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Duluth Mayor opens Homegrown with pothole rock anthem
That’s right, the Duluth Homegrown Music Festival opened last night and runs all week in the Zenith City of Lake Superior, home to so many people who are in bands that the 2020 census might create the first Member of Congress elected by multi-band bass players and shiftless drummers experiencing creative differences. By all means,…
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An interview with Canada’s Governor General
Thanks to a strange set of circumstances involving Twitter and a longstanding history of witty repartee with the Canadian Consulate’s digital team, I was granted the chance to interview His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on Thursday, April 23. The Governor General, constitutional head of the Canadian government as representative of…
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Dismal legislative effort on broadband continues
Waiting for the Minnesota legislature to act on broadband infrastructure for rural Minnesota is a lot like trying to update your operating system on a rural computer. It takes forever and halfway through you have to start over because of some stupid error message. One thing seems readily apparent from the last few days of…
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Some icons, surprises in Labovitz award-winning businesses
Several Northern Minnesota entrepreneurs were honored today as the University of Minnesota-Duluth Center for Economic Development named this year’s winners of the Joel Labovitz Entrepreneurial Success Awards. You might recognize some of the businesses on the list, while others might surprise you. Among the honorees was Bergquist Imports, proprietor of the iconic orange Swedish horse…
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Despite industry crisis, steel provisions fail Minnesota House
With a summer of political and economic hardship ahead, Iron Range lawmakers tried to attach “buy American steel” provisions to state projects under debate this week at the legislature in St. Paul. These kinds of provisions have been used in the past, particularly in association with the new Vikings stadium and other large projects. New…
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Trampled by Turtles to lead a Minne-so-big lineup on July 11
The regional interwebs are ablaze with the news that Northern Minnesota’s own Trampled by Turtles will headline a stacked July 11 Bayfront Park Duluth concert lineup of Minnesota bands on their way up the national music scene. Other acts include past Great Northern Radio Show guests Actual Wolf and the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank.…
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On wilderness
This week the ice retreated from the lake. Hard-blowing southern winds warmed the jackets off our backs before knocking over the driveway basketball hoop just hours after we set it up. Colorful birds, fresh off winging 2,000 miles, flitted through our old trees, considered the scene, moved on. When you live in the woods of…
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Lindström is only the beginning
Lindström, Minnesota, made news this week, winding its way into the New York Times and Washington Post for one simple reason. It wanted its dots back. Specifically, the central Minnesota city wanted the umlaut that makes the distinct Swedish “ö” in the distinctly Swedish immigrant story of Lindström. When the Minnesota Department of Transportation put up the new…
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Are you hot, interesting and handy? Now is your time
A Colorado production company is developing a reality television program centered around a Minnesota couple that does lake home renovation and construction projects. Only one problem. They don’t have their couple yet. Maybe you know someone? “The ideal team will consist of a 25-45 year old, attractive and dynamic couple living in Minnesota who have…