JP Rennquist Posts

Northland’s NewsCenter 3: Haiti & other Good Stuff

Northland's News Center Volunteers at Haiti Telethon

Northland's News Center Volunteers at Haiti Telethon

Well, I’ve been critical of this operation twice before now, might as well make it a trilogy since no one else pointed this other stuff out …

Northland’s News Center? (the MLK version)

Actual Screen Shot of "black male" story from NNC story 9 am Today

Came here to post on this but I see dlhmn beat me to it with a comment on my earlier post Northland’s “News” Center?

Perfect Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Duluth Day

MLKBreakfast10

The run down, courtesy of the Hillsider newspaper.

On Monday, Jan. 18, there is a free breakfast at 7 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, 2430 W. Third St., followed by a march, which starts at the Washington Center at Lake Avenue and Fourth Street at 11 a.m. The march goes through downtown and the skywalk to arrive at the rally at the DECC at 11:45 a.m. The featured speaker will be Rep. Jeff Hayden.

Recovering from Christmas (seen in Duluth)

A couple of items that struck me today. People apparently just dump their old trees in the Mount Royal Shopping center parking lot. And this sign didn’t seem to be doing much to stop them.

I also have been seeing a lot of construction equipment out clearing sidewalks. Near as I can tell about 2/3 of the city is covered in 2 inches of ice. Beneath the snow, that is.

Hillside Market re-opens

It will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. This is going to remain a family-owned business, as it has been since I can remember. But like every small business, they have almost overwhelming competition from [insert-name-of-big-box-chain-retailer here] so, they need all the support they can to make it, or better yet, to prosper.

This is a good opportunity for people who are boosters of small, family-owned businesses to engage their mouths along with their wallets. So, if you count yourself in that group, please stop in make a purchase as soon as you can, and thank them for making a commitment to our city’s economy. Then … keep coming back, whenever you can.

Lake Superior Brewing wins Gold Medal at World Beer Championships

Lake Superior Brewing Company‘s Oktoberfest won a gold medal at the World Beer Championships.

Not sure why I feel like the resident apologist for Lake Superior Brewing especially since I’ve never tasted the stuff but … somehow I am a big booster of this gem of a Duluth business and I was very glad to see them get some recognition. Who knows? Maybe this is a stepping stone to better and better things for them and our fair Lincoln Park. Congratulations Dale and boys.

Christmas Eve Celebration Downtown Duluth @ Encounter

Christmas Eve Meal and Worship at Hillside and the Encounter

Forecasters are calling for some big time Christmas Eve snow so this could be a classic opportunity to snowshoe downtown, get a great meal, celebrate the original meaning of Christmas and maybe even walk away with a gift or two for the kiddies. My favorite part? After years of being part of all kinds of spiritual traditions around the world, finally at this party I see people of all shapes, stripes and shades joining together as one. That is truly a beautiful very Duluthy thing for me and I’d love to see some of my PDD pals there, too.

In any event, Merry Christmas, folks.

Bohemia Candle Making Class

Coal Train (Soultrane?)

Parked (?) train blocks view of Lake Superior

Parked (?) train blocks view of Lake Superior from http://duluthdailyphoto.vox.com/

I thought this was intended as a temporary winter seawall.

But Duluth Daily photo (above) and later the Duluth News Tribune had some good coverage of this that straightened me out, apparently these coal cars are just being stored on those tracks, even though they do sit in a storm prone spot. Now, DNT’s Brandon Stahl writes that the train will be moved to Leif Ericson Park.

A North Country Holiday

A few months ago in this post about Bob Dylan’s Christmas CD someone remembered an old radio show that I did called “A North Country Holiday.” It was never released as a CD but it was distributed to stations and a few other media outlets using CDs since neither of the stations I did it for (KAXE-Grand Rapids and KUMD-Duluth) had a satellite uplink.

What’s wrong with this picture?

What's Wrong-copy

I took this picture at about noon yesterday … What’s wrong with this picture? I noticed about 5 things right away, maybe there are more.

Redneck Sighting in Canal Park

My wife got this in a mass forwarded email today. I’m still trying to figure out who took the picture, someone at SMDC was the first to forward it as far as I can tell. Anyone who knows anything else please post it here or contact me so I can credit the intrepid photographer. I’d really love to congratulate the intrepid ATV-or-bust-redneck who managed to strap the vehicle to his car car, (and yes, I know it was a he) but that might be asking too much. I think this image has got some real PDD banner potential.

Northland’s “News” Center?

I’d be interested in hearing PDDs thoughts on this discussion about KBJR from one of my twitter pals, media insider gossip muckraker Red and Nater:

Last week, they had to pull a story about murderer Donald Blom after a Facebook protest. Then they claimed the promo they had aired about the story was wrong.

Tonight (Tuesday), they had to do a live four-minute interview with a Cirrus executive off the top of their 10:00 news to make up for a story they ran at 5 in which they claimed the company was “in crisis.” Their 5:00 report was based on the fact that Cirrus hasn’t paid rent for using a city-owned facility, but that had been widely reported by other media a month or more ago.

This is on top of the the constant day-behind news and bad video. When will Granite (or NBC or CBS) realize what’s going on in Duluth?

view in context at Red and Nater blog

Twelve Moons on Gichigami – Canal Park Film

Not sure if this has ever been posted here before, but figured I’d share it just in case.

(not so) Fresh Duluth

Fresh Duluth

In 2008 Pro Video Productions in Duluth, in cooperation with a number of big employers and VisitDuluth.com produced a slick documentary “Fresh Duluth.” It was posted and discussed by many of us here on Perfect Duluth Day

I liked the film just fine and from my lay person’s perspective it was well done. The idea was to use it to lure employees to the city and maybe some businesses or conventions or whatever … It features great action shots of the outdoors, culture and business and interviews with a number of well-lit, Ken Burns style “expert” interviews with prominent folks talking about how great the city was including …

–Ann Klefstad DNT arts and culture reporter who was laid off in one of several mass lay offs that the DNT did that same year. Just a few months after the video premiered

–A Cirrus Design Exec (Alan Klapmeier, I think) who was fired/quit/demoted from the organization earlier this year.

And rounding out the list …

–Rod Raymond a prominent local businessman, endurance athlete, and (somehow he also finds time to be a) fitness professor at UMD whose name and reputation are now bound up in allegations of Sexual Harassment at UMD, plus lots and lots and lots of rumors and allegations, that may never end, regardless of the truth.

Now … I’m having that not so Fresh Feeling …