Grand Portage Ferry Terminal Flag Raising Ceremony
A redevelopment of the ferry terminal at Grand Portage, where vessels shuttle passengers to Isle Royale, was recently completed. Among the changes are a rebuilt ferry dock and public docks, a new ticketing and restroom building, and parking lot improvements. The project at Hat Point Marina and Ferry Terminal was 10 years in the making.
A flag raising ceremony was held there on Aug. 1. This video was produced by M. Baxley for WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
Alan Sparhawk’s full set at Primavera Sound Porto 2025
Duluth’s Alan Sparhawk performed at the Primavera Sound Porto music festival in Porto, Portugal on June 12. A video of the full set just hit YouTube. (more…)
Duluth Deep Dive #7: The Duluth Garage
Artwork on a Duluth garage. (Photo by Matthew James)
A friend of mine is putting her childhood home up for sale<, a house in one of Duluth's older neighborhoods with an attached garage. She realized that she wanted her next home to be a similar-style house with that same convenience of not having to go outside to start the car in the winter, but the options in Duluth were very limited. This post places the changing role of the home garage in the context of Duluth history to explain why. (more…)
The Aerial Lift Bridge as impossible cube
Not too long ago I looked at the Aerial Lift Bridge, and for a moment my mind mis-read it as having the wrong angles of an Escher-like “impossible cube,” pictured here. The optical illusion has stuck with me and now I have to force myself not to see it. It is beyond me at the moment to produce my mental image as a drawing or doctored photo, but I wanted to get the idea out there in case the vision inspires anybody. Post images as comments if you’re feeling it, otherwise I am content to just keep privately seeing an impossible lift bridge.
Pronoya – “Dreamcatcher”
“Dreamcatcher” is the third single from Duluth band Pronoya‘s upcoming EP All for the Sun, due out Nov. 28.
These Summer Days
On July 27, Northern News Now reported that Duluth had a heat index of 101 degrees, with Eveleth hitting 104 and Two Harbors reaching 106. Three days earlier, the lead story on NNN was about Minnesota having another air-quality alert due to the Canadian wildfires. It was also the 27th day that Duluth had been under an air-quality alert since May.
And then three days before that, on July 21, Wisconsin Public Radio ran a story about the Great Lakes region warming up about 3 degrees and precipitation increasing by 15%. A study by the Environmental Law and Policy Center showed that summer water temperatures on Lake Superior warmed up by 4.8 degrees between 1979 and 2023. Also, the region would likely see more extreme weather patterns, including 30 to 60 days of temperatures over 90 degrees.
Also, on July 21, there was an article in the New York Times headlined “Climate change is making fire weather worse for world’s forests.” According to a study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the area of forests lost to fire in 2023 and 2024 was at least two times greater than the annual average of the previous two decades. It reported that climate change is making severe fire weather more common around the world. (more…)
Duluth 2025 Primary Election Sample Ballot
Duluth’s primary election ballot on Aug. 12 includes citywide races for at-large seats on the city council and school board, and a school district referendum question. Citizens in the Endion, Congdon, Chester Park and Kenwood neighborhoods will also vote on the Second District City Council race.
The general election on Nov. 4 will include three more races — Fourth District City Council, District One School Board and District Four School Board.
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Jordon Johnson, Derek Medved and Terese Tomanek. Empty-chair statements were submitted by candidates Asher Estrin-Haire and Zachary Moder and read by the moderator, Mary Katherine Faulkner.
The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 28.
Candidate Forum: Duluth School Board At-large
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for ISD 709 Duluth School Board At-large candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Kelly Durick Eder, Jane Hoffman, Loren Martell, Amber Sadowski and Harry Welty.
Pat Castellano is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 22.
Candidate Forum: Duluth City Council District 2
The League of Women Voters of Duluth hosts a Primary Election Candidate Forum for Duluth City Council District 2 candidates. The candidates present at this forum are Chris Adatte and Diane Desotelle. Candidate Pierre Tournier was unable to attend.
Katherine Kane is the moderator. The video was recorded in the Duluth Public Access Community Television Studio on July 21.
Torment – “I Am the Problem”
Torment‘s new music video features scenes from Amsoil Arena captured during the band’s performance at the 2025 Homegrown Music Festival. It was shot an edited by Lane Peterson of Rainfade Media.
The song “I Am the Problem” appears on the band’s most recent release, The Pain EP.
Indecent Proposal – “Messy” (Live on Superior Street)
Duluth band Indecent Proposal provided the entertainment at this year’s Downtown Duluth Street Dance outside Dubh Linn Irish Pub. Joined by vocalist Selie, the band covers the Lola Young song “Messy” in this live music video.
When Snoopy asked, “How about Duluth?”
This Peanuts comic referencing Duluth originally ran on July 29, 1975 — 50 years ago today.
It’s one of at least two times Snoopy referenced Duluth. The second was in a 1976 strip.
Video Archive: Bridge Dancing in 1994
Before the Doris Ressl Dance Ensemble launched the annual Dances on the Lakewalk series, its original site-specific event was set at the Aerial Lift Bridge. About 1,000 people gathered on Aug. 19 and 20, 1994, to view “Bridge Dancing,” a 23-minute piece created by Twin Cities choreographer Marylee Hardenbergh. The music was simulcast by KUMD-FM 103.3, now known as WDSE-FM “The North.” (more…)
PDD Quiz: July 2025
Beat the heat with this week’s current events quiz, which tests your knowledge of local headlines.
A soccer-themed PDD quiz rolls your way on Aug. 17. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at alisonlinnaemoffat@gmail.com by Aug. 14. (more…)
Sir Duluth Historical Timeline
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luht, was an influential French explorer whose name anglicizes to Sir Duluth. He signed his letters “Dulhut,” participating in his own casual anglicization despite the constant conflict his nation had with England. I call him Duluth, synonymous with our present-day, American city, whose name he inspired.
1639: Duluth is born in Saint-Germain-Laval, France.
1650: Duluth is 11 when the first modern philosopher René Descartes dies age 53 in Stockholm, Sweden. A letter from the young Duluth lies on the bedside table, offering a common-sense critique of Descartes’ notion that animals are automatons who may be vivisected. “I guess you’ve never owned a pet,” the boy’s careful handwriting says. The letter continues, “‘I think therefore I am’ is meaningless since grounds for doubting existence do not exist. You torture language like you torture dogs.” It has been suggested that Descartes was so distressed to have his life’s work effortlessly eviscerated by a child that he quickly succumbed to pneumonia and died.
Postcard from the Hotel Duluth in 1955
This postcard, published by the Zenith Interstate News Company, was mailed on July 26, 1955 — 70 years ago today. It shows the Hotel Duluth, 231 E. Superior St., which has been known as Greysolon Plaza since 1980. (more…)
Voyageurs of Lake Superior: Where the Wild Met the World
This new documentary by Andy Kaknevicius “dives deep into the rugged, relentless world of the Voyageurs — the men who paddled, portaged and traded their way through the wild heart of the continent.”
Alfred Merritt on the beauty of the Head of the Lakes
We passed through the old Superior entry into Superior bay about 2 p.m. on Oct. 28, 1856. I wish that you could have seen how beautiful the Head of the Lakes looked at that time. It was practically in a state of nature. The Indians were there, with their wigwams scattered up and down Minnesota and Wisconsin points, with the smoke curling from the top of the wigwams, and their canoes skimming along the waters of the bay or hauled upon the shore. Fish and game were in abundance. Tall pines and hardwood trees were growing on the hillsides and down to the water’s edge, and with the leaves of the hardwood trees turned as they were in the fall, what a beautiful sight it was. I have many times wished that I had a picture as it looked then, or a gift of language to describe the beauty of the Head of the Lakes as I saw it as a boy of 9 years old.
— Alfred Merritt
On July 24, 1925 — one hundred years ago today — the Duluth Herald published the reminiscences of Duluth pioneer Alfred Merritt. The text was excerpted from Merritt’s autobiography, which had been penned 10 years prior. (more…)
Birch Bark Beth
When the rose petals arrive to the boreal forest and the black flies emerge, it’s time for Beth Homa Kraus to harvest birch bark for her basket weaving. This video was produced by M. Baxley for WTIP North Shore Community Radio.
R.I.P. Loiselle Liquor / Lake Superior Liquor Cabinet
The former Loiselle Liquor store in Duluth’s Central Hillside neighborhood was demolished last week. It was the oldest liquor store in Duluth, established in 1934. The store was sold in 2022 and took a new name — Lake Superior Liquor Cabinet — but eventually closed. The building was sold to Essentia Health in April. (more…)
Duluth Dukes 1955 Program Cover
Duluth Dukes’ pitchers gave up five home runs in a 12-8 loss to the St. Cloud Rox on July 22, 1955 — 70 years ago today. The program above has that particular date penned on its cover, along with the word “vacation.” (more…)
Steve’s Solkela – “Finns Go Marching In”
Steve Solkela and his friends sing this “ode to all the Finnish-American pockets” Solkela has traveled to.
Selective Focus: Emma Warmanen’s Chain-mail Accessories
A chain mail necklace made by Emma Warmanen, worn at the Dollhaus event at The Main Club on June 21. The headpiece worn by the model was created by Cherry Koch. (Photo by Jess Morgan)
Duluthians who attended the Dollhaus event this past June, or wandered to a punk or clown-themed show in the area, may have spotted one of Emma Warmanen’s chain mail pieces. What started as a project to create budget-friendly chain-mail pieces for herself turned into a practice of crafting additional pieces for fashion shows, local artists and selling to customers in large cities from her Etsy page. Read more about Warmanen’s designs and process in the interview below. (more…)