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The new way to follow PDD comments

As you can see by looking at the left sidebar on this page, the old Recent Comments feature has been removed, and a new link for Recent Comments at the top of the page has been added.

There are three old posts (link, link and link) which detail the problems we had with our old Recent Comments feature. We think this latest fix is our best bet.

So, if you like to follow along with new comments to old posts, click the new Recent Comments link and have at them.
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Lost Minature Pinscher in West Duluth

Lost! Special needs dog. Jurgen is a Mini Pincher, 3 years old, red color, full tail and ears. She was wearing a pink collar with a bone-shaped ID tag and heart-shaped rabies tag, both silver. She has seizures and needs a special diet. Went missing on May 28 in the area of 35th Avenue West and Grand Avenue. Reward. Please call Amanda 218-206-4118 or Glenn 612-987-3642

Who in Minnesota?

In a twist on our usual game of “Where in Duluth?” we instead ask, in reference to the photo above, who in Minnesota? The image above was shot circa 1970 near what is now Elm Creek Park Reserve, a 4,900-acre park straddling Maple Grove, Champlin and Dayton, near Osseo.

On the right in the photo is Gary Lund, former owner of Gary’s Place, a bar in Carver. These days Gary’s Place is Lisa’s Place, where there will be a benefit for Gary on June 1.

But who is that on the left? He is famous enough that you should know.

Thirties scene in Duluth?

I am wondering where people in their 30s go out for a few drinks in Duluth? I’m not interested in the college scene.

The most recent Nerd Nite was pleasant all the way through…

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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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Lost dog in East Hillside

Please call 218-349-9486 if you find our dog. We will offer a reward! It must be spring in the air that made our dog run away from his home on North Seventh Avenue East and High Street. He bolted out the back door and we haven’t seen him since, despite searching the neighborhood. We are worried about him and would love to have extra eyes on the lookout for him.

Here are his stats:

He’s a male Gordon setter whose name is Ullr (pronounced You-ler). He is black with tan feet and tan muzzle and eye markings. He has a white chin and white blaze on his chest. He has a collar but no ID tags. He does have a Home Again microchip implanted in his back with the ID #47401E5E1C. He is up to date on his shots and he’s a friendly dog who responds to commands to come, sit, stay and whoa.

Lost Cat in West Duluth Area

Missing long-haired white cat with orange markings on his face, ears and tail (also has some very light orange on his back), has blue eyes. Missing since April 28 from the West Duluth area, specifically Raleigh St & S. 61st Ave. W., and has not been seen since.

His name is Raja, he’s 3 years old, neutered, has his claws and is not microchipped. He is very missed by his family and also needs his medication.
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Lost Dog: Dakota

Dakota is a well-known dog around town — a Husky/Shepherd mix. He pulled out of his collar on May 3 in the Lincoln Park Area and took off running. He is very friendly and sometimes has a lot to say. Please call Ian if you have seen him, or have any information of his whereabouts. 218-409-2416 or 218-341-1331. Thanks!

Lake Superior Sandstone

I remember a while back, there was a discussion about sandstone quarrying and that some quarries had records of notable buildings that were constructed from their stone. I just attended a meeting of the Heritage Preservation Commission in Minneapolis tonight where the Sumner T. McKnight mansion on Park Avenue was nominated for a historic designation study. It is constructed out of Lake Superior sandstone. I couldn’t help but to wonder if there is any quarry records that correlate with this building. Would anyone know how to find the answer to that?

Bullhorn Permit??

One of my buddies was horsing around with a megaphone this weekend – he was announcing an impromptu ski race. The police showed up and told him that he needed a “megaphone permit” in order to OWN a megaphone [perhaps he meant “use”?]. Anyway – we have been reviewing the city permit page and can’t find the requisite paperwork. Should the authorities have referenced a different regulation? Anybody have experience with this?

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…)

Where in Duluth?

Searching for a small house (Lakeside/Hillside/Woodland)

My wife and I have recently moved back to Duluth and are looking for a small house (1-2 bedrooms) on the east side of town, ideally in Lakeside, on the Hillside or in Woodland. We don’t need anything fancy, just a cute and clean home for us to start our family in. We do not have pets or smoke. If you or a friend know of something (or are about to rent a home), please let us know. Leads can be sent to rcrawfordaz @ gmail.com. We greatly appreciate the help.

Looking for a house in Lakeside/Woodland

My husband and I recently sold our lovely little house in Lakeside, and now we’re looking for a new home. We didn’t expect our house to sell so quickly, and now that it has, we are not finding much on the market! We’re looking for 3-4 bedrooms, nice size yard, and possibly finished basement or space to grow. I thought I’d throw it out here to see if anyone was planning on listing their house soon, as we’re reaching our deadline before we have to decide to rent! Thank you in advance!

Springs Eternal.

I was running the trail in Lower Chester this morning when I glimpsed something odd out of the corner of my eye . Looking down, I beheld this bewildering loose sprig laying right in the middle of the trail. Quite real, and I can’t even begin to explain it. But at this moment, in the latter half of April, as winter is pumping yet another shell into the chamber, I offer it that it might elicit the same emotion it stirred in me: hope.

Recent comments feature maybe sort of fixed, we hope; PDD mobile version turned off temporarily

The little spot over in the left column that highlights which posts have new comments should be working properly now. Let us know if it’s doing anything funky for you.

We broke it three weeks ago while fixing something else. Now that it’s fixed, the new problem is that it leaves an ugly gap in the left column if you’ve read all the recent comments. We’ll fix that soon and then watch what breaks the minute we do.

Also, as those of you who read PDD on your phones or tablets may have noticed, we turned off PDD’s mobile version. This is a temporary measure. The mobile version was whacking out our regular site … yadda yadda … we’ll get the geeks on it eventually, and we apologize for the inconvenience.

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…)

Where in Duluth?

Vegetarian-ish, garlic eating, natural-remedy-using nonsmokers

From the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed:

Who were those doctors in Duluth anyway? What was Duluth? Duluth! Duluth was a freezing hick town where doctors who didn’t know what the hell they were talking about told forty-five-year old vegetarian-ish, garlic eating, natural-remedy-using nonsmokers that they had late stage lung cancer, that’s what.

Cheryl Strayed on Amazon

Where in Duluth?

Recent comments feature klunky right now

You may have noticed the little section on the left column that highlights which posts have new comments you haven’t read has been malfunctioning. We know this, and we are working on it. (And when I say “working on it,” I mean going skiing and thinking about it occasionally.)

The problem started over the weekend, when a new plugin was installed to speed up the time it takes to load the homepage. Fix one thing, another one breaks. That’s how it goes.

17.5mm Film

I was talking to a friend about historical research, and he mentioned a local film, unwatchable, because it is on 17.5 mm film — basically, 35mm film cut in half.

Can anyone think of a way to watch this film? This is the 21st century!

Where in Superior?

What are these helicopters up to?

I was out snowshoeing off of the Foxfarm Road on Friday (March 15), and two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft passed overhead, flying in sort of a formation.  The lead helicopter was a huge twin-rotor thing, with some sort of device hanging from it which almost seemed to be emitting some sort of vapor trail. Strange. Did anyone else see this, or better yet, does anyone know what they were up to?