One Foot After the Other
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” — Yogi Berra
Most days after work I pick up my wife and we spring her mom from memory care for a stroll around the block. According to my wife’s high-tech pedometer it’s almost exactly half a mile. There’s a view of the big lake, and the weather that goes with it, and for fifteen minutes or so the three of us are happy to be walking, and walking to be happy.
My dictionary’s third definition of “pedestrian” describes its figurative sense as, “ lacking in interest or imagination; prosaic, ordinary and dull.” While, at speed, the crosstown freeways of Minneapolis may not be dull, they are certainly ordinary, it being lost on us that driving seventy miles an hour is a violent act, and this we only realize when running into something. We could’ve toured as daredevils a hundred years ago. But existence in our rolling cubicles is mostly quite prosaic, and life encaged is dull.
When I was three years old my friend and I decided to walk to the Ashland A&W, a mile away and across an interstate highway. Hudda Martenson saw us traipsing outside the neighborhood, and gave us a ride home to strict punishment. Grounded! For three days! This proved walking was a precious freedom, indeed, whose revocation was a penalty most cruel and severe. (more…)
This is soooo Duluth
Sarah Priest lost her winter hat at former Duluth Mayor Don Ness’ farewell event in late 2015 at the DECC. Stacie Spaeth discovered it and wore it in a TV commercial. The rest is history.
Woman discovers lost hat through Miller Hill Subaru commercial
Duluth Trail Skate
Daredevil downhilling in a video from Andrew Kilness, shot in Duluth’s Lester Park, giving new meaning to the phrase “multi-use trails.”
Selective Focus: Matthew Olin
Matt Olin is one of those artists whose work is impossible to have not seen. We get a look at some of his other creations as well as the sense of humor that finds its way into many of his projects.
Please tell us about the medium you work in and how you came to work in your style.
I typically work in Birkenstocks. Most people would refer to wearing Birkenstocks year-round in Duluth as a stylistic choice, so I guess you could say I come to work everyday in my style. When at work, I teach Interactive Design at UMD and create both self-initiated and client-based design solutions in my Birkenstocks. (more…)
Duluth native on Fortune’s list of world’s greatest leaders
Fortune magazine’s list of “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” includes Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau, a native Duluthian. Harteau is positioned at #22 on the list, just behind U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts and just ahead of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
Harteau graduated from Denfeld High School in 1982 and earned a law enforcement degree at Hibbing Community College before joining the Minneapolis Police Department at the age of 22. She was sworn in as chief in 2012. (more…)
UMD Spring Break on the Appalachian Trail
Videographer David Cowardin tags along on a University of Minnesota Duluth Rec Sports’ spring break trip hiking a section of the Appalachian Trail in the state of Virginia.
Duluth Coffee Company expansion underway
Duluth Coffee Company is expanding its footprint on the 100 block of East Superior Street with plans for a major upgrade to its roasting operations and more space for events and education.
The coffee roasting business and over-the-counter java shop has occupied 105 E. Superior St. since 2012. Owner Eric Faust recently took over the former BB Makeup location two doors down at 101 E. Superior St. and renovation work there is underway. When the project is completed, Duluth Coffee will move its roasting operations into the new location on the corner of the block while retaining the original coffee-shop space. (more…)
Duluth and the United Nations
A new posting at Vintage Duluth / Duluth Public Library (formerly Reference @ Duluth) is about “Duluth’s bid to become headquarters of the U.N.” in 1945.
Duluth Golden Girl Friendship Postcard
An oddity circa the 1970s from the minds at Gallagher’s Studio of Photography in Duluth.
Three Events: SuperMonster市City, Gao Hong and Sarah Deer
This past week, I went to see Gao Hong, Sarah Deer and Ed Downs give public talks, each a kind of rethinking for me. (more…)
A Zenith City Ballad
I am studying abroad in Rotterdam, Netherlands via UMD. Today I missed Duluth a little more than normal and wrote a piece for my own blog, but I wanted to share it with you all because the PDD community inspired it. (more…)
Homegrown Rawk and/or Roll: Jim Hall’s Mix
Available now for free download on Bandcamp, 117 megabytes of local rawk and/or roll selected by Jim Hall. It’s the eighth mix in the Homegrown Music Festival‘s series of compilations highlighting music that has shaped the Duluth music scene. (more…)
Thirty Seconds at the Beach
Spring is the best time of year for exploring the white sand beaches of Wisconsin Point. The “white sand” is slowly melting and will soon be gone, opening up the true beach season … but it’s fun to climb the temporary icy cliffs while they last and watch the slush heave.
Of course, be careful out there.
Sonic Divide: States
This short art video by Payton MacDonald features paintings by Duluth’s Kenneth D. Johnson. Sonic Divide documents a performance-art piece in which MacDonald mountain biked more than 2,500 miles — from Mexico to Canada — while periodically stopping to perform music. (more…)
Paul Seeba – “Mitchell Yards”
In this video from WDSE-TV‘s The Playlist, Hibbing native Paul Seeba returns to the Iron Range and the historic Mitchell Yards to share music inspired by the 1906 roundhouse. His 2014 album, Mitchell Yards, celebrates the now-endangered place and the role it played in handling ore during World War II.
Bonus sidebar: Dan Turner’s inside look at Mitchell Yards from his Substreet blog.
Chimook Reporter
“You don’t know me,” I quavered, barely not crying, bereft of words for explaining who the hell I thought I was to show up in that place, at that time, wanting to ask those questions. “If you knew me you’d know that … it’s just that … I mean I … I just wish you knew me, because if you did …”
The Fond du Lac Ojibwe School principal loomed literally and figuratively large behind his desk. I think I can remember his first name; later I may look for both first and last, but even if I knew them now I wouldn’t type them here. I’m not trying to call him out. I’m trying to express gratitude and admiration toward him and his vice-principal.
At least I think that’s what her position was. She and I sat a few feet from each other in front of the principal’s desk. They’d squared their shoulders on me. Their steady gazes and admonishment and demands for explanation felt hard. I remember some parts of the situation clearly, especially how trembly-sick and shaken I felt. I recall other parts vaguely, if at all: how long I was there; whether I said anything intelligible; whether I’d ever felt so unwanted in a place I cared about being. I was 34 years old in the moment I’m trying to describe. I’m 46 now. I expect my brain to misremember some details from then. I also trust it not to protect me in these matters. (more…)
A Busy Corner in Duluth
The view looking east from the corner of Second Avenue West and Superior Street in Downtown Duluth.
Gaelynn Lea – “Watch the World Unfold”
Melanie Schantz, a musician and visual artist from New Jersey, produced this music video for Duluth musician Gaelynn Lea. The song “Watch the World Unfold” features Al Church on guitar and is from the 2016 EP The Songs We Sing Along the Way.
Zenith Bread Project takes baking to a new level
Like many young entrepreneurs creating their own opportunities in Duluth, Amanda Belcher hasn’t had a straightforward career trajectory. She started studying exercise physiology at the College of St. Scholastica. Instead of continuing on to graduate school, she decided to become a professional baker.
Her Zenith Bread Project produces sweet treats sold at Amity Coffee, Duluth Coffee Company and Snooty Fox Tea Shop. Bagels and English muffins are also available at Whole Foods Co-op. Bent Paddle Brewing‘s taproom occasionally serves Belcher’s soft pretzels with beer, and Blacklist Artisan Ales features her doughnuts and pastries on Saturdays. (more…)
The Hoot Owls – “Scandinavian Hot Rod”
Ray Pirkola’s 1936 Ford Coupe debuted at the Million Dollar Motorcade car show at the Duluth Armory in 1955. Featuring 1940 Ford fenders and a hood grafted to a chopped and channeled 1936 five-window body, it was the first “full custom” car in the region. The song “Scandanavian Hot Rod” by the Hoot Owls celebrates the car and the self-determination of Ray Pirkola, father of the Hoot Owls singer and guitar player Barry Pirkola. The song is from the band’s 2010 album Alien Scrapyard.
Show off your Homegrown photos
As we do each year, PDD is putting out the call for some super skinny horizontal images to put in the banner at the top of the page during Homegrown.All the regular guidelines apply.
If you have your sights set beyond the PDD banner, the Homegrown committee and the Duluth Art Institute are currently accepting submissions for the show that will hang at the Red Herring. (more…)
Duluth’s Ten Most Endangered Properties in 2017
From a hidden stairway to the original rail line servicing the city, Duluth is not “anyplace, USA,” the Duluth Preservation Alliance announced in a news release. “It is home to an abundance of historic buildings and sites.”
To bring awareness to some of the city’s most threatened properties, the DPA put out its list of “Duluth’s Ten Most Endangered Properties in 2017.”
1. Pastoret Terrace
131 E. First St.
What began as luxury townhouses in 1887 has since been divided into multiple apartments. In 2010, the Terrace experienced a devastating fire and currently sits as a fraction of its former glory. Now owned by the city, it could be razed, or it could be renovated and be a catalyst that helps revive First Street. (more…)