News and Current Affairs
PDD Quiz: June 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
June happened. Now, what do you remember? Take the quiz and find out.
Uber poised to enter Duluth market
The question might not be why Duluth doesn’t have Uber service, but when it will.
“By the end of the year,” said Duluth City Councilor Noah Hobbs. “From my personal end I don’t see anything holding us back from having Uber operating in Duluth.”
Hobbs held the first formal meeting on Tuesday in regard to the ride-hailing web application operating in the city. He met with City Attorney Nate LaCoursiere as a starting point for crafting an ordinance to regulate Uber and other transportation network companies.
Unlike taxicabs, Uber utilizes an online platform to connect drivers in their personal vehicles with riders paying for fares through the touch of a button, no cash. This type of techy transportation is taking place in 476 cities worldwide and counting. Uber started out seven years ago in cities like San Francisco and Chicago, and has recently expanded into smaller communities like Moorhead and Iowa City. (more…)
Norshor Theatre renovations begin
The deal to restore Duluth’s historic Norshor Theatre has finally come together, and renovation work is underway. Last week, WDSE-TV‘s Almanac North hosts Dennis Anderson and Julie Zenner discussed the project with Duluth Mayor Emily Larson and Duluth Playhouse Executive and Artistic Director Christine Gradl Seitz.
Local casket business dies
Hey, when did Duluth Casket Shop go out of business? Did local media completely fail to produce the kind of headline people get into journalism for in the first place?
Public comment sought on EAW for Spirit Mountain projects
The city of Duluth is accepting public comments until July 13 on an environmental assessment worksheet that was prepared for proposed projects at Spirit Mountain Recreation Area in 2016-2017. The plans include Nordic cross-country ski trails, mountain bike trails, Superior Hiking Trail extensions, rail-to-trail conversion, and an 18-hole disc golf course.
The proposed projects would initiate when all permits and approvals are received. They are part of the St. Louis River Corridor Initiative aimed at revitalizing and enhancing recreational opportunities and appropriate development in the western corridor of Duluth. (more…)
Tennis courts by MacArthur School coming along
Seven tennis courts and a discus/shotput-throwing area look to be almost ready at 725 N. Central Ave. The new courts and field will be used by tennis and track teams from Denfeld, as well as physical education students and other community members.
Cross City Trail section on DWP line almost done
Last week the pavement went down on a new section of the Cross City Trail that runs on the former Duluth, Winnipeg, and Pacific Railroad line behind the Lake Superior Zoo — part of the DWP Trail. The paved section runs from Greene Street to the zoo, a distance of about one mile.
Historic heart of Superior’s East End faces changes
Walter Haugen stands in front of buildings on the 2100 block of East Fifth Street, all planned for demolition this spring.
Walter Haugen stood inside an old corner pharmacy his father operated for close to 70 years on Superior’s East End. A junk pile was pushed near the plate glass front windows. Empty shelving units displayed old merchandise tags. A pungent mercurochrome smell filled the dusty store. (more…)
PDD Quiz: May 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
May 2016 isn’t quite over, but it’s over enough to quiz you over it. Here are some questions to see if you’ve been paying attention.
Maria Bamford: Lady Dynamite of Duluth
With all the posts on PDD about References to Duluth in TV and Film we shouldn’t neglect to mention the newest and most obvious example. Lady Dynamite, starring Duluth’s Maria Bamford, premiered Friday on Netflix. (more…)
Parking Crunch in Canal Park
The season for enforcing paid parking in Canal Park has begun (see the DNT article here). Parking in Canal Park will get tight and expensive.
Lake Superior Magazine image
The photo at left is of pre-redevelopment Canal Park, not parking this weekend. But you get the idea.
If you are reading this and remember life in Duluth when this was the beach, I’d love to hear stories.
Meanwhile, parking…
I used to meet friends at Endion Station, which was the (I think) last cheap place to park in Canal Park until the meters were upgraded.
And for a while, I joined the Great Lakes Aquarium because the free parking given members of the Aquarium was cheaper than parking in Canal Park. Plus the Aquarium is awesome.
What is the last secret of the local for getting into Canal Park this summer with a car?
The Story of Hairmantown: ESPN Clip
ESPN’s E:60 premiered its Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament feature tonight, they released this clip on their website specifically about the Hermantown Hawks’ pursuit of the class A championship … and excellence in flowing locks.
Upset Duluth: Brevator Township Edition
The Duluth News Tribune reports a proposed tire-recycling facility north of Cloquet has a few people upset. Photo by Steve Kuchera. (more…)
Duluth and Superior Photo Tweet From Space
Astronaut Jeff Williams of Winter, Wis., tweeted this photo of the Twin Ports this morning from the International Space Station. Far out, man. (more…)
Homegrown Kickball Classic 2016
The 2016 Homegrown Kickball Classic at Chester Bowl Park was ushered in by shockingly perfect weather conditions. The sun shone, some random dude played sitar, dogs pranced, beer flowed. And musicians in their seventh day of an eight-day Homegrown bender attempted to rally and act like athletes. (more…)
Finding Minnesota: Smelt Fishing on Lake Superior
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
WCCO-TV‘s Rachel Slavik reports from the mouth of the Amnicon River on Lake Superior during the 2016 smelt run. Apologies for whatever commercial precedes the video.
Homegrown Music Festival 2016 Primer
If this isn’t your 18th time attending the Homegrown Music Festival, here are some links that might be helpful:
Homegrown website
Event schedule on Homegrown website
PDD Homegrown Chicken App (schedule optimized for smartphones)
Homegrown Facebook page
Homegrown Twitter page
Seasons 1, 2 and 3 of Seth Langreck’s Duluth Band Profiles
PDD Quiz: April 2016
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
So, it’s May Day and April is now in the history books. How much do you remember? Let’s find out
The next quiz will be on May 15 and it will be a Dylan-themed quiz. Send your suggested questions (and answers) to lawrence @ perfectduluthday.com by noon on Wednesday, April 27.
Commerce on the River: Superior Packaging Company
Tom Franta started Superior Packaging Company in 1994 in his hometown of Minnetonka. Eventually he moved the business to Superior, where he was able to get his foot in the door with many companies by cold calling. The company’s product, called dunnage, or damage prevention, consists of materials that are placed in domestic and international shipping containers or boxcars to prevent damage to inventory by restraining any excess space.
SPC supplies companies such as Kikkoman, Del Monte and Seneca foods. Franta recalls his humble roots in his then-partner’s parents’ garage with no heat, using the alleyway to roll paper tubes to make packaging supplies and gluing them to cardboard to make pallets by hand. Today, Superior Packaging Company uses machines to do what he once did by hand. The company moved to its present location in West Duluth 15 years ago, when a larger facility was needed. This location is convenient for SPC as most shipping is done using common carriers on the highway. (more…)
Thirsty Pagan opens new beer garden
Kelsey Picek and Allyson Rolph in the Thirsty Pagan beer garden
Beginning this weekend, Twin Ports beer lovers have another option for outdoor imbibing. Thirsty Pagan Brewing’s new beer garden held its soft opening on Friday. The brewpub at 1623 Broadway in Superior is known for its tasty brews and delectable deep-dish pizzas.
The beer garden occupies a space behind the building that is fully fenced and can be accessed via the parking lot. It features several oversized picnic tables and can seat about 25 people with standing room for about 25 more. (more…)
Improved habitat boosts lake sturgeon recovery in St. Louis River
Jeramy Pinkerton and Anna Varian of DNR fisheries hold the largest sturgeon ever sampled in the St Louis River. The sturgeon, 65 inches long and about 53 pounds, was captured April 20, implanted with an acoustic transmitter and PIT tag and released.
Following years of clean water improvements and habitat projects, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reports that lake sturgeon are returning to the St. Louis River in larger numbers. DNR fisheries staff are embarking on a new research project to study the growing numbers and learn more about how these long-lived, native species use the river and Lake Superior throughout the year. (more…)
Commerce on the River: Demolicious
Dianne Anderson launched Demolicious in 2000, creating a public drop-off site for everything but the kitchen sink. Well actually, Demolicious will take kitchen sinks. It will take anything but household garbage, hazardous materials or chemicals. Anything else is fair game, but mostly the business receives construction waste. Clients can drop off their trash for a fee or rent a roll-off, which is a large waste container Demolicious will drop off empty and pick up when filled.
Materials get sorted and separated. Wood, for example, gets grouped together and ground into wood chips. What can be recycled is recycled. The business has many repeat customers, especially contractors who use it often, as well as one-time users who wish to discard things like old furniture. (more…)
Commerce on the River: Willard Munger Inn
It all started when Willard Munger opened the Willard Munger Inn in 1954, before the Interstate Highway System and I-35 existed, when State Highway 23 was the main road into Duluth. Over time, proximity to the St. Louis River has come to mean more and more to the business as the health of the waterway has improved and outdoor tourism has grown.
Jeff Munger, grandson of the founder and current manager of the motel, recalls how his grandfather lived at the inn and woke up early every morning to tend to his guests until 1991, when his son Willard Jr. took over managing the operations. The inn has since expanded, employing eight people in the high season of summer. (more…)
Commerce on the River: Loll Designs
In a manufacturing facility a few hundred feet from Stryker Bay in West Duluth, Greg Benson leads a company dedicated to making outdoor furniture “for the modern lollygagger.” Before launching Loll Designs, however, Benson built skateboard ramps. He started out in his neighbor’s garage and eventually worked with municipalities to design and implement custom skate parks. The excess materials turned out to make attractive and durable Adirondack-style chairs, and a new business was born.
“A lot of people assume that I must have been a skater, but really I enjoy hiking, kayaking, camping and being outdoors much more,” Benson says. He and his brother Dave, both University of Minnesota Duluth graduates, along with Tony Ciardelli , founded both Loll and Epicurean, a company that makes cutting boards and other kitchen products. They sold TrueRide in 2008 to a California company and took what they had learned and ran with it. (more…)
R.I.P. Walt Pederson
Walter H. Pederson, a Duluth native and member of the Plaisted Arctic expedition, died Friday in St. Cloud at the age of 88.
Pederson served as mechanic on Ralph Plaisted’s crew, which reached the North Pole by snowmobile in 1968. The subject gained new attention last month when the New York Times published an account of the expedition. In early April the Hollywood infotainment website Deadline reported Will Ferrell will star in film about the Plaisted expedition.
Pederson’s obituary in the St. Cloud Times notes he was a “sailor, cowboy, mechanic, racer, teacher, businessman, inventor, explorer, author, politician, entrepreneur, scientist, private eye, hero, friend, husband, father and grandfather.” Services will be held Friday in Milaca.