News and Current Affairs

Here’s a bunch of reasonably credible information that I didn’t have time to delve into for details this week, so I present it as a clump of bullet points (with arrows as bullets).

• There are plans in the works for a gay bar in Downtown Duluth on First Avenue West.
• There’s a rumor floating around that another bar will open in the same vicinity. It will have a Western theme and be called Spurs.
• Tycoons is still several weeks away from opening, but is shaping up to be one of Duluth’s most unique dining and basement-cave drinking experiences.
• A new shop for gaming opened in West Duluth on Nov. 1. Dungeon’s End is across the street from Beaner’s Central.
• There also appears to be some kind of indoor- “tomato”-growing shop opening on Central Avenue, right next to 101 Deals. It’s called the Interior Tomato.
• Trampled by Turtles and the Minneapolis-based band Motion City Soundtrack are releasing a split 7-inch record together on Nov. 21 in which TBT covers an MCS song and vice versa.
• Cloud Cult has recorded a cover of the Beatles song “Help!” for the Minnesota Beatle Project Vol. 3 album. All the proceeds will be donated to enhance music and art education programs in Minnesota public schools. The album is scheduled for release on Dec. 6.
• Cloud Cult has also contributed a new song to a compilation benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota (no release date yet).
• Walter Raschick is the new director of the Homegrown Music Festival. The previous director, Shana David-Massett, moved back to Florida in October.
• Kristin Duckart is the new executive director of the Duluth Art Institute. She replaces Samantha Gibb Roff, who left Duluth to become director of development for the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania.
• I’ve heard no reports on whether Upper Lakes Foods has found a manufacturer to produce Connolly’s Tom and Jerry Batter for this holiday season, but we should see it in stores in the next two weeks if it’s making a comeback.