Duluth’s Goat Hill Neighborhood

Does anyone know about the history of West Duluth’s “Goat Hill” area or how it got that name?

Duluth Farmers Market

The market is full of local produce at its peak! There is also fresh and smoked whitefish from Lake Superior Fish Co., the best wild rice and maple syrup from Spirit Lake and to top it off Peace, Love, & Chocolate just announced a Root Beer Truffle on its Facebook page! Stop by the market from 7am to noon on Saturday, 14th Ave. E. and Third St. It always helps to buy local.

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Here’s hoping everyone is feeling sequeer during the Pride Festival this weekend

Full rundown of Duluth-Superior Pride events at dspride.com.

WDSE-WRPT shows its shorts! Indoors!

Update on a previous post:

WDSE-WRPT Movies in the Park: Shorts! is officially an indoor experience. We’re staging music and films at the Fitger’s Spirit of the North Theater. Please join us at 7 for music by James Moors and 8pm for films by your creative neighbors and friends!

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92.1 Lite FM now “Nu 92”?

It looks like local radio stations aren’t done changing formats yet. I turned my car radio on this morning and saw that 92.1 Lite FM is now “Nu 92” and appears to be another top 40 station. Can anyone else confirm? Did this happen a while ago and I just never noticed? More importantly, why on earth do we need three top 40 stations?!

Cormier Dry Goods of West Duluth

1907CormierDryGoods6227Grand2 6227Grand2010

Left:
Cormier Dry Goods, 6227 Grand Ave., West Duluth, in 1907.
(Northeast Minnesota Historical Center photo.)

Right:
The same building in 2010, now entirely apartments.
(Perfect Duluth Day photo.)

Cormier Dry Goods stayed in business well into the 1930s. Gustave Cormier was the proprietor and lived upstairs. By the mid-1930s, J.A. Lundeen’s shoe store shared the building.

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Fierce Alleycat Road Race for Reproductive Justice — Friday at Leif Erickson Park

Brought to you by your local HOTDISH militia*

Deets:
Friday, Sept. 3
4pm Registration
5-7PM Race
Meet at Leif Erickson Park
$5 minimum donation to ride
Prizes for all sorts of fun reasons

An alleycat is a bike race and a scavenger hunt combined – come find out more! Be sure to bring a bike, helmet, backpack and your best costume.

*HOTDISH stands for Hand Over The Decision It Should Be Hers.  We are a small grassroots organization mostly made-up of badass feminists who spend our time advocating for reproductive justice in the Northland while educating ourselves and others.  We have a small fund that we maintain through our fund-raising efforts to ensure that women of the Northland with lower incomes have access to abortion and other reproductive health care services.

Eddie Money – “We Should be Sleeping”

Classic rocker Eddie Money performs a free concert this evening at outside Fond-du-Luth Casino. Duluth gets a shout out at the :35 second mark in the video for “We Should be Sleeping.”

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Joss Whedon Sing Along – Friday @ 9:30 @ Zinema 2

Come sing along in this double feature from the mind of Joss Whedon!  We’ll start the evening with Once More with Feeling, the musical episode of Buffy.  During the intermission there will be trivia, costume contests, and a special Firefly sing along led by Pat Carroll.  You can also check out the Whedon memorabilia displayed by Lawrance Bernabo.  Then we close the evening singing along to Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog!

The cost for the evening is a mere $9.50 and that includes props for the audience participation portions of the event. You can buy tickets in advance from the Zinema 2 box office or, for a $1 surcharge, on the Zinema 2 website.

WDSE-WRPT shows its shorts! (films, that is) and the music of James Moors

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27fQC5EFzTA 

Public TV, WDSE-WRPT, invites you to celebrate smart, original films; and the music of James Moors at its free outdoor local film event, Movies in the Park – Shorts!, Friday, Sept. 3 at 7pm in Leif Erickson Park. (more…)

WOJB Fall Concert Series Kick-off: Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials

Friday, Sept. 10, 7:30 pm at the Park Theater, Highway 63 in downtown Hayward. (more…)

Lorrie Janatopoulos for County Commission

Join in to support Lorrie’s run for St. Louis County Commission.

5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1
Carmody Irish Pub – 308 E Superior Street, Duluth, MN

Lorrie is running for Commission in District 5 (Virginia/Eveleth) but that official makes decisions for Duluth, too. We need new, sensible people on our County Commission, so come to the party, meet and talk with Lorrie, and give what you can.

Lorrie Janatopoulos for County Commissioner

Upcoming Concerts at Clyde Iron Works

Click on the poster to see it bigger.

HotMaids post removed

A note from your friendly neighborhood PDD moderators:

Many people read and commented on a post from August 29 about a cleaning business called HotMaids. We have decided to remove the post due to deceptive tactics engaged in by the author of the post, who is also the owner of the business.

Many of the comments responding to the post were made by the author, under multiple names, all raving about what a great idea the business is. Initially we removed those comments and left the post up, but ultimately we felt the entire thing should be removed.

The post also received many negative comments from people who did not appreciate the nature of the business. That had nothing to do with why the post was removed. We simply felt that the deceitful tactics of the author were reason enough to include the phrase “let the buyer beware” at the front end of the discussion.

With that in mind, we now resume the forum on this topic — unless everyone prefers to ignore it at this point.

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Duluth’s 2011 Proposed Property Tax Levy and General Fund Budget


Click here for the mayor’s summary.

The city council will approve a maximum tax levy in September, followed by budget presentations from each of the city departments in the upcoming months. The council will vote on and certify the final 2011 tax levy and budget in December.

Highlights:

  • Fourth consecutive year of decreases in general fund expenditures
  • Zero increase in general operating tax rate

102.5 has changed formats … again?

I like to listen to Bob and Tom on the way into work. Today on my way home I thought the song they were playing was a bit odd for a classic rock station. They then announced the call letters as KDWZ or something like that. I cannot find any info on the Midwest Communications site. Does anyone know anything about this transition, and if they will keep Bob and Tom in the morning? From the two songs I heard it seemed to be another top 40 station. I think it’s a bit humorous that 102.5 has come full circle from KZIO in the mid ’90s. Somehow I doubt “Album Side Thursday” will survive this transition which is a bit of a shame.

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Pride Fest After-Party at R.T. Quinlan’s

pridefest

The party doesn’t end at Bayfront! Come down to R.T. Quinlan’s on Saturday for the Duluth/Superior Pride Fest after-party! Live music by the Adventurer, Dewskiwater Grooves, Forest of Men, and Dirty Horse.

Park Point Amusement Park

My mom, who was born in Duluth in 1935, was re-telling me stories about the amusement park at the end of Park Point. She recalled bumper cars (she called them “dodge-em carts”), a penny arcade, a carousel, spinning swings, a candy shop (Fritz’s) and various other amusements. I know the canopy for the carousel is in the Sports Garden, but I have never seen any pictures of this park and don’t know if the topic has been addressed here. Just wondering if anyone has any insight as to whether my mom’s recollections are accurate.

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Help Me Identify This Spider

This spider moved into the overhang outside my kitchen window. I first noticed it this morning, and it’s still there tonight. It’s really hard to get a decent picture, but I did the best I could. Anybody have any idea as to what kind of spider this is, or if they’re usually around here? It’s about as big as the end of my thumb (from the knuckle to the tip). It’s huge. HUUUUUUUUGE. Right now it’s fascinating to watch, but I think I’d have to move if it ever got in.
(more…)

Loud & Angry

“Councilor Kerry Gauthier said he plans to support the proposed ordinance, especially after witnessing the effects of K2 on a neighbor boy who ‘got loud and angry’ after smoking the stuff.”

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Lost Superior: St. Joseph Orphan Home

ChapelSt.Joseph

I found some amazing pictures of the chapel in St. Joseph Orphan Home. It was mostly referred to as “the orphanage” and was located just to the east of the Mariner Mall in Superior.

See the photos at the Badger Catholic blog.

Eaten Alive!

Holland and Holly (both good swimmers) are frolicking in Fish Lake just beyond the dam west of Highbanks. Me, I’m lounging on the beach as the designated adult. They had thrown a large log into the water and were trying to sit on it, splashing their feet and paddling further out into the lake.

Suddenly, screaming. “A snapping turtle! Trying to bite us! Lynn! Help!” I spring up and swim to them. Coming into view, a very large snapping turtle head poking up out of the water not far from them. The Goliath had noticed the commotion. I swear that turtle had a shell that was at least a yard in diameter, the largest I have ever seen and I grew up in the land of 10,000 lakes.

As I dog-paddled in place by their log, the turtle submerged. I comforted “he is just passing by, don’t worry.” Except he swam by underwater, inches from the girls, going in the wrong direction. And then, just a few minutes later, he swam by again from the other direction. His flippers and tail looked like a dinosaur to me as he stalked us, his jaws open.

I surmised at this point the girls were telling the truth, the turtle was after them. It had now been twenty minutes and that turtle kept coming back like clockwork. So I proclaimed “Girls, swim for it!” and we got the hell out of the water.

Duluth flag?

Duluth_Flag

I’ve lived in Duluth for 21 years and have only recently discovered that we’ve got a flag — one that actually looks kind of cool (for a flag).

My questions are:
1) Why doesn’t this flag get used more often?
2) Where can I get one?

Drums! Dance! Duluth! Performance!!!

Experience Over the Top Dance Studio’s new production, “Drums! Dance! Duluth!” an exploration of the rich dance and rhythmic traditions of Latin America!

Aug. 30-31, Sept. 1 @ Teatro Zuccone
  (more…)

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Sixth District Candidate Forum

Sixth District House and Senate Candidate Forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Duluth in cooperation with the Citizens Federation.

Wednesday, Sept. 15, at 6:30pm
Lakewood Town Hall, 3110 Strand Road, Duluth

Candidates scheduled to appear at the forum are: Senator Tom Bakk, Jennifer Havlick, Rep.Mary Murphy, and Keith MacDonald.

The candidates will respond to prepared questions. Each candidate will be given equal time. The forum will last about one hour. It will be open to the public at no charge.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influenced public policy through education and advocacy.

For more information contact LWV Voter Services co-chairs:
Gay Trachsel (218-728-5478) or Elizabeth Olson(218-343-4281).