Sydney Hansen – “For Better”

Duluth native Sydney Hansen, who now splits time between her home town and Nashville, has a new music video.

Hansen performs at Duluth Cider on May 1 at 8:30 p.m. as part of the Homegrown Music Festival.

Against Fundamentalisms

I’m enjoying reading Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? I’ve got more thoughts to share, if you will let me.

Postcard from West Duluth’s Riverview Motel

This undated postcard shows the Riverview Motel in West Duluth, which operated during the latter half of the 1900s and was replaced in the early 2000s by Westgate Townhomes.

Nice Girls of the North

I dropped by the Nice Girls of the North Second Saturday Marketplace Craft Show Thing.

Truth Cannot Contradict Truth

As a former Catholic, educated by Jesuits for eight years, I am thinking through the intellectual tradition that I have left behind as I prep for the supercool visit from Br. Guy Consolmagno, a Vatican astronomer who is coming to Duluth.

Duluth & Iron Range No. 3 at Two Harbors circa the 1940s

Duluth & Iron Range Railroad locomotive No. 3, known as “Three Spot,” was built 140 years ago, in 1883, by Philadelphia-based Baldwin Locomotive Works. It has been on display at the D&IR Depot in Two Harbors since 1923 — a solid century. This photo is estimated to be from the 1940s.

One Year on a Northwoods Portage

This trail camera footage shows the diversity of wildlife that passes through an old canoe portage at Voyageurs National Park over a 15-month period. Prepare for lots of otters.

Mystery Photo: Daughter of Duluth

There are times when Perfect Duluth Day’s Mystery Photo isn’t very mysterious. And this is one of those times. We know who is in the photo and much of her biography, but the photography studio is one we haven’t seen another image from.

Duluth Mail Bag: Potholes, TIF, Snowplow GPS and More

Hobbs Mail BagAs a two-time Duluth city councilor, now in my final year of service, one of my goals is to make city government more accessible, or at least help citizens become more informed. I figure there are many Duluthians who would like some simple answers to some simple questions. I learned in school that if there is something you don’t understand it’s likely there are many others who feel the same way. Hence the idea of the Duluth Mailbag column.

I won’t divulge who is asking the questions, but I’ll answer them in this format about once a month. Feel free to put a question in the comments for next month’s “Duluth Mailbag” or tweet me via @Hobbs_Duluth or email me at hobbsforduluth @ gmail.com.

Also, if you want to have a longer conversation, you can sign up for a 45-minute cup of coffee through my 100 Cups of Coffee project.

OK, here we go!

The Slice: 50 Years of Railroad History

Last week the Lake Superior Railroad Museum kicked off its 50th year. The founders of the museum had a vision to repurpose Duluth’s historic Union Depot train station into an arts, culture and history center.

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.

Whiteout Conditions in Antarctica

In late-mid April, Guy Consolmagno, a Vatican astronomer, will visit Duluth. (Some call him “the Pope’s Astronomer,” but there are a dozen Vatican Astronomers, that is, astronomers employed by the Vatican at the Vatican Observatory.)

In Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial, Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, and his collaborator, Paul Mueller, talk about the research Consolmagno does into meteorites in Antarctica. It looks dangerous.

Video: Trampled by Turtles 20th anniversary at Sir Ben’s

Twenty years after the band’s first gig, Trampled by Turtles popped up at Sir Benedict’s Tavern on the Lake for an anniversary performance. This video of the song “Victory” was shot by Gina Nagler Smith.

Renovation of Androy Hotel ballroom in Hibbing underway

The Duluth News Tribune reports that BoomTown Brewery & Woodfire has partnered with Androy Hotel owner Trellis Co. to retrofit the 1920s ballroom of the historic Androy Hotel in Hibbing into an event space, expanding catering abilities with a new commissary kitchen.

Trampled by Turtles – “At Your Window”

Trampled by Turtles is celebrating 20 years as a band. In this new video the group performs “At Your Window,” a song from the 2004 album Songs from a Ghost Town. The video was directed and edited by Charlie Berg.

Steve’s Overpopulated One-man Band – “She Broke My Heart in Three Places”

The latest video from Steve Solkela is a one-man performance of a song originally released by the Hoosier Hot Shots. The song was written in 1944 by Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake.