PDD Quiz: Mascots

This week’s quiz tests your knowledge of local mascots (some affiliated with sports teams, some not). Step up to the plate and see how many you can identify!

The next PDD quiz, reviewing current events, will be published on Aug. 25. Please submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by Aug. 22.

Hidden Hunters Park mansion up for sale

Duluth grain magnate W.J. McCabe and his wife Jane Chidlaw McCabe built this Georgian-style colonial mansion in 1914. It is located in Hunters Park, about two miles uphill from Glensheen Mansion. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske)

Duluth is famous for its turn-of-the-century mansions proudly showcased in busy, well-touristed east-side neighborhoods, but a few historic homes are tucked away in unexpected places far from the grand Lake Superior shoreline.

One of those hidden gems is up for sale.

Suggestions for a Minnesota Authors Class: Song Lyricists

I’m teaching a Minnesota authors class for the first time this year, and I want to make sure it’s hip and current and that it’s Duluthy. So I’m asking for help.

I want to do a brief (two-week) unit on song lyrics. I’m looking for Minnesota’s best song lyricists and their best lyrics.

Streets of Duluth: Classic Street Photography from 1968 to 1972

The Duluth street photography of D. M. Martin recently became available on YouTube in slideshow format. The images were shot between 1968 and 1972, and have appeared in several art shows in recent decades, including two in Duluth: Chasing Cartier-Bresson: Duluth, Superior & Minneapolis 1968-1972, at the Tweed Museum of Art in 2000, and D. R. Martin: Duluth Street Photographer at the Red Herring Lounge in 2016.

Teague Alexy and Woodblind – “5 Foot”

Teague Alexy teams up with the nine-piece Duluth ska band Woodblind in this rocksteady reworking of “5 Foot.” The song is a Teague Alexy original that first appeared on the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank album Number One Contender.

Mystery Photo: Two Dudes in Duluth

From G. E. Sackett’s Owl Studio at 6 E. Superior St. in Duluth circa 1915 comes this photo of two unknown men.

The Slice: Vinyl Vault

The Vinyl Vault is a record store housed in a bank vault at the Washburn Cultural Center, about 60 miles east of Duluth. It opened in 2017.

In its series The Slice, PBS North presents short “slices of life” that capture the events and experiences that bring people together and speak to what it means to live up north.

PDD Geoguessr #23: World Cities and Their Northern Minnesota Namesakes

The city center of Groningen, The Netherlands, not to be confused with Groningen Township, 70 miles south of Duluth (Photo by Matthew James)

There’s a lot of Minnesota history to be found in the names on a map. Some places, like Iron Junction, reflect the industry that created the town. Many names come from Anishinaabemowin, like Mahnomen, derived from manoomin, meaning wild rice. And some city names both reflect their primary industry and come from Anishinaabemowin, like Biwabik, which comes from the Ojibwe word for iron. This Geoguessr challenge looks specifically at places in Minnesota that took their names from locations from around the world.

Wildrose: 1984 film shot on the Iron Range

 
It’s been 40 years since Wildrose, a feature film shot on Minnesota’s Iron Range, premiered in theaters. The full movie is available to stream in the video section of the Russian social media website Odnoklassniki, or ok.ru, and is embedded above.

Stunning footage of a lynx in northern Minnesota

Trail cameras from the Voyageurs Wolf Project will occasionally capture footage of lynx, but the University of Minnesota researchers say “this is definitely the coolest.”

Postcard of Duluth’s $5,000,000 Water Power

This postcard, circa perhaps 1910, shows the western side of Downtown Duluth and the city’s hillside, with the caption “$5,000,000 Water Power.” Though the card doesn’t make it clear what that means, the logical guess is it refers to Duluth’s investment in hydraulic power at the start of the 20th century.

Big Into – “A Stroll Down Hollywood Boulevard”

Iron Range native Curtis Kraft Mattson of Big Into strolls down the boulevard in the band’s new video, obliviously avoiding attacks from a mob of villains.

Charlie Parr – “Ten Watt”

“Ten Watt” is from Charlie Parr‘s 18th album, Little Sun, released earlier this year. The video was directed by Adam Jones of Polecat Productions.

North Shorror! 2024: Immersive Space Call for Proposals

Attention all artists! Submissions are being sought to create immersive art experiences to celebrate October, Halloween and all things creepy.

North Shorror! 2024 will take place in October at the St. Louis County Depot in Downtown Duluth. And with support from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, North Shorror! 2024 will offer stipends to a select group of participating artists to create immersive art experiences. Musicians, visual artists, storytellers, performance and other artists will have the chance to create unique, compelling and (somewhat) terrifying spaces where they can showcase their talents.

Duluth 2024 Primary Election Sample Ballot

Perhaps the most important thing to note about the Aug. 13 primary ballot is what isn’t on it. There are no city of Duluth or Duluth School Board races in this election cycle. There are several state, county and judicial offices that have no primary, so those candidates go straight to the general election on Nov. 5. And there is nothing on the primary ballot related to the U.S. Presidency because that is up to party delegates to determine.