Videos
Almanac North: The Wall that Heals in Chisholm
The traveling Vietnam Wall was on display in Chisholm recently. WDSE-TV Producer Megan McGarvey visited the wall and produced an emotional report for Almanac North on the importance of the memorial in remembering those who paid the ultimate price during the war.
SS Meteor: The Last of the Whalebacks
Built in 1896, the SS Meteor is the last surviving above-water whaleback ship in the world. It operated until 1969 and is now a museum ship on Barker’s Island in Superior. The documentary embedded above was created by Duluth Film Company, a division of GOV Productions. (more…)
Charlie Parr on Lakeland PBS Backroads
Duluth’s Charlie Parr performed songs from his 2021 album Last of the Better Days Ahead at the Rail River Folk School in Bemidji for an episode of the Lakeland PBS program Backroads.
Video Archive: “Gonzo USA Theme”
For your flag-waving Independence Day viewing pleasure Perfect Duluth Day presents the “Gonzo USA Theme” from Jim Richardson’s public access television show circa 2001. The music is by Craig Minowa of Cloud Cult fame; Richardson, of course, is now alternatively known as Lake Superior Aquaman.
Iron Opera
The annual Northern Lights Music Festival on Minnesota’s Iron Range is a three-week event that includes an opera production. Documentary directors Mike Scholtz and Marius Anderson captured the process and stories leading up to the 2021 festival for the WDSE-TV feature embedded above. Iron Opera is the story of concert pianist Veda Zuponcic and a cast of talent plucked around the world and around da Range.
Video Archive: Benzene Spill of 1992
Thirty years ago today nearly 30,000 residents of Superior and neighboring areas were evacuated after a Burlington Northern train derailed on a bridge over the Nemadji River, causing a benzene leak from a derailed car.
The video clip above is from KBJR-TV’s News 6 Nightside with anchor Michelle Lee and reports from KBJR’s Heather Filkins and Laura Bergan and KARE-11 reporter Rick Kupchella on the catastrophe that came to be known as “Toxic Tuesday.”
YouTube reviewer does not like Duluth Trading Co. boots
Boots sold by Duluth Trading Co. are the latest to be featured on the YouTube channel Rose Anvil. One trademark of the channel is that the reviewer (whose name I did not find online) cuts boots in half to show his 544,000 subscribers how they’re constructed. The nearly 22-minute review, featuring three styles of boots and titled “Embarrassing truth about Duluth,” is not a positive one. “We buy $500 worth of boots to see if Duluth makes stupid boots,” the reviewer says, “and they do.”
Duluth Trading Co. is not based in Duluth anymore but still bears the city’s name and operates a retail store at 300 E. Superior St. The company shares some of its history at duluthtrading.com.
The Brothers Burn Mountain – “When We Play Music”
The Brothers Burn Mountain have a new album, The Thrill and the Flame, set for release July 16. The video for the first single, “When We Play Music,” was produced by Ryan Dermody.
Video Archive: Downtown Duluth, 1972
Gathered here is silent WDIO-TV b-roll footage dated June 20, 1972. Note there was a “Patio Park” at the time, next to A&E Supply — long before anyone had coined the term “parklet.”
Blacklist Brewing Company new location flythrough
Blacklist Brewing Company made the move to 206 E. Superior St. in May. Ethan Schultz of ShotxSchultz did a flythrough before the move, during construction, and now has returned to show the new Blacklist location in action.
Exploring Oregon Creek Tunnel
Duluth Urbex presents an underground tour of Oregon Creek, which flows beneath the University of Minnesota Duluth campus and through the Endion neighoborhood to Lake Superior.
The Slice: Shaun Chosa
Shaun Chosa, a Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa tribal citizen and painter/graphic design artist, has more than 30 large-scale paintings on display until Sept. 16 at the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center in Duluth. (more…)
Explore Wisconsinbly with Mary Mack: Choo Choo Bar & Grill
Comedian Mary Mack continues her tour of Wisconsin with a stop at Superior’s Choo Choo Bar & Grill.
Cole Pulice and Nat Harvie – “Parrish Blue”
Duluthian Nat Harvie‘s new collab album with Cole Pulice, Strawberry Roan, releases June 21 via the Texas-based Aural Canyon record label.
Trampled by Turtles – “It’s So Hard to Hold On”
Trampled by Turtles asked fans to submit photos and videos of themselves at shows for a secret project. The images appear in the band’s new music video for a track from its upcoming album Alpenglow, scheduled for release Oct. 28. The video was edited by Cooper Baumgartner.
Kip’s $2.49 Griswold Square Egg Skillet Adventure
Duluth photographer and online ranter Kip Praslowicz found a rusty cast-iron Griswold square-egg skillet at a thrift store for $2.49. In this video he restores the skillet, makes a square-egg sandwich and blows minds.
“Duluth’s Most Mighty”: Duluth mention on “The Boys”
Today’s episode of The Boys (season 3, episode 4) contains the following sarcastic line: “I’m sure you and Duluth’s Most Mighty can get the job done.” It occurs at the 15-minute mark in the show. The remark is intended to mean “your unpowered friends and boyfriend are pipsqueaks.” Contains salty language.
Charlie Parr – “Bed of Wasps”
Duluth’s Charlie Parr has a new video for a song from his 2021 album Last of the Better Days Ahead. “Bed of Wasps” is directed by Lance Lindahl.
The Slice: MorningBird
Iron Rangers Rob Wheeler and Jill Burkes make up the folk duo MorningBird. This clip is from their “Live from Studio A” session on WDSE “the North” 103.3 FM in May.
In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Life after Desk: Catching up with Gaelynn Lea
Duluth’s Gaelynn Lea won National Public Radio’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016. NPR recently circled back to interview her during her work writing music for the Broadway adaptation of Macbeth.
The Tiny Desk Contest is NPR’s annual search for a great unsigned artist.
Grandma’s Marathon 2021 Double: Ninth or Tenth Annual?
Eric Strand’s tradition of running a Grandma’s Marathon Double — starting at the finish line, running to the starting line, then running the official marathon — continued in 2021. The annual video package didn’t make it to YouTube until today — 11 days before the next Grandma’s Marathon — but hey, editing video is its own marathon, right?
Joining Strand on the 52.4-mile trek, which began at 2:30 a.m., are Andy, Andrew, John, Lance and another guy named Eric. All were impressed with the awe-inspiring sunrise over the porta potties at the half-marathon starting line.
Video Archive: The First Half-century of Goldfines in Business
This 50-year-old film is a sort of unproduced mini-documentary about Duluth’s Goldfine family, with particular emphasis on their roles as civic leaders. The family’s entrepreneurial story in Duluth goes back to 1922, so it can be viewed today as marking a full century of Goldfine family enterprises in the city. (more…)
Ingeborg von Agassiz – “Higher, Higher”
The latest from Duluth’s Ingeborg von Agassiz is “a song for basement-dwellers and night owls.”
Squirrel Fighting Scaffold Match: Furball McGraw vs. Crazy Carl
In the latest backyard battle in Duluth, Furball McGraw takes on the squirrel-weight champion of the world, Crazy Carl in a scaffold match. Video by Brian Luoma of Wild Cam North.