News and Current Affairs Posts

Kmart gone, Spirit Valley hopes to rebound like Lincoln Park

Jan 02, 2019 2 Comments

The Spirit Valley business district sits just east of I-35 and includes a variety of businesses along Grand and Central avenues including the Super One grocery store in the foreground. (Photo by Cory Fechner, Liftoff Aerials)

The Spirit Valley business district in West Duluth took a serious hit in 2018 when Kmart closed but business leaders and city officials believe the area is ripe for a makeover that could match successful redevelopment work in Lincoln Park.

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News and Current Affairs

Interim host keeps the Current’s Duluth music show rolling

Dec 30, 2018 No Comments

Andrea Swensson is serving as guest host of The Duluth Local Show on the Current. (Photo by Leslie Plesser)

The Duluth Local Show, a weekly one-hour radio program featuring music by Duluth-area musicians, will close out 2018 in a transition phase. Mike Novitzki, who had hosted the show since May 2016, announced his resignation in October and his farewell episode aired Dec. 2.

Andrea Swensson, a Moose Lake native who has been an on-air personality and writer at St. Paul-based Minnesota Public Radio’s the Current since 2005, has served as guest host of The Duluth Local Show since Novitzki’s departure. She is also the regular host of an all-Minnesota music show with a similar title, The Local Show.

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Music, News and Current Affairs

PDD Quiz: 2018 in Review

Dec 30, 2018 No Comments

Bid adieu to 2018 with this year-in-review quiz, which tests your memory of local headlines (and PDD current events quizzes).

The next PDD quiz, on the murals of Superior, will be published on Jan. 13. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 10.

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News and Current Affairs

The New Spurs on First: Just a Little Bit Country

Dec 19, 2018 No Comments
Madeline Petersen and Jona Johnson - Photo by Lissa Maki

Madeline Petersen and Jona Johnson – Photo by Lissa Maki

Two young women recently bought Spurs on First. The entrepreneurs are adding their own flair to the longtime country bar, booking hip hop and rock performers as well as updating drinks and decor.

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Petitioning to Change Duluth in 2018

Dec 18, 2018 No Comments

The most successful petitions at change.org — at least as far as Duluth is concerned — tend to be related to local colleges. A search of “Duluth” on the site finds six petitions in the past three years that have more than 1,000 signatures; five of those are associated with the University of Minnesota Duluth or College of St. Scholastica.

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News and Current Affairs

Selective Focus: Globe Grain Elevator Fire in Superior

Dec 17, 2018 No Comments


 
Duluth News Tribune: “Historic grain elevator burns in Superior“

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One more year for Marcia Hales’ holiday light display

Dec 10, 2018 No Comments

Marcia Hales’ “Holiday Spirit in the Lights” display in Duluth’s Park Point neighborhood is returning for a final run.

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News and Current Affairs

Independent Television Festival moving to Duluth

Dec 10, 2018 No Comments

The five-day Independent Television Festival is moving from Manchester, Vt. to Duluth. ITV plans to open an office in Duluth early next year and have year-round programming. The company estimates the festival could bring more than $1.5 million into the local economy.

The 14th annual festival is scheduled for Oct. 9-13. It showcases episodic television shows for TV executives, agents and producers from outlets like Netflix and Bravo, but is also open to the public. The goal is to discover new television programs created on independent budgets.

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Art, News and Current Affairs

Duluth to Montgomery Reflections: Pondering the Past

Dec 09, 2018 No Comments

Continuing the podcast series of “Duluth to Montgomery Reflections,” the Duluth NAACP welcomes Henry Banks, host of the Twin Ports-focused “People of Color” program on Wisconsin Public Radio. Banks meets with Ivy Vainio to discuss the various assumptions around the Civil Rights movement.

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History, News and Current Affairs

City Girl Coffee now in Minnesota Target stores, on Amazon

Nov 26, 2018 No Comments

City Girl Coffee, a Duluth-based coffee roaster dedicated to empowering women in the coffee-growing industry, has announced its varietals and blends are now available on amazon.com and at Minnesota Target locations.

The expanded distribution follows the company’s third anniversary on Nov. 12.

City Girl sources its beans from women-owned or managed farms and cooperatives whenever possible. The brand offers a product line of organic and Fair Trade varietals and blends from Guatemala, Brazil, Sumatra and Peru that are packaged in 12-ounce bags and single-serve cups.

The company was profiled on Perfect Duluth Day in 2016 and featured in Forbes magazine and the New York Times in 2017.


News and Current Affairs ,

PDD Quiz: November 2018 in Review

Nov 25, 2018 No Comments

Test your knowledge of November headlines with this month-in-review quiz!

The next PDD quiz, on restaurants and bars of yesteryear, will be published on Dec. 16. Please email question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Dec. 12.

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News and Current Affairs

Missing Person: Janeen Bauer Peters

Nov 22, 2018 No Comments

Update: The body of Janeen Peters was found on Nov. 28 about 500 yards from her vehicle near County Road 2 in Lake County. The vehicle was covered in snow and there were no fresh tracks near it. The cause of death is unknown.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office had asked for the public’s help in locating Peters. She was reported missing on Nov. 19 and was last seen Nov. 11 driving her vehicle north of Duluth on North Shore Drive. Investigators believe on Nov. 13 she was at a restaurant in Duluth.


News and Current Affairs

Duluth 2018 General Election Results

Nov 06, 2018 4 Comments

With 4.113 of 4,113 precincts reporting statewide, below are the results for races relevant to Duluth.

FEDERAL OFFICES

United States Senator
Amy Klobuchar – 1,566,015 | 60.30%
Jim Newberger – 940,454 | 36.21%
Dennis Schuller – 66,264 | 2.55%
Paula M. Overby – 23,150 | 0.89%
Write in – 994 | 0.04%

United States Senator (special election to fill two-year term)
Tina Smith – 1,370,375 | 52.97%
Karin Housley – 1,095,777 | 42.35%
Sarah Wellington – 95,634 | 3.7%
Jerry Trooien – 24,369 | 0.94%
Write in – 1,165 | 0.05%

United States Representative, Minnesota District 8
Pete Stauber – 159,388 | 50.71%
Joe Radinovich – 141,972 | 45.17%
Ray “Skip” Sandman – 12,768 | 4.06%
Write in – 178 | 0.06%
 

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News and Current Affairs, Politics

Duluth Cider opening Nov. 14

Nov 05, 2018 No Comments

Valerie and Jake Scott announced today that Duluth Cider will open Nov. 14. It’s Duluth first cider production facility. Six ciders will be on tap at the opening. Flights of four sample pours will be available, as well as take-home growlers.

For more info on Duluth Cider, visit PDD’s previous story on the subject: “Craft cider coming soon to Duluth.”


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Thai restaurant changes name and ownership, stays in family

Nov 05, 2018 No Comments

Thai by Thai restaurant owner Supannee Stamm

After 19 years as a restaurateur, Sumlee Beede has passed her Sala Thai restaurant on to her younger sister Supannee Stamm. The eatery at 114 W. First St. in Downtown Duluth was renamed Thai by Thai on Sept. 1.

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