Paul Lundgren Posts

Gubernatorial candidates debate in Duluth

Courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio, here’s audio from today’s debate at the Duluth Playhouse between Tom Emmer, Mark Dayton and Tom Horner.

Wooden arch from Duluth’s Spalding Hotel at State Fair

I didn’t ask around, with the crowd as thick as it was, but I’m assuming this big wooden arch must be the one from the Spalding Hotel that was retrofitted into O’Gara’s fairgrounds restaurant in St. Paul.

Minnesota State Fair attendance record

Saturday, Sept. 4, was a record setter at the Minnesota State Fair. In that single day, 234,384 people attended.

Here’s hoping everyone is feeling sequeer during the Pride Festival this weekend

Full rundown of Duluth-Superior Pride events at dspride.com.

Cormier Dry Goods of West Duluth

1907CormierDryGoods6227Grand2 6227Grand2010

Left:
Cormier Dry Goods, 6227 Grand Ave., West Duluth, in 1907.
(Northeast Minnesota Historical Center photo.)

Right:
The same building in 2010, now entirely apartments.
(Perfect Duluth Day photo.)

Cormier Dry Goods stayed in business well into the 1930s. Gustave Cormier was the proprietor and lived upstairs. By the mid-1930s, J.A. Lundeen’s shoe store shared the building.

Upcoming Concerts at Clyde Iron Works

Click on the poster to see it bigger.

HotMaids post removed

A note from your friendly neighborhood PDD moderators:

Many people read and commented on a post from August 29 about a cleaning business called HotMaids. We have decided to remove the post due to deceptive tactics engaged in by the author of the post, who is also the owner of the business.

Many of the comments responding to the post were made by the author, under multiple names, all raving about what a great idea the business is. Initially we removed those comments and left the post up, but ultimately we felt the entire thing should be removed.

The post also received many negative comments from people who did not appreciate the nature of the business. That had nothing to do with why the post was removed. We simply felt that the deceitful tactics of the author were reason enough to include the phrase “let the buyer beware” at the front end of the discussion.

With that in mind, we now resume the forum on this topic — unless everyone prefers to ignore it at this point.

Duluth’s 2011 Proposed Property Tax Levy and General Fund Budget


Click here for the mayor’s summary.

The city council will approve a maximum tax levy in September, followed by budget presentations from each of the city departments in the upcoming months. The council will vote on and certify the final 2011 tax levy and budget in December.

Highlights:

  • Fourth consecutive year of decreases in general fund expenditures
  • Zero increase in general operating tax rate

Amphetamine Reptile and Duluth

City Pages published a story today about Minneapolis’ Amphetamine Reptile record label celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Amphetamine Reptile label turns 25

A handful of Duluth bands recorded at AmRep back in the 1990s. Specifically, Puddle Wonderful and Swivelhead. Anyone have any Duluth-related AmRep stories to share?

There’s something about this book cover that makes me want to spend all day making alterations to it in Photoshop

I think I’d start with putting a Superman outfit on him. It’s a good thing I don’t have any Photoshop skills.

A superficial — and less superficial — look at the candidates for Minnesota governor

Setting aside the issues and personal party affiliations for a moment, which candidate for Minnesota Governor has the best website in terms of appearance and functionality?

Farheen Hakeem (Green)
Tom Horner (Independence)
Tom Emmer (Republican)
Mark Dayton (Democratic Farmer Labor)
Ken Pentel (Ecology Democracy)
Linda S. Eno (Resource)
Chris Wright (Grassroots)

As for substance, all the candidates seem to like to provide an “issues” section with a few paragraphs of philosophy about a handful of topics. So far, I’ve only seen two somewhat detailed position papers on the state budget:

Minnesota Works: Horner-Mulder Budget Outline
Mark Dayton’s Deficit Solution

Rick Boo, Hot Rod and Hung at the NorShor

(Note: This post originally linked to a slideshow about the NorShor’s history, which is why comments to the post rave about time travel.)

Primary Election Sample Ballot for Douglas County, Wisconsin — Sept. 14, 2010

Wisconsin is keeping it old school, with a traditional September primary. Here’s what’s on the ballot:

Hot Orpheum Centennial Action

Photos from Thursday night at the NorShor, courtesy of the On 3 Design photo booth.

Duluth Parks and Recreation Master Plan

PDFs of the most recent draft:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapters 4-5

There will be a public meeting to review the draft plan on Monday, Aug. 23, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Offices, 12 E. Fourth St. It’s your chance to talk to consultants, city staff, and the Parks and Recreation Commission and tell them what you think.