Grandma’s Marathon 2019 Double: 52.4-mile Bachelor Party
“Marathons are hard. Double marathons are harder.”
A perennial favorite on Perfect Duluth Day is Eric Strand’s annual video of his jaunt from the finish line to the starting line and back to the finish line of Grandma’s Marathon. Yes, that’s right, he runs the course twice. Every year. The 2019 installment is the eighth-annual Grandma’s Marathon Double, and includes, among others, an about-to-be-married dude named Zach embarking on the 52.4-mile run.
Postcard from the Rustic Bridge at Lester Park in 1910
The message on this postcard of the Rustic Bridge and Pavilion in Lester Park is dated Jan. 21, 1910, and postmarked Jan. 22. The sender’s name isn’t easy to read, but the recipient is Henry Seeam of Rice Lake, Wis. (more…)
The Playlist Presents: JayGee
WDSE-TV‘s The PlayList Presents is a series of 5-minute segments featuring emerging musicians or bands, including interview clips and a live performance. The Jan. 16 episode focused on local rapper Jeremy “Jaxon” Gardner, aka JayGee, with footage from the 2019 Catalyst Content Festival.
The PlayList Presents airs Thursday nights at around 8:20 p.m., after Making it Up North.
Mason Jennings – “Duluth”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK4S3pkbaWU
In January 2000, Mason Jennings released his second album, Birds Flying Away, featuring a track titled “Duluth.” Twenty years later, on Friday, Jan. 24, he’s in town performing at Sacred Heart Music Center.
Third verse:
We’ll live in a little town
North of Duluth
Where my grandmother
Lived in her youth
Writers share time with students at UMD
Every year, regional writers spend time with my students. Last semester, Julie Gard, Linda Grover, Lucie Amundsen, Terrance Griep, Michael Fedo and Roy Booth made the trip. This year, Katya Gordon will be visiting on April 22. Maybe you can join us?
Above are photos of one of the author visits by Paying Thao, journalist for the UMD Bark and student in Introduction to Writing Studies.
Selective Focus: Tommy Kronquist
Tommy Kronquist began his career as a graphic designer, and combined his minimal, classic aesthetic with a love of skate / snowboard culture and Lake Superior activities like hiking, biking kayaking and the occasional surf session. His company, The Medium Control is know for screenprinting and apparel with bold, clean graphics. He has a show at the Duluth Art Institute, and will be hosting an opening reception and artist talk Thursday, February 6, 5-8 PM.
TK: I grew up in the country on a hobby farm with horses in Annandale, MN (near st. cloud). Here my love and inspiration of nature was born. I lived outside exploring, creating and building with my brother and friends. My mom worked at Powder Ridge ski area, which somewhat became our daycare while starting skiing at age three. This is where my passion for snow sports thrived. I was heavily inspired and involved with the snowboard / skateboard culture; sports that respect and promote creativity and the individual. A strong innovative community was developed here mainly due to the fact that my friends ran the skate/snow shop in St. Cloud (Sticks / Youth Shelter Supply). My parents were very supportive in my creative outlets and allowed me to travel for snowboarding. Inspired by travel I would get up to Duluth / Spirit Mt. for snowboard competitions and for fun. Which led me to cast my college decision of UMD quite easy with Spirit Mt. being so close.
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Starr Brainard & Andy Lipke – “Broccoli”
Broccoli is the Duluth Community Garden Program One Vegetable, One Community initiative‘s 2020 Vegetable of the Year. Above is a clip from WDSE-TV‘s series The Slice, with background info about the new song by DCGP Land Stewardship Coordinator Starr Brainard and Duluth musician Andrew Lipke; below is the full audio track. (more…)
Viking Octantis cruise ship plans Duluth stops in 2022
Another cruise line is planning stops in Duluth. WDIO News reports that Viking Cruises plans to bring its Viking Octantis, currently under construction, to port here multiple times in 2022. Two weeks ago the Duluth Monitor reported Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will bring the Hanseatic Inspiration to Duluth twice this summer.
Climate>Duluth: Randel Hanson
Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Randel Hanson, co-director of the eco-entrepreneurship program at Lake Superior College. This is show #6 in the Climate>Duluth series recorded at Duluth Public Access Community Television’s studio in City Hall.
Arrival of Hon. James L. Oberstar in Duluth
A crowd of photographers and ship watchers convened at Canal Park on Jan. 14 to watch the Oberstar glide through the icy water concluding its final voyage of the shipping season. Come along for the ride as the ship chugs out hot plumes of steam and cuts a path through the ice.
Duluth Adventures: An Encyclopedia of Human-powered Multisport Adventures
I’ve been a bit obsessed with planning human-powered multisport adventures in Northeastern Minnesota. Even within Duluth city limits, the options for loops are nearly endless. I was curious if anyone else out there had done similar trips in the past. Then I thought about how cool it would be to have a documentation of many routes for others to explore, want to replicate, or spur their creativity for a new route/loop. And Duluth Adventures was born!
Check out duluthadventures.com. This website pretty much hinges on other people’s submissions so I strongly encourage anyone to navigate to the “submit” button and send in their own routes.
Postcard from old Duluth Post Office and Incline Pavilion
This postcard was mailed Jan. 15, 1910. The image is referred to on the back of the card as depicting “Duluth about 18 years ago,” which would be 1892, the year the Beacon Hill Pavilion opened at the top of the Duluth Incline. (more…)
History of the Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club
The ARAC 9Øth Anniversary History December 2Ø19
Join us in celebrating ARAC's 9Øth Anniversary with this history presentation. Written & Produced by ARAC's own, Kim Waller KEØNQS.
vimeo.com
Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club marked its 90th anniversary in December with the release of this documentary, written and produced by Kim Waller. ARAC was founded on Dec. 3, 1929 with the mission to promote the growth and enjoyment of ham radio in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #36: Engwall Edition
Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers. (more…)
Dave Hudson – “Samson in Duluth”
Brooklyn, New York-based musician Dave Hudson references Duluth on this track from his 2001 album New Sickness.
PDD Quiz: Coming Attractions in 2020
Peer into the future with this edition of the PDD quiz, which previews events coming Duluth’s way in 2020.
The next PDD quiz, reviewing this month’s headlines and happenings, will be published on Jan. 26. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Jan. 23. (more…)
Postcards from the Kitchi Gammi Club
This postcard was mailed 100 years ago today — Jan. 12, 1920. It shows the clubhouse of the Kitchi Gammi Club, which opened six years before the postcard hit the mailbag. The building still stands at 831 E. Superior St., and the organization is still active. The Kitchi Gammi Club formed in 1883, making it the oldest incorporated club in Minnesota. (more…)
Jessica Lange: Behind the Lens (in Duluth)
A CBS feature on Jessica Lang’s photography and her roots in Minnesota. She gives a tour of the area with emphasis on Highway 61, the title of her book of photography.
Vomit Detective
When partially digested nourishment is involuntarily ejected through the mouth, one of the first reactions is to wonder what caused it to happen. Was rancid meat recently consumed? Is there a norovirus going around?
Sometimes excessive alcohol is to blame and there isn’t a lot of detective work necessary. When that isn’t the case, however, the cause of a sudden retching can be difficult to track.
I have some recent experience as a vomit detective, following an incident that preceded the Christmas holiday. After a full month on the case, I can confidently state that the evidence points toward the culprit being either a cookie, a bowl of chili, or really just about anything else I encountered around that time.
That’s right, I’m getting ready to wrap up my investigation and file it as a cold case.
What’s worse is that information gathered in my latest probe has called into question a case from 2015. I might have wrongfully convicted a local fast-food chain restaurant of food poisoning. (more…)
Selective Focus: Duluth-area Film Festivals in 2020
If you’re a fan of film or an aspiring filmmaker, here’s a quick list of festivals in the area you can get involved in by attending or submitting your work. Each has a different focus and flavor, but for those interested in the art of filmmaking, there are opportunities for involvement at many of levels beyond being an audience member. (more…)
Duluth Schools of the 1890s
Courtesy of the New York Public Library and Google Books, detailed Duluth School Board annual reports from 125 years ago are available online to geek out on.
Links:
Report of the Board of Education of the City of Duluth, Minnesota (1891 to 1894)
Report of the Board of Education of the City of Duluth, Minnesota (1895 to 1901) (more…)
Video: Duluth Inauguration 2020
Duluth Mayor Emily Larson and newly elected city council members were sworn in at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center on Jan. 6.