PDD News Sieve Posts

Low Versus the Volcano

It started as a Twitter feud between Mt. St. Helens and Lake Superior, then Duluth band Low got involved. Soon Glacier Peak, Mt. Baker, Cahaba River and the Grand Canyon were in on the action.

Chris Monroe art on Rain Taxi cover

The Winter 2017 issue of Rain Taxi, a Minneapolis-based book review and literary magazine, features artwork by Duluth’s Chris Monroe.

Vanilla Bean expanding to Duluth; will take over Northern Waters Restaurant space

WDIO Eyewitness News reports the Vanilla Bean restaurant will open a Duluth location in the Mount Royal Shopping Center on Feb. 1. The space has been occupied by Northern Waters Restaurant since February 2016; Northern Waters’ owners announced earlier this month they will close their eatery on Dec. 31.

The original Vanilla Bean, in Two Harbors, opened in 1998.

“The Duluth location will serve Vanilla Bean’s popular signature dishes including oven-baked omelets, Swedish pancakes with lingonberries, Norwegian crepes, pasties, soups, sandwiches, and burgers,” the Eyewitness News story notes. “It will also have full liquor, beer and wine service.”

Island Lake Inn closed, for sale

Island Lake Inn, a bar and grill about 12 miles north of Duluth in the Gnesen Township, has closed.

Duluth weather on CBS This Morning

Duluth appeared briefly on CBS This Morning‘s story “Heavy snow and winds wreak havoc for holiday travelers.” At the 1:46 mark in the video above, Duluth is shown as reporter DeMarco Morgan notes “Minnesota had windchills as cold as 35 degrees below zero.” (CBS forces a commercial at the front of the video; PDD apologizes for it.)

Emma Deaner: Trailblazer

Duluth’s Emma Deaner is featured in The Growler‘s list of “25 Trailblazers of 2017.” Deaner is associate events manager at Glensheen Mansion and drummer for the band Superior Siren.

Trailblazers 2017: Emma Deaner of Superior Siren

“It’s going to be a busy year for Deaner,” the article notes. “She’s involved with a TBA project at the soon-to-reopen NorShor Theatre, and Superior Siren are launching their new album with a series of shows in January. What’s more, Deaner’s joining the Minnesota Music Coalition board of directors with the hope to ‘help bridge the gap between the metro and the North Shore.'”

The Growler is a monthly craft-culture magazine published out of St. Paul.

Daisy Roller Mill in Superior

A post on photographer Dan Turner’s Substreet website takes a peek at Superior’s old East End Milling District.

Daisy was the last of the flour mills to close in the Twin Ports,” Turner writes. “It closed in the 1970s when Peavey moved its durum operations to a new mill in Hastings, Minnesota. Today the mill is unused, though a company uses the silos.

R.I.P. Epic Restaurant and Lounge

Second Duluth Chilly Billy’s will open in March

Miller Hill Mall will be the location of Duluth’s second Chilly Billy’s Frozen Yogurt shop. It will open in the mall’s food court in March.

Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2017

A look at petitions on change.org shows a pretty good rate of success for people who wanted to change something in Duluth in 2017. As of the morning of Dec. 13, two petitions had more than one thousand supporters and both of those issues appear to be resolved.

Tina Smith is Minnesota’s new U.S. Senator

Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has selected his lieutenant governor, Tina Smith, to replace Al Franken in the U.S. Senate. Smith said she will run for the seat in 2018.

State Senator Michelle Fischbach of Paynesville will replace Smith as lieutenant governor.

MPR: Smith to take Franken’s Senate seat, run in 2018

Brewhouse’s pub sauce and salad dressing going retail

Just Take Action, a company that owns and operates several restaurants in Duluth, recently began packaging its Fitger’s Brewhouse Chipotle Pub Sauce and Maple Salad Dressing for retail sale.

The effort, under the name Brewhouse Specialties, is part of a move to focus on developing and marketing products to consumers at home.

Northern Waters Restaurant will close Dec. 31

Just two years after opening, the Northern Waters Restaurant at Mount Royal Shopping Center will close. A news release from owners Eric and Lynn Goerdt indicates the business has been sold and a new restaurant will replace it in early 2018.

Video: Sen. Al Franken announces resignation

A peek at what Bent Paddle’s new taproom will look like

Bent Paddle Brewing Company plans to relocate its taproom to a larger, revitalized space in the former Enger & Olson Furniture store building at 1832 W. Michigan St. This new location is directly adjacent to its main production brewery and current taproom in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.