April 2013 Posts

More on the Publishing Conference that Wasn’t

Mitch Ogden had arranged for an army of undergrads from UW-Stout’s Journalism and Digital Humanities programs to attend the UMD Conference on Publishing. At 6 a.m. we called the bus dispatcher to tell them to turn around. But the dispatcher crossed wires with the bus, and so three hours later, the students were here.

Cooking on the Car: Beer Cheese Soup Finale

Cooking on the Car serves up Beer Cheese Soup in Washburn, Wis.

Minnesota withdraws from mercury pollution project

The Duluth News Tribune reports the state of Minnesota is withdrawing from a research project regarding mercury pollution in the St. Louis River, even though much of the river’s fish are inedible to women and children, and despite the fact that 1 out of 10 North Shore infants have unsafe levels of mercury in their blood.

The article states that sources of mercury in the environment are well known. They include power plants, taconite plants and sulfate pollution (like the pollution from sulfide mining).

Officials from the MPCA said the state first needs more research on how mercury behaves in nature, but later in the article the proposed study is said to have included new research on how mercury behaves in the environment. Huh? It seems this research would be especially timely due to proposed copper-sulfide mining in Northern Minnesota.

The Publishing Conference that Wasn’t

Yesterday, were the weather to have cooperated more, there would have been a Publishing Conference at UMD. But it all started badly. It ended amazingly, though, and it’s worth some reflection. Parts of it (including an awesome talk or two by Roy Booth and by David Wong) are still to come, if you can join us.

The horror!

Poetry Motel’s Don’t Know Shit

Patrick McKinnon’s Poetry Motel released Don’t Know Shit on Bandcamp the other day.

Good used-car dealerships for unfortunate souls with bad credit?

My husband and I currently own a beat-up 2002 Aztek.  The car is a piece: bad wiring, broken speedometer, and endless dinging from a malfunctioning brake monitor. It wasn’t a problem when my job provided a fleet of cars to me for my travels as a social worker, I just drove the hunk of junk to work and used their car to transport clients. At my new job I’m required to use my own car for this while driving about 30 miles one way to work every day. I really need to get a new car before this one dies on me completely and leaves me high and dry.

I was wondering where one might find a reliable used car dealership in town. Our credit isn’t the greatest from old hospital bills and the like, but we make good payments and have improved our budgeting skills since getting out of college and realizing hey … bills don’t disappear if you ignore them like an idiot.

If the kind people of PDD have any ideas I’d be extremely grateful!

Miigwech.

This Week in LakeVoice

This week, LakeVoice releases its fifth spring issue, featuring stories on Mentor Duluth and its search for volunteers, the Re-Leaf Duluth program and its plan to replenish the city’s landscape, the Duluth Transit Authority’s plans for a new station and the changes that are coming to next year’s Bentleyville season.

Captain’s Salutes

For shipping nerds.

Sh-Boom no more

The Duluth band is retiring after 24 years.

Rivulets – “How, Who”

Directed and edited by Adam Barnick.

Second chance for entry to the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon

Security Jewelers is auctioning one of its sponsor entries to Grandma’s Half Marathon on eBay. One hundred percent of proceeds go to the Salvation Army.

Enjoy the third Fever Dream video — “Hold On”

Blustery out at the Congdon’s today

Be careful out there

DTA buses are sliding all over the place and bus service might be stopped before the end of the work day.

The Duluth Police Dept. reports that slippery conditions and poor visibility have contributed to over 20 crashes within the past two hours. The department is asking that residents stay home and only travel if necessary.

The zoo is closed. Goodwill is closed. Open skating at the Heritage Center is cancelled. The Duluth Parks and Rec clean up event at Chambers Grove Park is cancelled. Assume most things aren’t happening.