories in person sometime!
https://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/08/13/art-hounds/?refid=0
She talks about the new renegade theater show, hopefully there is a link there ^ and you can click and listen …
RIP John Hughes
This man has had an enormous impact on my life, I’m a little speechless so won’t even try. We’re playing 16 Candles tomorrow at MITP, just so you know. Wanna come down and celebrate that life/grieve a little with us?
National Night Out
National Night Out (NNO) is this coming Tuesday, August 4th. (more…)
Green Collar Duluth
Three recent observations on the “greening of Duluth” Or green positioning, anyway.
Note: Over the last couple of days I have realized that the things we do and say online really matter, even if it’s just meant as a fun tirade or rant, the tone can be very easily misinterpreted and send a distorted message. I think that happened with this post. I have taken out almost all of my own notes and commentary as they obviously missed the mark and were possibly misleading. Plus, all along, even as I was planning this, I really wanted the focus on the images, anyway. Words got in the way.
Family problems?
Boyz II Dadz is hosting another FREE FAMILY LAW clinic, next week because …
Unfortunately, this ….
sometimes turns to this … (more…)
“Pawlenty should do a Sarah Palin and Step Down”
“Pawlenty should do a Sarah Palin and Step Down” that was something my friend Scott Yeazle said, speaking at a rally at city hall today. The rally was in opposition to the governor’s unallotment decisions. I’m not gonna try to be a real reporter or anything, I tried that years ago and was terrible at it, too much ego and opinion, too little filter.
Abandoned Plans: Hope Center
This picture is hanging in the men’s room on the main floor of the Union Gospel Mission. And that’s amazing all in itself, bathroom decorating decisions. But there’s more … clearly it’s an architectural conception or rendering of a long forgotten plan for a place called “Hope Center.” Many of you will recognize the proposed site and the buildings involved. I used to work in one of them so I find this especially compelling and mysterious for that reason … also amusing, the happy strollers depicted for scale or mood, people in architectural drawings always just seem like life is going perfectly, don’t they?
Now, I did a google search on this project and came up with a goose egg, nothing on this. Which made me even more curious about all of this. My questions are: 1) When was this to have happened? The fashions and cars in the image got me thinking mid 80s, also that would measure up with my memories, because anytime after that I bet I would have remembered this. 2) Why didn’t it happen? And (for extra credit) 3) Are there other abandoned or not yet realized plans out there similar to this one? I mean clear plans like this one, not some wild dream sketched on the back of a cocktail napkin — I’ve got a few of those around myself.
Free Money … Workshop
To jazz up this copy, I was gonna post a video of my favorite song about money (James Taylor’s Money Machine) to embed here, but I couldn’t find one. I did find it referenced in some music quotes though here
Is there too much month left at the end of your Money? In this class learn how to budget for you and your family and how to make the most of what you make!
The first 20 participants that complete the class will receive an earned interest gift of $50.00, a desk set to organize and budget for your financial future, and tools to make your money work for you!
Meets in the large conference room at the Building for Women on Wednesday, July 8th from 10 am to 4 pm call Kristi 218.727.3352 to reserve your spot, or just roll the dice and show up, maybe we’ll still have a spot for you. Click the Link above to download a flier with all the details.
EVERYONE WELCOME
Sponsored by Boyz II Dadz. Funded, in part, by a grant from the University of Minnesota Extension and a lot of other great people and organizations that want you to hold on to your money!
Rhubarb Festival
I suggested the Chum’s Rhubarb Festival to Bob Collins for his News Cut Blog as something fantastically Minnesotan happening to cover this weekend for his blog. He said send him some pictures. No idea how to do that exactly as I don’t have his email, and not sure if he was even serious, but I had lots of fun taking pictures with a Speedy Wienie-eye view today. I also tweeted a bit between customers mostly about weather and music, you can read them by following @jprennquist. (more…)