Dave and Dave Blog

Like many other holidays that started off with a serious and meaningful purpose, Memorial Day was created as a special day to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.  Sadly, over the years it has morphed into just another three day holiday weekend and the kickoff to the "summer" season.  We can certainly have fun during the long weekend, but please take just a few moments to remember the men and women who died in order to allow the rest of us to enjoy the great life we have in this country.  U-S soldiers are still putting their lives on the line everyday around the world to preserve our freedoms, something we should never take for granted.  The Northland Vietnam Vets Association is having their 18th annual Memorial Day program on Sunday at the Vietnam Memorial located on the Duluth Lakewalk.  Several memorial services will be held at cemeteries around the area on Monday morning and the Memorial Day parade will be held in West Duluth at 12:30 p-m. 

The decision by State Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon of Duluth to accept an offer from gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton to run as his Lieutenant Governor, has set off a series of moves by other politicians.  State Representative Roger Reinert will give up his District 7-B seat to run for Prettner-Solon's senate seat and Duluth City Councilor Kerry Gauthier is among those filing for Reinert's house seat.  If Gauthier is elected, he would then give up his seat on the council. The filing period for the various public offices up for election this fall will end on Tuesday of next week.

Members of the Duluth Huskies baseball team are arriving this weekend for workouts and will open the season on the road next week.  The first home game at Wade Stadium is set for June 7th.  Check out the Dave and Dave podcast today for more on the Huskies. 

Both Minnesota and Wisconsin State Patrols have already kicked off their "Click It Or Ticket" campaigns to encourage everyone to buckle up.  Duluth and Superior police are also a part of the coordinated law enforcement mobilization.  Seatbelt usage in Wisconsin is just 74 percent compared to 90 percent in Minnesota and a national average of 84 percent.  Those averages are much less for younger drivers and passengers.  Both states have now enacted laws to make seat belt enforcement a primary law, which means authorities can pull you over and issue a ticket just for not wearing your seatbelt even if no other violation is observed.  Unbelted drivers and passengers still account for over half of all traffic fatalities in Minnesota.  Have a safe Memorial Day weekend, slow down, buckle up and no drinking and driving.

City councilor Todd Fedora was a guest on the Dave & Dave Show today and detailed some of the bad news relayed to councilors by Duluth Chief Administrative Officer David Montgomery regarding the city's budget last night.  Several open positions will not be filled by the city and several repair projects will have to be delayed to address this year's budget deficit.  Even deeper cuts will need to be made next year as the state faces another multi billion dollar shortfall and will most likely make deeper cuts in local government aid.  Cuts will need to be deeper and more painful as revenues continue to drop.

Special guests scheduled for tomorrow's show will include the newly appointed Chancellor of UMD, Lendley Black and Superior Mayor Dave Ross who is continuing his quest to be Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. 

Cheryl Lien, a teacher at East High School, visited the Dave and Dave Show this morning along with Superintendent Keith Dixon and several other school staff and students.  Lien has been with the Duluth School District for nearly 23 years and was recently presented with the Gold Star Teacher Award for 2010.  In nominating Lien for the award, East principal Laurie Knapp says Cheryl has inspired countless students to continue their education in college or post secondary training and always brings a passion and enthusiasm to her classes.  Also this morning, Pam Bowe, from the school's summer meals program, says free breakfasts and lunches will be served to kids 18 and younger at several schools in Duluth throughout the summer months.  The U-S Department of Agriculture program provides a nutritional "safety net" for children in the community during their summer vacation from school.  Get more information by calling 336-8707.

Like most everything else, the cost of going to the movies has been going up over the years.  The dime matinees are long gone and now some New York movie theaters are charging over 20 dollars for a ticket.  It is still under ten dollars for most shows in the Duluth-Superior area (except for some 3-D films and the OmniMax), but you also have to factor in the high cost of popcorn or other snacks and a drink.  Depending on your appetite, plan on spending over 20 dollars  per person for a night at the movies.  Despite all the options to view movies on your home t-v or computers, seeing a movie on the "big screen" in a theater is still a special occasion and the prices apparently aren't keeping people away.  Last year theaters in the U-S sold a total of 1.4 billion tickets, even though home theater systems are becoming bigger and cheaper and d-v-d sales and online movie downloads have been growing by leaps and bounds.  For the same 20 bucks you could rent a couple movies, buy a dozen bags of microwave popcorn and several 2-liter bottles of soft drinks to wash it down with.  But, you're gonna miss the "in the theater with an audience" experience.

Starting tonight or tomorrow, BP will post a live, real-time online video stream of their oil leak gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.  The feed was suggested by Congressman Edward Markey who said public has a right to monitor the progress of the company in containing the spill and capping the leak.  The live video could also help independent analysts determine whether BP's estimates of how much oil is spewing into the gulf is accurate or not.  Many experts fear the amount of the continuing spill is much greater than early estimates.  Once the feed begins, it can be found a www.globalwarming.house.gov  The question then is, which is more exciting to watch...gallons of oil gushing from a broken, underwater well head or the live video stream of the KDAL studio during the Dave and Dave Show?  You decide.

Several years ago, around a dozen of the so-called "payday loan" operations popped up in Superior.  Since Wisconsin was one of just a few states where that industry wasn't regulated, they were hoping to draw customers from all around the area and especially Minnesota.  The payday loan stores offer easy, short term loans but are known for charging outrageous interest rates (500 percent a year or more).  Yesterday, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, signed a bill that puts limits on the size of the loans and where such operations can locate.  He also used his partial veto power to eliminate auto title loans entirely which Doyle says could result in people losing their cars and their ability to keep a job.  The law will take effect on December 1st and will bar loan stores from locating within 1500 feet of each other and loans would be limited to 1500 dollars or 35 percent of monthly income, whichever is less.  What effect the new regulations will have on the Superior payday loan business remains to be seen. 

The damaged oil well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to release thousands of barrels of oil into the water even though BP officials say they have turned the corner to resolving the issue.  They are now collecting about 40 percent of the escaping oil but are still working on a permanent way to stop the flow which has been going on now for nearly a month.  The company says their clean up costs are sure to surpass a billion dollars.  You gotta think that investing in some prevention measures beforehand would have been much cheaper and would have saved the environmental damage that is getting worse by the minute.  Tar balls are washing up on Key West beaches and over a hundred dead sea turtles have been found along the Gulf coast so far.  Some believe that currents could carry some of the oil out of the Gulf and up the east coast too.  Sadly, even when the oil leak is finally stopped, the effects of the mess it made will continue for years to come.

When news stories about the increase in childhood obesity across the country seem to pop up every day, it is refreshing to hear about the "Duluth Children's Fit and Fun Run" this Wednesday.  3rd, 4th and 5th graders from 10 area elementary schools will gather at the Central High School track for quarter mile races throughout the day.  The event is sponsored by Grandma's Marathon, Duluth Public Schools and the SMDC Health System.  It wraps up a year long effort in which students were fitted with pedometers to record their steps and prizes and other incentives were awarded for each 10 thousand steps taken.  It is hoped that it will help kids realize the importance of physical fitness and will inspire them to continue to exercise regularly during the upcoming summer vacation months.  All the participants in the Wednesday races will get a t-shirt and ribbon.

A grassroots community effort to provide a deserving Duluth couple with a new home is called the "Modest Home Makeover".  Despite the name, the demolition of Rick and Brenda Hallfrisch's old home sounds a bit "extreme".  On Saturday morning members of the group and the Duluth Fire Department will be burning the house down.  The house buring will also feature a chance for the public to contribute a buck or two to the Modest Homemakover cause and there will also be a Memorial Blood Center blood drive and the Salvation Army will be collecting non perishable food donations.  The Burger King restaurant at 208 East Central Entrance is hosting the "Burning To Give" event from 10 a-m to 4 p-m Saturday and will provide free burgers for donations.  Get more information by logging onto www.modesthomemakeover.org

Registration is now underway for the Grandma’s Minnesota Mile race that is held in downtown Duluth in September.  A new division for the 2010 event will help St. Luke’s Hospital to raise funds and awareness for the battle against breast cancer.  Participants in the “Walk A Mile For Breast Cancer” will have ten dollars of their 25 dollar entry fee contributed to the St. Luke’s Foundation.  Other features of the Grandma’s Minnesota Mile are the “Wheelchair Mile”, the “Verizon Wireless Kids Mile” and the “All City Mile”.  Get more information about the various races and get registered for the September 19^th Minnesota Mile by logging onto www.GrandmasMarathon.com