Postcard from Tugboats Record and Sinclair

Icebreaking in the Duluth Harbor is expected to start this week, with the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spar clearing the way for the start of another shipping season.

The postcard above is from the early 1900s and shows the tugboats Record and Sinclair breaking ice in the Duluth Harbor.

R.I.P. Dave Hill

Legendary sound designer Dave Hill passed away recently. Driving by his humble-looking shop/studio in the East End of Superior, few would guess that an electronics genius was in there designing high-end audio equipment and selling it to the stars. More at fohonline.com.

AP Photo: Sixty-year-old plane crash near Duluth

March 3, 1963: Four Wisconsin men flying home from a fishing trip in Canada died as their small plane crashed in a field near Duluth. The plane, a Cessna 180, crashed at the edge of an open field a half mile west of Proctor and eight miles southwest of Duluth.

Efforts revived to assess mercury in St. Louis River watershed

Agate, an online magazine focused on the environment and people of Minnesota and the surrounding Great Lakes region, published a story this week about the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s recently revived effort to calculate how much mercury the St. Louis River watershed can handle and still meet established water quality standards. The goal is to determine the mercury reductions needed to meet water quality standards and support healthy consumption of fish.

Duluth Book Releases in 2023

Complicated Warding
Michelle Matthees
Jan. 1
Press This!
Available at michellematthees.com

I Think I Know You
Julie Gard
Jan. 2
FutureCycle Press
Available at barnesandnoble.com

White Pine: The Natural and Human History of a Foundational American Tree
John Pastor
Jan. 5
Island Press
Available at islandpress.org

Northern Waters Smokehaus moving to Amazing Grace spot

Fox 21 is reporting that Northern Waters Smokehaus will move its business from the main level of the DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace into the basement-level space formerly occupied by Amazing Grace Grocery and Café.

View of Duluth from Northern Pacific Docks circa 1880

This photograph shows a view of the Duluth hillside circa 1880. It was shot by Paul B. Gaylord from the Northern Pacific railroad dock.

The Nimrods win American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race 2023

This highlight video shows the drama from the qualifying run and finals of the American Birkebeiner Giant Ski Race, held last weekend on Main Street in Hayward. The Nimrod Giant Ski Team recaptured the championship this year.

PDD Quiz: February 2023

For such a short month, February was chockablock with news. Dig into this week’s current events quiz and see how many headlines you remember!

Another installment of Duluth movie mentions will come your way on March 12. Submit question suggestions to Alison Moffat at [email protected] by March 9.

JamesG – “Clingy”

Former Duluthian James Geisler, aka hip-hop artist JamesG, breaks out the plastic wrap and heads to the beach in his new music video.

Three academic papers on Duluth and the lost Confederate gold

The Hillside Irregulars. Clockwise from lower left: Buckminster Wilde, Fancypants Nettleton, Henri Enragé Cloquet, Babyface Bong

The Stolen Lost Confederate Gold: A Historical Analysis of Duluth, Minnesota’s Development

Abstract: This paper explores the historical claim that Duluth, Minnesota was built using stolen lost Confederate gold. Through a critical analysis of primary and secondary sources, including the research of historian Peter S. Svenson, this paper argues that the city’s development was aided by the illicit acquisition of gold by Union agents during the American Civil War. Specifically, this paper examines the role of Duluth native Buckminster Wilde and the Hillside Irregulars as Union assassins behind enemy lines, as well as the involvement of key figures such as Walt Whitman, the Pinkerton detective agency, and financier Jay Cooke.

Duluth Grill group plans new Lincoln Park burger bar

The Duluth Grill Family Restaurant Group will take over operations at the former Coach’s Bar and Grill, 2113 W. Superior St. The new restaurant will be called Burger Paradox. (Photos by Mark Nicklawske).

A popular Lincoln Park restaurant group is adding another bar and grill to its neighborhood food empire.

Duluth Grill Family of Restaurants co-owner Tom Hanson said this week his organization has secured a 10-year lease on the longtime home of Mitch’s Bar and Grill, 2113 W. Superior St. The site was most recently home to the short-lived Coach’s Bar & Grill.

Apostle Islands in National Geographic

The March issue of National Geographic has a 16-page feature on Lake Superior’s Apostle Islands. The online version has the headline, “These Lake Superior islands are ‘no place for amateurs,’” while the print edition carries the title “Return to Wild Waters.” Writer Stephanie Pearson accompanied photographer David Guttenfelder on part of his August 2021 kayaking journey in which he paddled to 19 of the 22 islands.

Duluth Central High School 1975 Concert LP with Clark Terry

I picked up a box of LPs at a local estate sale a couple years ago. I was just going through them more closely and thought I would share this one. It’s a concert recording of the Central High School Jazz Ensemble with jazz great Clark Terry, recorded at Central High Auditorium on March 13, 1975.

Exploring Clark House Creek Tunnel

Duluth Urbex explores the underground creek beneath Cascade Park.