Monday Night Trivia at Earth Rider

So I’m looking for outdoor activities during the pandemic, and while Souptown is in Wisconsin, it is host to some of the coolest events.

Dave Mehling – “Show Biz Kids”

The latest release from Duluth native Dave Mehling‘s forthcoming album, Beach Boy, is this Steely Dan cover.

The Slamming Doors – “Grown Man”

The Slamming Doors released volume one of a multi-part album titled Brown Bears this past summer. The video for the track “Grown Man” was shot at Quarry Park in West Duluth in early August.

Creating Apart: Joe Klander

Joe Klander is one of the artists featured in the Tweed Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, “Creating Apart: Local Artists Respond to a Global Pandemic.” He’s an artist and ophthalmology tech at St. Luke’s Hospital. In this video by documentary filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Joe talks about how the pandemic gave him time to work on one of his dream projects.

Duluth You & Me: Golf Courses

Use the link below for a printable PDF for your drawing and coloring pleasure.
Duluth You & Me: Golf Courses

Follow the Duluth You & Me subject tag to see additional pages. For background on the book see the original post on the topic.

Julie Gard’s Invocation for Learning and Safety

University of Wisconsin-Superior Professor of Writing Julie Gard recently had a poem featured in the Career Advice section of Inside Higher Ed, an online publication focused on college and university topics. More information on the poem is available in the academics news section of the UWS website.

Mystery Photo #123: Duluth Public Library Reading Room

At one time for sale on Amazon, but now marked “currently unavailable,” is this photo labeled “Reading Room, Duluth Public Library, 1890-1930, Minnesota, MN, Chairs, People, Books.”

Twenty Years on the Superior Hiking Trail: Ely’s Peak Loop

Paul Lundgren Saturday EssayThe laziest and slowest record in endurance-sports history has been broken. Again. By me. Again.

As documented in numerous essays, I started hiking the Superior Hiking Trail on Sept. 23, 2000 and finished the 310-mile trek from the Canadian border to Jay Cooke State Park on Nov. 5, 2015. Obviously I took a lot of breaks along the way. Then, in 2016, I hiked new parts of the trail that hadn’t been built when I first went through, thus breaking the record I already held for the slowest unsustained complete traverse of the Superior Hiking Trail.

Was that an official record? Well, no organizational body really keeps track of such things. But I stand firmly in my declaration that no one who has hiked the entire Superior Hiking Trail has taken longer to do it than me.

And now I’ve taken even longer.

In the summer of 2018 a new loop trail was built at Ely’s Peak in Duluth. It was kind of late in the hiking season when I heard about it, so I planned to do it in 2019. Then I kind of forgot about it and got distracted with other things. I had also started a new quest to hike the North Country Trail through Wisconsin. I’m still barely started on that.

Anyway, this past July I drove out to the Ely’s Peak area with the intention of knocking out the new last bit of trail, but as I started walking it occurred to me that if I waited until Sept. 23 to do this loop my Superior Hiking Trail story would span a perfect 20 years. So I hiked other trials that day and saved the loop for the perfect day.

Zinsmaster Bread Company of Duluth

This undated photo shows the Zinsmaster Wholesale Bakery facilities at 2831 W. Superior St. in Duluth.

Creating Apart: Brian Barber

Brian Barber is one of the artists featured in the Tweed Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, “Creating Apart: Local Artists Respond to a Global Pandemic.” He’s an illustrator, animator and filmmaker. In this video by documentary filmmaker Mike Scholtz, Brian talks about how the pandemic gave him time to work on a series of instructional draw-along videos.

Monthly Grovel: October 2020

(Enter the amount of your choice.)

Whether or not 2020 has already been scary enough, October is here and Halloween will soon be upon us. The PDD Calendar is already sorting out the Halloween events, so everyone will know whether their plans should involve one mask or two.

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 events on Perfect Duluth Day. So if you appreciate it, drop a few bucks in the PayPal account.

Duluth General Election Sample Ballot 2020

As usual, the ballot in this year’s General Election is not the same for everyone in Duluth. People who live on the western side of town will see the District 3 County Commissioner race shown above. Those on the east side of Duluth will instead see Patrick Boyle running unopposed in District 2. People in the center of the city will not see a County Commissioner race because District 1 Commissioner Frank Jewell is not up for reelection.

Voters in central and western Duluth neighborhoods will see the District 7B Minnesota State Representative race shown on the ballot above. Those in the northern portions of the Duluth Heights and Kenwood neighborhoods will see the District 3B Minnesota State Representative race between Republican Andrew J. Hjelle the Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent Mary Murphy. Voters on the eastern side of Duluth will see the District 7A Minnesota State Representative race between Republican Tom Sullivan and Democratic-Farmer-Labor incumbent Jennifer Schultz.

And don’t forget the judicial races are on the back side.

The Slice: Dark Skies Over the Boundary Waters

In August the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness became one of 13 places in the world designated as a “dark sky sanctuary” by the International Dark-Sky Association.

In its series The Slice, WDSE-TV 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.

Postcard from the Aerial Bridge in 1905

This postcard from the V.O. Hammon Publishing Company features an image copyrighted in 1904 by Crandall & Maher (presumably Robert S. Crandall and James Maher). The card was mailed out of Duluth on Sept. 29, 1905 and arrived in Ohio on Oct. 2. It was sent to Miss Emily Booher of Mt. Gilead. The sender’s name is not on the card but the message scrawled on the front reads:

“It was midnight on the ocean and a storm was on the lake.” Remember.

Witherspoon brothers plan revival of soul food restaurant

Solomon, left, and Stephan Witherspoon plan to open a new soul food restaurant in Duluth next year. The brothers will use their father’s time-tested recipes. (Photo by Mark Nicklawske)

Inspired by their father’s long-gone West Duluth restaurant, two brothers have announced plans to open a new eatery that will feature time-tested fried chicken recipes taken directly from the family cookbook.

Stephan and Solomon Witherspoon said last week they are actively searching for a location to house a new restaurant to be named Doc Witherspoon’s Soul Food Kitchen. The Witherspoons will launch a series of fundraisers this week and plan to open their new establishment and catering business in 2021.