David Beard
Dialect Map
Fascinating way to understand Duluth linguistically. Hat tip to @Kate Vo Thi-Beard. Salute to Mike Linn and Chongwon Park.
Empowering your Employees
For the last three months, I have been bringing a study group to a local eatery in Superior, WI for Saturday sessions. Even though the eatery is a franchise, I support it because I understand that franchises are still locally owned, and local investment is important to me. And the specific food types there are available at few other places in the Twin Ports. (I’m not naming the place because my goal is not to punish the specific eatery, but to offer some principles for empowering employees everywhere.) (more…)
Women’s Flat Track Derby News
The WFTDA is excited to extend full membership status to 22 additional leagues today, following their successful completion of the WFTDA Apprentice Program. The new Class C members can now enjoy the benefits of full WFTDA membership, including competing in sanctioned games and being eligible for rankings.
This group includes two leagues in Japan and one in Columbia, the first leagues from Asia and South America to achieve full member status. The WFTDA already has full member leagues in North America, Europe and Australia.
Congratulations to: Harbor City Roller Dames, of Duluth, Minnesota, USA (more…)
Sign of Spring: Infants at Wildwoods
Infants are here!
Board Openings at ARAC
The Arrowhead Regional Arts Council has several openings on its board of directors. It is seeking applications from individuals who reside in Cook County, Koochiching County, Duluth, as well as one or two at-large representatives, and possibly one college student liaison.
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Berserkon Day I: An Intimate Experience
DragonDice
Day 1 of Berserkon was quiet… intimate… Fox21 has the story, although this is not the “first ever” — just first at the DECC. There were smaller events at Norway Hall, for example, in the early 2000s. (more…)
Environmental Education: Night on Native Plants at the Superior Public Library
Wildwoods was one of the guests at this event:
The guest speakers included Carol Andrews with the Arrowhead Chapter of Wild Ones, Jane Anklam with the West Wisconsin Land Trust, Paul Hlina with Leaning Pine native plants and Darienne McNamara with the city of Superior SAMP program. Kate and Nancy, the Education and Volunteer Coordinator at Wildwoods, staffed a table for Q&A. Kate described the event this way: Although a small audience in attendance, the speakers provided valuable information regarding native plants, the importance of wetlands, and conservation of land for public benefit.
The event was organized by Wendy Up North.
Diversity in the Media
KUWS‘s Final Edition is a valuable local resource — a place where media professionals can reflect on the work they do and the impact they have on the community.
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Encounter with the Ennyman
Ed Newman interviews several local artists and writers a month at his blog, Ennyman’s Territory. So I thought I’d return the favor. (more…)
Giant steps are what you take … walking home from Opera on the Moon
This was my first English-language opera. I’ve attended other operas (Kate is a fan of Verdi, and that is the limit of my opera experience, lots of Verdi), but I’d never been to an opera where I understood what was going on without a teletype screen.
And I loved it. (more…)
Bond, Comics, Kayaks and Bags of Books
Saturday was a full day for pop culture nerds.
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Nerd Nite Lite
Nerd Nite Lite was an Abridged Nerd Nite to celebrate the grand opening of the Underground performance space in the Depot (in the former Children’s Museum space). Images below. (more…)
Sustainability Event at UMD: One World, One Environment
OWOE was a collaborative event bringing together UMD students, faculty, staff, and community members to explore and discuss issues connected to our plantet. Photos below. (more…)
Rollerdames!
The Rollerdames crushed Fargo! (Those ND gals skate with their shoulders instead of their feet!) (more…)
Copper and Nickel Mining in Minnesota
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
Here’s a video from a UMD Center for Ethics and Public Policy discussion about mining in our region.
Congrats to Shane Courtland, the director, for creating a space for this important dialogue.
21st Century Feminism in the Twin Ports
So I occupy an odd position in my academic home — a department in which seven of nine faculty are men, but seven of ten undergraduate majors and graduate students are women. (more…)
Spike, Dakota and Friends of Wildwoods at Blue Lake
Fox21 tells the story:
DULUTH – Some Northlanders celebrated Earth Day, one day early on Sunday, by raising money for Wildwoods. Art for Our Wildwoods kicked off at the Blue Lake Gallery in Canal Park donating 20 percent of the Gallery’s proceeds to the rehabilitation center. “We rescue injured wildlife including lead-poisoned eagles, animals hit by cars, window strikes and we’re also here to educate the public on wildlife issues,” Erica Erickson, vice-chair of the Wildwoods board, said. The event also featured three special guests, a red-tailed hawk, a porcupine and a hognose snake.
The event would not have been possible without the contributions from The Cupcake Lady, Positively Third Street Bakery, Townsquare Media (our radio partners KOOL 101.7), our silent auction partners Applebees, Duluth Grill, Grandma’s, and Cantonese House. Thanks, too, to the immensely hard-working volunteers.
Publishing Conference that Was Rescheduled and Rearranged
David Wong addresses 40 people at UMD
Architect, author or urban ecologist David Wong of Vancouver BC extended his stay through Monday. (more…)
More on the Publishing Conference that Wasn’t
Mitch Ogden had arranged for an army of undergrads from UW-Stout’s Journalism and Digital Humanities programs to attend the UMD Conference on Publishing. At 6 a.m. we called the bus dispatcher to tell them to turn around. But the dispatcher crossed wires with the bus, and so three hours later, the students were here.
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The Publishing Conference that Wasn’t
Yesterday, were the weather to have cooperated more, there would have been a Publishing Conference at UMD. But it all started badly. It ended amazingly, though, and it’s worth some reflection. Parts of it (including an awesome talk or two by Roy Booth and by David Wong) are still to come, if you can join us. (more…)