News and Current Affairs
Sacred Heart releases album recorded during lockdown
Sacred Heart Music Center is releasing an album recorded during empty-building, pandemic-lockdown concerts live streamed over its YouTube channel in 2020 and 2021.
A listening party for Live from the Heart: The Sacred Heart Music Center Quarantine Sessions will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, March 20 at Ursa Minor Brewing, 2415 W. Superior St. in Duluth. The free event will feature the first public airing of the album, CDs for sale, drink specials, pizza and more. (more…)
Trampled by Turtles announce grant and Bayfront concert
Bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles has announced its return to Bayfront Festival Park. The Duluth-formed group will perform July 9 with special guest Jenny Lewis.
The band also announced it is partnering with the Homegrown Music Festival on a grant to “battle against artistic mediocrity.” The $5,000 Palomino Grant is available to musicians in, or within 20 miles of, Duluth and Superior and can be used for things like recording, gear and touring. Applications are being taken through Google Forms, which must be submitted by the first day of Homegrown, May 1. The grant winner will play the opening slot of the Bayfront concert.
PDD Quiz: February 2022
Test your memory of February 2022 headlines with this week’s PDD quiz!
The next PDD quiz will mark Women’s History Month with a quiz about notable Duluth women; it will be published on March 13. Send question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by March 10. (more…)
Duluth curler among stray Olympians in Beijing streets
Beijing Streets Overrun By Hundreds Of Stray Olympians After End Of Games
John Landsteiner of Duluth, at right in the image, was among “hundreds of stray Olympians” who “had been left behind after the 2022 Winter Games,” according to the satirical news website the Onion. With Landsteiner in the photo is his curling teammate Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wis.
Trapp family in Esko tallest in the world
Guinness says, yep, you're the tallest family in the world - Pine Knot News
Watching the Trapp kids play basketball and volleyball in the previous decade, Carlton County residents knew Esko's Trapp family was extraordinarily tall. Now the world knows. As announced by the family on social media only last week, Guinness World Records has declared the Trapp family of five is the tallest family in the world. As the "global aut...
pineknotnews.com
Averaging 6 feet, 8.03 inches, the members of the Trapp family in Esko are the tallest in the world. Pine Knot News reports that Guinness World Records has declared it official. In the article the heights of each family member are broken down: “Adam Trapp 7-foot, 3.7 inches; Savanna 6-foot, 8.5 inches; dad Scott Trapp 6-foot, 8.2 inches; Molly (Trapp) Steede 6-foot, 5.8 inches and mom Krissy 6-foot, 3.5 inches.”
R.I.P. Esmond Building
Lincoln Park's Esmond Building demolished - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
The former Seaway Hotel was destroyed by fire Jan. 10.
duluthnewstribune.com
The Duluth News Tribune reports the former Seaway Hotel, also known as the Esmond Building, was demolished on Wednesday. The building had been gutted by a fire on Jan. 10. (more…)
Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie in Duluth
Episode 5 of Pam & Tommy, the biographical drama series about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, mentions Duluth. The same Duluth joke comes up twice, and it’s also used as the title of the episode: “Uncle Jim and Aunt Susie in Duluth.” The episode premiered today on the streaming service Hulu.
The two scenes with the Duluth mentions are strung together in the video above. The setting for both scenes is the writer’s room for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1995.
Final Jeopardy Duluth clue a real stumper
The episode of Jeopardy! that aired on Valentine’s Day ended with this clue: “At about 90,000 it’s the most populous U.S. city on North America’s biggest lake.” All three contestants failed to answer Duluth. Two answered Green Bay and one answered Minneapolis. (more…)
R.I.P. Herb Bergson
Herb Bergson, former mayor of Duluth, Superior, dead at 65 - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
The police officer turned politician was known for his support of the LGBTQ community.
duluthnewstribune.com
Herb Bergson, mayor of Duluth from 2004 to 2008, and mayor of Superior from 1987 to 1995, died Feb. 10 of sepsis, a complication from a cancer surgery. He was 65. (more…)
MNDOT names eight more plows for 2022
After tallying 60,000 votes, MNDOT has named eight more plows in the fleet. They join Plowy McPlowface and Duck Duck Orange Truck from last year’s naming contest. In Duluth, you can be on the lookout for No More Mr. Ice Guy to be clearing the roads. (more…)
PDD Quiz: January 2022
Welcome to 2022! This week’s quiz looks at headlines and happenings from this first month of the new year.
In honor of the upcoming games, the next PDD quiz will look at Northland Olympians; it will skate your way on Feb. 13. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Feb. 9. (more…)
Radisson restaurant and bar rebranding
JJ Astor, Bowery Bros. to be rebranded by Minneapolis restaurateur - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
The Radisson's rotating restaurant will become The Apostle supper club and piano lounge this spring. When that restaurant's rebranding is finished, the first-floor Bowery Bros. Pub will become the False Eyedoll retro Tiki bar.
duluthnewstribune.com
The Duluth News Tribune reports the Radisson Hotel Duluth-Harborview is rebranding its top-floor rotating restaurant and its ground-floor drinking establishment. The restaurant will become the Apostle supper club and piano lounge; the bar will become the False Eyedoll retro Tiki bar.
Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie in Talkhouse
Alan Sparhawk (Low) and Nat Harvie Were Shaped by Duluth
The Minnesotan artists talk their shared hometown and more.
talkhouse.com
Musicians Alan Sparhawk and Nat Harvie talk about how Duluth informs both their music and their outlook on the website Talkhouse, a media outlet where artists share firsthand perspectives and offer insight into their creative work.
DECC COVID-19 testing tips
In the midst of the Omicron-variant surge the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center has published an “Insider’s Guide to COVID Testing.” Best walk-in hours? From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Parking? Free in the DECC lot if you tell the attendant that’s what you’re there for.
R.I.P. Louie Anderson, sitcom Duluthian
Comedian Louie Anderson died today at age 68. Part of his credentials in the entertainment industry is a CBS sitcom set in Duluth. Six episodes were produced; five were aired in 1996. (more…)
LEAN Duluth Citizen Blotter: January 2022
The Citizen Blotter is the monthly newsletter of LEAN Duluth — Law Enforcement Accountability Network — a volunteer-run data-analysis group and public communications resource for organizers working for police accountability. To support LEAN’s work, email leanduluth @ gmail.com. (more…)
Jane Yolen awarded Sophie Brody Medal for 2022
Duluth’s Holy Cow! Press author Jane Yolen, author of Kaddish: Before the Holocaust and After, has been awarded the Sophie Brody Medal for 2022. (more…)
PDD Quiz: 2022 Coming Attractions
Glensheen – Minnesota History Theatre
This week’s quiz looks ahead to new things coming (or returning) to the Duluth area in 2022. As with everything these days, all future events and shenanigans are subject to change; quiz on to test your knowledge of things to get cautiously excited about!
The next PDD quiz, heading your way on Jan. 30, will cover January 2022 headlines. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Jan. 26. (more…)
Condemned Esmond building gutted by fire
The Duluth Fire Department tweeted this photo at 7:55 a.m. noting a heavy fire on the second floor of the Esmond building.
The former Seaway Hotel, more recently known as the Esmond building, burned for seven hours today while fire fighters struggled in sub-arctic temperatures to extinguish it. The condemned structure at 2001 W. Superior St. in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood has been vacant since 2020 with future plans for demolition and redevelopment. (more…)
Two Superior warehouses destroyed by fire
Fire destroys 2 buildings in Superior's North End - Duluth News Tribune | News, weather, and sports from Duluth, Minnesota
Two buildings were lost in the fire.
duluthnewstribune.com
Warehouses at 1507 and 1515 N. First St. in the North End of Superior were destroyed by fire this morning. The Blatnik Bridge was temporarily closed due to smoke from the blaze. (more…)
Superior looking to save Princess Theatre
Study tallies costs to save historic Superior theater - Superior Telegram | News, weather, sports from Superior Wisconsin
Opened in 1913 as the Theatre Princess, Frankie's Tavern downtown could see new life with the right project.
superiortelegram.com
The building at 1310 Tower Ave. in Superior — known in modern times as the home of Frankie’s Tavern — is the subject of a feasibility study to determine the cost of saving it. The Superior Telegram reports it was built as a theater. (more…)
Great Lakes Now: Resilient Duluth
“Great Lakes Now checks in with Duluth mayor Emily Larson in an update on the improvements being made to the Lake Superior city’s waterfront, which resiliency efforts were featured in a ‘Resilient Duluth’ segment in June. “
PDD Quiz: 2021 in Review
Put your memory to the test in this week’s year-in-review quiz!
The next PDD quiz will preview upcoming events for 2022; it will be published on Jan. 16. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Jan. 12. (more…)
LEAN Duluth Citizen Blotter: December 2021
The Citizen Blotter is the monthly newsletter of LEAN Duluth — Law Enforcement Accountability Network — a volunteer-run data-analysis group and public communications resource for organizers working for police accountability. To support LEAN’s work, email leanduluth @ gmail.com. (more…)
New Lincoln Park housing takes over old furniture row
The Anderson Furniture Building, 2032 W. Superior St., was recently purchased by a Duluth developer. The building was constructed in 1910 for use by the Otis Elevator Company. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).
A historic “Furniture Row” anchor store in Duluth’s Lincoln Park Craft District has new owners who plan to renovate the building and add more housing and retail space to the booming neighborhood. The former Anderson Furniture building at 2032 W. Superior St. was purchased earlier this year by Ohana Holdings LLC of Duluth. St. Louis County property tax records show the company purchased the three-story, 37,000-square-foot property for $500,000. (more…)