PDD News Sieve
Off-Broadway ice fishing
Nice Fish, Mark Rylance’s play based on the poetry of former Duluthian Louis Jenkins, made its off-Broadway debut at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn on Feb. 14 and continues its run through March 13. An article in The New Yorker notes Jenkins’ poems, “which are syncopated reveries about bologna sandwiches, sea lions, and the meaning of life, are integral to the Nice Fish script.”
Rylance won an Oscar on Sunday for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies.
Bent Paddle launches new seasonal: Hop Forest Double IPA
Bent Paddle Brewing adds another seasonal beer to its rotation this week. Hop Forest Double India Pale Ale, weighing it at 8.9 percent alcohol-by-volume, will be on tap at Bent Paddle on Wednesday, available in 750-milliliter bottles on Friday and later find its way into liquor stores in 4-pack cans.
Hop Harvest will also be available at Beaner’s Central in time for Friday’s first-of-three CD release parties for the latest One Week Live compilation.
The text on the can reads: “Standing in a hop field brings forth a sense of solitude and wonder one can find in a forest. Hop Forest Double IPA provides full hop coverage with a tremendous load of tropical citrus and piney hop aromatics. Malt sweetness intertwines with the American hop varieties to create a balanced shade of flavor that invites one to sit down and enjoy the view.”
Updated concept plan for Lake Superior Zoo
Click the image to view a PDF of the full plan.
The latest concept plan for improvements to Fairmount Park and the Lake Superior Zoo was presented by a consultant last night at the Duluth Parks Commission meeting. The concept envisions a renewed zoo in a roughly 10-acre footprint that includes ADA accessible pathways, renewed and repurposed exhibits damaged by the 2012 flood, enhanced visitor services, and converts a portion of the existing zoo into public park space. The plan is estimated at $15 million and has $2.7 million of half-and-half funding allotted to it.
Comments can be submitted to Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division until Feb. 15 to allow the consultants to analyze them for the upcoming Feb. 22 presentation and public hearing at 5:15 p.m. in the Duluth City Council Chambers, to be followed by a Parks Commission public hearing in room 303.
The Alan Sparhawk Project
Ten year’s ago, Duluth musician Alan Sparhawk had his name dropped in this little comic (specifically panel three):
Questionable Content is an internet comic strip by Jeph Jacques of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It started in August 2003 and is still in production. The publish date of the comic above is not known, but it was first posted to PDD on Feb. 9, 2006.
Bent Paddle Double Black 750s will hit liquor stores soon
Bent Paddle Brewing announced Wednesday its Barrel-Aged Double Shot Double Black Ale will be released in 750-milliliter bottles “in a couple weeks.” The beer is a stronger version of the brewery’s Cold Press Black Ale, “aged in bourbon oak for nearly 15 months … with a ‘double shot’ of cold-press coffee and whole-bean Madagascar vanilla.”
Bringing it All Back to Duluth Does Dylan
A new Duluth Does Dylan album is in the works — the fourth in a series of compilations featuring Duluth bands covering Bob Dylan songs. Bringing it All Back to Duluth Does Dylan will feature 14 tracks recorded at Sacred Heart Studio by engineer Tom Fabjance. Fabjance is co-producing the album with executive producer Tim Nelson. (more…)
Short Shorts Film Festival seeking submissions
The Short Shorts Film Festival showcases videos that are less than five minutes in duration, with cash prizes awarded to the top three productions. It is northern Minnesota’s only festival dedicated exclusively to short videos.
The festival is open to professional and amateur filmmakers from all over the world, and in all genres. A panel of judges will select the top 15 finalists, and a live audience will pick the prize winners. First place wins $300, second place $200 and third place $100.
The deadline for submissions is Feb. 19 at 4:30 p.m. There is a $15 entry fee. See the Short Shorts Film Festival Entry Form for complete submission details.
This year’s festival will be held on Feb. 27 at the Underground.
James Taylor, John Mellencamp to play Duluth shows
Adult contemporary music stars John Mellencamp and James Taylor will perform separate concerts at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center this spring. The DECC announced today Mellencamp will perform in Symphony Hall on April 7, with tickets going on sale on Friday, Jan. 29, at 10 a.m. via mellencamp.com and axs.com. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $115. The opening act will be Carlene Carter, daughter of country music legends June Carter and Carl Smith, and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash.
James Taylor and his All-Star Band will perform on June 1 in Amsoil Arena. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Ticket prices range from $65 to $85.
A.G. Thomson House named Best in the Nation, again
Duluth’s A.G. Thomson House has been named the Best Bed and Breakfast in the United States by Trip Advisor for 2016. The inn was also named one of the 10 best in the world.
The Thomson House placed #1 of over 17,000 B&Bs across America. It also received the first-place award in 2012.
The Current to launch broadcast relay station in Duluth
Minnesota Public Radio announced in a news release today that Duluthians will soon be able to hear its album-oriented alternative music station, the Current, on 90.9 FM. A mix tape of music by artists from northern Minnesota began airing on the station today. At 9:09 a.m. on Feb. 1 the switch will flip to the Current’s live broadcast from the Twin Cities.
The low-power station will broadcast at about 99 watts, with an expected coverage area spanning from Hermantown to Superior. MPR purchased the 90.9 FM spot on the dial in 2015 from Family Stations, a national Christian network, which had aired programming as W215CG.
(more…)Ness will launch economic development business
Outgoing Duluth Mayor Don Ness announced at a news conference today he will launch a new business called Hillside Ventures. The Duluth News Tribune reports Ness will offer his services to assist clients with economic development and “public-sector strategy work, working with other communities in the region, especially on the problem-solving and visioning piece.” (more…)
Remember the Fallen Heroes
Ten years ago Duluth landed in the New York Times over a controversial sign in a campaign office window. Scott Cameron, a combat-wounded Vietnam War vet, made a sign tallying the dead and wounded in the Iraq war. While volunteering for Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Steve Kelley, Cameron placed the sign in the campaign office window, next to a U.S. Army recruiting office. The seven recruiters working there, six of whom had served in Iraq, found the sign disheartening and wanted it removed. Cameron said he did not wish to prevent recruits from signing up for the Army, but only wanted to honor those who made sacrifices. (more…)
Glensheen set to hit 100,000 attendance mark for 2015
From the Glensheen Facebook page:
This Saturday we will reach over 100,000 visitors for the first time since the 1980s.
To put this in perspective, we had only 56,000 visitors in recent history. Many thought this resurgence would not be possible. We are very thankful to all who have helped us turn the curve, especially you our guests.
Bonnie the wild bobcat trapped at the DECC
From Duluth Police Chief Gordon Ramsay’s Facebook page:
When I heard about a man in a mental health crisis looking for a bobcat in downtown skywalks and in the convention center I knew it wasn’t true. Then I saw these pictures. You can’t make this stuff up … nobody knows how this wild animal made it into the convention center. It was trapped by the DNR and Wildwoods inside the convention center.
Toasty’s Downtown Duluth location open
The Duluth News Tribune reports Tom and Rachael Hagen opened their second Toasty’s Grilled Cheese Shop on Dec. 11. The new location at 220 W. Superior St. is best known as the former home of Mr. Nick’s Famous Charburger and the short-term location of seven different failed restaurants since 2002. The Downtown Toasty’s will be open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5 pm., offering a similar menu to the Hillside location — sandwiches, soups and salads.
Story link: Toasty’s opens new downtown Duluth location
Duluth Retiree Health Care Unfunded Liability: 2005 to 2015
Ten years ago today the New York Times ran a story titled “The Next Retirement Time Bomb,” which focused heavily on Duluth. The story opened by noting Duluth’s estimated unfunded healthcare liability in 2002 was $178 million. It concluded by stating the figure had ballooned to $280 million in 2005. Worse yet, though not mentioned by the NYT, the liability was projected to hit $417 million by 2015.
Where does Duluth stand one decade later? A state auditor’s report released last summer shows the liability has dropped to an estimated $129 million.
“The support of city staff, city unions, city councilors, community leaders and the Minnesota Supreme Court were critical to this success,” Duluth Mayor Don Ness said in a June news release. “But the foundation of the effort was a core group of five citizen volunteers serving on a task force (created when I was on the city council) that provided a 15-point road map to solving what was thought to be an unsolvable problem. That volunteer effort is the basis for the significant $288-million reduction in our liability today.”
Low on World Cafe
NPR’s World Cafe has been doing a “Sense of Place Minneapolis” series. Duluth band Low was featured yesterday, Dec. 10.
Lark o’ the Lake Ice Cream Coffee Café open in Greysolon Plaza
The Duluth News Tribune reports the new Lark o’ the Lake Café opened in the Greysolon Plaza on Nov. 27. Owners are Sandra Ettestad, Mark Marino and Don Monaco.
“The menu includes coffee and espresso drinks, smoothies, pastries, deli sandwiches, soups, salads and old-fashioned ice cream desserts,” the DNT article notes. “Prices are affordable, with most lunches less than $10. The cafe has Wi-Fi and is close to getting a wine and beer license.”
Duluth News Tribune: Lark Café opens at Greysolon Plaza in Duluth with a focus on aviation
Superior exploring possible “exposition district”
Business North reports an economic development group called Better City Superior intends to seek state permission to create an “exposition district” to attract new developments, such as a 150-room hotel, 20,000-square-foot convention center, 50,000-square-foot water park, a sports field house, a movie theater and a corporate campus.
Business North: “Better City Superior announces growth vision“
Red Fox near Duluth Harbor
Rich Hoeg was out looking for snowy owls on the Duluth waterfront and came up empty … except for this red fox sighting. For more photos check out Hoeg’s 365 Days of Birds blog.
Duluth musician has fortuitous random connection in Norway
Via Vestnytt, a newspaper published in Straume, Norway, PDD reports: “Det magiske Kallestadmøtet i luften.”
Duluth musician Jamie Kallestad performed at the the Glesvær Kafe yesterday. Translators, sort that out and share your wisdom.
Mayor Ness profiled on MinnPost
“Don Ness doesn’t want to be America’s most popular mayor anymore,” reads the headline of a feature on the Minneapolis-based nonprofit news website MinnPost. “Ness, at 41, is doing what is inconceivable to some: stepping away from politics indefinitely at the height of his career — a move that has left many in Duluth and around the state wondering: Why?”
On Twitter, Ness offers an alternate title for the story:
Twin Ports Joyride: Reduced-cost taxicab rides on the west side
A program designed to provide $7 taxicab vouchers to tipsy bar patrons in western Duluth and Proctor has been ramping up exposure leading into the holidays. Twin Ports Joyride is funded by participating bars, beer wholesalers and other donations. (more…)
St. Louis River Corridor Parks Survey
Community input is being sought by Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Department to develop mini-master plans for eleven neighborhood parks in the St. Louis River Corridor: Historical, Fond du Lac, Blackmer, Smithville, Riverside, Norton, Keene Creek, Grassy Point, Merritt, Harrison and Piedmont. Preliminary concept plans have been developed for the parks following public meetings held in September and October.
An online survey is available at the City of Duluth website. (more…)
Lost cat in Chester Park area
Moses is a white cat with a grey patch on the top of his head. He is missing the tips of his ears.
He was last seen on Oct. 31 in the area of 20th Avenue East and Eighth Street, across from the Central Little League baseball fields. Moses is unfamiliar with this area and is likely hiding under a deck, shed, low-hanging hedge, wood pile or something similar.
If you find Moses, contact the owner at 763-458-3388 or email helpfindmosescat@gmail.com. Do not attempt to catch him. He is shy and terrified of new people.
Reward: $500.