PDDTV

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978

This 10-minute documentary on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act of 1978 was produced by Sam Fulton and Mark Rogalski for National History Day on the theme of “Debate & Diplomacy.” The process paper and bibliography is at mn.nhd.org.

Sean Kelly – “The Wreck of the Hotel Chris Swanson”

Pennsylvania-based parody musician Sean Kelly has a new song that is focused on Two Harbors Mayor Chris Swanson, who faces a recall election if he does not resign by May 31. Swanson has been accused of having conflicts of interest between his business pursuits and his role as mayor.

Best wolf pup howls from Voyageurs National Park

The Voyageurs Wolf Project is trying to raise $100,000 to continue studying 10 different wolf packs. If an adorable montage of the best wolf pup howls can’t get that done, nothing can.

The Voyageurs Wolf Project is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in Voyageurs National Park, about 100 miles north of Duluth.

Ingeborg von Agassiz – “My Little Red Heart”

A new song and video from Duluth-based electro-folk artist Ingeborg von Agassiz.

Minnesota Historia: Hunting for Ancient Agates

What is it about agates that cause such an obsession? Let the experts in Moose Lake, the Agate Capital of the World and home of the Agate Stampede, fill you in.

Minnesota Historia is a six-part WDSE-TV web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Dissonance Sessions: Charlie Parr

Duluth’s Charlie Parr is the featured artist on the first episode of Dissonance Sessions, a video series that is part art therapy session, part recording session. Parr discusses his experiences with depression, grief, anxiety and family dynamics while delivering intimate performances of songs from his most recent album, Last of the Better Days Ahead. The show is hosted by Sarah Souder Johnson. (more…)

Duluth Homegrown Kickball Classic 2022: A Short Film

Photographer Kip Praslowicz gets all artsy with this video showcasing Homegrown Music Festival kickball athleticism.

Duluth: A Great Place to Visit and an Even Better Place to Live

The aerial view of Bayfront Park during its yellow canopy days at the five-second mark of this 1991 Duluth tourism promo is perhaps the highlight.

Trampled by Turtles – “Whiskey”

Trampled by Turtles perform “Whiskey” at GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, Mich. The song is from the band’s 2004 album Songs from a Ghost Town. The video was shot by Justin Razmus, Heather Kanig and Cooper Baumgartner and edited by 616 Media with audio mixed by Adam Krinsky.

Northern Lights Time Lapse

Seth Trobec put together this time-lapse compilation video to document the two best aurora displays he has witnessed in 2022. One of the two scenes was shot about 80 miles northwest of Duluth.

“The scene with the stream and trees across a field was set near Calio, North Dakota the night of March 30-31,” Trobec wrote in the YouTube description. “The other lightshow in the video was viewed from Deadhorse Lake near Marcell, Minnesota. I took thousands of pictures with my Sony A7riii, each of those nights, and compiled the best parts for this video and set it to music.”

Minnesota Historia: The Root Beer Lady

Dorothy Molter was the last permanent resident of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. She sold candy bars and homemade soft drinks to paddlers for decades. But there’s so much more to her story than root beer.

Minnesota Historia is a six-part WDSE-TV web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

The Slice: Run, Smelt, Run Parade 2022

Magic Smelt Puppet Troupe brought back its smelt-themed second-line parade and fish fry in 2022 after a two-year absence due to COVID-19. The WDSE-TV clip above is from The Slice, a series that 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. (more…)

One Year on a Northwoods Hiking Trail

The Voyageurs Wolf Project has yet another trail-camera video montage showing the array of wildlife that inhabits Voyageurs National Park. The footage is from fall 2020 to fall 2021.

Katie Switzer – “Jen”

Katie Switzer, from the central Minnesota city of Staples, won the North of Nashville songwriting contest in Duluth in February. Production of her new music video was part of the grand prize package. It was shot in Symphony Hall at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and Sacred Heart Music Center by Bo Allen of Bo Allen Productions.

The song was recorded as Sacred Heart and features Shane Nelson on acoustic guitar and bass, Matt Groom on percussion, and Bo Allen on acoustic guitar and background vocals.

Minnesota Historia: Superior Shipwrecks

Everybody knows the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the most famous shipwreck on Lake Superior. But what are the next five most fascinating shipwreck stories on the big lake called Gitchi Gumee? And is the #2 shipwreck story the scariest thing you’ll ever hear?

Minnesota Historia is a six-part WDSE-TV web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Nat Harvie Live at Chicago Music Exchange

Duluth’s Nat Harvie sat down with Karl Neurauter of Chicago Music Exchange to talk sonic-vibes and writing processes and played four tracks from the new EP Married in Song. (more…)

MN Moder – “One Minute Murder”

New single by Duluth-based hip-hop artist Zachary Moder, aka MN Moder. Video by Montclair Media.

Minnesota Historia: The Legend of St. Urho

As the patron saint of Finland, St. Urho is famous for casting the grasshoppers out of the country and saving their grapes. Except, of course, none of that ever happened. St. Urho was invented out of thin air in the 1950s by the manager of a department store in Virginia, Minn.

Minnesota Historia is a six-part WDSE-TV web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

A look at the future Blacklist Brewing Company location

Blacklist Brewery‘s move to 206 E. Superior St., announced about a year ago, is nearing reality. An opening date announcement is expected soon.

Until then, à la Bryant Lake Bowl and Glensheen, a drone flythrough tour is available. The video is by Ethan Schultz of ShotxSchultz.

Video Archive: Homegrown 2017 Movie

Sam Tuthill put together this documentary from select performances during the 2017 Homegrown Music Festival. (more…)

Homegrown on Almanac North

The Homegrown Music Festival returns to in-person concerts this year, running May 1-8. WDSE-TV‘s Almanac North program reports on what the Twin Ports has been missing the past two years. (more…)

Ian Alexy – “Teardrops in the Rain”

Ian Alexy‘s new video is for a track from the album Troubadour 21st Century. The clip uses video footage and photos that go back to his childhood in New Jersey and also documents time touring with his band the Deserters and also Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank.

Minnesota Historia: Duluth’s Doomed Olympics Bid

WDSE-TV presents the story of an Olympics that never happened in a city that never stopped dreaming.

Minnesota Historia is a six-part web series dedicated to Minnesota’s quirky past. It is hosted by Hailey Eidenschink and produced/edited/written by Mike Scholtz.

Wolves, Otter, Beaver and a Red Fox

This scene, recorded late in the fall from a beaver dam at Voyageurs National Park, features all four of the critters in the headline. Of particular note are the otters and their delightful belly slides across the ice.

The footage is from the Voyageurs Wolf Project, focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park. At the end of the clip, one of the wolves becomes interested in the trail camera and takes it down to chew on.

When Blossom went to Hibbing and got bad directions

Actress and Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik was a guest on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on April 4. At about the 4:50 mark in the clip above she tells the story of traveling with her father to the Iron Range to visit their “personal Mecca, which is Hibbing, Minn., the birthplace of Robert Zimmerman — also known as Bob Dylan.”

Of course, the Jeopardy! question that would lead one to the place where Robert Zimmerman was born is “What is Duluth?” The Zimmerman family moved to Hibbing when Robert was 6 years old. (more…)