Then and Now: Cathedral and Marshall
This aerial photo comparison shows Duluth Cathedral High School circa 1970 and the same campus in 2025 as Duluth Marshall School. (more…)
Toby Thomas Churchill – “You”
Duluth’s Toby Thomas Churchill has a new album called Nighttime coming out any minute now. “You” is the first single.
Rich Mattson and the Northstars – “Races With Turtle”
Rich Mattson and the Northstars are jumping over hurdles, running round in circles and racin’ with the turtles in their minds. The video for the band’s new single is directed by Reggie Pype.
Lee Clark Allen shares ‘seasons of life’ on new album
Lee Clark Allen at the Roxy on Broadway in Denver, Colorado.
There’s a stereotype that some musicians have “super egos.” Patrick Clark, an English teacher at the University of Minnesota Duluth and musician who performs as Lee Clark Allen, wants to avoid that. (more…)
JamesG – “Feeling Myself (Today)”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka JamesG, is feeling the flow today.
Selective Focus: Brad the Sheep
A painting of Brad the Sheep by Annmarie Genuisz.
In the fall of 2024, Brad the Sheep was sold by a farm in Carlton to a farm in Two Harbors. Determined to return home, he wandered the North Shore of Lake Superior, through Duluth and back to Carlton. The journey spanned three weeks — from Oct. 29 to Nov. 20. Along the way, Braaaaaaaaaaad was occasionally spotted. Photos and videos appeared on social media — most famously of Brad tromping along the rocky shore at Brighton Beach. A series of Brad-based memes hit the internet at the end of 2024, and two children’s books were published in early 2025 telling Brad’s story.
For this edition of “Selective Focus” we’ve brought back an interview with Brad’s owner, Ryan Osvold, conducted shortly after his return home last year. For imagery we’ve added some of the altered photos from an anonymous source, speculating about all the places Brad wandered to during his 40-mile journey. (more…)
Become the Dark
It took me 25 years to acclimatize to Duluth, and the big hurdle was these long winter nights. Here’s how I did it.
One day I thought, as long as I’m hopelessly depressed and dysfunctional, maybe I should dig a crawlspace under my all-time low and sort of, you know, make it cozy in there?
Step one: Uncouple your mood from the weather, to the greatest extent possible.
This took me two decades to get the hang of, but it can be done. Duluth is going to give you some ass weather. Conversely, when Duluth is nice, it’s God’s country. But if you let Duluth’s ass weather get to you, you’re effed. It’s a bad place to be sensitive to gray days and one of the coldest, longest winters anywhere in the country, the world even. Duluth in February — when winter is more than half over! — may be compared to the ice moons of Jupiter. And then you might get a chilly summer. So, welcome to town, buckle up, get ahold of yourself, and appreciate the city for what it is besides the weather.
We’re so far north, the path of the sun weaves dramatically across the sky as the seasons progress. You can feel the wobble of the globe. Don’t let it dizzy you or give you motion sickness as the sun stays out a different number of minutes per day. We can have extreme and long winters, and short summers of varying quality. It’s not personal.
Robert Plant covers Low on Tiny Desk Concert
Rock icon Robert Plant performed a five-song set for National Public Radio on Halloween. The third piece, “Everybody’s Song,” was composed by Duluth band Low.
At the 10-minute mark in the video, Plant explains that it’s the third song he has recorded from Low’s 2005 album The Great Destroyer.
Duluth-area Hockey Pin-back Buttons
With hockey season well underway, we’ve pulled out the hockey-related buttons from Perfect Duluth Day’s larger button collection. (more…)
Call for writing and artwork for ‘Going the Distance’
Duluth Publishing Project, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Duluth and Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, is compiling a collection of creative works — visual art, poems and nonfiction writing — on the theme of “Going the Distance.” Students enrolled in classes at the colleges will edit and create the final product. (more…)
The inaugural Christmas City of the North Parade was in 1961
Debate about when the first Christmas City of the North Parade happened has been rekindled numerous times since 2008, when KBJR-TV promoted the 48th annual parade as the “50th annual.” That year Andrew Krueger, then a copy editor at the Duluth News Tribune, set the record straight, digging through newspaper archives that strongly suggested, but maybe didn’t definitively prove, the parade was first held in 1961.
KBJR, then and now, points to 1958 as the first year of the parade.
It is finally time to set aside unreasonable doubt. The short version of the story is this: Krueger was correct. The first Christmas City of the North Parade was held Nov. 17, 1961. (more…)
Music in the Weeds: Between Howls
Duluth band Between Howls performs two songs from a ridge overlooking Grand Marais.
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.
Ian Alexy – “Move Like Water”
Duluth’s Ian Alexy has a new album on the way. The Tao of Ian is set for a Dec. 9 release.
An alternate version of the “Move Like Water” video, centered on a dance performance by Annika Danielson, previously appeared on Perfect Duluth Day. The new version adds footage of Alexy and beach scenes from Wisconsin Point.
Ripped at the Saloon 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 paid a visit to the Saloon, 1807 N. 11th St., in Superior, and composed this article for the Nov. 1, 2000 edition of the Ripsaw newspaper. The Saloon later became Temple Bar and then Mike’s Place.]
I was just about ready to sit down to a drink a six-pack of Old Peculiar, devour a carton of grade-D chop suey and watch the USA cable network movie, when it happened. Now, I’m no psychic, but I could feel — I just knew — someone in this town was giving away beer. You can’t just ignore a feeling like that. I stuck my untouched food and drink in the fridge, jammed a tape in the VCR to record the Addams Family double-feature and headed off into the night to seek my destiny.
I remembered that the Bayfront Blues Saloon had recently closed and reopened as, simply, the Saloon. The blues version of the saloon was always a mediocre experience waiting to happen, so I thought I’d check out the new and improved action. (more…)
Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners – “Shelf”
Two Trees, the new album from Duluth’s Breanne Marie & the Front Porch Sinners, is out today and the album release show is Nov. 15 at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake with The Yeah Scherz opening.
The video for “Shelf” is directed by Breanne Marie and Anya Tepler.
Duluth-born author co-writes FX show, has new novel
Duluth native and crime novelist David Tromblay has had a string of interesting Tuesdays. From Sept. 23 to Nov. 4, he got to watch The Lowdown on FX, a TV show he was a writing consultant for. On Nov. 11, he released his fourth book Coydog, a Western crime thriller. (more…)
Gas Freighter Elvina
The November 1910 issue of Power Boating magazine included a photo from the Duluth Ship Canal.
The caption reads:
Elvina, a 53-foot gasoline freighter, “beating it” out of Duluth harbor on her way to Cornucopia, 40 miles across Lake Superior, which she makes back and forth every day in the season. With 40 tons of freight and passengers, as shown in the photo, she makes ten miles an hour. Her power plant equipment is a four-cylinder, Campbell, 40-horsepower machine.
Jorma Kaukonen has Duluth tour stop in April
I just looked at Jorma Kaukonen’s tour schedule and discovered that he’s coming to the West Theatre in Duluth on April 23. The co-founder of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna is a guitarist, lyricist, singer and biker, and runs Fur Peace Ranch, a guitar camp in Ohio. Get a copy of his autobiography, Been So Long from Zenith Bookstore, across the street from the West. It’s a great read. At 85, he’s a stalwart. Duluthians, please give him a warm welcome!
JamesG – “So Long”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka JamesG, points out life is short in his latest music video, “but at times, it’s so long.”
PDD Gift Guide 2025
Make your list and check it twice. This year’s Perfect Duluth Day Gift Guide features 16 items from local artists and manufacturers that will jingle all your gift-giving bells this holly-jolly season. It’s the year of the collab, with three items on the list produced by two entities working together on a single product. (more…)
Northeastern Minnesota Book Award Winners for 2025
Eight books in four categories have been recognized for this year’s Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards, which celebrate books that substantially represent the history, culture, heritage or lifestyle of northeastern Minnesota. (more…)
United in Service: Military History from America’s Northland
From the courageous Native American Code Talkers of World War II to the dedicated members of the 148th Fighter Wing, the PBS North documentary United in Service offers a poignant exploration of what it means to serve. This compelling documentary shines a light on the diverse experiences of individuals who have answered the call to duty, preserving their invaluable stories for generations to come.
Music Making History: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
One of Gordon Lightfoot’s most important works was “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Written shortly after the shipwreck of the same name, the song comforted many, became a chart-topping success at the time, and nearly 50 years later it has found a place in popular culture and social media. The song also served as the inspiration for former Split Rock Lighthouse keeper Lee Radzak to start the annual beacon lighting to honor the crew.
This episode of the Minnesota Historical Society’s series Music Making History reflects on Lightfoot’s work, the way he responded to the families of the crew, and how the song has centered community gatherings honoring those lost at sea.
PDD Quiz: Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald
This edition of the PDD Quiz explores how the region has commemorated the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.
A review of this month’s headlines comes your way on Nov. 30. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by Nov. 27. (more…)
Postcard from Spirit Lake in Duluth
This postcard might have been mailed 100 years ago today. The year on the postmark has worn out over time, but is clearly from the 1920s and seems most likely to be 1925. The date is Nov. 8. The image shows a view of Spirit Lake on the St. Louis River from the shores of Duluth in the Morgan Park neighborhood. (more…)