PDD Quiz: February 2023
For such a short month, February was chockablock with news. Dig into this week’s current events quiz and see how many headlines you remember!
Another installment of Duluth movie mentions will come your way on March 12. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by March 9. (more…)
JamesG – “Clingy”
Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka hip-hop artist JamesG, breaks out the plastic wrap and heads to the beach in his new music video.
Three academic papers on Duluth and the lost Confederate gold
The Hillside Irregulars. Clockwise from lower left: Buckminster Wilde, Fancypants Nettleton, Henri Enragé Cloquet, Babyface Bong
The Stolen Lost Confederate Gold: A Historical Analysis of Duluth, Minnesota’s Development
Abstract: This paper explores the historical claim that Duluth, Minnesota was built using stolen lost Confederate gold. Through a critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, including the research of historian Peter S. Svenson, this paper argues that the city’s development was aided by the illicit acquisition of gold by Union agents during the American Civil War. Specifically, this paper examines the role of Duluth native Buckminster Wilde and the Hillside Irregulars as Union assassins behind enemy lines, as well as the involvement of key figures such as Walt Whitman, the Pinkerton detective agency, and financier Jay Cooke.
Duluth Grill group plans new Lincoln Park burger bar
The Duluth Grill Family Restaurant Group will take over operations at the former Coach’s Bar and Grill, 2113 W. Superior St. The new restaurant will be called Burger Paradox. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).
A popular Lincoln Park restaurant group is adding another bar and grill to its neighborhood food empire.
Duluth Grill Family of Restaurants co-owner Tom Hanson said this week his organization has secured a 10-year lease on the longtime home of Mitch’s Bar and Grill, 2113 W. Superior St. The site was most recently home to the short-lived Coach’s Bar & Grill. (more…)
Apostle Islands in National Geographic
The March issue of National Geographic has a 16-page feature on Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. The online version has the headline, “These Lake Superior islands are ‘no place for amateurs,’” while the print edition carries the title “Return to Wild Waters.” Writer Stephanie Pearson accompanied photographer David Guttenfelder on part of his August 2021 kayaking journey in which he paddled to 19 of the 22 islands.
Duluth Central High School 1975 Concert LP with Clark Terry
I picked up a box of LPs at a local estate sale a couple years ago. I was just going through them more closely and thought I would share this one. It’s a concert recording of the Central High School Jazz Ensemble with jazz great Clark Terry, recorded at Central High Auditorium on March 13, 1975. (more…)
Exploring Clark House Creek Tunnel
Duluth Urbex explores the underground creek beneath Cascade Park.
The Slamming Doors – “Goddamn Duluth”
Last April the Current released the eighth edition of its Sounds Like Home virtual festival series, which featured artists from greater Minnesota. Duluth band the Slamming Doors performed a Duluth Song during its set, embedded above.
Postcards from Sellers Mine, north of Hibbing
The Burt-Poole and Sellers mines were the first to ship iron ore out of Minnesota’s Iron Range in the summer of 1895. In its first five years the Sellers Ore Company shipped 188,000 tons. By 1919 the figure had shot up to 8.9 million tons, according to the 1921 book Duluth and St. Louis County, Minnesota; Their Story and People by Walter Van Brunt. (more…)
Torment – “Swallow Your Teeth” (Live at Pizza Lucé)
Duluth band Torment performed a sold out show at Pizza Lucé with By the Thousands and three other acts on Saturday. Above, the band plays the title track from its recently released album Swallow Your Teeth.
Highlights from “The Guys Who Never Stop Fighting”
My comic strip “The Guys Who Never Stop Fighting” originally appeared a few times in the Ripsaw News in my “Crackbrained Comix” series. I revived the GWNSF for the Transistor where it ran for several years. Both publications are now defunct. Here is a gallery of ten highlights.
A year of a poet laureate
I’ve been working with Bart Sutter to record the history of the poet laureate program in Duluth. Sutter was the first poet laureate, and the only author to win the Minnesota Book Award in three different categories. (more…)
What if the South Shore was a mountain range?
A study/position paper by the Institute for the Study of Light and Water.
Any mountain building on the South Shore is to be opposed. A positive feature of Duluth’s view of Lake Superior is that Wisconsin is barely there. Lake Superior takes up almost half your view; Wisconsin (being flat) is just a thin strip between the lake and the sky. So the sky basically sits right on top of the lake. From our quaint hillside, we gaze over Lake Superior and down upon Wisconsin, that piteous, benighted state. Wisconsin presents a thin band of color: green in summer, fall colors in autumn, white or gray or brown in winter. It contains flecks of texture. But it contributes so little to the view overall, one might wish for the visual interest a mountain range could provide.
But there are benefits to Wisconsin being flat. One of those benefits is that on clear days, the sunrise immediately strikes the water with that intense glittering effect, the blinding mirror of the morning lake. But what if Wisconsin had mountains? What if, instead of an unobstructed view of the sky, the South Shore had a mountain range? (more…)
Amazing Grace Café and Grocery closing
Amazing Grace Café and Grocery in Canal Park will close on Feb. 27 according to a news release from owner Connor Riley. (more…)
The Slice: Hiking Kadunce River in Winter
In winter the Kadunce River, an 8.5-mile stream near Grand Marais that flows into Lake Superior about 100 miles northeast of Duluth, becomes a frozen hiking trail.
In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.
Selective Focus: Having an icy PDD
Select photos from Instagram spanning mid-January to mid-February 2023, all hashtagged with the name of a certain website. #perfectduluthday (more…)
Postcard from Elmgren Motor Court on North Shore Drive
This postcard, published by the Curt Teich Co. of Chicago, shows the Elmgren Motor Court in the tiny hamlet of Clifton, just outside Duluth’s city limits on the North Shore of Lake Superior. (more…)
Paddling the Pier
Photographer A. Hoppenyan of Noct Studium studio took this photo last night at sunset on Lake Superior next to the Duluth Shipping Canal. The identity of the person in the shot is unknown. Hoppenyan would like to get a print of the photo to the mystery paddle boarder, so give a shout if you can provide a clue.
The Repairmen – “Duluth Song”
Duluth-based folk rockers the Repairmen released their contribution to ever-growing collection of “Duluth Songs” in 2019 on the album Garage.
In the Heart of Voyageurs National Park: The Fisher Trail
This trail camera footage was shot in a remote location on the Kabetogama Peninsula, about 120 miles northwest of Duluth in Voyageurs National Park. The footage is from fall 2021 and features a variety of wildlife. The wolves in the video are the Cranberry Bay Pack.
The camera was set up by the Voyageurs Wolf Project, which is focused on understanding the summer ecology of wolves in the park.
PDD Quiz: Valentine’s Day 2023
From swing dancing to shot-glass making, there are options galore for celebrating love with your valentine, galentine, or palentine. This week’s quiz takes a deep dive into local Valentine’s Day offerings (many of which can be found on the PDD event calendar).
The next PDD quiz will review the month’s headlines and happenings; it will be published on Feb. 26. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at aklawite@d.umn.edu by Feb. 22. (more…)
Selective Focus: Friends of the Light
An animated projection project called Friends of the Light centers around visual art created by Emily Koch and Tara Austin. Their brush strokes were recorded, animated and enhanced by Daniel Benoit to be displayed at Bayfront Festival Park’s ice rink. The projection display, which skaters can view as they access the warming shelter for free, was organized with the support of the Duluth Public Arts Commission, and Duluth’s City Parks and Recreation Department. Below is an interview with Benoit, as well as photos of the process and first night of the event. (more…)
UMD Student Profile: Alesha Ouren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtRqsYuqBZE
Alesha Ouren is a graduating senior at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She works at Glensheen Mansion and has a passion for history and its importance. She hopes to continue working in museums as she moves into her career.
Video: Sledding at the 2023 Laskiainen Finnish Festival
Videographer Adam Jagunich took his drone for a winter flight in the small Iron Range town of Palo, about 40 miles north of Duluth, to capture sledding scenes from the 85th annual Laskiainen Finnish Festival last weekend. (more…)