Bowling for Autism
Feb. 20, 2-4 p.m.
Incline Station
$8 per child, $10 per adult
Tickets include: 2 hours of bowling, shoes and automatic scoring. Food and beverages available for purchase. All proceeds benefit the Autism Association of Northern MN.
Jitterbug’s Newscast
I thought that the “1000 foot shitters” was great but she may have topped it with “I am still stuck on the beaver!”
Good luck in Haiti. Miss you on the news!!
Wax Your Runners! Laskiainen!
Laskiainen Finnish Sliding Festival
Feb. 6 & 7 at Loon Lake Community Center in Palo, Minn. (more…)
Annual Food Queries: Throwback; Paczki
I’m looking for two seasonal foods:
1. Any stores with Mountain Dew Throwback still in stock … a gas station, a grocer — anything. This is number 1 priority.
2. Pepsi Throwback. Same deal. The no-HFCs is attractive to me. (more…)
Excited for Beargrease 2010?

Don’t forget to watch one of the Northland’s most amazing tributes to our cultural heritage (in my opinion, at least): The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon! (more…)
Wind Power Jobs
The news this morning of a major wind company considering Duluth, Superior, and the Iron Range is something we should really go after. There are four states in the running. If you like this type of development, contact your congressman. I’m sure they know about this but I think it would be really important to go do this. This could be huge for Duluth. This opportunity will not come every day. Thanks to those folks who were out front on this and got it to this stage. Anything I can do to help, ask.
Maria Bamford reads Perfect Duluth Day

Mpls/St.Paul magazine, Feb 2010
Lundgren won a thing
Congrats to Mr. Lundgren for winning this thing.
I like the part where Enger seems to think Goggleye is a made up character.
R.I.P. Howard Zinn, 1922-2010
Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States and many other books died this week.
Here are references I found to Duluth and Minnesota in “A People’s History of the United States” (more…)
Jitterbug
Jitterbug Julie Pearce is leaving the Northland’s NewsCenter. She says this will be her last weekend anchoring the newscasts.
Hello all, yes, the rumors are true… this weekend will be my last weekend as a news anchor for the NewsCenter. This has been a hard decision for me. I’ve been with the NewsCenter now for about 4 years. I work with some amazing people and have truly enjoyed my time there. The big bright studio lights, the cameras, and… deep connection to our community have been extremely rewarding and exciting.
from her facebook page.
After a couple of weeks doing nursing and helping people in Belize she came back and bought a one-way ticket to Haiti to do medical support for people there who have been devastated. (more…)
Jeremy Messersmith and Dave Mehling
This Saturday night, the 30th of January, UMD’s Late Night Kirby will be hosting a night of wonderful Minnesota music!
Jeremy Messersmith and Duluth’s own Dave Mehling will be playing at the Rafters on the third floor of the Kirby Student center at UMD. This event will be FREE for all UMD students and $5 to the public.
Please come by and enjoy the infectious sounds of one of Minneapolis’s favorite singer/songwriters and the musical stylings of UMD alum Dave Mehling!
With You, Haiti Cherie: Benefit concert for Haitian relief
The College of St. Scholastica is hosting a benefit concert for Haitian relief on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m in the Mitchell Auditorium on campus. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. The event is free but a goodwill donation is requested. A silent auction begins at 6 p.m. in Mitchell’s upper and lower lobbies. T-shirts, books, CDs, etc. will also be for sale.
Performers include “Bonga and the Drums of Haiti,” Echoes of Peace Choir, First Lutheran Church Choir, CSS Hand Drum Ensemble, storyteller Elizabeth Nordell and a slide show accompanied by music from violinist Rudy Perrault. Michelle Lee from KBJR-TV will emcee.
Proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services and Partners in Health. For more information see haiti.css.edu.
Alas, Mr. Salinger is dead
The car moved west, directly, as it were, into the open furnace of the late-afternoon sky. It continued west for two blocks, till it reached Madison Avenue, and then it right-angled sharply north. I felt as though we were all being saved from being caught up by the sun’s terrible flue only by the anonymous driver’s enormous alertness and skill.
Renegade Theater Company Grand Re-Opening
A new year, a new name, a new look. Renegade Comedy Theatre is changing its name to Renegade Theater Company. Please join us to celebrate! We’re having a party and silent auction fundraiser to coincide with the opening of our first show of our 2010 season, The Sparrow, on Thursday, Feb. 4. (more…)
Apple iPad added to the long list of Apple iProducts like the iRack
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw2nkoGLhrE
How about the iDon’t care.

Bridge to Heaven
I heard that Japanese tourists visit Enger Park to view the “Bridge to Heaven,” as Park Point resembles a famous pine-tree covered sand bar in Japan. Both are viewed upside down, by bending over and looking between your legs. Here



James Fallows on Cirrus as Game Changers, 9 Years On
This was interesting to me. On the Plane Conversations blog, author Alan Howell reviews a 2001 book by Atlantic contributor James Fallows called “Free Flight: From Airline Hell to a New Age of Travel.” In the book, according to Howell, Fallows says that the Klapmeier brothers of Duluth’s own Cirrus Design created the first of three major innovations that would change the way people travel. How did the prediction stack up?
In the last nine years, how did James Fallows’ case studies fare?
To date, Cirrus has manufactured and sold more than 5000 aircraft and has been the number one, best selling aircraft in the past decade – not bad for a start-up company with a non-conventional design. Like other aviation companies, Cirrus has been severely impacted by the economy but will survive in some form. The aircraft has been too successful and the market will continue to demand new models with improved technology.
Read the whole article here: Free Flight: What has happened since James Fallows wrote the book
Andrew Hudgins at St. Scholastica
The College of St. Scholastica’s Warner Reading Series presents:
Andrew Hudgins
Friday, Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m. – Free
Somers Lounge, College of St. Scholastica
Author of six collections of poetry, including the National Book Award finalist The Never Ending: New Poems and the Pulitzer Prize nominated Saints and Strangers, Andrew Hudgins is an indispensable voice in contemporary American letters. His awards and honors include the Witter Bynner Award for Poetry, the Hanes Poetry Prize, fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Ingram Merrill Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Hudgins holds an M.F.A. from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and teaches at Ohio State University.
Funding made possible by the Lee and Rose Warner Foundation.
Nerd Gang!
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says prisoners can no longer play Dungeons & Dragons in prison, because it “promotes gang-related activity.”
The only thing hazardous about D&D are possibly the 4-sided dice if you happen to step on them! I think activities like this are harmless, and could provide an alternative to prison gang culture (and it uses math!). Some of my coworkers think that if you’re in prison, you shouldn’t be allowed to game. I think everyone can agree that despite what Jack Chick tells you, D&D is not a gang. Thoughts?
Ryan Van Slooten CD Release

I’m happy to announce that my new album “All But My Soul” is now available on my website ryanvanslooten.com It will also be available on itunes in the next week or so, and down at the Fetus sometime next week. To hear a few tracks from the album, please visit my myspace site.
The CD release show will be this Saturday at Luce with Cars and Trucks also on the bill. I will have a backing band with me for the first time so it should be a good night.
Finally, tune into 91.3KUWS on Thursday night, 10:00 p.m., for Walt Dizzo’s weekly radio show. I’ll be performing tracks from the album live, in-studio, as well as playing tracks from the new album.
Hope to see you all this weekend!
Turbo Rathvon Live at Norm’s
Saturday, Jan. 30 at Norm’s Beer and Brats, 10 p.m.
Turbo Rathvon (indie rock)
with Twin Cities bands Unexpected Guests (pop punk) and Not Like This (good ol’ rock ‘n roll)








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