News and Current Affairs Posts

R.I.P. Dr. Robert Powless

Dr. Robert Powless (Photo by Ivy Vainio)

Dr. Robert Powless, former director of the American Indian Studies Program at the University of Minnesota Duluth, died on April 25.

PDD Quiz: April 2020 in Review

Another month is nearly at an end as Duluth inches toward summer. Put your memory in gear for this month’s quiz, which reviews April headlines!

The next PDD quiz will test your ability to identify area buildings based on architectural details; it will be published on May 17. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by May 12.

Minnpost: Fight brews over Duluth utility

Guide to Duluth-area Craft Alcohol During the Pandemic

Ursa Minor Brewing has offered curbside beer and pizza pickup via a drive-by canopy since April 8.

Small businesses have been struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 outbreak. Local craft beer, cider and spirits purveyors are finding ways to persist by distributing products through a variety of takeout, curbside pickup and delivery options.

New York Times: Preus’ new novel for youth “charming”

Duluth author Margi Preus gets positive ink in the New York Times Book Review for her new novel for young people, The Littlest Voyageur.

Fire in Grand Marais: Crooked Spoon Cafe engulfed


A fire broke out in downtown Grand Marais during the noon hour at the Crooked Spoon Cafe, 17 W. Wisconsin St. The blaze spread to two adjoining gift shops, Picnic and Pine and White Pine North. All three buildings were destroyed.

PDD Quiz: March 2020

Well … it sure has been a month. Take a brief reprieve from everything else going on by testing your knowledge of local headlines.

The next PDD quiz, on Superior parks, will be published on April 12. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by April 9.

Iconic Jade Fountain will see new life in West Duluth

Kai Soderberg stands outside the Jade Fountain restaurant at 305 N. Central Ave. in West Duluth. Soderberg is leasing the space where he will open a tiki bar this summer. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

A long-running and largely unchanged Chinese restaurant — which closed for almost five years — will be reborn under new ownership as a tiki lounge when nightlife returns to normal in Duluth.

Muddy Trails and COVID-19: Duluth Hiking in Spring 2020

Duluth’s Parks and Recreation division has released guidelines advising citizens how to use city parks and trails in a manner that will reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. March and April are also the months when snow is melting and natural-surface trails can be easily damaged.

So, where is it OK to hike and how is it done safely?

Missing Person: Patrick Lubina

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office is looking for assistance in locating Patrick Robert Lubina to check his welfare.

Lubina was last seen on March 10 at his residence on Strizich Road in French Township, about 90 miles northwest of Duluth. He is believed to have left his residence on foot.

Lubina is described as 6-foot-4-inches tall, 190 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. He might be wearing a blue jean jacket with a cream-colored collar.

Anyone with information about Lubina’s whereabouts should contact the St. Louis County Sheriff’s office via 911 or 218-742-9825.

Climate>Duluth: Nicolette Slagle

Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Nicolette Slagle of Honor The Earth. This is show #8 in the Climate>Duluth series recorded at Duluth Public Access Community Television’s studio in City Hall.

Lofts planned for historic Lincoln Park furniture building

The building on the corner of 19th Avenue West and Superior Street was home to six different furniture stores during a 120-year span. New owners plan to remodel it for upper-level apartments and street-level retail shops.

A $6 million apartment project has been announced for a former furniture store in the booming Lincoln Park Craft District, the third of three massive neighborhood furniture stores to undergo changes in the past year.

Climate>Duluth: Eric Enberg

Host Tone Lanzillo interviews Eric Enberg of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. This is show #9 in the Climate>Duluth series recorded at Duluth Public Access Community Television’s studio in City Hall.

PDD Quiz: February 2020 in Review

Give your brain a workout with this current events quiz!

The next PDD quiz will test your knowledge of Prohibition in the Twin Ports; it will be published on March 15. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 10.

Former plasma center building in Lincoln Park finds new life

East West Property Management principals Alex Rogers, left, and Frank Rush have moved their company headquarters to Lincoln Park. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

A Lincoln Park building that housed a plasma donation center for almost three decades is now home to a growing Duluth area property management company.