Squelching local efforts toward earned sick and safe time
I’m watching the action at the Minnesota State Legislature with an eye toward what is happening in Duluth, too.
I look at these two initiatives. I wish I had some principle here, like “local control is always best” or something like that, but I don’t. I just prefer the results of the Duluth ordinance over the results of the state law. If I liked the results of the state law better, I would prefer that. (more…)
The Lincoln Tribune – Dec. 17, 1985
Oh, the random relics that land on the kitchen table at the Perfect Duluth Day Headquarters. We’ve also scanned all 15 interior pages of this issue of Lincoln Park School’s fancy old newsletter, which appear below, but take heed in the warning that it’s pretty dry stuff in general — everything from mazes and recipes to the school lunch menu. One thing of note is page 2, which is a ridiculously long list of items in the lost and found. (more…)
Big Jig Ice Fishing Contest 2017
Does anyone know why it’s not going on this year? I can’t find any info.
Pornography, or, “Worst First Dates”
In 1999, my ex-husband gave me a computer. I was pretty glad to get it. I had mastered emailing, and was ready to move on to the really exciting things, like AOL and internet porn.
Let’s get this clear right away: I’m not a huge porn fan. My porn experience at that point was limited to the following:
1. A couple of magazines unearthed by a 13-year-old me, in ~1985 in my mom’s friend’s attic. They were evidently from the 1970s. My suspicion was based largely on the unusual prevalence of mustaches and floppy boobies. (Throw in a headshot of Spiro Agnew and my argument is airtight.) They were disturbingly graphic and unaltered. Sans digital enhancement, the naked people all looked like slabs of pork tenderloin. With mustaches and floppy boobies.
2. A porn movie a boyfriend rented to watch with me. Everyone seemed really, really angry in it. With the volume down, their sexing faces all looked like they were watching Newt Gingrich pole dance in assless chaps and an American flag tank top. (He has bootstraps tattooed on his inner thighs, by the way. Interesting tidbit.)
3. My parents’ copy of The Joy of Sex, which was hidden under some sweaters in my dad’s closet. Finding that book in that spot was the single best abstinence education any parent could possibly provide. The idea of my disgusting parents contorting their old disgusting bodies into those disgusting and inexplicable configurations was enough to keep me from so much as holding hands until I was 16 years old. (more…)
Video Archive: Ice Cracking on Lake Superior
The 2016-’17 winter hasn’t been great for ice on Lake Superior, but ten years ago was one of the most magical freeze-overs in modern memory. In this video from Feb. 18, 2007, Zac Bentz captures the sounds of shifting and cracking ice off Park Point.
Teague Alexy’s new “Wisecracks & Roadside Flats” podcast
Wisecracks & Roadside Flats is a news podcast featuring American stories and folktales from musician, author and storyteller Teague Alexy. The debut episode, “Million Dollar Magic Take,” is Teague’s experience with the classic Bob Dylan and the Band album The Basement Tapes. Teague first hears the album on a solo road trip and years later finds himself as part of a tribute show to the album in Bob Dylan’s hometown of Duluth.
Subscribe to the Wisecracks & Roadside Flats podcast for free on iTunes and Stitcher.
This debut episode features unreleased music from Teague Alexy, Marc Gartman, Sarah Krueger, Lee Martin and Veikko Lepisto performing as the Duluth Basement Tapes Band. Get their recording of “Million Dollar Bash” exclusively when you pre-order Teague Alexy’s new album Circuit Sessions (release date April 7) at teaguealexy.com. See the Duluth Basement Tapes Band perform live on Bob Dylan’s birthday Wednesday, May 24, at Rex Bar as part of the seventh annual Duluth Dylan Fest and Thursday, May 25, at Pioneer Place Theater in St. Cloud.
Selective Focus: Heidi Ash
This week’s Selective Focus subject is our most delicious one yet. Heidi Ash has made chocolate her medium of choice.
H.A.: My goal is to make life more beautiful and delicious one truffle at a time. I work with French chocolate, hand-made caramel sauces, and the best ingredients possible. What gets left out is just as important: preservatives, corn syrup and RBST from the whipping cream and butter.
185Chocolat is a culmination of passions. The 185 represents the number of my heart transplant at the Mayo Clinic, which not only saved my life but altered the quality of it for the better in ways I could not imagine. (more…)
R.I.P. Farmer Hank
The Duluth News Tribune reports Farmer Hank Bos died Feb. 4 after battling lung cancer. He was 79.
Bos was known in West Duluth for selling his produce on Grand Avenue near the Minit Mart convenience store, formerly known as Little Store. The DNT reports Bos “for decades faithfully drove the 94 miles from his Shell Lake, Wis., farm to western Duluth daily from July to late October to sell produce from next to his pickup truck.”
What is this brick pillar in the sidewalk?
The above image landed in my inbox this morning with the following question from a fellow named Ben: “Any idea what this is? It’s on West Superior Street at 17th Avenue West. There’s nothing on it or attached to it.”
Well, it just so happens I have a pretty good idea what it is. (more…)
Augustus B. Wolvin and the Duluth Stoker Co.
This advertisement is from The Directory of Licensed Stationary Engineers of the State of Ohio, 1903, published by the Engineers Directory Co. of Columbus, Ohio. It highlights the features of the Duluth Stoker, a mechanical stoker designed for use on steamships. (more…)
The Boomchucks – “Birkie Fever”
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
A silly little ditty by Duluth band the Boomchucks, all about the North American Birkebeiner.
Duluth and Beyond
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Thomas Hays of Minneapolis produced this video of highlights from a recent trip to Duluth, Two Harbors and Gooseberry Falls. Perfect Duluth Day probably publishes about eight of these “trip to Duluth” videos a year, but this one has a pretty distinct style compared to others.
Tuesday at Lutsen
The days of fresh, fluffy powder seem rarer and rarer. Ben Olson and Barry Buhr took advantage at Lutsen Mountains last week, before the heat wave set in.
Duluth Cross City Trail plan reveals new West Duluth route
The final draft of the Cross City Trail Mini-Master Plan was released today by Duluth’s Parks and Recreation Division. It outlines the vision for a 10.3-mile multi-purpose paved trail system that connects the Duluth Lakewalk with the Willard Munger State Trail. Much of the trail has already been constructed over the past five years.
The plan is the culmination of more than 12 years of planning and development work. The public entered the process in 2010, when maps of potential routes were released for feedback. Several controversial alternate routes through West Duluth were discussed in the ensuing years when certain right-of-ways became unavailable, but a new route similar to what was initially presented has emerged. (more…)
Video: Full moon drifting through Aerial Lift Bridge
For your Valentine’s Day pleasure, here are 19 seconds of images shot by Dennis O’Hara over the weekend, showing the Full Snow Moon drifting skyward behind the Aerial Lift Bridge.
When principals tried to run Mötley Crüe out of Duluth
Left: Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe performing at the Duluth Arena on Nov. 5, 1985; photo by Bob King for the Duluth News-Tribune & Herald. Right: Clipping from Nov. 22, 1985.
Oh, the profanity! Mötley Crüe got Duluth-area principals’ undies in a bunch back in 1985. Attempts to ban the Los Angeles-based glam metal band went nowhere. Mötley Crüe returned to Duluth for two more concerts, one in 1990 and another in 1998. (more…)
Video Archive: Al Franken’s first run for U.S. Senate
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Ten years ago today, Feb. 13, 2007, Al Franken published the above video announcing his candidacy for U.S. Senate representing Minnesota.
He won the DFL nomination with 65 percent of the vote, but in November 2008 appeared to have lost the the General Election by 215 votes to Republican Norm Coleman. On Jan. 5, 2009, the Minnesota State Canvassing Board certified the recounted vote totals, with Franken winning by 225 votes. Subsequent challenges prevented him from taking his senate seat until July 7, 2009.
Franken was reelected in 2014, defeating Republican Mike McFadden with 54 percent of the vote. His second term ends Jan. 3, 2021.
Blues Monday: Bob Dylan Edition
The Adjustments play Bob Dylan’s classic “Meet Me in the Morning” at their home studio. Catch the blues/rock band live at Players Sports Bar on March 11 from 9 p.m. to midnight.
Audio and video recorded by the Adjustments, with help from Andrew Holien. Edited by Alex Nelson.
Local bookshop, national attention
In addition to stories on Perfect Duluth Day in September and the Duluth News Tribune this morning, Zenith Bookstore was mentioned today in the book industry newsletter Shelf-Awareness. (more…)
Matt Miller – “All Star” Music Video
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Local musician Matt Miller’s video for his new song “All-Star,” shot by Max Fierek of Nionix Media.
Check Miller out on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/mattmillersongs and Max’s YouTube Channel at youtube.com/c/MaxFierek.
Fairmount Elementary School Class Photos
Fairmount School at 6715 Redruth St. has served as an apartment building since 1981, but it once bustled with West Duluth kids willing to learn a few things in between cramming gum under their desks and creating general mischief.
The photos collected here are from a few different sources, but most of them were posted to the West Duluth Memories Facebook group by various people.
1949 Grade 1 (more…)
Dead Man Winter – “Destroyer”
The first video from the new Dead Man Winter album Furnace features cameos by numerous Minnesota music scene notables, including Duluth’s Al Sparhawk and two others who briefly called Duluth home, Haley Bonar and John Mark Nelson.
Dead Man Winter performs in concert Saturday at Pizza Luce.
PDD Quiz: Robots in Duluth
[This post originally contained an embedded quiz created on the platform Qzzr. It is no longer available at its source.]
Test your knowledge of local robotics teams (and other area robots) with this quiz, inspired by the upcoming FIRST Robotics regional competitions taking place Mar. 3-4 at the DECC.
No Education in Your Violence
In June 2010 I started working with men who have been arrested for using violence against women. (That’s when I also started never shutting up about working with men who use violence or what the work has taught me.) By “working with” I mean co-facilitating critical-dialogue groups in a feminist program designed to foster social change by helping men who hurt women figure out why they believe in doing it and how to stop. A month into having those conversations I’d reached two conclusions: 1. since high school I’ve used a lot of violence against girls and women in relationships; 2. many well-accepted teaching norms are just forms of dominance that teachers use to enforce student compliance regardless of whether it actually fosters or shows learning.
Visit a men’s group sometime then go hang out with a bunch of teachers commiserating over coffee or beers. Listen to how each group talks about the dominance they’re entitled to, the compliance they’re owed, and the character deficiencies they perceive in women and students who won’t comply:
What — am I just supposed to let myself get taken advantage of? (more…)