Superior
Portion of Wisconsin Point could get National Register of Historic Places designation
The Superior Telegram reports the city of Superior and Wisconsin Historical Society are working to place a portion of Wisconsin Point on the National Register of Historic Places.
The story notes “the boundaries for the site would extend from the access road to the bird sanctuary on the bay side of Wisconsin Point and extend south to about Lot 15.” The site was a campsite and burial place for Ojibwe people until the 20th century.
Selective Focus: Globe Grain Elevator Fire in Superior
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brgf8YblHlx/
Duluth News Tribune: “Historic grain elevator burns in Superior” (more…)
R.I.P. Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar
Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar in Superior has announced it’s closing for the third time. This time seems to have more finality to it. (more…)
Thirsty Pagan hires new brewer
Kathleen Culhane – Photo by Lissa Maki
Thirsty Pagan Brewing in Superior welcomes a new brewer this week. Kathleen Culhane is relocating from the Twin Cities to the Twin Ports for the gig. Her official start date is June 25. (more…)
Pak’s Green Corner in Superior opens June 1
Pak Williams – Photo by Lissa Maki
The wait is nearly over for Twin Ports Thai food fanatics. After a three-year hiatus from the restaurant business, Kamolpak (Pak) Williams will reopen Pak’s Green Corner in a new Superior location on June 1. (more…)
Superior evacuation and Duluth advisory lifted
“I am lifting the evacuation order at 6 a.m. this morning,” Superior Mayor Jim Paine wrote on Facebook. “All indications are that the refinery site is safe and stable and the air quality is clean and normal. Welcome home.”
The city of Duluth has lifted last night’s precautionary shelter-in-place advisory for the western neighborhoods.
Superior refinery fire contained; precautionary advisory issued for residents of western Duluth as winds shift
Image via WDIO Eyewitness News
Around 6:45 p.m. the fire at Husky Energy’s oil refinery in Superior was contained. An evacuation of the area was ordered earlier today and remains in place. (more…)
Evacuation ordered as Superior refinery burns
At approximately 9:50 a.m. there was an explosion at the Husky Energy oil refinery in Superior. The initial fire was extinguished at 11:31 a.m., but a second fire erupted shortly after noon. The Duluth News Tribune reports there have been multiple explosions. An additional tank caught fire at 3:15 p.m.
All refinery personnel and contractors have been accounted for. There are no known fatalities. Conflicting reports indicate somewhere between six and 20 people injured.
Fox 21 News reports: “Five patients were taken to Essentia Health in Superior and five more to Essentia Health in Duluth. Of those five in Duluth, one person suffered a serious blast injury and the others had minor injuries. … Essentia Health–St. Mary’s Hospital in Superior was evacuated as a precaution and all Essentia facilities in Superior are closed because of the explosion.”
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation of the area due to the potential toxic nature of the smoke. Anyone located 10 miles south of the Husky Energy refinery, or three miles east or west, or one mile north, are asked to evacuate. The Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and Four Corners Elementary School are the mustering points for evacuees. Four Corners School is located at 4465 E. County Road B in the Town of Superior. (more…)
Earth Rider expands brewing capacity
Earth Rider Brewery in Superior is expanding its production capacity. Tomorrow morning two more large vessels, a 40BBL fermenter and 40BBL brite tank, will be installed. Another expansion is planned for late 2018. Earth Rider began brewing operations in September and intends to expand distribution to Two Harbors this week.
Superior’s Empire Coffee to open this month
Evan Meyer and Aryana Buck – Photo by Lissa Maki
A new caffeination hub is set to open in Superior later this month. Empire Coffee will distinguish itself with its sheer variety of brews. (more…)
Canning is underway at Earth Rider Brewery
Earth Rider Brewery announced today that 12 oz. cans of its beer will be available at retail outlets beginning Thursday. Until now Earth Rider beer has been exclusively available in crowlers (32 oz. cans) from the Cedar Lounge taproom and on draft at local restaurants and taverns.
Cans will be available in the Twin Ports initially and expand this summer to include the South Shore to Ashland, North Shore to Two Harbors and other points within the Lake Superior watershed.
Four Earth Rider flagship styles will be put into cans initially: Superior Pale Ale, North Tower Stout, Precious Material Helles and Caribou Lake IPA.
Twisted Pastries Coffeehouse opens March 12
Annette Jacobson – Photo by Lissa Maki
A new business will bring caffeination, pressed sandwiches and unique sweet treats to Superior. Twisted Pastries Coffeehouse, at 1418 Tower Avenue, opens Monday. (more…)
R.I.P. West Duluth Video Vision, Mariner Mall Younkers
Two longtime Twin Ports stores will soon close. Fox 21 reports the West Duluth Video Vision store will close this week. The Duluth News Tribune reports Younkers in Superior’s Mariner Mall will close within 12 weeks. (more…)
Historic downtown Superior building gets detailed restoration
The Empire Block opened in 1892 on Tower Avenue in the heart of downtown Superior. Newly restored apartments will be open for showing in February.
A meticulous, top-to-bottom restoration of a massive 19th Century building in downtown Superior will offer jaw-dropping views for new residents, historic charm for new businesses and a boost to city center redevelopment efforts. (more…)
Daisy Roller Mill in Superior
A post on photographer Dan Turner’s Substreet website takes a peek at Superior’s old East End Milling District.
Daisy was the last of the flour mills to close in the Twin Ports,” Turner writes. “It closed in the 1970s when Peavey moved its durum operations to a new mill in Hastings, Minnesota. Today the mill is unused, though a company uses the silos.
How much ship traffic goes through Superior Entry?
It seems most ship traffic going onto the lake from Duluth-Superior goes through the canal under the Aerial Lift Bridge. How much ship traffic uses the Superior Entry, which is between Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point? Only the ships going to and from Allouez?
Earth Rider beer on tap at Cedar Lounge
For the first time in 50 years, suds are flowing at a production brewery in Superior. The inaugural beer by Earth Rider Brewing — a pale ale — went on tap Oct. 20 at its nearby taproom, the Cedar Lounge. Take-home 32 oz. crowlers are also for sale. (more…)
Flying with Dean and Donna Over Superior
In this feature, pilot Bill Bryson III takes Dean and Donna on a flight along the southern edge of Lake Superior. It’s pretty long for an internet video, clocking in at more than a half hour, but it’s a multi-camera shoot with background music and audio from the headsets … so it’s kind of a quirky thing to open in a small window on the side of your monitor and loosely follow along with while working or otherwise browsing the web.
For those who aren’t into “Slow TV,” the sexiest footage starts at 29:20.
Wisconsin Point Breakwater and Lighthouse
The PDD Drone takes a short flight along the west pierhead entrance to Superior Harbor at Wisconsin Point, cruising above the breakwall to the Wisconsin Point Lighthouse, also known as the Superior Entry Breakwater Lighthouse or South Breakwater Light.
Jansen preparing to close the Main Club in Superior
Fox 21 reports the Main Club, Superior’s first openly gay bar, is closing after 34 years in business. Owner Bob Jansen told reporter Joey Nelson his last day of business will be shortly after the Duluth-Superior Pride Festival, which concludes with a drag show at the Main on Sept. 3.
Jansen said the bar has struggled in recent years because younger people feel less of a need for gay-specific bars.
“The younger crowd can go anywhere,” he told Fox 21. “So their support for some of the gay communities — institutions — have fallen by the wayside.” (more…)
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts at Head of the Lakes Fair 1987
With the Head of the Lakes Fair underway this week in Superior, it’s fitting to take a look back 30 years ago when Joan Jett and Blackhearts graced the fairgrounds stage. Fortunately, a bootleg recording exists of the Aug. 15, 1987 show. (more…)
June 30, 1992: Benzene Spill in Superior
I got a free day at the bar (instead of work) because of the train derailment in Superior and the resulting benzene spill.
Duluth News Tribune retrospective from 2012: “20 years later, benzene spill still stings in Duluth-Superior memories“
Rolph, Wilson named head brewers at Earth Rider
Earth Rider Brewery in Superior has named Allyson Rolph and Tim Wilson as lead brewers. The craft brewery, founded by Tim Nelson, is expected to launch later this year. It will service bars, restaurants and liquor stores throughout the Arrowhead region. The project was announced in February. (more…)