Paul Lundgren Posts

Big ol’ snapping turtle on Duluth’s Western Waterfront Trail

Here’s an opportunity for someone who knows a lot about turtles to show off and tell us all what specific kind of snapping turtle we are looking at here. It was spotted around 2:30 p.m. today lolling around by that nice little swampy nook just west of Indian Point Campground.

Happy eleventeenth birthday to us

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Perfect Duluth Day is eleven years old today – Sunday, June 29, 2014. The official celebration is at Carmody Irish Pub tonight at 8 p.m. Fabulous prizes will be awarded to the top finishers of this week’s Pub Quiz, the questions for which will all be related to PDD. It’s a super tough quiz, so study intensively.

Duluth Scavenger Hunts

Above is KBJR-TV video from the Duluth Citywide Scavenger Hunt of 2004. Last month Scavaganza was put on by Youth for Duluth. What other scavenger hunts can you recall from day’s past?

Spirit Room Tapas Bar & Restaurant is open

Spirit Room Tapas Bar & Restaurant opened on Monday in the Trade and Commerce Marketplace in Superior. It’s a classy joint, from the tapas on down to the intricate details in the mural. Check out the menu …

Fines for boozing in public to double

With no discussion, the Duluth City Council on Monday unanimously doubled the fine for “consumption of alcoholic beverages in public places.” The likely meaning of this is that if you are sipping a jug of wine on the Lakewalk you could be fined $200 instead of $100. If you are guzzling a fine locally brewed beer, however, all officers will look the other way.

Cloud 9 Asian Bistro is open

Cloud 9 Asian Bistro opened on Monday in the Canal Park spot formerally occupied by Thia Krathong — 308 S. Lake Ave. It’s owned by the Wang family, the same folks behind the Duluth Osaka Sushi Hibachi Steakhouse in the Burning Tree Plaza. If last night was any indication, Cloud 9 a very quiet place to eat, and the food is excellent.

What else is Duluth the best at?

Duluth won Outside magazine’s online poll for “Best Place to Live,” — also referred to frequently as “Best Outside City” or “Best Outdoors Town.” Whatever it’s called, Duluth won it.

What else is Duluth the best at?

Postcards from Duluth’s Lester Park

Big Falls at Lester Park Brook Trout Fishing - Lester River

Chop some rhubarb or interview a veteran

A pair of volunteer opportunities in Duluth:

The Rhubarb Festival is in need of volunteers to assist with the stage show, silent auction, food booths, kitchen preparation and more. Follow this link to sign up. Opportunities vary from pie making, rhubarb harvesting and chopping, silent-auction basket making, event setup, children’s activities, food-booth working, and so on. Volunteers are also needed for a rhubarb harvest and chopping at Peace Church.

Veterans’ Memorial Hall, a program of the St. Louis County Historical Society, needs volunteers for its Oral History Project, collecting first-person accounts of military service through in-person recorded interviews with local veterans. A training session is being held on Saturday, Aug. 2.

2014 Duluth Primary Election Primer

There are plenty of federal, state, judicial and county offices up for grabs this year, but no Duluth City Council or Duluth School Board races. Sifting in which of the active races apply to Duluthians and sifting out which are uncontested until the General Election is a bit of a chore, but the info below might be as simple as it can be laid out while remaining thorough.

Remember: Aug. 12 is one of those Primary Elections in which you have to choose a party. You can’t, for example, vote for a Republican governor and a DFL congressman. On the partisan portion of the ballot you have to vote for the same party in all races. Below are the contests that will be on that ballot, and some notes about what will be part of the Nov. 4 General Election.
 
 
FEDERAL OFFICES


United States Senator, Independence Party
Tom Books
Steve Carlson
Jack Shepard
Kevin Terrell
Stephen Williams

United States Senator, Republican Party
Jim Abeler
David Carlson
Mike McFadden
Patrick D. Munro
Ole Savior

United States Senator, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
Al Franken
Sandra Henningsgard

United States Senator, Libertarian Party
Heather Johnson is unopposed in her party and will be on the General Election ballot.

United States Representative, Minnesota District 8
There will be no primary in this race. Green Party candidate Ray “Skip” Sandman, Republican Stewart Mills and Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Rick Nolan are unopposed in their parties and will be on the General Election ballot.

Inducing the gay and frolicsome lumberjack to stop in Duluth

From the March 22, 1909, Duluth Evening Herald:

Auto ride for drunks
New police patrol will be in service next week
“Free ride with every jag” for every woodsman

Duluth’s new automobile police patrol wagon is due to arrive in the city next Friday. After a few trial trips on local hills, it probably will be put in active service the following Monday.

For several years past certain interests in Duluth have been trying to devise ways and means to induce the gay and frolicsome lumberjack to stop off here and spend his money.

Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse: A few pre-fire photos of the adjoining bar

The May 11 fire that destroyed the processing area of Russ Kendall’s Smokehouse in Knife River didn’t do much damage to the adjoining bar area, but nonetheless I thought I’d share some pre-fire snapshots I took of it in the fall of 2012, before it got “smoked” … so to speak. (The shot above is obviously of the fire, taken from the smokehouse’s Facebook page.)

Mystery Photo #16: Holm’s Kaffe Stuga

Holm's Kaffe - Fond du Lac

This photo is labeled “Holm’s Kaffe Stuga, Fond du Lac, Duluth, Minn.” From that we can assume the Fond du Lac neighborhood had a Swedish coffee cottage at some time in history. When? Where? And who is this Holm character?

Work underway on 63rd & Bristol

Bristol Street

The precious connector between Grand Avenue and Cody Street has been blocked off since the Historic Summer Solstice Flood Disaster of 2012, but work is now underway to reconstruct 63rd Avenue West and Bristol Street at Keene Creek.

Duluth in Orion

This photo by Ian Kimmer is on page 8 of the current edition of Orion magazine.