This postcard, published by the Duluth Photo Engraving Company, was mailed 100 years ago today — Aug. 30, 1924. It shows the Great Northern Power Company Dam, now known as the Thomson Dam and operated by Minnesota Power.
The text on the front of this undated postcard, found listed for sale on eBay, reads: “St. Louis River from Beautiful Rest Point 1/2 mile from Kum Bak Tourist Camp, Duluth, Minn.”
Anyone who has ever heard of Kum Bak Tourist camp, please enlighten in the comments.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant produced a video series featuring five cities along waterways deemed “areas of concern” that are in various stages of the cleanup process and are experiencing revitalization. This video highlights Duluth and the St. Louis River and features Minnesota poet Moheb Soliman.
The caption on this undated postcard suggests that it shows the ruins of American Fur Company’s trading post at Fond du Lac, but it is actually the ruins of the home of Michael and Emily Chambers. (More on that in the comments.)
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.
Via WCCO-TV, reported July 15.
The St. Louis River Alliance typically organizes an annual Winter Walk event in February, but the rise in COVID-19 cases led the organization to cancel it for the second year in a row. Instead, stories, photos and videos are being collected throughout the month to to be shared on the alliance’s social media accounts to encourage people to get outside and enjoy winter.
Featured in this post as examples are photos by the alliance’s development director, Alyssa Johnson.
Since 1871, when the Duluth shipping canal first opened, the St. Louis River has seen many changes. This video from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency briefly outlines a century of river use by many industries, and how cleanup and restoration of the estuary began. For St. Louis River Area of Concern resources visit pca.state.mn.us.
On the Water Trail is a six-part series that explores the science of the St. Louis River Watershed. Host Emily Lockling, student researcher from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, introduces the people who are working to improve the waterway after decades of dumping sewage and other legacy contamination.
The Bong Bridge spans the background in this view of Grassy Point wetlands.
A three-year habitat-restoration project on the St. Louis River in West Duluth was completed this month. Sediment contaminants at Kingsbury Bay and Grassy Point have been remediated and heavy equipment has been removed.
Videographer Adam Jagunich flies his Yuneec Typhoon H Plus hexacopter over the St. Louis River just before sunset, capturing scenes of the double-decker Oliver Bridge with trains passing over auto traffic.
Adam Jagunich takes his Yuneec Typhoon H Plus on it’s maiden flight over the St. Louis River as the sun sets in western Duluth.
Duluth’s Mike Mayou captured video of three bobcats on the ice along the St. Louis River on Wednesday. “I happened to spot them from afar,” he wrote on the YouTube description. “After flying a drone over to investigate, I discovered that the three cats were very comfortable being up close and personal with the camera, thus this footage. Enjoy!”
This undated postcard (probably circa 1905) shows the excursion steamer Newsboy docked on the St. Louis River in Duluth’s Fond du Lac neighborhood. The card was published by the Hugh C. Leighton Company of Portland, Maine, and is brought to you compliments of Clow-Nicholson Transportation Company, with its main office at the foot of Fifth Avenue West.
