December 2019 Posts

Snow-Fort City, Day 2

It was a great day to build a #snowfortcity with volunteers Stephen Bockhold, Sean MacManus, and others including an unnamed mom with two kids in tow who attested she was a #peoplesfreeskate participant last winter. One of the kids she was with, who I’ve never seen before, called me “Aquaman” unprompted on camera while KBJR-6/CBS-3 was filming: hope that makes the final cut.

Antics from Duluth’s Thanksgiving Weekend Snowout of 2019

Some video fun while you wait for the plows to clear the streets. Here’s a montage of snowy silliness.

Duluth Tap Exchange brings self-serve brews to Lincoln Park

The Duluth Beer Exchange will feature 40 self-serve taps offering beer, wine, cider and other beverages. The space is expected to open in December.

Beer and wine lovers will fill their own glass in a new, high-tech Lincoln Park drinking establishment scheduled to open this winter.

Duluth Trivia Deck Sampler #30: Winter Sports Edition

Another trivia card from a board game purchased at Savers.

Snow-fort City, Day 1

#snowfortcity

Day 1. Duluth’s Leif Erikson Park. Most of my time was taken up by Duluth News-Tribune reporters who showed up – oops got in the paper again. Otherwise slow going with cold powdery snow – spray bottles and water make the job easier so bring those. It’s sort of Day 2 since some folks built this formidable snow fort yesterday, and got the base of another one started. It’s sort of Day 3, since I built a proof-of-concept wall before the blizzard, but it blew down so I restarted it today. A huge help was Morgan Pirsig et al. who laid down a solid sled trail which helps define the space. It goes so fast we need to bank it by the stage now. Troy Rogers aka Robot Rickshaw showed up and we demonstrated proper wall-building technique for the media. A season-long project to turn the park into a citizen-led collective art installation and playground.

Steve’s Overpopulated One-Man Band – “Iron Ore”

Steve Solkela shares the musical story of his great-great grandfather’s journey from Finland to Minnesota in search of a better life. “It was backbreaking work down in those Minnesotan mines,” Sorkela writes on the YouTube description. “Many were injured, and many died; but of course, many were successful in feeding their families countless times and watching them grow to live beautiful lives.”

The video was shot over the summer at various locations across northern Minnesota, and edited using a free iPhone app.

Selective Focus: Thanksgiving Weekend Snowout 2019

Small Business Saturday was essentially snowed out. The snow stopped falling on Sunday around noon. According to the National Weather Service, Duluth received 21.7 inches — the ninth snowiest two-day storm in the city’s history.