News and Current Affairs Posts

Duluth 2024 Primary Election Primer

The filing period for candidates running for federal, state and county offices in Minnesota is from May 21 to June 4. The primary election is Aug. 13; the general election is Nov. 5.

PDD Quiz: May 2024

See how many of this month’s headlines and happenings you remember with this week’s current events quiz!

The next PDD Quiz, scheduled for June 16, will test your knowledge of the Superior Hiking Trail. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by June 11.

PDD Geoguessr Challenge #18: Duluth’s Sister Cities – Thunder Bay, Canada

Thunder Bay, Canada. Photo based on an interpretation of aerial imagery by Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The last of the sister cities in this series is the first. Thunder Bay was the original sister city of Duluth, a relationship that formally began in 1980. While the Twin Ports is the largest metropolitan area on Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is the largest city, with a population of 110,000.

West Duluth event center planned as MidCoast Catering expands

MidCoast Catering owner Jonathan Reznick stands outside his Central Avenue buildings. Reznick is remodeling the property on the left to create a new event center called The Tasting Room. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

A popular Duluth food truck and catering business plans to expand operations later this summer when it opens a new event center adjacent to its West Duluth headquarters.

The Rambler food truck and MidCoast Catering owner Jonathan Reznick said he purchased the Michael Talarico law offices at 313 N. Central Ave. last May. Reznick connected the building to his catering kitchen next door and launched remodeling efforts this spring. The new space will be called the Tasting Room.

PDD Geoguessr Challenge #17: Duluth’s Sister Cities – Petrozavodsk, Russia

Petrozavodsk, Russia. Photo based on an interpretation of aerial imagery by Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Petrozavodsk, Russia became a sister city of Duluth in 1987. With a population of 250,000, its Duluth’s largest sister city. Petrozavodsk is the capitol of the Republic of Karelia and located on the western shore of Lake Onega. Like Duluth, Petrozavodsk has a lakewalk that features art from its sister cities. In 1991, artist Rafael Consuegra won a national competition to represent Duluth in a sister cities sculpture exchange with Petrozavodsk. Below is a picture of his sculpture, The Fisherman, that I took with a disposable camera during my brief visit to the city nearly 20 years ago.

Star Tribune on Homegrown kicking off without the mayor

R. I. P. Florian Chmielewski

Florian Chmielewski, leader of the Chmielewski Funtime Band and a Minnesota state senator from 1971 to 1976, died last week at his home in Sturgeon Lake at the age of 97.

PDD Quiz: April 2024

Test your knowledge of April 2024 headlines and happenings with this current affairs quiz.

You’ll be able to get your hands dirty with the next PDD quiz, which will focus on local gardens, on May 12. Submit question ideas to Alison Moffat [email protected] by May 9.

Two miracles inspire new cannabis grow store in Lincoln Park

Marios Glitsos, right, and fiancé Brooke Joyce are opening Grow Your Own Garden Supply at 1801 W. Michigan St. in Lincoln Park. The store will specialize in cannabis cultivation. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

It took at least two miracles for longtime cannabis grower Marios Glitsos to open a new Duluth garden supply store.

A & Dubs won’t open in summer 2024

A & Dubs owners Syl and Sandy Hantz posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page that they will not reopen their drive-in Lincoln Park burger joint this summer. It was founded as an A & W in 1948 and parted with the chain to become A & Dubs in 1973.

PDD Geoguessr Challenge #15: Duluth’s Sister Cities – Växjö, Sweden

Växjö, Sweden. Photo based on an interpretation of aerial imagery by Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Växjö – pronounced Vequa according to the YouTube videos I watched — has been Duluth’s sister city since 1987. With a population of 80,000, it’s approximately the size of Duluth. Also like Duluth, it has a significant student population, with Linnaeus University just outside the city center. In 1991, Växjö became the first city in the world to set a goal of becoming fossil fuel-free. In 2007, it won the Sustainable Energy Europe Award for being the greenest community in the EU.

PDD Quiz: March 2024

Close out the month of March and see how many newsworthy events you remember with this week’s current events quiz!

The next PDD quiz will preview the 2024 Homegrown Music Festival; it will be published on April 14. Submit question ideas to Alison Moffat [email protected] by April 10.

Hermantown Fleet Farm property sold to North Dakota investors

The Fleet Farm property in Hermantown has been sold to a North Dakota investment firm for $30 million. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

The Fleet Farm big-box retail store property in Hermantown has been sold to a real estate investment firm based in Fargo, North Dakota for $30 million.

PDD Geoguessr Challenge #14: Duluth’s Sister Cities – Rania, Iraqi-Kurdistan

Rania, Iraqi-Kurdistan. Photo based on an interpretation of aerial imagery by Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The next of Duluth’s sister cities in this challenge series is its most recent. Rania officially became Duluth’s fifth sister in November 2015. According to the webpage on Duluth’s sister cities, Rania is located in a partially autonomous Kurdish region in Northern Iraq near Lake Dukan. With a population of 95,000, it is about the same size as Duluth. Exchange activities have included a visiting professor from Rania at the University of Minnesota Duluth and a visit to Rania by a Duluth choir group.

R.I.P. Viking Lounge & Liquor

Fox 21 reports crews were demolishing the Viking Lounge & Liquor building in Superior yesterday. The bar at 1501 N. Fifth St., and its upstairs apartments, were condemned after a Thanksgiving Day fire.