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Alternate Duluths

Aug 27, 2022 2 Comments

Co-written with Allen Richardson

Dr. Mallard McPurdy disappeared in 2005 while surveying regional probability for the University of Minnesota Duluth’s short-lived Anomalies Department. A team led by Dr. Leon Oswald recovered McPurdy’s yellow pressure suit on Skyline Boulevard, but McPurdy remains at large. His suit contained video files from which the following transcriptions were made; we obtained these with a Freedom of Information Act request.

Duluth 1. Air analysis complete: Bacteria Spore, Origin Unknown. I hope these cheap-ass containment suits actually contain.

The dim, overcast light coming through my smeared faceplate told me little about season or time of day. “Dr. Oswald!” I screamed, weeping as the dread and isolation overwhelmed me. I put on a brave face, clenching my fists, unimpressed by the amount of courage I could muster.

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Guide to Duluth-related Blogs in 2022

Aug 18, 2022 1 Comment

Birding, broadcasting, micro-agriculture, astronomy and motherhood are just some of the topics Duluth-area writers are blogging about. Every two years or so, Perfect Duluth Day scans the web to see who’s active in the local blogosphere, compiling a comprehensive-as-possible guide to the region’s active web logs.

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My Psychic Powers

Aug 13, 2022 No Comments

Keeping in mind that I have no credibility, this is the true story of my psychic powers, which I don’t believe in. The reader may decide if I have psychic powers or not. I’ve already told you I don’t believe in them. I used to but not anymore. However, even though I quit believing, psychic things keep happening, which is profoundly irritating.

In chronological order:

Porky Pig Clairvoyance, 1st-2nd Grade (?)

Family Florida trip. A full-page ad in the back of a comic book transfixed me. I read it on my hotel room bed in a block of sunlight, sounds of the ocean in the distance. The ad was for a book about developing psychic and magic powers. It had fine print about the powers, psychic ways to make money, etc. I read every word, thinking it was real or could be.

Then I remember Dad driving and I was in the front seat with him. It was the just the two of us. Florida seemed particularly packed with road signage. A random thought flitted through my head as stores and restaurants flowed by: a line of Porky Pig dialog. No surprise there. It was fleeting and I paid it no mind. Within a couple minutes we drove past a barbecue place with a Porky Pig knock-off on its signage. I said, “Hey, I just thought about Porky Pig and here we are driving past this sign! That’s psychic!”

“Do you think so?” Dad asked, humoring me.

I did think so. Now I knew: I had psychic powers.

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Exploring Buckingham Creek

Aug 09, 2022 1 Comment

The latest look at Duluth’s underworld from Duluth Urbex explores Buckingham Creek, which flows through Enger Park and down Observation Hill into the St. Louis River.


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Monthly Grovel: August 2022

Aug 08, 2022 No Comments
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Concerts on the pier, concerts in the park, concerts on the patio, concerts on the porch, bayside concerts, courtside concerts, fireside concerts … we’ve got concerts coming out of and back into our ears at the PDD Calendar.

Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing event listings. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

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Lake Superior Aquaman on Community Connection

Aug 04, 2022 No Comments


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White Lady Cornrows in Duluth

Aug 03, 2022 No Comments

For the second time, Duluth has been mentioned on the podcast Yo, is this Racist? The show, hosted by Andrew Ti and Tawny Newsome, answers questions from listeners about whether given subjects are an example of racism or not. The Aug. 3 episode was recorded live in Minneapolis, so Newsome’s reference to Duluth was perhaps more carefully selected than random.

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Digital Marketing Job Opening

Aug 02, 2022 No Comments

Duluth Job Openings - Digital Marketing
Hey fellow PDD’ers and Duluthians, my company has a job opening for a digital marketer. So if you, or anyone you know, has some digital marketing chops we have a great opportunity. I wanted to give a shot to finding some local talent, before casting the net further.

The ideal candidate would have a background in some aspects of digital marketing. Pay will be based on experience and skills, the ideal candidate could expect $35 – $60 per hour with wage growth based on quality of work, motivation and performance. Training and improving digital marketing skill sets will be a large aspect of this position and we will send the right candidate to educational trainings and conferences each year.

This is a remote work position, with occasional onsite working sessions when needed. Hours are flexible 20 – 40 per week and candidate must be available during the day Mon – Fri.

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Nantucket Sleigh Ride Via Loon

Jul 16, 2022 2 Comments

When I was young, my family went fishing on a lake south of Duluth. While casting our lines, we noticed a loon swimming nearby, calling in an unusual manner. As outdoorsy types, we had heard many loons before, but this one sounded more plaintive than normal, like it was in distress.

The loon kept circling near us, which was also odd for this rather standoffish species. My dad thought it needed help, so we canoed toward it.

We soon saw the problem. A homemade fishing pole crafted from a large branch trailed about fifteen feet behind the bird. My dad grabbed the pole, thinking he could just pull the loon toward us and find where the fishing hook was lodged.

Ha! He underestimated the power of the loon. Upon feeling the tug of the line, the loon took off and dove underwater. My dad kept his grip on the pole, and the loon proceeded to pull our canoe — and the three or four of us in it — through the water at a good clip.

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Monthly Grovel: July 2022

Jul 14, 2022 No Comments
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It’s festival season and the PDD Calendar has it all sorted out — from the various outdoor concerts and art festivals to all the county fairs and neighborhood parady street-dancey things.

Each month we reach out with one beggarly blog post to remind everyone that human beings and not machines are at work editing and publishing calendar items. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

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Locally Laid: A Business Saved by Storytelling

Jul 13, 2022 No Comments

Owners of Locally Laid — Lucie Amundsen and her husband, Jason Amundsen

Lucie Amundsen’s journey to poultry success was not an easy one. The co-owner and marketing mind behind Locally Laid Egg Company dealt with the usual struggles of launching a sustainable farm — competing with bigger brands, a severely challenging profit margin and an audience that might not understand the importance of buying local.

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Bay Days with the North Shore Mental Health Group

Jul 13, 2022 No Comments

I attended Bay Days to table with Wilderness Health and the North Shore Mental Health Group. It is an active group of citizens committed to increasing awareness of and access to mental health resources up the shore.

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Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards announce nominees

Jul 12, 2022 No Comments

For the past three decades, the Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards have recognized books that substantially represent the history, culture, heritage and lifestyle of northeastern Minnesota. In 2021, longtime award coordinators at the Kathryn A. Martin Library at the University of Minnesota Duluth announced that due to staffing changes, the university library would no longer organize the awards. In early 2022, Twin Ports-based nonprofit, the Lake Superior Writers, announced that it would be the new NEMBA coordinators.

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To Fight for Ukraine’s Freedom, He Went Back Into the Closet

Jul 11, 2022 No Comments

The July 7 episode of the New York Times’ new podcast, First Person, was produced by Duluth’s Courtney Stein. Titled “To Fight for Ukraine’s Freedom, He Went Back Into the Closet,” the episode features Stein talking to a gay Ekrainian soldier during the first months of the Russian invasion.

“I got to know him through the voice memos he sent me in between shifts on guard duty,” Stein wrote in the Times’ Opinion Today newsletter. “He told me that it had been difficult to decide to enlist, not only because he feared fighting the Russians, but also because he was afraid that his fellow Ukrainian soldiers wouldn’t accept him.”


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Escape From Wisconsin

Jul 09, 2022 No Comments

If you’re wondering where I’ve been, three years ago I survived an assassination attempt on the Blatnik Bridge. Locally called “the High Bridge,” it is in fact 120 feet high over the St. Louis Bay. It is co-owned by Minnesota and Wisconsin, and when you cross the state line, you have a bird’s eye view of the bay, Park Point, and Lake Superior. For a moment, I thought it would be my final view.

Earlier that morning, I swam through the ruins off of Washburn, the tiny Wisconsin town with big secrets. On the way back to Minnesota in my blue 1976 Lotus Esprit S1 — the Aquamobile — I stopped at the Anchor Bar in Superior. Time: 11 a.m. The streets were quiet, church was still in session. I parked across the avenue and went inside. Joining my confidential informant for a burger in a booth, he slipped me a list of every crooked cop in Wisconsin. I put it in my shark-themed backpack, returned to the Aquamobile, and put the backpack in the passenger seat next to the speargun. I got in and rolled my window down. Now for a little drive to the U.S. Marshals office in the Federal Building at the Duluth Civic Center.

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