This is perhaps the most painful addition to PDD’s ongoing “Upset Duluth” series, in which we feature Duluth News Tribune photos of people who are upset.
Story link: “Vikings fans’ optimism turns to disappointment”
Alex “Coke” Chocholousek – Photo by Lissa Maki
The new year ushered in some changes at Fitger’s Brewhouse. Alex “Coke” Chocholousek stepped into the role of head brewer on Jan. 1. Chocholousek is the fifth brewer to head up operations at the Brewhouse and says he looks forward to continuing the brewpub’s legacy of quality and innovation.
The Duluth City Council adopted the Irving Fairmount Brownfields Revitalization Plan on Dec. 11. Irving and Fairmount are sub-neighborhoods of West Duluth.
The video above shows clips from a gathering on Oct. 18 at Loll Designs headquarters marking the completion of the plan.
The planning effort focused on redevelopment of post-industrial sites, infrastructure improvements, creating better connections to the Spirit Valley commercial area and increasing walkability.
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.
As we bid goodbye (or good riddance) to 2017, let’s take a look back at what happened in the Northland this year. Test your knowledge of current affairs (and previous PDD Quizzes) with this end-of-the-year quiz!
The next PDD Quiz, on the history of the soon-to-reopen NorShor Theatre, will be published on Jan. 14. Please send question ideas to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Jan. 11.
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, a bar and grill about 12 miles north of Duluth in the Gnesen Township, has closed.
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.)
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.
The craft beer craze is finally permeating Minnesota’s Iron Range. Before the year’s end, the area will support two new breweries: Klockow Brewing Company in Grand Rapids and BoomTown Brewery & Woodfire Grill in Hibbing. Another, Rapids Brewing Company, is in the works.
The Loaves & Fishes volunteer community in Duluth has formed a nonprofit branch to deal with upkeep on its houses and other properties that provide food and shelter for the homeless and other at-risk people.
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.
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.
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.
