Dave and Dave Blog

Everyone in the Duluth-Superior area has been a part of a history making month of March.  It ends today with no measurable snowfall and was one of the warmest on record.  It also tarnished the reputation of the old saying "in like a lion out like a lamb" and vice versa.  March 2010 came in and went out as lamb-like as it has ever been.  As a warm weather fan, I can only hope that temperatures for the rest of our spring and summer remain above normal.  However, we are in dire need of some precipitation to help diminish the wildfire danger and green things up so let's get some of those famous April showers.

This is the anniversary of an important date in music history.  It marks the day when the Beatles held the first five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1964.  "Can't Buy Me Love" was number one followed by "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Please, Please Me".  The Fab Four also had seven other songs in the Hot 100 that week.  It's a testament to how popular the group was just months after their music was first played on U-S radio stations.

In two of the last three years, snowstorms have had a negative impact on the 2nd Harvest Northern Lakes Foodbank "Empty Bowl" fundraisers.  Normally held in early April, the event lost about 10 thousand dollars in donations in both 2007 and 2009 because of late season snowstorms that hit on the day it was held.  This year's "Empty Bowl" will be held at the Depot on April 20th.  It offers a handmade ceramic bowl created by area artists and school children, plus a meal of soup, bread and a beverage for just a 15 dollar donation.  There is also an online auction with ten premiere bowls up for bids.  Get more information and bid by going to www.northernlakesfoodbank.org

I'm always a little uncomfortable when scientists start messing with Mother Nature especially when they try and re-create the "big bang" that many think is the force behind the start of the universe.  Today an international group of scientific "geeks" are using an underground particle accelerator to hurl sub-atomic particles at nearly the speed of light into each other.  The data from the resulting collision will be used to answer questions about the "big bang" and possible evidence of a substance called "dark matter".  Thankfully, if you are reading this, any fears of creating an earth destroying explosion because of their experiments were apparently unfounded.

Another sure sign that spring has sprung in the Twin Ports is the arrival of the sea gulls.  Since the tourist season is not yet in full swing, available food for the "flying rats" is in short supply in Canal Park.  That means the gulls have had to expand into other neighborhoods that are far from their usual hangouts.  The big winged scavengers have been seen trying to muscle into areas that early robins and other songbirds normally frequent and are engaging in a tug of war with the worms that are found.  Once the hot dog and popcorn stands open up, the gulls should head back to the shore areas where they belong. 

Google officials say over 1100 cites and towns around the country (including Duluth-Superior) have applied to become a test site for their experimental fiber network.  The application period ended on Friday and Google will start narrowing down the choices and will conduct visits to the finalists over the coming months.  A final decision on a target community or communities will be made by the end of the year

Even though at least one lane in each direction will remain open, officials expect some major traffic delays and congestion on I-35 through Duluth during the next two construction seasons.  Mn-Dot's John Bray and Project Manager Roberta Dwyer were guests on this morning's show and urged residents to find alternate routes to get around town from May until the end of October.  The 70 million dollar rebuilding project is needed since most of the freeway, that opened 40 years ago, has exceeded its normal life span.  After putting up with the inconveniences of construction, we will all have a much better road to travel when it's complete.

The Twin Ports Google campaign got another major boost today as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty proclaimed this as "Google Twin Ports Day".   Duluth Mayor Don Ness thinks Google officials will narrow their search down by making a short list of finalists to chose from.  The mayor says he is fairly confident that the Twin Ports will make that short list.  Show your support by logging onto www.googletwinports.com

On Saturday night, guitarist Billy McLaughlin will perform at the Sacred Heart Music Center in Duluth.  Billy joined us on the Dave and Dave Show today and recounted his amazing story.  His career was just reaching a high point in the late 1990's when he was diagnosed with a neuro-muscular disorder called Focal Dystonia in the hand he uses to form the chords on the guitar.  After taking some time off, he decided to learn to play the guitar all over again, using his other hand.  McLaughlin has once more mastered the guitar and is recording and performing again across the country.  He has also become a spokesperson for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.  Billy McLaughlin will be onstage with the Electric String Quartet at 7:30 Saturday night at Sacred Heart, 2nd Avenue West and 4th Street in Duluth. 

Dave Walter returned from vacation today with a nice tan and lots of stories to tell about his trip to Arizona.  A new addition to the Dave and Dave Show also started today, get the latest on Hollywood with J-D's Daily Dirt which is also featured in a blog that you will find elsewhere on the KDAL website.

Earlier this month the Iron Range Tourism group began an online appeal to Bob Dylan to return to his hometown of Hibbing.  According to Cheyenne Denny, the movement has been growing with fans around the world signing a petition and submitting videos at www.comehomebob.com  She says their facebook site has already accumulated several thousand "fans" and hundreds have watched a special (and funny) youtube video by Aaron Brown that "sweetens the pot" for Dylan to accept the offer.  Denny says Dylan hasn't responded yet, but they remain hopeful. 

Once again, the Kiwanis Club of Friendly Duluth is presenting awards to the Police Officer and Firefighter of the year at a ceremony today in the Great Hall of the Radisson Hotel in Duluth.

A big "thank you" to John Warren who has been filling in as co-host over the last couple of weeks while Dave Walter was on vacation. 

98.9 KTCO, a sister station of KDAL, is holding a special event this weekend at the Superior Barker's Island Inn.  The 2010 Bridesmaid Ball invites you to find that bridesmaid dress you spent a bundle on (and wore just once), see if you can still squeeze into it and wear it proudly on Saturday night.  Thel dance is a benefit for the Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare and will feature a grand march, food, drink, an awards ceremony and live D-J.  If you don't have a bridesmaid dress, any dress will do.  Tickets are 15 dollars or two for 25 dollars.  Doors open at 7 with the grand march at 7:30 p-m Saturday.

President Obama signed the health care reform bill this morning but Republicans are still fighting it on a variety of fronts.  Several states are planning lawsuits and one Minnesota representative (Michele Bachmann) is introducing a bill to repeal the whole thing.  Meanwhile, Congressman Jim Oberstar says passing the reform package is a "watershed moment" for the country and compares its significance to the Medicare bill in 1965.

The Duluth School District's Bill Hanson and Kerry Leider provided an update on the spring and summer construction schedule at schools throughout the district and also talked about the approval of all-day kindergarten starting with the next school year.  Several award winning students were in the studio to detail the statewide competitions that they were recently a part of.  Devin Johnson and Alyssa Everson placed 3rd and 7th in the state's multi regional spelling bee last week.  Jacob Baldwin will represent Duluth in the state's Geographic Bee in St. Cloud next month.  Catherine Brown and Dan Ott, from the East Acappella Choir talked about their group winning perfect scores at the March 10th State-Region Vocal Large Group contest.  Other students also excelled in the Culinary Arts program and in the PBS Art and Photography Contest.  Good to see well deserved accolades being given to students who participate in state and regional competitions for endeavors other than sports.

With an official high in Duluth yesterday of 57 degrees, the National Weather Service says another warm weather record was tied.  This year joins 1946, 1968 and 2000 as the only years where we have had 5 consecutive days with a high temperature of 50 or above in March.  The streak comes to an end today with highs only in the 30's.  Even though it feels much colder than it has been, this is the type of weather we're supposed to be having.  The normal high temperature this time of year is 35.  I get the feeling we may have to pay for all this nice weather somewhere down the line, so I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. 

I was sad to hear about the passing of a 1950's and 60's T-V icon yesterday.  Fess Parker gained fame by playing two early American frontier heroes, Davy Crockett and Danel Boone.  I was among the millions of baby boomer kids who just had to have a Davy Crockett "coon skin cap".  I pestered my folks so much that besides the hat, I ended up with the full costume including a buck skin fringed vest and pants.  You know I just had to be properly dressed for the important role of defending my backyard "Alamo".

The first lakers of the season will head out of the Twin Ports this weekend to open the 2010 shipping season on the Great Lakes.  The Army Corps of Engineers decided to open the Soo Locks a few days early this year since most of the ice has already disappeared due to the recent warm temperatures.  Adele Yorde, from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, was among today's guests on the "Dave and Dave Show".  She says the "James R. Barker" is loading coal at the Midwest Energy Terminal in Superior and will head out early Saturday morning.   Ships will have to use the Superior entry until the end of the month since the Aerial Lift Bridge remains in the "down" position for a painting project.  Everyone is hoping for a big improvement from the 2009 shipping season which was one of the worst in recent memory.

Filming will take place for the "Google-Fest" movie around the Twin Ports over the next couple of days.  The producers are looking for thousands of "extras" for a crowd shot at the DECC on Saturday.  There will also be live music and lots of activities for the whole family at the event in the Lake Superior Ballroom between 2 and 6 p-m.  There will be free parking at the DECC for the event.  Get out and show your support for getting Google to chose the Twin Ports as one of the test cities for that proposed high speed fiber broadband network.  Go to www.googletwinports.com for all the details. 

On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is allowed to have a wee bit of Irish in them, put on some green and celebrate.  Although both John Warren (who has been filling in for Dave Walter) and I have 50 percent Irish blood in us, neither one of us was wearing any green at all today.  It wasn’t a snub, just an oversight…we forgot what day it was. However, I will be enjoying some corned beef and cabbage for dinner and, if I eat too much, I could turn green later.  Although it’s quite a reverent holiday in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day has become mostly a good excuse to have a parade and a party in the U-S.  If you are planning to tip a few pints of green beer in honor of St. Patty, keep in mind state and local law enforcement will be stepping up their patrols tonight so don’t even think about drinking and driving.  Please, use a designated driver or call a cab.

The Director of Business Services for the Duluth School District, Bill Hanson, joined us on the show today to talk about last night’s school board meeting.  The board voted to approve all day kindergarten in all Duluth elementary schools starting in September of this year.  They also voted to eliminate the magnet school program and direct those funds to reduce the growing achievement gap in the district.

Today on the Dave and Dave Show, Meg Kearns from the CHUM Emergency Food Shelf in Duluth says contributions are lagging in their March food drive from the same time last year.  Despite a 14 percent increase in demand for their services, the food shelf cash donations are down by 2 percent and the food donations are off by a whopping 71 percent.  Kearns is hoping people are conducting food drives and waiting until the last minute before delivering what they collect.  The March food drive is especially important because the Minnesota Food Share Campaign offers matching funds for what is donated locally.  Monetary or non perishable food donations can be dropped off or mailed to the CHUM Food Shelf at 120 North 1st Avenue West in Duluth.  Among the most need food at this time is canned corn and canned tuna although a cash donation allows them to buy what they need at a much lower price. 

We also heard from Duluth Airport Executive Director, Brian Ryks, who was elated that  Governor Pawlenty kept the 11.7 million dollars for the reconstruction of the passenger terminal building in the bonding bill.  That state money will help to leverage about 45 million in federal funding for the project that is being done in stages and should be complete in two or three years.