Ripped in Toronto in 2000
[Editor’s note: For this week’s essay we’ve once again pulled out a relic from the archive of Slim Goodbuzz, who served as Duluth’s “booze connoisseur” from 1999 to 2009. Twenty-five years ago the Sultan of Sot hit the road for a visit to Toronto, Canada, and composed this article for the July 12, 2000 edition of the Ripsaw newspaper.]
“Nobody helps you with your cup
No one could ever fill it up.”
—The Sadies
Prelude: Detroit Metro
It was 11:15 a.m. and I was sitting in one of the many cafes at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, waiting for my connecting flight to Toronto. Everybody else drank coffee and ate pastries. My flight had been delayed two hours. I needed whiskey.
The Price is Right was on the TV above the espresso machine. Bob Barker put his arm around a gaunt middle-aged woman while they watched a cardboard mountain climber ascend a cardboard mountain, singing:
Laaa dee doody
Laaa dee doody
Laaa dee doody dooooo … (more…)
Postcard from the Boulevard Around Duluth
This postcard of Skyline Parkway, from well before it was called Skyline Parkway, is dated July 12, 1905 — 120 years ago today. It is not clear what part of Skyline is featured in the image. (more…)
Selective Focus: Birdie Knox-Rose’s Mixed-Media Art
Birdie Knox-Rose at Studio Café. (Photo by Jess Morgan)
Churning curiosity and feelings into art since a child, Birdie Knox-Rose has explored many different mediums on a path toward healing. Whether creating dolls out of several different textile materials, dioramas out of found objects or exploring encaustic painting, many of her pieces center around authenticity, finding a place in the world or speaking gently to a younger self. She shares more about her work and upcoming gallery display, below. (more…)
Historic Duluth Woman’s Club building will become B&B
The Duluth Woman’s Club, 2400 E. Superior St., was constructed in 1910 by Duluth Edison Power company founder Alexander W. Hartman. It had been owned and maintained by the Duluth Woman’s Club since 1936. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)
A Superior Street mansion that long served as a meeting place for the Duluth Woman’s Club has been sold to a Washington couple with plans to establish a bed and breakfast in the Turn-of-the-Century property. (more…)
Climate>Duluth: Greg Jacobs & Jon Siskel
Climate>Duluth host Tone Lanzillo interviews filmmakers Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel of the Here Now Project. The program was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television studio on May 21.
Lake Superior International Highway opened in 1925
Call this historical tidbit “Highway 61 Revisited.” On July 10, 1925 — one hundred years ago today — a celebration was held in Two Harbors to mark the completion of what was then called the Lake Superior International Highway, a section of Minnesota Trunk Highway 1. (more…)
Video Archive: Iron Ore from the Mesabi Mines circa the 1920s
This silent documentary film depicts the mining, shipping and processing of iron ore from the Mesabi Range. Although the title confidently states 1920, other sources estimate 1926 as year the footage was shot.
Scenes from Duluth begin at the ore docks at the 1:55 mark and conclude at the shipping canal at the 3-minute mark. (more…)
One more contribution to the literary history of Duluth
My students were busy over the past two years. Tales of Migration is the second of their book projects, a collection of migration tales that include submissions from the students, from Duluth, and from around the world.
I am looking for themes for the spring 2026 project. I am oscillating between calling for an anthology, like this, or for calling for chapbooks and short essays and comics that could be published by my students, chapbook style.
Mystery Photo: Woman at Arcade Studio
This postcard photo is likely from around 1920. The only solid clue is on the back, where the photo is attributed to Arcade studio, 110 W. Superior St., Duluth. The studio had previously been known as the Penny Arcade. (more…)
Duluth Deep Dive #6: Superior Street in Six Acts
Superior Street around 1873. (Photo from the Northeast Minnesota Historical Collection)
The downtown section of Superior Street has a more complete photographic record than any other part of the city, revealing how dramatically Duluth’s main street has changed over time. This Duluth Deep Dive traces the 170-year history of downtown Superior Street by dividing its history into six periods and illustrating each period with a photo. (more…)
Not just excavating, but creating the literary history of Duluth
I post a lot about books found at the Duluth Public Library sale, or at the former Gabriel’s books, as part of the general project in my class to excavate the literary history of Duluth and to work with the UMD archives to preserve it. (more…)
Helical Hymn
This animated music video was inspired by the Minnesota Million: Reforestation for Carbon Sequestration Project, which is focused on the reforestation of one million acres in northern Minnesota. It will be screened at Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace on July 3 at 6 p.m. as part of the Cafe Scientifique event. Dr. Julie Etterson will speak about the Minnesota Million Project and free seedlings will be given away. Please come hear about this exciting project and help us reforest the northland.
Grand Marais’ New Bike Skills Park
A new bike skills park recently opened next to the Cook County Community Center, temporarily installed on the community skating rink. Superior Cycling Association President Jay DeCoux tells the story in this video produced by WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
One of the park’s users, Bo Christianson, probably summed it up best: “This place is fricken sick.”
Postcard from Superior Street Looking East
This undated postcard, published by Zenith Interstate News Company, shows Superior Street in Downtown Duluth looking northeast from between Fourth and Fifth avenues west. (more…)
Cold War Secrets of Northern Minnesota
This 2024 PBS North documentary, now available on YouTube, digs into the Cold War and northern Minnesota’s role in the global conflict. It features Cold War heroes like Ray Klosowski, Jim Chapman and Ronald Hein, and visits military sites in Duluth, French River and Finland.
Dāv Kaufman Eats the North Shore
Following his Duluth episode, Dāv Kaufman heads up the North Shore in this week’s edition of Dāv Kaufman Eats the World. (more…)
North Country Cadence in the literary history of the Duluth
For some reason, the Duluth Public Library decided to deaccession some of its reference Minnesota collection. (more…)
PDD Quiz: June 2025
Go the distance with this week’s current events quiz!
An outdoorsy quiz treks your way on July 13. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by July 10. (more…)
On Board a Great Lakes Fireboat
Local YouTuber Vibe with Mike took a ride on the Duluth Fire Department’s fireboat.
Alhambra changed name to State Theater in 1925
West Duluth’s Alhambra Theater reopened under a new name, The State Theater, on June 27, 1925. The name change came after a renovation of the space, which had originally opened on Sept. 15, 1913.
The State Theater closed circa 1928. The building housed a variety of businesses until it reopened as the Alhambra on May 16, 2025 — one month ahead of the centennial of its name change. (more…)
Duluth in the novel ‘The Horn’
John Clellon Holmes’ 1953 beat jazz novel The Horn contains a couple references to Duluth. In the 1988 edition by Thunder’s Mouth Press, the first mention occurs on page 131. I cite it below with a couple paragraphs for context, which make it clear “Duluth” is used synonymously with “some out-of-the-way city on the road.” (more…)
Selective Focus: Kai Murphy’s Visual Art
Working mostly with Copic markers, digital drawings and occasional oil paints, Kai Murphy has created commissioned artwork for Duluth Superior Pride, Trans Northland, the H.O.T.D.I.S.H. Militia and more. Murphy started their practice making fan art in online communities, and has since branched out from there. Readers can view their artwork and learn more in the interview, below: (more…)
Music in the Weeds: Barbara Jean Meyers and Mike Lewis
A short way up the Kadunce River on the east side of Cook County, hikers on the Superior Hiking Trail can view a large natural cave next to a waterfall just off the trail. Local musicians Barbara Jean Meyers and Mike Lewis trek across the river and perform two original songs, “Big and Small” and “Traces,” inside the cave in the woods.
Music in the Weeds is a new video series from WTIP North Shore Community Radio that showcases northern Minnesota artists performing original music at scenic and meaningful locations around Cook County. It is produced by M. Baxley and Will Moore.
Ten Months of Critters in Voyageurs National Park
The latest montage video from the Voyageurs Wolf Project features highlights from a trail camera set up in a remote section of Voyageurs National Park for more than 10 months. The camera captured the typical cast of elusive forest characters, including wolves, moose and lynx. A bear helps direct the video by adjusting the camera.