News and Current Affairs Posts

Morgan Park church wins place on national registry; highlights historic Duluth properties tour

Sep 13, 2024 No Comments

United Protestant Church member Bob Berg, left, Moderator Marna Fasteland and Pastor Mitch Nelson stand in a back balcony inside the church sanctuary. The Morgan Park church was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

A monumental concrete block church constructed by idle steelworkers in early 19th-century Morgan Park earned national recognition last month and will be a stop on a historic building tour this weekend in Duluth.

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Club One Under to replace Rex Bar at Fitger’s

Sep 09, 2024 No Comments

A new bar offering simulated sports such as golf, basketball and hockey is expected to open Sept. 28 in the Fitger’s Brewery Complex. Club One Under will occupy the space that previously served as Rex Bar at Fitger’s, which was a popular nightclub and music venue from 2008 to 2023.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that Club One Under owners Derek, Angie, Mike and Stacy Locker have entered into a long-term lease on the 6,000-square-foot space.


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Jugger, a sword-fighting and rugby combo, has arrived in Duluth

Aug 28, 2024 No Comments

Jack Brown, Mitchell Glatzel and Noah Pongratz duel at Leif Erikson Park. When playing jugger they go by the names Dragon, Tumbles and Grub.

There’s a weekly sword fight at Leif Erikson Park in Duluth. Rolling, sliding and dodging blow after blow of foam attacks, three duelists who call themselves Dragon, Tumbles and Grub always draw a crowd of onlookers.

To the uninformed, the spectacle might seem like a form of live-action roleplay. But it would be more accurate to say Dragon and his crew have introduced a new sport to Duluth: jugger.

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News and Current Affairs, Sports ,

New Tweed director thinks of museum as classroom

Aug 27, 2024 No Comments

Tweed Museum of Art Director Julie Delliquanti.

The fall semester hasn’t quite begun at the University of Minnesota Duluth, but the new director of the Tweed Museum of Art has been meeting with faculty in disciplines across campus to examine how the museum can further contribute to intellectual pursuits.

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Art, News and Current Affairs

PDD Quiz: August 2024

Aug 25, 2024 No Comments

Dive into this week’s current affairs quiz and see how many of this month’s headlines you remember.

A back-to-school PDD quiz comes your way on Sept. 15. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Sept. 11.

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News and Current Affairs

Foxes & Fireflies bookstore coming soon to Superior Entrepreneurship Center

Aug 21, 2024 1 Comment

Foxes & Fireflies begins to take shape as tables and bookshelves are set up in the space on Tower Avenue in Superior. (Photo via Foxes & Fireflies Facebook page)

A new independent bookstore will soon be part of a business incubation facility in Superior.

Foxes & Fireflies will be Superior’s only bookstore carrying an inventory of new books. The city does not have a chain bookstore and hasn’t had a notable outlet for new books since the locally owned JW Beecroft store closed in 2007.

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Duluth 2024 Primary Election Results

Aug 13, 2024 No Comments

With 4,102 of 4,102 precincts reporting, here are statewide primary election results for races relevant to Duluth.

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News and Current Affairs, Politics

Hidden Hunters Park mansion up for sale

Aug 10, 2024 No Comments

Duluth grain magnate W.J. McCabe and his wife Jane Chidlaw McCabe built this Georgian-style colonial mansion in 1914. It is located in Hunters Park, about two miles uphill from Glensheen Mansion. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

Duluth is famous for its turn-of-the-century mansions proudly showcased in busy, well-touristed east-side neighborhoods, but a few historic homes are tucked away in unexpected places far from the grand Lake Superior shoreline.

One of those hidden gems is up for sale.

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News and Current Affairs

Duluth 2024 Primary Election Sample Ballot

Jul 30, 2024 No Comments

Perhaps the most important thing to note about the Aug. 13 primary ballot is what isn’t on it. There are no city of Duluth or Duluth School Board races in this election cycle. There are several state, county and judicial offices that have no primary, so those candidates go straight to the general election on Nov. 5. And there is nothing on the primary ballot related to the U.S. Presidency because that is up to party delegates to determine.

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News and Current Affairs, Politics

Historic record store building gets new life downtown

Jul 29, 2024 3 Comments

Peter Pascente stands outside the former Young at Heart record store building at 22 W. First St. Pascente is rehabilitating the 1893 structure. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

The Young at Heart record store was a Downtown Duluth musical mainstay for some 40 years when it closed in 1999. After its colorful store fixtures were claimed by the Minnesota Historical Society and massive inventory moved to Superior, the building sat unused for two decades and fell into disrepair.

Now the property at 22 W. First St. has a new life and big plans that include more music in the historic space.

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News and Current Affairs

PDD Quiz: July 2024

Jul 28, 2024 No Comments

Test your memory of July 2024 headlines with this edition of the PDD Quiz.

A quiz on sports mascots comes your way on Aug. 11. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 8.

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News and Current Affairs

Duluth lands new food truck with Bowlz n’ Thangz

Jul 23, 2024 No Comments

Rachel Nielsen of Duluth gets served a mac bowl and Southwest eggrolls from Bowlz n’ Thangz food truck owner Sarah Hovis. (Photos by Melinda Lavine)

Bowlz n’ Thangz’s black food truck sat outside Wild State Cider in the Lincoln Park Craft District. Every seat in the cidery’s patio and tap room were filled with trivia players and spectators, sipping and snacking.

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News and Current Affairs, Restaurants

MiigWitches Brew drive-thru coffee kiosk open

Jul 17, 2024 No Comments

MPR News reports MiigWitches Brew, a new Native-owned drive-thru coffee kiosk, opened in June at 1810 Big Lake Road on the Fond du Lac reservation, about 15 miles east of Duluth.


News and Current Affairs ,

Duluth and the Climate Haven Bandwagon

Jul 01, 2024 No Comments

The British Broadcasting Corporation mentions Duluth among the cities that have “jumped on the climate haven bandwagon.”

“But is any place really going to be spared from climate change?” the story asks. “And does moving to one of these cities represent a sustainable solution to the crisis?”


News and Current Affairs

PDD Quiz: June 2024

Jun 30, 2024 No Comments

Test your knowledge of June 2024 headlines with this week’s quiz!

A beach-themed PDD quiz floats your way on July 14. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by July 10.

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News and Current Affairs