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Photographs courtesy of Bradley Interiors

NORTH

PUBLISHER

Tracy Ramsay

EDITOR & ART DIRECTOR

Julie Ann Kubat

CREATIVE DIRECTION

Sheba Concept & Design | Lead

Julie Ann Kubat

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Sheba Concept & Design | Lead

Elaine Lahti

WRITERS

Alyssa Ford | Lead

Frank Bures

Stephanie Pearson

Amy Carlson | Copywriter and Copy Editor

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Laura Jean | Lead

Dan Jandl

ARTISTS

Adam Swanson

Mike Tester

NORTHhomeandlife.com | north@northhomeandlife.com | 218-390-6747

APEX | pgs 86-87

Belanger Inc. | pg 11

Bell Bank | pg 4

Bradley Interiors | pgs 6-7

Bruckelmyer Brothers | back cover

CF Design | LUMstudio | pgs 26-27

Duluth Poppins | pg 104

Duluth Stove & Fireplace, Finnleo | pg 36

Wheeler Associates | pg 74 Featuring the people, places, and experiences that

MARKETING PARTNERS

Duluth Stove & Fireplace, Mendota | pg 29

J3 Insurance | pg 5

Johnson Mertz | pg 9

Kitchee Gammi Design Co | pg 16

Kitchi Gammi Club | pg 64

Land Rover | pgs 2-3

Miners National Bank | pg 98

Northland Country Club | pg 13

Pier B Resort | pg 111

Rustic Inn Cafe | pg 109

Saline Landscape & Design | pg 28

ShipRock Management | pg 99

Tracy Ramsay + Partners | pg 88

A New Northern Light

DRIVING NORTH ON INTERSTATE 35, IT HAPPENS: the mood changes, the vibe shifts. One minute you’re in the land of combines and cornfields and the next you’re surrounded by conifers and the rising vista of a great inland sea. It’s a switch you can feel in your bones. This is the Midwest, certainly, but also someplace different—someplace wilder, more romantic and rugged.

I think it's fitting that this new magazine, called NORTH, should have its debut in midwinter. This is when our home is at its most elemental. Elnora Bixby, the beloved Lake of the Woods writer, called winter “dreaming time” in the North. Winter is when we hatch our big plans for spring and summer, when we fantasize about lazy summer days on the lake. It’s also when our landscape transforms into a vision of ethereal loveliness. Our great bard, Sig Olson, put it like this in 1976: “Winter has beauty in stillness when the skies are spangled with stars and the northern lights shimmer across the horizon.”

This magazine, like the first green after a long winter, has been my dreamed-about project for many months. At its core, NORTH is a real estate magazine, and I am a Realtor by trade. I’m delighted to bring you many pages of inspired architecture and emotive interior design.

But NORTH is much more than a pretty face on (recycled) paper. Northern Minnesota has brought beauty, creativity and community into my life and the lives of my children. I see NORTH as a way to give a little fraction of that back by elevating and celebrating our chosen home. For me, that means several very concrete things. Foremost, that means hiring the best essayists, journalists, artists and photographers to work on each issue. It also means being unafraid to explore and examine the ways our community may be struggling—and by approaching every challenge with an eye to solution and smart evolution. For instance: in this issue, we dig into the housing shortage in the North and profile two creative up-and-comers with fresh ideas on how to

solve it. We also investigate the media narrative that put Duluth at the center of the global discussion on climate-related migration. The headline on this one says it all: “Real or Not Real?”

I’ve also made a personal commitment to feature businesses and changemakers who are doing their own bit to solve the climate crisis. In this issue, you’ll meet the fascinating founder of Brother Justus Whiskey. Phil Steger is using an innovative infusion process, plus long-ago drained peat from Aitkin, Minnesota, to show the wider liquor industry that there’s a way to make authentic peated whiskey—without burning virgin bogland.

This magazine will never be afraid to ask the serious or hard questions, but we’re also not opposed to a little fun. I know you’ll love our off-beat tale about a black bear that broke into Greysolon Plaza in 1929. We’ve also teed up a great story about the Lido golf course in Wisconsin—and why golf nuts across the Midwest are completely geeking out about this grand revival from the sands of time.

Like any good Realtor, I offer this issue of NORTH with tasteful styling and earnest welcome. I can’t add in the smell of fresh-baked cookies (yet!), but please know that the sentiment is there.

With dreams of winter auroras, yours ever,

Tracy Ramsay Publisher, NORTH

PAINTING COURTESY OF ADAM SWANSON

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

WITH A LOVE FOR DULUTH AND A PASSION FOR CREATING , the production of NORTH has been a refreshing adventure. It has opened my eyes in a new way to see the beauty and strength in the people of this northern region and the overall surrounding. I do believe our NORTH is unlike any other part of the country. The culture found here is one of gratitude, kindness, tenacity and commitment. I am thrilled to celebrate the NORTH and look forward to the journey ahead.

Julie Ann Kubat Editor-in-Chief

ABOUT THE WRITERS

ALYSSA FORD

In her nearly 13-year career as a freelance journalist, she has written for 30-plus print and online publications including MSP Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, Star Tribune, Crain's, Experience Life, Artful Living, Utne Reader, and Mnopedia. Prior to launching her freelance business in 2009, she was an associate editor at Midwest Home magazine.

Alyssa holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree with Latin honors from the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. The "J-School" is the world’s first journalism school (first degrees awarded 1909) and is still one of the most renowned.

She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and college sweetheart, Chris, and their two rescue cats, Pojke and Ollie. She enjoys listening to history podcasts, watching documentaries and completely converting her lawn into a clover-and-wildflower paradise for pollinators. She volunteers with the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Roseville, Minnesota, and with Minneapolis’ anti-litter Adopt-a-Block program.

STEPHANIE PEARSON

Stephanie Pearson, a Duluth native, is a 2023 National Geographic Explorer, a contributing editor to Outside, and the author of “100 Great American Parks,” a beautifully illustrated collection of the nation’s most intriguing landscapes published by National Geographic. Pearson has received five Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation including the 2023 Gold Award for Travel Journalist of the Year. Her work has also been anthologized in the “The Best American Travel Writing” series.

FRANK BURES

Frank Bures is a writer based in Minneapolis. His work has appeared in Harper’s, Outside, The Atlantic and other places. He is the author of The Geography of Madness, which Newsweek called one of the best travel books of the decade, and the editor of Under Purple Skies: The Minneapolis Anthology. His work has been included in the Best American Travel Writing, and selected as “Notable” in the Best American Travel Writing, Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing. He grew up in Winona, attended St. Olaf College, and worked at YMCA Camp Olson in Longville, where he learned to love the north woods.

AMY CARLSON

Amy grew up in a small beach town in northern Michigan where she spent as much time outside as she could. After living in Ann Arbor, Vail, Chicago, St. Louis, and Iowa City, she and her husband finally escaped north to Duluth in 2003 where they could fully enjoy all the outdoor opportunities in the area.

A former high school English teacher, Amy is a freelance writer for local magazines and maintains a blog, www.amygraycarlson.blog, where she is fortunate to combine her love of writing with her love of the outdoors.

Amy spends her free time mountain and gravel biking, sailing, and paddling in the BWCA and Quetico. However, Amy is happiest while on skis of any kind and coaches a high school alpine ski team. She lives in Duluth with her husband, two children, and a Bernese mountain dog who likes winter even more than she does.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RADIANT PHOTOGRAPHY

CONTENTS

DWELL

18 | MOUNTAIN TIME

When a new family wanted to update a Swiss-revival rambler overlooking Lake Superior, they mixed old-school charm with modern style.

28 | HOME ON THE RANGE

They were looking for the perfect home. Instead, they decided to build it.

EXPERIENCE

38 | STAYING POWER

Millennial hotelier Annalisa Bermel unveils St. James Social, her latest hospitality venture.

44 | MINNESOTA DISTILLED

Phil Steger’s love of the state led him to create the first whiskey made purely from Minnesota’s land, water and woods.

50 | DAYS OF WINE AND ROAMING

Duluth couple leads tours of the inland French waterways in their beau bateau.

54 | HAPPY GLAMPERS

A night at North Shore Camping Company, the new glampground in Beaver Bay.

58 | LONG LIVE THE LIDO

Minnesota golf fans are losing their minds over an exact replica of the long-lost Lido Golf Course.

CULTURE

66 | A BEAR WALKS INTO A BAR

Once Duluth was overrun with bears.

68 | MULTIPLE THREADS

Cross-sensory abstract artist Kathy McTavish makes ‘weird’ sublimely cool.

70 | HOME GROWN

For at least one kid who grew up in Duluth, it was the best town in America long before Outside magazine proclaimed it to be.

UNITE

76 | REAL OR NOT REAL?

Is Duluth on the cusp of a population boom, or was it all a media fever dream?

80 | THROUGH THE ROOF

What’s to be done about the North’s extreme housing shortage?

82 | RACHEL JOHNSON

Rachel Johnson and the "pencil-out" fund.

84

| CHAD RONCHETTI

Chad Ronchetti and the 18-hour Downtown.

DWELL

Living in a physical place and/or location for a period of time and making it home.

MOUNTAIN

MOUNTAIN TIME

When a new family wanted to update a Swiss-revival rambler overlooking Lake Superior, they mixed old-school charm with modern style.

WRITTEN BY FRANK BURES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA JEAN MEDIA SERVICES

Design professional Paul Stankey was having a beer with a contractor to talk about a project they were working on: High on a ridge above Duluth, looking out over Lake Superior, was an alpine chalet-style home. It had been built in 1955 and never updated. Now the new owners wanted to gut it and add on. Construction was supposed to start in a month.

“The contractor made a quick little napkin sketch,” Stankey recalls. “It was just a rough idea of what the addition could look like. It was a five-line drawing: two roof planes, two walls and a ground plane. I said, ‘Well, that's a pretty good idea.’ And just I took it ran.”

The house was an odd one: The family who built it had lived in Austria, and wanted to retire in a chalet in the alps—in Duluth. Since it was the mid-twentieth century, the structure ended up being a ranch-style rambler as seen through the lens of a Swiss mountain house.

“The house had a long layout but an overwhelming Austrian-Swiss vibe,” says Stankey. Stankey really liked the mash-up: “I was amazed to see how easily the Swiss chalet vernacular blends with a mid-twentieth-century aesthetic.” Both schools have a kind of elegant restraint. Both favor low-slung profiles, deep overhangs, subtle detailing and a taste for richly grained wood. To give himself a jolt of inspiration, Stankey flipped through personal photos taken on past ski trips to the Alps. He also scoured architectural books for a deeper understanding of the Swiss chalet motif.

He lightly reworked the layout and added tender architectural moments throughout. For instance, he remade a defunct cottage fireplace into a contemporary hearth using all the original bricks. For the dining room ceiling, he added thick beams salvaged from an historic Duluth factory.

About a year after Stankey finished his work, the owners brought in interior designer Victoria Sass, principal at Prospect Refuge Studio in south Minneapolis. “They waited until we had a plan in place before they bought anything, which always yields the best results,” says Sass.

The White Room is the grandest space in the house, with its oversized footprint, 20-foot vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Superior. Sass was well aware that such a massive space could easily feel cold and uninviting. So she gave it dual purposes. The lakeside of the room is more adult-oriented; the gardenside is more relaxed and informal, a natural go-to area for the two teens in the house. Back-to-back Crate & Barrel sofas in a custom citron upholstery mark the dividing line. For the grown-up side, Sass reupholstered the family’s pre-existing chairs in a soft, white boucle fabric. Then she added jute rugs from Starck and coffee tables from Made Goods. The owner was happy to see his perfectly broken-in vintage Eames lounger get a place of honor near the austerely asymmetrical plaster fireplace.

The teen-centric gardenside of the room has poufs, a piano and board games galore. “We were careful to make sure every space has a distinct purpose because a space without a purpose never gets used,” says Sass.

For example, the den is used for arts & crafts, homework and watching TV. That space is outfitted with a pillowy sofa by Moroso, vintage rugs, a Saarinen table, Nakashima chairs, a Brendan Ravenhill pendant and a Rumford-style fireplace. It’s a space for the family as it is now. Says Sass: “You go from having small, sticky children to having more mature kids with different social structures. Teenagers want more ‘hangouts.’”

One of Sass’s favorite elements is in the dining room. “[The owner] pulled this old sign out of the garage and said, ‘Do you think we can do something with this?’ I was like: ‘absolutely!'” Turns out that the sign is an heirloom, a vintage advertisement for a restaurant once owned by the family. Sass complemented the sign with a Modo light fixture and Hans Wegner dining chairs.

Integrating past, present and future is part of what Sass loves about her job. “We all have many layers to ourselves, just like old houses. Our histories overlap with who we are today and who we aspire to be.”

“ I was amazed to see how easily the Swiss chalet vernacular blends with a mid-twenthieth century aesthetic.”

– PAUL STANKEY, DESIGN PROFESSIONAL

INFLUENCED by LIGHTING

INFLUENCED by LIGHTING

INFLUENCED by LIGHTING

All photos courtesy of LUMstudio

A | ARRAY suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain B | DJEMBE pendant by Marset Lighting, Spain C | PALMA suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain D | ILLAN suspension by LucePlan Lighting, Italy E | NOCTAMBULE pendant by Flos Lighting, Italy F | TROAG suspension by Foscarini Lighting, Italy G | GONG table lamp by Prandina Lighting, Italy H | TOP ceiling by Vibia Lighting, Spain I | PH5 pendant by Poulsen Lighting, Denmark J | KOINE pendant by LucePlan Lighting, Italy K | NOTTE pendant by Prandina Lighting, Italy | Visit lumstudio.us for more details.

photos courtesy of LUMstudio

A | ARRAY suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain B | DJEMBE pendant by Marset Lighting, Spain C | PALMA suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain D | ILLAN suspension by LucePlan Lighting, Italy E | NOCTAMBULE pendant by Flos Lighting, Italy F | TROAG suspension by Foscarini Lighting, Italy G | GONG table lamp by Prandina Lighting, Italy H | TOP ceiling by Vibia Lighting, Spain I | PH5 pendant by Poulsen Lighting, Denmark J | KOINE pendant by LucePlan Lighting, Italy K | NOTTE pendant by Prandina Lighting, Italy | Visit lumstudio.us for more details.

A | ARRAY suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain B | DJEMBE pendant by Marset Lighting, Spain C | PALMA suspension by Vibia Lighting, Spain D | ILLAN suspension by LucePlan Lighting, Italy E | NOCTAMBULE pendant by Flos Lighting, Italy F | TROAG suspension by Foscarini Lighting, Italy G | GONG table lamp by Prandina Lighting, Italy H | TOP ceiling by Vibia Lighting, Spain I | PH5 pendant by Poulsen Lighting, Denmark J | KOINE pendant by LucePlan Lighting, Italy K | NOTTE pendant by Prandina Lighting, Italy | Visit lumstudio.us for more details.

Life Illuminated

A JOURNEY TO EXPLORE THE CURIOSITIES OF LIGHTING.

The things we covet and collect carry weight. The items we choose to own and pass to the next generation speak about us. They are personal and embody respect for the imagination of the designer and the maker, no matter their native home. This kind of cultural transference is essential to the longevity and continuity of our country’s identity.

America’s fledgling lineage allows little space and time for the development of an American Culture of Design. We recognize that great design includes the deeply rooted American furniture industry, but beyond the furnishings in the MillerKnoll collective, we have learned the most about our own senses of sight, sound, and taste from European precedents. Regarding lighting, all we really know comes from experiencing the performance of light fixtures first designed in Europe, specifically Denmark.

LUMstudio is an invitation to understand the precedent and process of lighting design, so that we, as Americans, can tell the story of the Danish beginning of reflected illumination with our curated, international selections. We make the story an extension of our own lives.

LUMstudio is open to the public, to be visited on your own terms. No salesperson will try to sell you anything. We are here to entertain your curiosities and to help you find lighting that speaks to you and your lifestyle. We will help procure your choices. Take your time. Have a seat in furnishings you may have never seen or experienced. Observe. Interact. Consider making great lighting an heirloom. Seek a worldly Culture of Design in your life. Your grandchildren and their children will know you by your informed choices and be grateful.

photography by Andrea Rugg

by

photography

Asher James Carlson

on the

HOME RANGE

They were looking for the perfect home. Instead, they decided to build it.

WRITTEN BY FRANK BURES | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA JEAN MEDIA SERVICES

RANGE

“One of the our biggest challenges, from a design standpoint, was how not to screw up an otherwise great lot.”

– AL HODNIK, HOMEOWER

Al and Erika Hodnik were looking for a place to settle. They already knew the place: Grand Rapids, Minnesota, a town where they had spent time while Al was CEO of ALLETE, a power company based in northern Minnesota.

“It always felt like a very cohesive community,” says Erika, “and we have a kind of built-in friendship pool there.”

The couple had their eye on Pokegama Lake, a sprawling, 22-milelong body of water connected to the Mississippi River, which sits outside of the city.

“It's a super clear lake,” says Al. “And it's an interesting lake to fish. It's got a lot of nooks and crannies and uniqueness, rather than just, you know, a big dish in the middle of the woods somewhere.”

At first, the couple tried to find an existing home they could move into. But the more they looked, the more it became clear the house they wanted wasn’t out there. Some were beautiful, but not to their taste. Others were cobbled together. Nothing seemed quite right.

“I felt like Goldilocks,” says Erika. “I told Al, ‘why don’t we just build an age-in-place home?’”

Not long before that, the couple had visited friends in Florida. Their house was modern but also warm; open, but not cavernous. It flowed elegantly. And it was all on one level.

As soon as Erika walked in to the home, she said, “I love this place!” and turned to their friend and asked: “‘Can I have your floor plans?’ He said, ‘Absolutely.’”

Now that they’d decided to build, they needed a place. Rumor had it that there were no empty lots left on Pokegama Lake. But Erika told their realtor to keep looking. Sure enough, they found what must have been one of the last lots on the lake.

“It was a completely virgin lot,” say Al. “It was really beautiful. And

one of the our biggest challenges, from a design standpoint, was how not to screw up an otherwise great lot. We spent a lot of time droning the property, understanding its undulations and shape, and using technology to figure out where to put things and how not to take down too many big trees.”

The Hodniks hired Duluth-based Bruckelmyer Brothers to bring their vision to reality. The hip-roofed Florida house they hoped to emulate was roughly H-shaped, but the lot demanded some tweaking. Project manager Jake Elder and Grand Rapids-based Schwartz Excavating were able to reorient the house and nestle it within a topographic depression. As a consequence, the house almost disappears from view from certain vantages.

Erika was particularly delighted to get daily updates and photos from Bruckelmyer Brothers via a special app. On one occasion, the team sent Erika a photo of Jake’s son and right-hand-man, Bryce, jumping out of a hole at the construction site while doing an enthusiastic plié. “We thought that was hysterical,” says Erika. “[Bruckelmyer Brothers] couldn’t have been more friendly or more responsive.”

Tamara Zakovich, a Duluth-based interior designer, helped Erika select the furniture and finishes, including several pieces from Restoration Hardware and Room & Board. Erika particularly loves the spa room that opens up to a lanai and bocce court, with landscape design work by Bloomers Landscaping in Grand Rapids. There are many cherished spaces, including Al’s office with its desk made of reclaimed wine barrels, or the formal chef’s kitchen with custom cabinetry made right in Duluth. Zakovich put an emphasis on mineral-y details, to reflect the couple’s long history on the Iron Range.

But Erika’s favorite view is in guest bedroom, looking out on a red pine where a pair of golden eagles have secured a nest. “I thought all the construction noise and mayhem would scare them away from their nest,” says Erika, “but just the other day, I saw the mom eagle bringing in a massive branch and I thought, ‘Good—we’re both home now.’”

EXPERIENCE

Encountering an event or feeling that is meaningful and memorable.

STAYING POWER

Millennial hotelier Annalisa Bermel unveils St. James Social, her latest hospitality venture.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JON KREYE PHOTO

POWER

It was 20-below zero outside when Annalisa Bermel and husband Cody first toured the square Italianate building on Rittenhouse Avenue, Bayfield’s main drag.

“The building was boarded up, and it didn’t have heat, so we were wearing our ice-fishing clothes, and Cody was saying really practical and sober things to try and tamp down my excitement,” remembers Bermel. “He kept saying, ‘Now the numbers have to work or we really can’t do this.’”

Then they went inside and Cody saw the high ceiling made of thick, hand-hewn lumber. His eyes got wide and he said with astonishment, “Damn, she’s got good bones.” That was all Bermel needed to hear.

“I started hopping up and down and saying, “This is it! This is it!’” she says.

Over the decades, that old Italianate had been an apartment building and (most recently) a vegan-friendly restaurant called The Fat Radish. But it was opened in 1884 as the St. James Hotel, and Bermel envisioned a return to its building’s raison d’etre. To make the numbers work, Bermel assembled a dizzying array of grants and tax credits for historic preservation, energy efficiency and rural develop-

ment. She wooed a constellation of financial backers including Bremer Bank, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, the Entrepreneur Fund and PACE Wisconsin. She says there’s no way she could have pulled off the $4.1 million rehabilitation without Minneapolis-based Greiner Construction.

“Typically a project of this magnitude would take three years in a rural area,” says Bermel, who previously worked to develop the Hewing Hotel in Minneapolis and the Wild Rice Retreat in Bayfield. “Start to finish, it was ten months of planning plus twelve months of construction, which is really incredible.”

The hotel opened for guests in July 2023, and the lobby/lounge opened last November. Even before the lobby had so much as a single chair, Bermel’s new project earned positive mentions in both Conde Nast Traveler and Midwest Living

The guest rooms are veritable monuments to the Millennial mindset. Bermel is 39 years old after all, with an unrelenting Pinterest addiction. Each room has its own Bluetooth-enabled record player by LP & No. 1 and a small selection of records. (My room offered LPs from Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells, and a live recording of Bobby Rydell at the

Copa.) The retro-look turntable sits on a fluted-wood West Elm bookshelf. Glass water carafes sit near the latest issue of Kinfolk magazine, dubbed by Vanity Fair as the quintessential magazine of the “Millennial Aesthetic.”

Nearby, a brass bistro table holds both a leather-bound report on the acquisitions of the Wisconsin Historical Society and a slim paperback volume of the Book of James, flourished with gold-ink illustrations by Brooklyn graphic designer Dana Tanamachi. (This is Bermel’s hat tip to the name of her hotel and the Gideon-placed Bibles found in millions of lonely motel room drawers.)

Bermel created the interiors with her aunt, Pamela Cariveau, principal at Coco Perry Design in Minneapolis. To anchor each room, they chose the “Mia” by Arteriors, a dramatic pendant with nearly 100 strips of beige cotton banding curved around a cylindrical lantern–think magnetic field shape, but with a Danish sensibility.

For the bed, Bermel and Cariveau chose the “Mathilde” from Anthropologie, made with Shaker-style spindles and a Hans Wegner-esque “Wishbone” line. The bathroom has a back-lit brass mirror, knurled brass Brizo hardware and large-scale Carrera marble tile. The cleansers are by Grown Alchemist, a cruelty-free bodycare line owned by L’Occitane. The bedding, robes and towels are by Parachute, based in Venice, California.

Down on the first floor, the lobby has zoned areas meant to serve soirees and serious chats in equal measure. To the left is the substantial honed quartz bar with its brass kickplate and arched, antique mirrors. This is Bermel’s “Bubble Bar” with its heavy focus on Champagne and other effervescents. (There’s also a mocktail list and several N/A craft beers for the abstainers.) An on-site commercial kitchen churns out wood-fired pizza, charcuterie platters and fancy hot sandwiches.

At the back, there’s a plush banquette overhung with original paintings from Bayfield’s Bell Street Gallery. To the left of the raw steel entry vestibule–designed and welded by Cody Bermel–is the vinyl record lounge. This is where Bermel plans to host Bring-Your-Own-Vinyl nights and DJ’ed events in partnership with Bayfield’s Honest Dog Books. (Charly Ray, co-owner of this local indie bookshop, is a huge LP audiophile.) There’s also a curated hotel convenience shop, Field Day, stocked with co-op snacks and personal care items from Bayfield’s Good Flower Farm.

Like the true Millennial she is, Bermel loves mixing old with new, raw steel with retrofitted antique. In one lobby nook, a black ostrich feather chandelier hangs from Manifest Destiny-era lumber. The lobby floor is made of reclaimed wood sourced from all over Wisconsin. Overhead are the thick sawmilled beams that first sold her husband on this rehab dream. A few beams even have ferocious-looking burn marks.

Bermel’s overall vision is that the St. James Social should be genuinely that: social. “I think there’s a sense in Bayfield that the people here are only around to serve the tourists, and this isn’t really their town at all,” says Bermel. “So I’m really enamored with this idea that St. James Social can be a place of real connection. Not just for the tourists, but for everybody.”

MINNESOTA DISTILLED

Phil Steger’s love of the state led him to create the first whiskey made purely from Minnesota’s land, water and woods.

WRITTEN BY FRANK BURES | PHOTOGRAPHY

BY THE RESTAURANT PROJECT

On weekends in the early 1990s, Phil Steger would drive his truck to Duluth, park it, then stand on the road with his thumb out along Lake Superior.

“Hitchhiking was my escape,” he says. “I would crawl up on the side of the road, pitch my tent in the underbrush, then go back and hitchhike. It was a way to meet people I would never meet, and to just walk the shore.”

After his sophomore year of college, Steger took a year off school and hitched all the way to Grand Marais. Since it was fall, a local outfitter let him stay in one of their off-grid cabins, as long as he maintained the ski trails. The owner would drop off supplies now and then.

“I would walk these trails,” Steger recalls, “and come to these areas of grass that looked like a meadow. But I would step in and start going down. Then I realized: ‘Oh, this is a bog!’ That's how I discovered how much bogland Minnesota has.”

Steger actually grew up on the state’s southwestern plains in the town of Marshall. His family lived in the last house within the city limits. After their lawn, it was just alfalfa, corn and soybeans.

But in his senior year of high school, Steger left those plains for northern England as an exchange student. He lived in a village called Whitworth, on the edge of the West Pennine Moors, where he encountered his first vast boglands.

“It was this incredibly cool, gloomy, atmospheric landscape,” he recalls. “A very desolate place.” Whenever he went hiking there, his host family would warn him not to stray from the path because people sometimes disappeared in the moors.

Historically some of the peat—the dense layer of undecayed plant matter found in bogs—was burned in the process of making whiskey. Peat smoke is what gives “peated” whiskey its rich, earthy flavor.

When Steger came home and lived in the woods outside Grand Marais, it dawned on him that Minnesota has about the same amount of peatland as the whole of the United Kingdom, according to The Nature Conservancy and the UK Office of National Statistics. In fact, Minnesota has more than any U.S. state besides Alaska.

“There are six million acres of bogland in Minnesota,” Steger says. “That’s more than Scotland. More than Ireland. This could be called the Republic of Peatlandia instead of Minnesota.”

Eventually, Steger went back to school and got his theology degree at St. John’s University. After that, he worked a variety of jobs: managing a communal home for unhoused people, importing humanitarian aid to Iraq and working as the director of Friends for a Non-Violent World. Then in 2007, a rare opportunity presented itself: He was hired by the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library in Collegeville to photograph ancient manuscripts of remnant Christian communities across the Middle East. These were under threat from the instability caused by the Iraq War. For two years he traveled widely, taking photos of sacred texts.

“It was the coolest, most meaningful job ever,” Steger says, “but I knew it would end. So I tried to think ‘What am I going to do after this?’”

Working with 800-year-old texts started him thinking about things like community and identity and connection. Those books had survived wars, floods, fires and much more. For Steger, they became a touchstone for thinking about how to take simple things—animal skins, crushed plants, crushed minerals—and make them into a piece of culture, alive with meaning.

“I knew I could never create something that important,” Steger says, “but I wanted to put my energies into something that could hold a

connection to land and community and history.”

Such were the thoughts rolling through his mind in 2007, when he took a tour of the Jim Beam factory in Kentucky. The guide talked about how the whiskey was made: where the water, barley and oak barrels come from.

Steger thought: Minnesota has plenty of water, oak for barrels, and barley.

“Why,” he wondered, “don't we already have a world-class whiskey?”

And there’s peat galore.

“Minnesota has peat that Kentucky doesn’t have,” he says, “that Tennessee doesn’t have, that Texas doesn’t have. It’s this unique place where the continents and landscapes and the bioregions meet. And I thought we could—through whiskey—create a microcosm of what it means to live here.”

In 2011, the “Surly Bill” was passed by the Minnesota legislature, and it suddenly became feasible to start a “micro-distillery.” By then, Steger had been studying the whiskey-making process, the industry, and the regulations for several years. He also went to law school and earned his degree in 2013. That same year, he made the first tentative steps toward what would become Brother Justus Whiskey. He named his fledgling business after a Benedictine monk in central Minnesota who, in the 1920s under Prohibition, taught people how to make moonshine safely so they wouldn’t kill their neighbors.

Steger was keenly aware of how precious peatlands are to the health of the environment. The plants in them don’t decompose, so they store huge amounts of carbon. While peat has long been a coveted source of fuel, burning it—as conventional whiskey makers do—releases all that carbon back into the atmosphere. One estimate holds that 5 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are caused by degraded or burned peatlands. However, a 2022 study published in the journal Frontiers in Climate argues that figure might be underestimating the real impact by 200 to 300 percent because of the growing phenomenon of peatland wildfires in Canada and elsewhere.

So while Steger loved the tradition and the taste of peated whiskey, he knew he couldn’t burn Minnesota’s peat.

“I didn’t think I had a right to dig it out, set it on fire, and turn all those 8,000 years of carbon back into atmospheric carbon. So we had to invent something else.”

Steger started writing to Minnesota peat producers asking for samples. Much of it was too rooty, or with plant structures that made it hard to use with whiskey, unless you like drinking mud.

But one company, American Peat Technology in Aitkin, had developed a product that comes out like coffee grounds with a rich, smooth, earthy aroma. APT uses peat from wetlands that were drained around 1900 to create farmland. The peat they harvest from the ground has roughly 84 percent moisture content. To bring the moisture content down to 10 to 14 percent, APT dries the peat in a furnace heated with wood chips. The company sells most of its dried peat to farmers as a soil additive, or to wastewater facilities.

When Steger got the APT sample, he knew it was a breakthrough.

“This is it,” he thought, “we can do something like this.”

For several years, Steger experimented with different ways to infuse his whiskey with the peat—in tea bags, or loose grounds, or by cold pressing. But one morning in 2019, Steger woke up with a strange feeling. He turned to his wife.

“I have to go to the bog today,” he said.

“What?” she asked.

“I have to meet face to face with Doug [Green] and Peggy [Jones, at American Peat Technology]. And I have to do it today.”

“Why?” she asked.

“They need to know what we're doing,” he said, “because I need more time to get there.”

Steger emailed Doug and Peggy, and asked if they could meet at 1pm.

They said, “Sure.” So he drove to Aitkin.

He said: “I think your peat product could be to whiskey what hops was to craft beer. And I think cold-peated whiskey could be what IPA was to craft brewing. And we solve a major environmental problem with traditional peated whiskey.”

Then he said, “Here, taste it.”

The whiskey was earthy and full, with hints of dark chocolate. There was a sweet edge like caramel, as well as a hint of sea salt. It tasted rich like the soil, but smooth like a river. And at the very end was an unusual tingle on the tongue.

Steger went on to explain how he was going to build the market. He said he needed five years.

Peggy looked at Doug.

Doug said, “You got it. As of today, we’re exclusive for five years.”

“Great,” said Peggy, “now I know how to answer that email.”

The email had come that morning from Diageo, the alcohol giant that owns Johnny Walker, Seagram’s and Crown Royal, among many other global brands. They’d asked for a sample of APT peat. After the meeting, Peggy wrote back and told them no.

Since then Brother Justus has grown. The company moved into its second distillery in Northeast Minneapolis, complete with a cavernous

tasting room. Steger’s team figured out how to run whiskey through the APT peat using an active, steady flow cold-press. They call it the “Aitkin County Process” and they have patents pending in several countries. They sold their first bottle of Cold-Peated American Single Malt in 2020.

In 2023, the prizes really started rolling in: a Platinum Medal at the 2023 ASCOT Awards; a Gold Medal at the North American Bourbon & Whiskey Competition; a Gold Medal at the Craft Competition International Awards and more. The list of awards, at the time of this writing, is 20-some deep.

Currently, Brother Justus has 46,000 gallons of whiskey aging in oak barrels that are crafted in Avon, Minnesota. Once ready, the aged whiskey will be cold-pressed with 8,000 years of Minnesota’s botanical heritage. Once the peat has done its job, some of it is made into a highend soap for sale in the Brother Justus gift shop. But most of it is composted back into the soil.

“My hope,” says Steger, “is that if we can connect people to where our food comes from, and where our whiskey comes from, we'll care about it and take care of it. That’s why I feel so much passion about this: because I love this land, and I want it to be here for 8,000 more years.”

DAYS OF WINE

WINE ROAMING and

Duluth couple leads tours of the inland French waterways in their beau bateau.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD

Dave Devere used to think that traveling and vacationing were two separate things.

Traveling, in his mind, was about exploration, about reaching outside of one’s self to take in the world. Vacationing, in contrast, was about whiling away the hours in relaxation, maybe with an umbrella-festooned drink at the ready.

That was before he discovered canal boating in France. Suddenly, the two concepts seemed to merge in a way that he hadn’t known was possible. “You’re traveling on a boat that’s moving at the speed of walking, and you’re noticing all the little farms, the flowers, the change in the seasons,” says Devere, a Duluthian for nearly 30 years. “When you’re ready to explore a little town along the way, you just tie up your boat and you do that. Or if you want to just spend the whole day relaxing, you can do that, too. It’s traveling and vacationing in any combination you want.”

Devere and his life partner, Sara Duke, have led more than 20 guided canal boat tours in France since 2009. But last year they took the big step of buying their own canal boat, christened by the previous owner as Relax Companion. Now, they guide two trips in the spring and two trips in the fall, up to four guests per trip. They charge $2,900 per person for the 7-day, 8-night trip, not including airfare to Paris.

Canal boats in France move through more than 5,300 miles of connected waterways, both natural and constructed. Along the way, there are locks and dams to ferry boats across the hills that separate the various river basins, and in these moments the guests on the boat become crew, helping to sight distance and manage the lines.

“It’s an absolutely incredible experience, traveling with Dave and Sara,” says Duluth interior designer Val Kennedy who joined them on a 2023 excursion to Alsace, the scenic northeastern region of France with deep Germanic ties. Kennedy says she was particularly taken with Strasbourg and also the village of Sauverne, where they purchased local wine and fresh baguettes at a local boulangerie. “In the evenings, we would eat local cheese and then go to bed in our little berths with the sounds of water lapping against the side of the boat.”

On their French voyages, Devere does all the boat-driving and navigating; Duke does the cooking. They bring with them their globally-minded worldview and extra talents. Duke is trained in therapeutic yoga and somatics (movement therapy). When the sun is gentle in the sky, she’ll bring out the yoga mats and lead her travel charges through some breath work and gentle movement.

Devere is a wine expert, certified through the Washington, D.C.based nonprofit Society of Wine Educators. He’s also a European history buff and will gladly share what he knows.

“On one trip, I briefly mentioned Eleanor of Aquitaine and Dave gave us a fascinating 20-minute lesson about her life in France,” says Doris Mehlberg, a Duluthian who has taken three separate trips with Duke and Devere. “They are both such interesting people and add so much richness to every trip.”

Duke says one of her favorite things about canal boating in France is stopping along the way to picnic in the countryside.

“Inevitably whenever we picnic by the canals, some French motorist will come by and honk and wave excitedly at us out their car window,” says Duke. “French people seem to absolutely love it. It’s like the most French thing you can do: take time to really enjoy your life.”

PHOTO BY STEVE DEVERE

HAPPY

GLAMPERS

A night at North Shore Camping Company, the new glampground in Beaver Bay. WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF NORTH

SHORE CAMPING CO.

It’s the fire starter pods that really do me in. They're made of pine wood shavings and food-grade soy wax and each one is nestled individually in a paper condiment cup. It’s absolutely darling, a glamping amenity straight from the Gods of Instagram. And useful, too. After a few novice tries, my guy gets a nice blaze going in our campsite’s Breeo X Series 24 smokeless fire pit. We sit in the red Loll Designs adirondack chairs around our fire and I ask my husband: “Is it kind of wrong for camping to feel adorable?”

We’re at North Shore Camping Company, a new glamping resort in Beaver Bay, and everything is achingly cute. Inside our “Kung Tält” (two-person glamping tent) the French press sits on a compact rolling cart with neatly labeled black canisters. The little metal bistro table has a cribbage board in the shape of Minnesota. The propane pot-bellied stove has a distinctly Nordic shape and there are plenty of hooks for hanging our glampground-supplied rechargeable LED forest lanterns.

The origin story goes back to the 2010s when “fancy camping” was just becoming a thing. Jamie Tatge, a 48-year-old hospitality entrepreneur from Baxter, was at the muni bar in Beaver Bay, knocking back a cold one when he sketched a little tent village on a cocktail napkin. He concluded that the North Shore might actually be the perfect spot for his venture. But not for just a single yurt or geodesic dome or “glamping pod,” but for a real, honest-to-God glamping resort, with dog-friendly amenities, guided nature walks, and craft brew happy hours. Maybe even a private, next-level mountain biking trail. The resort has 15 tent sites

up and running. (Yes, even during the winter.) Fifteen more sites being built at present, and another nineteen sites slated for construction in 2025-2026.

Tatge bought 113 acres from Steve and Marcia Hillestad, the owners of Cove Point Lodge. He added in neighboring parcels for a total of 193 acres of forested wilderness. The purchase included a run-down residence/boarding house, which is now the Scandinavian-inspired Base Lodge, complete with tiled showers, toilets, towels and a camp store.

Locals told Tatge and his team that in the 1960s and 1970s, the structure was used by miners who paid a small fee to sleep in rotating shifts. “A miner would sleep for 8 hours, they’d change the sheets and then another miner would sleep in the bed for 8 hours,” says Williams, an Iron Range native. More than one contractor told Tatge to tear the place down and start from scratch. But Tatge wouldn’t hear of it. “It’s that kind of history that makes a place special,” he says.

After a quick round of Farkle next to the slate-cladded fireplace, my husband and I walk back to our glampsite loaded down with bags of chips and cans of Berry Basil “Trail Magic” seltzer, infused with cannabis. The next morning, I throw back the charcoal-and-white Eddie Bauer cotton quilt and wake up refreshed and hangover-free. I pull out the two-burner camp stove and skillet. I’m almost ready to scramble some cage-free eggs, when my amour has another idea. All the Scandinavian signage and decor has him hungry for Swedish pancakes. Thankfully, The Vanilla Bean in Two Harbors is a quick, scenic drive away. And so we’re off.

LONG LIVE

Minnesota golf fans are losing their minds over an exact replica of the long-lost Lido Golf Course.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF SAND VALLEY

the LIDO

“ It was like the ghost of The Lido was trying to come back.”

– WADE KUBAT, GOLF AFICIONADO

For Midwestern golfers and golfhistory aficionados, it’s pretty much the biggest, most exciting thing that’s ever happened. Golf developers and brothers Michael and Chris Keiser have built an exact replica of The Lido Golf Course, opened in 1917 on Long Island, New York and then bulldozed to parade-ground flatness in 1942.

In early November 2023, the new (vintage) course was ranked number 68 in the world, despite the fact that it’s not yet officially open and the greens haven’t fully grown in. In late 2022, Golf Digest writer Derek Duncan declared the replica Lido course “most like St. Andrews—in the U.S. and perhaps the world.”

Starting in April 2024, The Lido will be open for play for people who stay at the “on property” resort, so it’s not so exclusive that mere mortals are shut out of the experience. Oh, and the whole thing is a scenic, 4-hour drive from Duluth.

“I’m pretty much counting the days,” says Wade Kubat, a native of Austin, Minnesota and a golfer since age 5. Kubat has an upcoming reservation to play The Lido during its first open weekend this spring. “I’m expecting it to be a top-five golfing experience for me in my lifetime,” he says, despite the fact that the weather in Rome, Wisconsin will likely be cloudy and in the low-40s.

Duluth native Rick Shefchik is among those who see The Lido replica as a perfect culmination of his twin passions: golf and history. “People who like this stuff are pretty much ecstatic,” he says. Shefchik

has a close friend who is a member of The Lido. As such, he had the rare opportunity to play the course last fall but a sudden health issue kept him away from his planned golfing rendezvous. It’s a continued source of pained regret for him. Still, he did get to walk the grounds in 2021 and write an article about the (new) Lido for the Minnesota Golf Association’s member magazine.

But it’s Mark Mammal, historian at the White Bear Yacht Club, who can claim the most brag-worthy story. He was part of the first outside group to play the full, 18-hole Lido course last September. And he got to play the course with Peter Flory, the Chicago bank consultantturned-golf-folk-hero who made The Lido revival possible.

“It was quite a thing,” says Mammal, with characteristic Midwestern humility. Mammal is so into golf history that he’s been known to play the game with hickory-wood clubs and wear golf knickers, long socks and neckties when he goes out for a round against “old man par.”

“A

PERFECT STORM”

It’s been more than 80 years since the U.S. Navy bulldozed the original Lido to build a training ground for the World War II effort. Over the decades, the course gained a kind of cult status among amateur golf-historians–a kind of lost city of Atlantis for the fairway set. Bandon Dunes developer Mike Keiser always told his sons, Chris and Michael, that if he could bring one course back from the sands of time, it would be The Lido.

So when the brothers Keiser read on the website golfclubatlas.com that there was a golf nut in Chicago who had completely reconstruct-

ed The Lido with 3D simulation software, they pounced immediately. That Type-A aficionado turned out to be Peter Flory, who had used his Covid-19 slowdown at work to build an exacting sim of the destroyed Long Island course. His goal wasn’t to bring the course back. He just wanted to play it with his basement golf simulator.

Unbeknownst to the Keisers–but very much known to Flory–was this historical fact: before The Lido was flattened in ‘42, the turf guardian, Charley Mayo, carefully measured every mound, swale, green and bunker across the entire 115-acre course.

The Keisers had key information, too. Namely the fact that there are now specialty computer-driven bulldozers that can shape earth to within a single millimeter. The Keisers had the money and will and technology. Flory had the research.

“It was the perfect storm,” says Kubat. “It was like the ghost of The Lido was trying to come back.”

“HARD,

BUT NOT MASOCHISTIC”

So what’s the new (old) Lido like to play?

Mammal, an 18 handicap, says he shot a 96 on his first try and immediately wanted to try again.

He explained: “There are some championship courses–like Hazeltine–that are just punishing. You play them, you come away completely battered and you go, ‘okay, I did that. Check.’”

Playing The Lido was different, he says. “It was hard, but not masochistic.”

Interestingly, the original Lido in Long Island was much too hard for the weekend golfer–one likely reason the club hemorrhaged members throughout the decades prior to World War II. But with modern golf equipment, Mammal says the course finally fits its era.

Charlie Mahar, of Minneapolis, a 10 handicap, agrees with Mammal that the course offers “a high degree of difficulty.”

But what struck him the most was the intricate design.

“There’s this modern idea that you should be able to stand on the tee box and understand a hole right away,” says Mahar. “But on The Lido, you have to play each hole several times to really understand the nuance and the character of it. The course reveals itself slowly. It’s not meant to be instantly digested.”

Plus, says Mahar, the course works like a Choose-Your-OwnAdventure story. “You can play each hole multiple ways; it’s set up so that you can gauge how much risk and reward you want to wager. It’s incredibly unique.”

Appropriately enough, the 60-person group from Minnesota played match-style, where players try to beat the score of their opponents rather than playing against par. That’s how course architect Charles Blair MacDonald intended the course to be played. The group came dressed for the occasion, too. Mahar wore blue-and-white tartan knickers as an homage to the Scottish flag. Flory played only with hickory-wood clubs, but Mahar played with modern clubs. “I’m not a crack player like Flory,” says Mahar. “I need all the help I can get.”

The Lido also requires that players use the services of their approved caddies and won’t even sell yardage books to non-caddies. After playing the course, this makes perfect sense to Mammal.

“I think without a caddie you’d be completely lost,” says Mammal. “They’d find you at the beginning of the next season still trying to find your way to the next tee.”

Of course purists are quick to point out the new Lido has one glaring defect–no ocean. At the original course in Long Island, there was a constant rollicking cross-course wind from the ocean. Not to mention fantastic views of the steel-gray waves and fishing boats coming up the channel.

To that, Kubat says, “It’s not a true links course, that’s true. But I think we’re all so excited to have The Lido back we’re willing to overlook it.”

CULTURE

Increasing the artistic or historic interest of something.

A BEAR WALKS INTO A BAR

Once Duluth was overrun with bears.

WRITTEN BY FRANK BURES | ILLUSTRATION BY MIKE TESTER

Urban wildlife is a growing issue across the country, as humans push further into the wilderness, and as animals realize there’s good food to be had in those dumpsters. Deer regularly roam through our backyards (and gardens), while the foxes on Park Point have become disturbingly tame. But none of what’s happening now compares to Duluth’s great bear invasion of 1929.

Early one Sunday morning in late August of that year, a truck driver named Arvid Peterson was motoring into town with a load of fresh fish. Around the intersection of London Road and 26th Avenue, he noticed a black bear running behind him. It had caught wind of his cargo, and was in pursuit.

The bear followed Peterson for two miles—not quite Grandma’s marathon, but not bad for a 350-pound bear. When Peterson turned up Third Street, however, the bear kept going west on Superior, until he came to the Hotel Duluth (now Greysolon Plaza). Once there, he must have smelled something really good inside. He stopped, stood on his hind legs and swung a paw at the 15-foot plate glass window. The glass shattered, and he crawled into the coffee shop, which, at 5:55 a.m, was not even open.

According to a report in the Duluth News Tribune, then “a happy, half-intoxicated reveler” on the street found a hammer, crawled through the window after the animal and was “rushing about the shop, striking wildly at the bear.”

Meanwhile, Albert Nelson, the night watchman, had been catching some shuteye when he was woken up by the sound of the breaking glass. At first, he thought a car had crashed into the building. But when he came to see what had happened, he found the bear inside the coffee shop. It was knocking over tables, running along the top of the short order counter, and trying to get up the stairs to the kitchen. Heroically, Nelson hurried to take up a position at the top of the

stairs. The bear started his ascent, and was about half-way up when Nelson threw a chair down, knocking the bear back to the floor. Not to be deterred, the bear crossed the room to another set of stairs and started to climb those. But Nelson was there with another flying chair. The bear was stopped again.

By now, in addition to a crowd of spectators, who watched from the lobby and the windows of the café, the police had arrived. This was the third bear call they’d had that week. The previous Wednesday, a 250-pound bear had been shot in the East End after climbing on someone’s porch. On Thursday, another bear was killed at Four Corners on Miller Trunk highway. Later that Sunday, after the Hotel Duluth incident, another bear would be shot in Lakewood.

Experts quoted in the paper (meaning the local zookeeper) said it was because of the dry summer and the failure of the wild berry crop. But he also noted that black bears are usually not dangerous.

Sergeant Eli LeBeau, for one, didn’t want the killing of another bear. But when he and the others tried to corner this one in the coffee shop to return it to the wild, it reared and its “temper flared up in earnest,” according the paper.

LeBeau raised his rifle, fired, and it fell dead on the floor.

Afterward, the Duluth Herald ran a story the read: “Bear Shooting is New Indoor Sport in Duluth,” while the Duluth News Tribune reported that the hotel had received an application for the job of “Bear Watcher,” because (the applicant said), “lots of people don’t feel like paying 25 cents for a meal and then have some bear take it away from him.”

The coffee shop invasion lasted just 15 minutes. But the bear’s tenure in Duluth’s restaurants has lasted much longer. For many years, the bruin—taxidermied with a snarl—was on display in the Black Bear lounge bar at the Hotel Duluth. Now his home is in the main dining room of Grandma’s Saloon & Grill in Canal Park.

Nearly a hundred years after his ill-fated attempt to get breakfast, the poor bear is still waiting for his food to arrive. But at least the other diners’ meals are safe.

MULTIPLE THREADS

Cross-sensory abstract artist Kathy

McTavish makes ‘weird’ sublimely cool.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PORTRAIT BY MAGIC BOX PHOTOGRAPHY (DULUTH, MN)

When Kathy McTavish was 17 years old, she suddenly quit the cello and dropped out of high school. She had been a serious striver, someone who practiced up to eight hours a day. She had been accepted into an illustrious conservatory in New York, the Manhattan School of Music. But suddenly, four months before graduation, she was done, finished, flamed out.

“I was just exhausted,” McTavish says. “And I was completely overwhelmed by the idea of studying music in New York. How would I live there? How would I pay for it?”

Instead of becoming a professional cellist, McTavish took a job pouring coffee at Modern Times Cafe in Minneapolis. Later she worked as a roofer, an electrician and then a sign language interpreter. She got her undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She did computer-based ecology research. She taught herself more than a dozen programming languages: Java, SQL, XML, XSLT, HTML, CSS and Javascript, among others. She lived in a couple of off-grid cabins near the Iron Range and powered her computer with solar panels.

Then, more than 25 years after she had broken up with her cello, McTavish started getting heat from her circle of friends. One friend threatened to come over to her house and pull the cello out of the closet if she didn’t. McTavish folded to the peer pressure. She found her cello and opened the case. She touched the scroll, the neck, the strings, the tuning pegs. “It was extremely emotional,” McTavish says of reconnecting with her long-abandoned instrument.

It was also a turning point, says her friend Val Stoehr, of Afton, who has known McTavish since the early 1980s. “I think finding her cello again was the missing piece. That was the thing she needed to become the artist she’s always been.”

After reuniting with her cello in 2003, McTavish started playing in bars and coffeehouses around Duluth. She provided a beatnik soundtrack for local poets, too, which is how she met her future wife, esteemed Duluth poet Sheila Packa. Then, around 2010, she had an inkling of an idea. She wrote an adaptive software program and then plucked a single cello string. Her computer responded to the rumbly sound with a series of fluid-moving abstract shapes. “It was a revelation,” says McTavish. “It was like I was having a conversation with my computer via sound.” McTavish began to experiment with different kinds of sounds: bells, reeds, spoons scraping on china cups, voices. For as long as she could remember, McTavish had been fascinated by patterns: electrical currents, computer language, musical scores, sound waves. Now she had a mode of expression that spoke to the underlying patterns she saw all around.

In 2012, when she was 50 years old, McTavish debuted her first multi-media installation at the Duluth Art Institute, “Birdland.” In 2017, she opened “Chance” at the Tweed Museum of Art. It remains her most ambitious installation to date, with 39 Acer monitors networked with seven projectors in a 900-square-foot space. Students would come into the exhibit, lie down on the provided yoga mats and simply take in the constantly shifting projected shapes and haunting soundtrack.

Though McTavish has only claimed the mantle of professional artist for about 15 years, she’s amassed an impressive collection of grants and artist-residencies from the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, the American Composers Forum and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

“What I love most about Kathy’s work is that it’s an unending conversation,” says Heather Barringer, an experimental percussionist in St. Paul who has collaborated with McTavish. “Everywhere she goes she collects bits of sound. All of her life experiences get threaded into her art. And the discussion just goes on and on.”

Sample McTavish’s art at mctavish.work.

SCAN FOR ACCOMPANYING INSTRUMENTAL EXPERIENCE

HOMEGROWN

For at least one kid who grew up in Duluth, it was the best town in America long before Outside magazine proclaimed it to be.

BY

STEPHANIE PEARSON | CHESTER BOWL SKIS PHOTOGRAPHY

BY

DEREK MONTGOMERY

WRITTEN

Whenever I feel nostalgia for my childhood, I ride my bike through the streets of Duluth, passing the former homes of my “Rellies,” the term my family used for my paternal grandparents and their collective 16 brothers and sisters, most of whom lived in Duluth.

I’ll ride over to Lakeside, past a skinny, two-story house on Dodge Street where my great grandparents lived after they emigrated from Sweden. My great-grandfather Carl Carlson, a skilled stonemason, fortified it with a bluestone foundation in the 1880s. The house looks impossibly small for a family of 11, but he bought the lot next door to make room for a garden. Carl died of cancer at age 59, leaving my great-grandmother Ida to raise eight girls and one boy alone.

“Widow Carlson,” as she was known, was a kind, pious lady who leaned on her faith and the Swedish community at Gloria Dei, the Lutheran church with luminescent stained-glass windows. I never knew my great-grandmother, but her daughter, my Grandma Flossie, was ever-present in my childhood.

Flossie’s house was on Carver Avenue near the University. She and my Grandpa Bill had an enormous backyard with a garden that was heavy on green beans. When Dad was young, the family would ski the

rolling hills at Northland Country Club or, for a bigger thrill, Grandpa would drive Dad out to a snow-covered country road, tie a rope to the bumper, and pull Dad behind the car on his wooden alpine boards. Dad graduated to ski jumping when his buddy Frank dared him to jump off Chester Bowl’s Little Chester ski jump. Dad made it to the top, then promptly chickened out, the point at which Frank pushed him off.

In the 1950s Dad left Duluth to go to college. After stints in southern California, southern Illinois, where he met and married my mom, followed by Chicago, Minneapolis, and a few smaller towns in between, they returned to Duluth in time for me to finish second grade.

We lived on a dead-end street in Hunter’s Park that led to Hartley Field. Every weekend in the winter, Mom and Dad would bundle us up in our snowmobile suits and we’d ski around Hartley’s groomed 5k trail, racing like miniature Olympians. For alpine skiing, Dad would drive us to Chester Bowl and, in classic 1970s laissez-faire parenting style, pay the $1 per kid fee, warn us to keep our scarves tucked close so we wouldn’t be strangled on the rope tow, then drive off.

This was the Duluth I knew in the 1970s and 80s. It was full of people and spaces I loved, from the backyard woods to the freshwater ocean that seemed to stretch on forever. The city felt a little rough around the edges, but I was blissfully unaware of how hard the recession had hit the region or that some people considered Duluth to be a deteriorating rust bucket of a city on a frigid inland sea.

My first job out of graduate school was as an editorial intern at Outside. The magazine was headquartered in Santa Fe, an adobe city at the foot of New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo mountains that was geographically and culturally as opposite to Duluth as an American city can be. When the Coen brothers’ movie Fargo hit theaters in 1996, an editor at Outside who graduated from Yale and went on to become a bestselling author, delighted in calling me Marge.

It took a few decades, but Duluth eventually landed on the cover of Outside in 2014, when the city’s residents overwhelmingly crushed the competition in the March Madness-style “Best Towns” contest. I can’t take credit for the win, but I did make sure Duluth was listed in the Midwest bracket.

By then, I had been working with Outside for almost two decades, reporting stories from Brazil to Bhutan and from the Falkland Islands to Mount Everest Base Camp. But the most surreal assignment of all was returning to my hometown to write about why Duluth is the best outdoor town in the U.S.

The drama and mystique of New Mexico will enthrall me forever, but I missed home and moved back in 2016. It’s a thrill to see how much Duluth has changed and a relief to see how its spirit has remained the same.

Duluthians have always been hearty and athletic. But today there’s a lot more outdoor infrastructure and programming to entice people

outside, like the 40-plus-mile-long Duluth Traverse, the mountain bike trail spearheaded by the Cyclists of Gitchee Gumee Shores (COGGS) that connects the five main ride centers across the city. There are also organizations like Duluth Devo, the mountain bike program whose mission is to “grow lifelong cyclists,” from second graders to seniors in high school. (Full disclosure: My partner Brian Hayden founded the program in 2013.) Last year more than 350 kids from all parts of the city participated.

I’m happy to see Duluth receive well-deserved national kudos for being a quality place to live because a lot of Duluthians have worked hard to make the city what it is. But the genie is out of the bottle and some days I regret the role I played in letting the wider world know about the beauty of my hometown. As Duluth’s reputation for being a climate-change refuge continues to grow, I worry that it may go the way of so many desirable towns across the mountain west, where families like mine can’t afford to stay.

Call it karmic payback, but it took Brian and me two years to buy a house. The one we finally landed (after six failed offers) is a 1962 rambler whose previous owners had lived in it for 59 years. It happens to be on the same street where my Great Aunt Huldah lived. We used to climb trees and have weenie roasts in her backyard. It’s been decades since I last ate one of Huldah’s famous hot dogs, but when I ride my bike past her old house, I feel suspended in a surreal time and space where nothing and everything has changed.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF DEREK MONTGOMERY

UNITE

Working together to produce a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

REAL NOT R or

Is Duluth on the cusp of a population boom, or was it all a media fever dream?

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD

O EAL?

ver the decades, Duluth has played host to some interesting people. Eleanor Roosevelt, Elvis Presley, Ingrid Bergman, Buddy Holly and Mark Twain have all stopped in at one time or another. In 1954, then-Vice President Richard Nixon gave a big speech at the Denfeld Auditorium. Two years earlier, modernist composer Igor Stravinsky celebrated his 70th birthday at the Duluth Flame Supper Club.

But of all the luminaries that have made pit-stops in the city, it’s possible that the most important one will end up being a bow-tied, bespectacled professor named Jesse Keenan.

In March 2019, the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) invited Keenan to present research that identified Duluth as being a prime “climate refuge.” Then a professor at Harvard, Keenan arrived in Duluth a few days before his talk to check out the town and then delivered a laid-back keynote on campus. During his talk, Keenan mispronounced Minneapolis (twice) and related that his wife thought her wild rice burger needed cheese. But the packed crowd hung on his entire presentation.

“I really think it was meant to be rather tongue-in-cheek,” says Monica Haynes, economics researcher at UMD. “I mean, he presented a bunch of fake ads with slogans like “Duluth: Not as Cold as You Think.”

The next day, Keenan left Duluth for the East Coast and that was the end of it.

Except not. Keenan’s presentation captured the imagination of New York Times reporter Kendra Pierre-Louis who wrote a substantial piece a month later headlined: “Want to Escape Global Warming? These Cities Promise Cool Relief.” After that came stories from The Economist, CNN, Reuters, National Geographic, The New Republic, NPR, The Guardian, Wired, USA Today and a bazillion other media outlets, all heralding Duluth as the anointed “safe place” from coming climate catastrophes.

Now, nearly four years after Keenan’s turn as the most unexpected booster in Duluth’s history, the question looms: Was it all just a hype storm? Or was it the best favor ever paid to a small northern city?

It will be decades before we have the definitive answer, says Haynes.

In the meantime, an estimated 8 million people are migrating en masse from parts of Southeast Asia due to unpredictable monsoons, according to a 2023 United Nations report. In the African Sahel, an estimated 3.7 million rural people are streaming towards coastal cities due to drought and crop failures. The “Nomad Century”—so-dubbed by British journalist Gaia Vince–is well underway.

Future projections are staggering. According to modeling from the International Organiza-tion for Migration in Geneva, Switzerland, 200 million people—an equivalent number to the total population of Western Europe—will be forced from home due to climate change between now and 2050.

The United States will experience its own mass-migration. According to models developed by Florida State University sociologist Mathew Hauer, 13 million Americans will be displaced by sea-level rise by 2100. That means more migration than the Dust Bowl (2.5 million climigrants during a 10-year span) or the Great Migration (6 million migrants during a 50-year span). Hauer’s 13-million estimate does not include Americans forced to move by the other three horsemen of the Anthropocene: fire, drought and heat.

“Sea-level rise is at least a relatively solid foundation to build a

projection around,” says Haynes. “The other factors, such as wildfires, are much more challenging to model.”

Will the masses make their way to a lift-bridge-loving city? A.R. Siders, University of Delaware assistant professor, is a Duluth native who researches climate change adaptation. She says past displacements–such as Hurricane Katrina–show that people go as far as they need to for stable resources, but prefer to stay close to their former homes. Explains Siders: “People don’t go, ‘Oh, gee, my beach house is now worth a lot less money. What I should do now is move to North Dakota.’ That is not the logic model that most people have.” Siders points to Dauphin Island, off the coast of Alabama, where homeowners have rebuilt storm-ravaged homes dozens of times.

That said, the all-encompassing nature of climate shift means some places will become more appealing, not less. University of California-Berkeley climate economist Solomon Hsiang has predicted extreme growth in places such as Minnesota, Michigan and the Dakotas. That possibility has caused considerable anxiety in Duluth, where housing is already scarce.

At a public forum in January 2023 in Minneapolis, one audience member asked then-Duluth mayor Emily Larson about the possibility of buying real estate up north and then selling for five times the cost “when all the climate refugees get up there.”

Larson pushed back against the question: “If your intent is to come in and buy low and sell high, and not have an experience, and not live and not invest and not pay attention, I would argue there’s some predatory intent around that.” Perhaps picking up on the zeitgeist, the Duluth Running Company sells shirts that say “Keep Duluth a Secret.”

For the moment, Americans continue to stream toward environ-

mental risk rather than away from it. The fastest growing county in the U.S. is still Maricopa County, Arizona. “Your average resident is thinking about jobs and commuting and housing and recreation when they’re deciding where to live. They’re not looking at the FEMA National Risk Index,” says Siders. “The big question for researchers like me is: Is there going to be a point where that will change? Will people start to think, ‘I would really prefer not to be in a wildfire.’?”

Even Professor Keenan, the academic who helped launch the discussion about climate-related migration, recently picked up stakes in Massachusetts to take a job at Tulane University–in climate-fragile New Orleans. (Keenan did not respond to interview requests from North.)

Even as academics knock heads over how the Nomad Century will shake out—and when—real estate agents in Duluth say the anecdotal evidence is clear. “Many agents I talk with have examples of working with climate refugees. From where I sit, the migration has already begun,” says Gabe Walsh, chief executive officer of the Lake Superior Area Realtors, a professional association based in Duluth.

According to the American Community Survey, 2,494 new residents moved to Duluth from 2018 to 2023. Unfortunately, there’s no solid data on why these new Duluthians made the trek. Haynes is attempting to launch a new survey that would hopefully clarify if the city’s newest residents are early comers in the predicted climate migration.

“The truth is, there is no swelling migration to Duluth, at least not yet,” says Haynes. “That’s not to say that I’m discounting the idea of Duluth being a place of relative climate safety. In fact, I’m watching very closely. But the only thing that’s going to give us the true verdict is time.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAURA JEAN MEDIA SERVICES

the THROUGH ROOF

What’s to be done about the North’s extreme

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD

housing shortage?

On a Wednesday last August, just after breakfast, Duluthian Connor Floerke and his wife, Jenae, put a posting online. The Floerkes planned to rent their Lincoln Park 1-bedroom duplex for $1,000 a month. By lunchtime, they had several dozen calls, texts and emails from people clamoring to be their new renters. Most wanted to sign without even a tour.

“That just gives you some sense of the pressure,” says Shaun Floerke, president of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and Connor’s dad. “It’s serious out there. Housing is a top-two issue, all across the board.”

Northern Minnesota’s housing crisis is intense and intensely personal. “Housing is not like any other issue,” says Jason Hale, director of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority in Cook County. “We spend most of our lives in our homes. It’s where we raise our kids. For most of us, it’s our most valuable possession and our biggest investment.” Hale knows firsthand how tough it can be to find housing in northern Minnesota. After a thorough hunt, Hale found no suitable housing in Grand Marais after he landed the HRA job. So now he commutes an hour each way from Silver Bay.

The fortunate ones with stable housing are paying for it like never before. Rent for single family homes grew 27 percent in 2023. The median home price in the U.S. is up 52 percent from January 2020.

Hale says he has met many people who are temporarily living in garages, yurts, travel trailers, or cabins without running water. “I’m not talking about unhoused people. I’m talking about working people who come home from a day on the job to an uninsulated garage that they happen to be renting.”

Northern Minnesota has danced on the edge of a housing shortage for decades, but the Great Recession effectively pushed the region into

crisis. After the housing market imploded in 2008, the construction industry was half-furloughed until roughly 2015, despite consistent and insistent demand for more housing. During that time, a generation of aging, knee-sore tradesmen stepped into retirement–without enough young tradespeople to take up their tool belts.

At the same time, many Boomers have decided to “age in place” in their single-family homes, rather than transition to senior housing. That trend might have something to do with a cultural bias unique to the English-speaking world. Anglophones seem to have a strong distaste for dense, multi-unit housing. In a 2023 YouGov poll, respondents were asked if they would like to live in a four-story-tall apartment building. Continental Europeans overwhelmingly said ‘yes.’ But Britons and Americans both overwhelmingly said “no”–by a margin of 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Perhaps not surprisingly, the entire Anglosphere is fighting to adequately house its people. This is not just the United States’s problem. There are housing crises in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Australia and Canada, too.

That said, the shortage is extreme in Duluth. Most developers in Minnesota see the North’s rocky terrain and simply say, ‘yeah, no thanks.’ After all, why should a sensible builder work in northern Minnesota–with its stricter codes, short construction season, ledgerock and supply-chain problems–when there are nice, flat cornfields ready to convert to housing in southern Minnesota?

The good news is, Duluth has a new generation of leaders looking at the problem. This cohort includes Hale, Floerke and Sumair Sheikh, the new executive director at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Rachel Johnson, president of APEX and Chad Ronchetti, Director of Planning and Economic Development at the City of Duluth, are also new to their jobs. Both Johnson and Ronchetti believe the housing shortage is solvable with the right amount of grit and derring-do. And they’ve got plans. To read more about these two dauntless Duluthians, turn the page.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN JANDL

R and the RACHEL JOHNSON “PENCIL-OUT” FUND

achel Johnson was hearing both sides of it. One Duluth executive told her he was trying to hire a new person to join his company but feared that he was staring down the barrel of a hard “no.”

He told Johnson: “I really like this person, and I want to hire her, but I think she’s going to turn us down when she finds out there’s no housing here.”

On the other hand, when Johnson reached out to housing developers, they held their hands open wide, as if to say, “what do you want us to do?” One developer even laid bare all his financial reports for Johnson to examine herself. He told her: “I want to build housing. I’m even willing to risk my own financial house to do it. But with the cost of materials, the cost of land, the cost of labor, I just won’t make any money.”

It was a no-win vise: a desperate need for housing, pushed up against builders with no incentive to build. Cirrus Aircraft was so desperate for a solution that executives even contemplated buying land and building housing for their employees, just like the company towns of old.

On the face of it, Johnson was clearly in no position to help. In September 2022, she had just started her job as President and CEO of APEX, the Duluth-based business development organization. APEX is a lot of things–booster for business and industry, information clearinghouse, networking hub. What APEX definitely is not is a housing organization.

But Johnson is a person of extreme grit. She’s a marathon runner, one of those rare people who can dig in for that last morsel of will, even when her head is saying there’s nothing left.

In a previous life, Johnson worked for a male-dominated pipeline

company. When her boss invited her to join co-workers on a lavish hunting retreat being planned, not wanting to get left out, Johnson hightailed it to a local gun range to give herself passable marksman skills. Later, when she won the company’s raffle and got her pick of high-dollar prizes, she chose the Benelli, just for the point of it.

So even though she had every reason to pass it off as someone else’s bailiwick, Johnson thrust APEX into the North’s most complicated and emotional issue: the unrelenting housing crisis. Just a few months on the job she launched Northland Housing Partners with other business leaders. The goal is to be a catalyst to make it financially justifiable for builders to build or make their balance sheets “pencil out.” So far, Johnson has $11 million in commitments to the fund. Essentia Health is the largest participant so far. Her goal is to add another $40 million to the kitty. The pitch she makes to a business is simple: you can’t recruit workers to northeast Minnesota or northwest Wisconsin if they have nowhere to live.

The employer-led fund targets employee housing projects and all types of housing are needed. Companies can join in and expect a return in the neighborhood of 4 to 6 percent, says Johnson.

“The truth of the matter is, the market’s not naturally fixing itself,” Johnson says. “We can sit around and complain about interest rates, or how much red tape there is at City Hall, or how thick the rock is around Lake Superior. We can do that. Or we can get busy.”

Ultimately, Johnson hopes to show the larger builders in the Twin Cities metro that there’s a “runway” into the North.

“If we can show some of the bigger construction firms that they’re going to have 1, 3, 5, 10 years of work up here, that we have a full calendar of shovel-ready projects, then maybe we’ll be able to help solve the extreme labor shortage as well.”

and the CHAD RONCHETTI

18-HOUR DOWNTOWN

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD | PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAN JANDL

Chad Ronchetti knows the actual moment that he fell in love with Duluth. It was late fall and he was coming over the top of Thompson Hill just as the sun was rising and a drift of sea smoke was rolling toward the bridge. “The sea smoke was alive with the colors of the rainbow and I just thought to myself, ‘This place is magical and I never want to leave,’” says Ronchetti.

Though he’s only been in Duluth for 10 years, Ronchetti has embedded himself deep in the fabric of the city. He’s a jovial fixture at business mixers and Chamber events and even snagged the “People’s Choice Award” at the 2023 Celebrity Dance Challenge fundraiser for the Minnesota Ballet. But he knows full well that the pressure is on. As the city’s new Director of Planning and Economic Development, it’s his job to help solve the housing crisis. And fast.

“There’s an incredible amount of weight on Chad’s shoulders right now,” says Rachel Johnson, president at APEX. “We’re all hoping that he’s going to be our knight in shining armor.”

When it comes to the extreme housing shortage, Ronchetti is full of ideas. But he’s particularly zeroed in on revitalizing Duluth’s sagging downtown. Conventional wisdom holds that to resuscitate a downtown, a city must attract diverse retail, update the sidewalks and street lights, put together an inspired calendar of community events and lure in some authentic mom-and-pop restaurants.

Ronchetti disagrees. He thinks a downtrodden downtown needs people. “You can work your tail off to make a downtown with all the flashy things, but if there’s nobody there, it’s still a dead downtown,” he says.

Ronchetti says the fastest way to get people into downtown Duluth is to give them what they’re really craving: housing. Ronchetti even has a

tagline for this inversion. He calls it “Roofs Before Retail.”

The philosophy behind the downtown revitalization is simple: it’s the beating heart of a city’s tax base.

“There are really smart people who have done analyses of who’s paying taxes and who’s not,” says Shaun Floerke, president of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation. “And the way America works is, if your downtown is thriving, and paying taxes, it’s supporting the rings, and the burbs, and the neighborhoods. It never works the other way. You can’t tax a two-bedroom house on 1.2 acres and expect it to support the U.S. Bank building downtown. It will not work. So if your downtown crumbles, your tax base crumbles.”

To get the housing pipeline really flowing–in downtown Duluth and elsewhere–Ronchetti envisions an in-house team of city government liaisons who could work one-on-one with housing developers from project ideation to completion. These project ambassadors would be able to explain the bureaucratic contours of City Hall and help developers get all the necessary permits. Within City Hall, these go-betweens would advocate for projects and keep the momentum rolling forward.

“I think there’s a way to make the city a critical partner, rather than just something a housing developer has to begrudgingly deal with,” says Ronchetti.

Ronchetti also envisions a priority system that could provide extra TLC–and maybe even a fast track–to the developments that feed the most housing-hungry people. At the top of that list: creative adaptive reuse projects turning old office stock into apartments or condos. Even better if those creatively adapted buildings are downtown.

Just 43, Ronchetti says he’s absolutely dedicated to getting maximum density–and maximum housing–out of every square block, particularly in Duluth’s core. “I’m putting everything into this,” he says. “If our next mayors agree, I can easily see myself in this job for 20 years.”

TIME TO GROW

Developing and Leaving a Legacy

"Investors will see these projects come to life in their own neighborhoods. Their employees will be able to secure housing and in turn achieve staffing goals and workplace stability."

–John D.

Area Partnership for Economic Expansion (APEX)

Working for the good of the community, we are 100% privately funded by local employers and organizations.

Attracting new investment and economic growth to our region, APEX is a referral and information source.

Collaborating with state and local agencies to incentivize businesses and assisting with site selection and connections through our vast community of APEX investors.

Promoting sustainability in the face of climate change is critical. Pairing our region’s unique natural resources with technology and innovation creates unlimited potential for our future.

Northland Housing Partners (NHP)

Investing in new housing development, we are a non-profit, employer-led growth initiative addressing the region’s housing challenges.

Ensuring housing availability is crucial to supporting business growth in our region.

Convening and finding solutions that yield new housing projects is our main objective.

Evaluating potential projects and encouraging housing developers to build locally, we are assisting by closing financial gaps.

Invest Locally

Join us with your commitment to our region and leave a legacy for the future.

218-740-3667 | apexgetsbusiness.com

TRACY RAMSAY

Real Estate Professional Lead 218-390-6747 tracy@tracyramsay.com

JULIE ANN KUBAT

Marketing Director 218-355-1935 kubatenterprises@gmail.com

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Real Estate Professional 218-393-5185 matttusken@gmail.com

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Real Estate Professional 218-348-1513 jeffdigle@gmail.com

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LIVE VIBRANTLY

Exceptional Duluth Living on the Shores of Lake Superior

EXTERIOR RENDERINGS COURTESY OF AROLA ARCHITECTURE STUDIO | INTERIOR RENDERING COURTESY OF J&RS

HARTLEY ESTATES BRUCKELMYER UPGRADE

SWEEPING VIEWS

Experience

BRUCKELMYER FORWARD DESIGN

CONVENIENT LAKE LIVING

FOSDICK FINGERPRINTS

ACCESS

Contacting or having resources to answer or benefit a need.

JANUARY

JAN 28

John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

Longest dog sled race in lower 48 states.

Location: From Duluth to Canadian border and back beargrease.com

FEBRUARY

FEB 3

Cold Front

Ice Skating, dogsleds, luge, and more.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park coldfrontduluth.com

APRIL

- MAY APR 28 – MAY 5

Homegrown Music Festival

200 musical acts at over 30 venues: children’s music, art, and much more!

Location: multiple places around Duluth and Superior duluthhomegrown.org

MAY 18-19

Duluth Airshow

Minnesota’s largest air show features the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and the U.S. Air Force F-35 Demonstration Team! Minnesota’s only major airshow will also feature the YAK 110 presented locally by Cirrus Aircraft.

Location: Duluth International Airport duluthairshow.com

CALENDAR OF

JUNE

JUN 22

Grandma’s Marathon

More than 20,000 runners come from all over the world to participate in one of the largest and best known marathons in the United States.

Location: Two Harbors to Duluth grandmasmarathon.com

JUN 29 & 30

Park Point Art Fair

Over 120 artists come to the shores of Lake Superior to show off their photography, pottery, jewelry, painting, fiber, wood, and glass. It is a wonderful place to enjoy music, food, and demonstrations.

Location: Park Point Recreation Area parkpointartfair.org

JUN 29

Chum Rhubarb Festival

Pies, muffins, crisps, music, games, and fun!

Location: Stella Maris Academy-Holy Rosary chumduluth.org/rhubarbfestival

JULY

JUL 4

Fourth Fest

Watch fireworks over the Bay in one of Minnesota’s largest fireworks displays.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park decc.org/blog/2023/06/26/sliding-into-the-fourth/

JUL TBD; AUG TBD

Downtown Movies in the Park

Free, family-friendly outdoor movies on a giant outdoor screen every Friday night at sunset overlooking the shores of Lake Superior during the summer.

Location: Leif Erikson Park downtownduluth.com/movies-in-the-park

JUL 10-12

Sidewalk Days Festival

Three-day festival in the heart of Downtown Duluth with live entertainment, food, music, and fun for all ages!

Location: Downtown Duluth, Superior St. downtownduluth.com/sidewalk-days

JUL 20

Bayfront Reggae & World Music Festival

Take in views of Lake Superior and listen to internationally touring performers, while enjoying ethnic foods, beverages, and artists.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park bayfrontworldmusic.com

JUL 27-28

All Pints North Summer Brew Fest Come and celebrate the history of craft beer on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior. Meet brewers and enjoy craft beers, food vendors, and live music during this fun event.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park mncraftbrew.org/event/all-pints-north

AUGUST

AUG 2-3

City On The Hill Music Fest

City On the Hill Music Festival brings together thousands of Christians from across the country for two days of worship, music and praise.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park cityonthehillmusicfest.com

AUG 1-3

Spirit Valley Days

Enjoy the Northland’s largest classic car show, parade, street dance, pet parade, 5K run/walk, canoe and kayak tour of the St. Louis River, garden tour, kids games, food and artisan vendors, and live entertainment.

Location: West Duluth spiritvalleydays.com

AUG 9-11

Bayfront Blues Festival

Nearly 20,000 fans come to one of the Upper Midwest’s oldest and largest annual outdoor music events to enjoy some of the nation’s top names in the blues and blues/rock world.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park bayfrontblues.com

AUG 23-24

The Tribute Fest

This 3 day Country & Rock fest brings together some of the best tribute bands to raise funds for homeless Veterans. Family-friendly and free for all Veterans, Active Duty Military, and their families.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park thetributefest.com

AUG 24-25

Art In Bayfront Park Art Fair

This two-day art fair features over 100 regional artists, painters, jewelry designers, photographers, potters, and more!

Location: Bayfront Festival Park artinbayfrontpark.com

AUG 31

Duluth-Superior Pride Festival

Celebrate diversity, promote understanding, acceptance, respect, healthy living, self-esteem, and equality during Twin Ports Pride. Pride serves the Duluth-Superior area’s GLBTAQI community.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park duluthsuperiorpride.com

EVENTS 2024

SEPTEMBER

SEP 20-22

Hawk Weekend Festival

One of North America’s best places to experience the fall bird migration. The event features a variety of field trips, hikes, programs, and activities for all ages!

Location: Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve hawkridge.org/event/hawk-weekend-festival-2023

SEP 13-15

Duluth Oktoberfestival

Celebrate the best of Munich in the largest bier hall ever erected at Bayfront Park with live music, youth activities, and more.

Location: Bayfront Festival Park duluthoktoberfestival.com

SEP 14

Northshore Inline Marathon

2,500 inline skaters come to the shores of Lake Superior to participate in the nation’s largest inline skating event.

Location: Two Harbors to Duluth northshoreinline.com

SEP TBD

Bienvenue Coffee Fest

Bienvenue Where Coffee and Culture Meet –featuring coffee, tea, and bakery vendors. Enjoy live music, speakers/seminars, latte art competition, demonstrations, vendors, and children’s activities.

Location: The St. Louis County Depot experiencethedepot.org/event/bienvenue-coffee-fest-3

SEP 28

Lester River Rendezvous

Skilled re-enactors set up Voyager Village to recreate life in the 18th century with interactive demonstrations, hands-on experiences, and over 50 food and craft vendors.

Location: Lester Park lesterriverrendezvous.com

OCTOBER

OCT TBD

Catalyst Content Festival

Catalyst is a worldwide community of actors, writers, directors, producers, executives, agents, and fans discovering the best new programming created on independent (aka, non-network) budgets. We come together each fall to showcase new shows and discover new talent. Join us for the fun!

Location: Historic Arts District catalystories.com/catalyst-content-festival

OCT TBD

Duluth Superior Film Festival

Duluth Superior Film Festival screens independent films, produces music performances, and hosts parties in an extravaganza of film, music, and art.

Location: Zinema 2 & Additional Venues dsfilmfest.org

OCT 3-5; 10-12; 16-19; 24-26; 31

William A Irvin Haunted Ship Tours

Experience the horrors aboard the historic Lake Superior steamer, SS William A. Irvin.

Location: S.S. William A. Irvin Museum duluthhauntedship.com

OCT 13; 20; 27

Boo at the Zoo

Wear a costume and come explore the Zoo with endless trick-or-treating stations, the Boo-tique, special Halloween-themed animal treats, food trucks, games, activities and more.

Location: Lake Superior Zoo lszoo.org/boo-at-the-zoo

NOVEMBER

NOV 22

Christmas City Of The North Parade Kick off the Christmas season with this well-attended public event in the Northland – the Christmas City of the North Parade.

Location: Downtown Duluth, Superior St. facebook.com/ChristmasCityParade

NOV 23-30

Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Situated on the shores of Lake Superior –America’s largest free walk-through light display. Location: Bayfront Festival Park bentleyvilleusa.org

DECEMBER

DEC 7-8

Duluth Winter Village

Showcasing 40+ local small businesses selling their unique, curated goods from custom mini wooden cabins. Also enjoy food and beverages in heated dining space, campfires by the lake, live animals, carolers, free skating inside the DECC, and more. 10am to 5pm both days.

Location: DECC duluthwintervillage.com

DEC 1-26

Bentleyville Tour of Lights

Location: Bayfront Festival Park bentleyvilleusa.org

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CHIMNEY

Black Goose Chimney & Duct 218-721-3192

Lakeview Masonry 218-525-5146

Midtown Chimney Sweeps 218-216-7600

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS INSTALL

Up North Christmas Lights 218-349-8739

CLEANING

Jackie's Custom Cleaning 218-499-1256

Kingdom Restoration 218-382-0015

Lisa's Child 218-341-6326

Under The Table 218-721-7744

CLOSETS

Bruckelmyer Brothers 218-525-2344

Lifespan Closets 866-961-0004

COUNTERTOPS

Bradley Interiors 218-722-6306 Granite Works 218-626-1625

St. Germain’s 218-624-1234

DOG FENCEINGROUND

Invisible Fence 218-525-6465

DRAFTING

Hiner Home Designs Llc 218-391-7466

DRIVEWAY SURFACING

Ktm Companies 218-729-1446

Sinnott Blacktop, Llc 218-626-1822

DUMP

Demolicious 218-628-3880

Wlssd 218-722-0761

DUMPSTER RENTAL

Aa Rolloff Service, Inc. 218-721-4206

Hartel's Disposal 218-729-5446

ELECTRICAL

Benson Electric 715-394-5547

Simco Electric, Llc 218-525-0356

Tri-Star Electric Co 218-390-0470

ENGINEERING

Lhb Inc

218-727-8446

Mbj 218-722-1056

EQUIPMENT RENTAL

London Road Rental Center 218-728-2940

ESTATE SALES

Estate Of Value, Llc 715-718-8000

M & M Estate Sales 218-348-4330

EXCAVATING

Darrel D Johnson Excavating 218-390-9555

Great Lakes Excavating 218-724-4225

Shelton Excavating 218-729-9813

FENCING

Aaa Fencing, Llc 218-590-8107

Duluth Fence 218-522-4415

FLOORING/TILE

Bradley Interiors 218-722-6306

Johnson Carpet One Floor & Home 218-409-8323

Surfaces by Design & Carpets Plus Color Tile 218-723-2323

FURNITURE

LUMstudio 218-343-0983

Thirteen Main 218-461-6354

FURNITURE RENTAL

E-Z Own 218-628-2858

GARAGE DOOR

Great Lakes Door, Llc 218-722-3667

Overhead Door Company 218-722-2884

Phil's Garage Door 218-525-7654

GAS FIREPLACE

Duluth Stove & Fireplace 218-727-9002

The Fireplace Corner 218-729-4895

GLASS

Glass Guru 218-427-6443

St. Germain’s 218-628-0221

GUTTERS

A-1 Seamless Gutters 833-729-7744

High Point Gutters 218-391-3388

Jason Shaw 218-390-5339

HAULING

Twin Ports Trailer Trash 218-206-7225

HAZARDOUS WASTE

Wlssd 218-722-3336

HOME INSPECTION

Coleman Home Inspection 218-240-1984

Cover-All Home Inspections 218-391-9522

Inspector Rob Agency Llc 218-393-6482

HOME SECURITY

Adt 218-231-1734

ICE DAM REMOVAL

Duluth Ice Dam Removal 218-349-2684

Twin Ports Ice Dam Removal 218-461-6043

INSULATION

Kalenowski Construction 218-341-2450

INSURANCE

Christensen Group Insurance 218-514-4541

J3 Insurance 218-728-3600

INTERIOR DESIGN

Bradley Interiors 218-722-6306

Hemma Design For Living 218-206-6596

Kelsey Hiner 218-391-7466

Kitchee Gammi Design Co. 218-260-9564

KITCHENS & BATHS

Arrowhead Supply, Inc. 218-722-6699

Bradley Interiors 218-722-6306

Ferguson Kitchen, Bath, & Lighting Gallery 218-628-2844

Maureen’s LLC 218-481-7323

LAND SURVEY

Alta Land Survey Company 218-727-5211

Straightline Surveying Inc. 218-485-4811

LAWN CARE/ LANDSCAPING

Acts 2 Property Service 218-213-7547

Amity Creek Landscaping 218-525-6766

Carlson Lawn & Landscaping 218-525-6322

Miller Creek 218-727-3040

Prime Landscapes 218-600-8453

Saline Landscape & Design 218-626-5501

Taylor's Landscaping

218-409-6947

LEASED LAND

Shoreland Traditions 218-723-3981

LIGHTING

Ferguson Kitchen, Bath, & Lighting Gallery 218-628-2844

LUMstudio 218-343-0983

LOCKSMITH

Minnesota Locksmith 218-722-3294

MAIL SERVICE

Cloquet

218-879-9442

Esko 218-879-3242

Duluth 218-723-2526

Superior 715-394-7209

MASONRY

A R Masonry 218-348-3283

Chelsey & Sons 218-390-2336

Jm, Inc. Masonry 218-525-7278

Lakeview Masonry 218-525-5146

MOSQUITO CONTROL

Duluth Lawn Care 218-428-0056

Mosquito Squad 218-248-9495

MOVING

A-1 Movers, Inc. 218-392-8500

Go Mini's Of Duluth 763-717-3738

Lakeside Transfer 218-726-0317

Moving By Day 218-591-3011

Uhaul 218-722-5562

Wherley Moving Systems 218-727-8811

ORGANIZATION

At Home Solutions With Jen 218-464-7049

Live Simply With Kim 218-213-8071

PAINTING

Calco 218-525-2137

Dave Engstrom 218-428-9712

Lakeside Painting 218-525-3820

Mike Tester Painting 218-340-2562

PEST

CONTROL

Twin Ports Pest Control 218-391-6699

PLUMBING/HEATING/ COOLING

All Service Professionals

218-724-4412

Carlson Duluth Company 218-727-0063

Kalkbrenner Plumbing 218-626-3316

Krause Heating & Cooling 218-722-6354

Shubitz Plumbing & Heating 218-727-2595

Stone Plumbing & Heating 218-525-4450

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Shiprock Management 218-740-3800

RADON TESTING/ MITIGATION

Adamski Construction 218-393-2495

Advanced Radon Solutions 218-491-3752

Rock Hill Radon 218-310-8732

Twin Ports Home Inspection 218-591-3764

REAL ESTATE

Tracy Ramsay + Partners 218-390-6747

ROOFING

Billings Remodeling 218-288-2318

Jim Perrault Construction 218-276-4476

Miller's Roofing And Siding 888-440-3451

Peak Construction Roofing 218-728-8033

Scott Didrikson Construction 218-428-7131

Superior Construction 218-727-8467

SEPTIC

A&T Pump Service

218-590-9013

Digger Darrel 218-390-9555

Jeff Crosby 218-724-7566

North Shore Sanitary 218-409-2287

St. Louis County 218-725-5200

SEWER SERVICE

3 B's Sewer & Drain Services 320-587-0900

Hillside Sewer And Drain, Llc 218-206-6292

Mr Rooter 218-624-7668

Superior Construction 218-727-8467

SHEDS

Duluth Shed Company 218-624-2350

SIDING

All Pros Exteriors 218-348-7464

SNOW REMOVAL

ATK 218-481-1999

Duluth Snow 218-810-7669

STAGING

Live Simply With Kim 218-213-8071

Tidy Details 218-259-0511

STORAGE

Stadium Storage 218-628-1438

U-Haul Of Superior 715-392-2903

Us Storage Centers 218-309-5524

TITLE CO.

First American Title 218-722-1495

Results Title 218-722-2811

St. Louis Title 218-727-8696

TREE REMOVAL

Brad's Tree & Stump Removal 218-355-1204

Duluth Tree Service 218-349-2684

Rick's Tree & Stump Removal 218-728-2427

Taylor's Landscaping 218-409-6947

UNDERGROUND

LINE LOCATOR

Gopher State One Call 800-252-1166

UNDERGROUND OIL TANKS

Twin Ports Environmental 218-343-3312

UPHOLSTERY

Twin Ports Upholstery 218-727-0959

WATER TESTING

Rasmussen Well Drilling 218-834-3387

Royal Property Inspections 218-348-0378

Pace Analytical 218- 727-6380

WELDING

Welder On Wheels Inc. 218-269-1565

WELLS

A&T Pump Service 218-590-9013

Duane Madison Water & Well 218-525-5645

Mn Dept. Health 218-302-6166

WET BASEMENT

Northern States Basement 844-913-7709 DBS 218-520-6217

DRYCO (218) 712-1713

WETLAND SERVICES

Ck Wetland Services, Inc. 218-290-8618

Msa Professional Services 218-722-3915

WINDOW CLEANING

Superior Squeegee Inc. 218-341-0044

WINDOW TREATMENTS

Belanger, Inc. 218-727-5054

WINDOWS

Heritage Window & Door 715-394-7390

Proctor Builder Supply 218-624-3651

WOODWORK

Hermantown Millwork 218-729-5373

YARD WASTE

Wlssd 218-722-0761

OTHER SERVICES

ACCOUNTING

Anderson Kuiti & Asuma 218-727-5066

AESTHETICS

St. Luke's

Rejuvenation Center 218-249-7910

Synergy Aesthetics 218-464-2222

AIRPORT SHUTTLE

Groome Transportation 218-724-4676

AUTISM SERVICES

Masonic Children's Clinic 218-270-3911

Minnesota Autism Center 952-767-4200

AUTO BODY REPAIR

Accurate Auto Repair, Inc. 218-720-2886

Arrowhead Auto Body 218-722-2902

Vine Auto Body 218-626-3535

AUTO DETAILING

Duluth Detail 218-231-1060

AUTOMOTIVE REPAIR

4th Street Auto Repair 218-724-8090

Hermantown Service Center 218-729-5189

Lucky's Sales & Service Auto 218-729-7399

Morgan Park Service 218-626-2317

Prosource Auto Repair 218-606-1156

The Shop Automotive 218-628-1800

BOOKKEEPING

Dougherty Accounts 218-393-3430

CATERING

Black Woods Group Catering 218-724-0000

MidCoast Catering Co. (218) 464-1856

Sarah Mae's Catering 218-269-5884

CHILDCARE

Duluth Poppins 507-696-8452

COUNSELING

Apc 218-723-8153

Insight Counseling 218-481-7660

St. Luke's Mental Health 218-249-7000

Webmed Mental Health 218-310-8896

DENTISTRY

Gregorich & Matack Dental 218-727-1448

Mount Royal Dental 218-464-5222

Park Dental 218-606-1040

DOG BOARDING

Harbor City Kennel 218-525-5720

Northland Boarding 218-461-7503

DOG WALKING/ PET SITTING

Twin Ports Pet Sitters 218-590-7777

FLORAL

Engwall Flowers 218-727-8961

Flora North 218-279-3444

Saffron & Grey 218-728-1455

HAIR SALONS

Adeline Inc. 218-728-8099

Fitger's Salon And Spa 218-491-7007

Tangles A Salon 218-728-3800

The Colour Lounge Salon 218-722-1287

Uranz Hair Studio & Spa 218-728-4567

HEALTHCARE

Essentia Health 218-786-8376

St. Luke's 218-249-5555

JEWELRY

Jewelers Bench 218-727-2711

Security Jewelers 218-722-6633

LEGAL

Fryberger Law Firm 218-722-0861

Hanft Fride Law Firm 218-722-4766

Johnson, Killen & Seiler 218-722-6331

LODGING

Fitger's Inn 218-722-8826

Inn On Lake Superior 218-726-1111

Residence Inn By Marriott 218-279-2885

Pier B Resort Hotel 218-481-8888

Sheraton Duluth Hotel 218-733-5660

MUSIC LESSONS

Encore Music Studios 218-481-8463

ORTHODONTICS

Carlson Orthodontics 218-727-3789

PARTY RENTAL

Best Day Ever Tents & Events 218-730-8611

Doucette's Special Events 218-728-3858

Encore Event & Party Express 218-724-4646

PEDIATRICIAN

Essentia HealthDr. Shar Valentine 218-786-3400

St. Luke'sDr. Gretchen Karstens 218-249-7870

PHYSICAL THERAPY

In Motion Therapy 218-727-1180

Viverant Physical Therapy 218-624-2794

TAILORING/ ALTERATIONS

Sally The Stitch Witch 218-591-9583

VETERINARY CLINIC

Dougherty Veterinary Clinics 218-722-3963

North Shore Veterinary 218-525-1937

WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Ameriprise Financial Beau Erickson 218-722-9400

Us Bank

Gregg Mccall 218-723-2807

Wheeler Associates Andy Wheeler 218-722-8010

ENTERTAINMENT

AMUSEMENT CENTER

Adventure Zone

218-740-4000

Alworth Planetarium 218-726-7129

Tom's Logging Camp 218-525-4120

AQUARIUM

Great Lakes Aquarium 218-740-3474

ART

Duluth Art Institute

218-733-7560

Duluth Folk School 218-481-7888

The Pottery Burn Studio

715-718-8080

BASEBALL

Duluth Central Little League 218-390-1831

Duluth Huskies Baseball Club 218-786-9909

BASKETBALL

Duluth Amateur Youth Basketball 218-727-2641

BOWLING

Incline Station Bowling 218-722-2695

Skyline Bowling And Games 218-727-8555

CONCERTS/ LIVE MUSIC

Perfect Duluth Day 218-624-6087

COUNTRY CLUB

Northland Country Club 218-525-1941

Ridgeview Country Club 218-728-5128

CURLING

Duluth Curling Club 218-727-1851

Superior Curling Club

218-600-6308

DANCE

Duluth Dance Center

218-525-0006

Ideal Cheer Elite 218-203-9902

Madill Performing Arts 218-628-2269

Minnesota Ballet

218-733-7570

Stacey's Studio Of Dance 218-728-6080

DOG SLEDDING

Positive Energy Outdoors 218-428-5990

ESCAPE ROOM

Zero Hour Escape Rooms 218-606-1139

EVENTS

Decc | Duluth Entertainment Convention Center 218-722-5573

EXCURSIONS

Lake Superior Helicopters 218-461-2857

Mn Whitewater Rafting 218-522-4446

North Shore Scenic Railroad 218-722-1273

Swiftwater Adventures 218-451-3218

Time Out Sailing 855-672-4546

Vista Fleet 218-722-6218

Zenith Adventure 218-722-6218

GLASS BLOWING

Lake Superior Art Glass 218-464-1799

GOLF

Black Bear Golf Course 218-878-2485

Caddy Shack Indoor Golf 218-624-7768

Enger Park Golf Course 218-723-3451

Grand View Golf Links 218-628-3727

Nemadji Golf Course 715-394-0266

Pike Lake Golf And Beach Club 218-590-3325

Proctor Golf Course 218-624-2255

GYMNASTICS

Duluth Area Family Ymca 218-722-4745

Twin Ports Gymnastics 715-395-6119

HOCKEY

Duluth Amateur Hockey 218-728-8000

Superior Amateur Hockey 715-394-4899

HORSEBACK RIDING

North Country Ride 218-879-7608

Townline Farms & Stable 715-919-7664

West Amity Stables 218-355-1611

ICE SKATING RINKS

Duluth Parks & Recreation 218-730-4300

Duluth Heritage Center 218-426-1711

Fryberger Arena 218-724-0094

Hermantown Arena 218-729-5493

Mars Lakeview Arena 218-722-4455

Umd Sports And Health Center Wessman Arena 715-394-8361

INDOOR SWIMMING/ WATER PARK

Duluth Area Family Ymca 218-722-4745

Hermantown Ymca 218-241-8008

Superior Ymca 715-392-5611

MOVIE THEATERS

Marcus Duluth Cinema 218-722-1573

Marcus Lakes Cinema 218-729-0334

Premier Theatres 218-879-7985

The West Theatre 218-606-1211

Zeitgeist Center For Arts 218-726-5430

Zeitgeist Zinema 2 218-336-1412

MOVIES IN THE PARK

Downtown Duluth 218-727-8549

MUSEUMS

Duluth Children's Museum 218-733-7543

Esko Historical Society 218-879-9450

Fairlawn Mansion & Museum 715-394-5712

Glensheen Mansion 218-726-8910

Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center 218-788-6430

Lake Superior Railroad Museum 218-727-8025

Old Firehouse And Police Museum 715-394-5712

Tweed Museum Of Art 218-726-8222

William A. Irvin Museum 218-722-7876

MUSIC VENUES

Duluth Superior Symphony 218-623-3776

Sacred Heart Music Center 218-464-5464

Symphony Hall 218-722-5573

PARKS

Duluth Parks & Recreation 218-730-4300

Hartley Nature Center 218-724-6735

PERFORMING ARTS

Duluth Playhouse 218-733-7555

Norshor Theatre 218-733-7555

The Underground Theatre 218-733-7555

Zeitgeist Renegade Improv 218-336-1414

RECREATION

Duluth Parks & Recreation 218-730-4300

ROCK CLIMBING

Duluth Climbing And Fitness 218-260-1897

Vertical Endeavors 218-279-9980

ROLLER SKATING

World Of Wheels Skate 715-392-1031

SCOUTS (BOYS)

Voyageur Area Council 218-729-5811

SCOUTS (GIRLS)

Girl Scouts Lakes And Pines 218-726-4710

SKI HILLS

Chester Bowl (Ski & Snowboard Program) 218-724-9832

Mont Du Lac Resort 218-626-3797

Spirit Mountain 800-642-6377

SOCCER

Arrowhead Youth Soccer 218-624-1713

SOCIAL CLUBS

Duluth Woman's Club 218-724-3168

Junior League Of Duluth 218-727-0341

Kitchi Gammi Club 218-724-8589

League Of Women Voters 218-724-0132

Mops | Mothers Of Preschoolers 218-728-3668

SPORTS AND LEAGUES

Duluth Parks & Recreation 218-730-4300

SUMMER CAMPS

Duluth Mom 218-730-4306

TENNIS

Duluth Indoor Sports Center 218-722-0810

Longview Tennis Club 218-724-5227

TRAMPOLINE PARK

Defy Duluth 218-481-7667

RESTAURANTS

CLOQUET RESTAURANTS

Carmen’s Bar & Restaurant 218-879-1889

Casino Pizza & Sub Shop 218-451-8379

Family Tradition 218-879-1210

Gordy’s Hi-Hat 218-879-6125

Hong Kong Restaurant 218-879-2963

Pedro’s Grill & Cantina 218-879-7171

Rendezvous Sports Bar And Grill 218-879-9958

River Inn Bar And Grill 218-879-2760

Rustic Inn Cafe (Two Harbors) 218-834-2488

Sammy’s Pizza & Restaurant 218-879-3705

Trapper Pete’s Steakhouse & Saloon 218-879-1222

ACCESS

DULUTH RESTAURANTS

A & Dubs

218-624-0198

Applebee’s Grill + Bar 218-723-1253

At Sara’s Table Chester Creek Cafe 218-724-6811

Azteca’s Mexican Grill 218-722-1038

Bali Asian Cuisine 218-217-4266

Bellisio’s Italian Restaurant 218-727-4921

Black Water Lounge 218-740-0436

Black Woods Grill & Bar 218-724-1612

Blue Rock Grill 218-464-1583

Boat Club Restaurant & Bar 218-727-4880

Boomtown 218-722-0977

Bridgeman’s 218-727-0196

Buffalo House 218-624-9901

Buffalo Wild Wings 218-722-5100

Bulldog Pizza & Grill 218-728-3663

Burger Paradox 218-606-1185

Burrito Union 218-728-4414

Cast Iron 218-729-7514

Chachos Taqueria 218-451-3089

China Cafe 218-728-0110

Cloud 9 Sushi & Hibachi 218-786-9888

Clyde Iron Works Restaurant & Bar 218-727-1150

Coney Island 218-722-2772

Corktown Deli And Brews 218-606-1607

Crooked Pint 218-464-4129

Dovetail Cafe 218-481-7888

Dry Dock Bar & Restaurant 218-624-5512

Duluth Grill 218-726-1150

Grandma’s Saloon & Grill/ Canal Park 218-727-4192

Grandma’s Saloon & Grill/ Miller Hill 218-722-9313

ACCESS

Great Harvest Bread Co.

218-728-9510

Hanabi Japanese Cuisine

218-464-4412

Howard’s Que 218-310-5618

Hungry Hippie Tacos

218-216-6030

India Palace

218-727-8767

Jamrock Cultural Restaurant

218-310-6320

Lake Avenue

Restaurant & Bar

218-722-2355

Lake Superior Brewing

218-591-1328

Little Angie’s Cantina & Grill

218-727-6117

Loaf & Ladle

218-464-1414

Lulu’s Pizza

218-481-7167

Lyric Kitchen & Bar

218-249-9000

Mexico Lindo

218-727-1978

Mr. D’s Bar And Grill

218-624-4178

New London Cafe

218-525-0777

New Scenic Cafe

218-525-6274

Northern Waters Smokehaus

218-724-7307

Oasis Del Norte

218-464-6636

Old Chicago

218-409-8830

OMC Smokehouse

218-606-1611

Olive Garden

218-727-2623

Panera Bread

218-722-2344

Phoholic- Taste Of Vietnam 218-464-0312

Pickwick Restaurant & Pub

218-623-7425

Pizza Luce

218-727-7400

Qdoba 218-724-1416

Red Lobster

218-722-7390

Restaurant 301

218-336-2705

Round Up Bar And Grill

218-727-1454

Rustic Inn Cafe (Two Harbors)

218-834-2488

Sammy’s Pizza

218-727-8551

Shake It 218-624-5662

Silos Restaurant 218-336-3430

Sir Benedict’s Tavern On The Lake 218-728-1192

Tappa Keg Inn 218-624-9881

Taste Of Saigon 218-727-1598

Tavern On The Hill 218-724-0010

Texas Roadhouse 218-624-7427

Thai By Thai 218-728-4822

The Breeze Inn 218-525-2883

The King Of Creams 218-725-9000

The Other Place Bar & Grill 218-733-0214

The Pharm Juice Bar + Kitchen 218-522-4545

The Spot Sports Bar & Grill 218-722-2695

Toasty’s Sandwich Shop 218-722-0915

Uncle Loui’s Cafe 218-727-4518

Va Bene 218-722-1518

Vanilla Bean Restaurant 218-249-1957

Vintage Italian Pizza (VIP) 218-728-4411

Vitta Pizza-Canal Park 218-727-2226

Wasabi Japanese Cuisine 218-606-1868

Zeitgeist Arts Cafe 218-722-9100

Zen House Japanese Restaurant 218-722-9365

Zhong Hua 218-624-9601

ESKO RESTAURANTS

Mike’s Cafe & Pizzeria 218-879-6633

HERMANTOWN RESTAURANTS

Beacon Sports Bar & Grill 218-729-6149

China Star Family Restaurant 218-740-2750

Famous Dave’s 218-740-3180

Foster’s Sports Bar & Grill 218-727-7002

Maya Authentic Mexican Restaurant 218-722-0360

Mckenzie’s Bar & Grill

218-729-1900

Outback Steakhouse 218-722-2471

Valentini’s 218-206-7557

PROCTOR RESTAURANTS

Black Woods Grill & Bar 218-628-0628

SUPERIOR, WI RESTAURANTS

A & W Restaurant

715-392-6125

Aces On 29th

715-392-2546

Anchor Bar And Grill

715-394-9747

Barker’s Island Inn

WaterFront Grille

715-392-7152

Big Apple Bagels 715-718-0051

Bucktales Cantina & Grill

715-718-2004

Choo Choo Bar & Grill

715-398-3788

Dolce Vita Restaurant 715-718-0264

Dreamland Supper Club

715-398-3706

Eddie’s

715-398-0191

Golden Inn Restaurant 715-395-2565

Gronk’s Grill & Bar

715-398-0333

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant 715-392-2894

Hammond Steak House 715-392-3269

Izzy’s Bbq Lounge & Grill

715-392-3337

Julie’s

715-394-2862

Kd’s Of Superior 715-392-2027

Ride Or Die Pizzeria

715-718-4758

Shamrock Bar & Pizza 715-394-9321

Superior Waffles

715-718-0229

Thirsty Pagan Brewing 715-394-2500

Vintage Italian Pizza

715-392-5555

Wasabi Japanese Cuisine

715-718-8033

BREWERIES

Bent Paddle Brewing Co. 218-279-2722

Blacklist Brewing Co. 218-606-1610

Canal Park Brewing Company 218-464-4790

Cedar Lounge Earth Rider Brewery Taproom 715-394-7391

Dubh Linn Brew Pub 218-727-1559

Duluth Cider 218-464-1111

Fitger's Brewhouse Brewery And Grille 218-279-2739

Hoops Brewing Company 218-606-1666

Lake Superior Brewing Co. 218-591-1328

Warrior Brewing Company 218-721-7998

Wild State Cider 218-606-1151

Vikre Distillery 218-481-7401

SCHOOLS

CLOQUET SCHOOLS

Churchill Elementary School 218-879-3308

Cloquet Senior High School 218-879-3393

Cloquet Middle School 218-879-3328

Li’l Thunder Learning Center 218-879-0830

New Horizon Christian Preschool 218-879-7138

Washington Elementary School 218-879-3369

Wood City Preschool 218-879-4868

Queen Of Peace Catholic School 218-879-8516

DULUTH SCHOOLS

Benedictine Preschool 218-723-6419

Congdon Park Elementary 218-336-8825

Decs North Star Academy 218- 728-9556

Decs Raleigh Academy 218-628-0697

Denfeld High School 218-336-8830

Duluth East High School 218-336-8845

Duluth Preschool Of Fine Arts 218-722-3688

Happy Time Day Care Center 218-722-0927

Harbor City International School 218-722-7574

Homecroft Elementary 218-336-8865

Lakeview Christian Academy 218-723-8844

Lakewood Elementary 218-336-8870

Laura Macarthur Elementary 218-336-8900

Lester Park Elementary 218-336-8875

Lincoln Park Middle School 218-336-8880

Lowell Elementary 218-336-8895

Marshall School 218-727-7266

Many Rivers Montessori 218-464-5570

Montessori School Of Duluth 218-728-4600

Myers-Wilkens Elementary 218-336-8860

North Shore Community School 218-525-0663

Ordean East Middle School 218-336-8940

Piedmont Elementary 218-336-8950

Stella Maris - High School 218-724-6201

Stella Maris - Holy Rosary 218-724-8565

Stella Maris - St. James 218-624-1511

Stella Maris - St. Johns 218-724-9392

Stowe Elementary 218-336-8965

University Nursery School 218-728-1888

ESKO SCHOOLS

Esko High School (7-12) 218-879-2969

Little Esko

Lutheran Preschool 218-879-3510

Winterquist Elementary (K-6) 218-879-3361

HERMANTOWN SCHOOLS

Early Childhood Center 218-628-6293

Hermantown Community Learning Center 218-729-9313

Hermantown Elementary School 218-729-6891

Hermantown High School 218-729-8874

Hermantown Middle School 218-729-8874

Peace In Christ Preschool 218-729-9473

PROCTOR SCHOOLS

A.I. Jedlicka Middle School 218-628-4926

Bay View Elementary 218-628-4949

Early Childhood Center 218-628-6293

Pike Lake Elementary School 218-729-8214

Proctor Senior High School 218-628-4934

SUPERIOR, WI SCHOOLS

Bryant Elementary School 715-394-8785

Cooper Elementary School 715-394-8790

Family Forum Early Head Start 715-392-6286

Four Corners Elementary School 715-399-8911

Great Lakes Elementary School 715-395-8500

Lake Superior Elementary School 715-398-7672

Newborn 2 School Education 715-392-2499

Northern Lights Elementary School 715-395-6066

Superior Community Preschool 715-394-8700

Superior High School 715-394-8720

Superior Middle School 715-394-8740

PARTING THOUGHTS

for the REACHING NORTH

Northern poets and writers on what "the North" means to them.

WRITTEN BY ALYSSA FORD

If you ask an American to envision the North they might think of Santa in his polar outpost, or maybe that doe-eyed Disney princess who sings “Let it Go!”

Talk about the North with someone in Britain, or Russia, or Japan and you’ll get a much more visceral response.

In his meditative book The Idea of North, Scottish humanities professor Peter Davidson argues that the United States is unusual in that it lacks a strong cultural conception of North. “For most of humanity,” he says, “the North is an austere wilderness of harsh beauty, fox fires and snow-draped forests.” British author C.S. Lewis describes it thus in his autobiography: “huge regions of northern sky… something never to be described (except that it is cold, spacious, severe, pale and remote).” Davidson points out that one of the most important touchstones of the North idea—as an untamed frontier and proving ground—is instead woven into the American psyche as West or Going Out West.

Perhaps Professor Davidson is right. Maybe for some Americans, North is a two-dimensional confection of a place, a Candyland realm where Queen Frostine holds court with the polar bears. Or maybe the idea of North cannot be extracted whole from our Civil War.

There is one truth, though, that Professor Davidson is missing entirely: that the U.S. has a Deep North to contrast its Deep South. This American North is found in the upper reaches of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Though there is scant research about the cultural imaginings in this American North, the poets and writers of this region have much to say. Here are a few examples:

Minnesota poet Michael Dennis Browne has written about the North’s elementality. His poem “North Shore Symphony” starts like this: To be shore, and shaped / To be tree, trembling / To be rock, water and flower / To be flower, to flame and fade / I go / North North

Michigander poet Kathleen Carlton Johnson has written about the North’s dreamy quietude. Her poem “Reino” starts like this: He liked the silence / He liked the way the trees looked / Still and grey

Sauk Rapids native and essayist Mark Sakry has written about how the North reveals its true self come winter: “Winter brings to this region, already rich and abundant with wild land, a wilderness of immense proportion. Indeed, the stillness invoked by Nature’s hand upon the vast forested areas about Lake Superior amplifies the implicit solitude and romance of the region.”

Grand Rapids writer Susan Hawkinson has written about the North’s ability to level her: “Listening to wind and shore and water, I find out once more where I fit. It is a shrinking of self, an emptying of ego, an enlarging of the natural world.”

The late Minnesota essayist Paul Gruchow wrote about how the North heightened his senses: “The silence was so deep that you could hear the wings of the birds beating against the air. Ravens squeaked through the forest as if their wing joints were rusty.”

This North, with its pine, aspen, taconite, freshwater and fur, is unique in the world and very much defined by its people. Perhaps if Professor Davidson comes for a visit he will be inspired to amend his book. In the meantime, I’m sticking with another tome, also titled The Idea of North. This one is a set of poems by native Minnesotan Doug Linder. It starts like this:

Just past the Moose Lake exit off I-35, I say, “The North is an idea, not a place,” And my wife looks at me as she often does and asks, “Then why are we trying to drive to it?”