Is It Time To Give Duluth A New Name? Let's Call It Dylan Town.

While doing archival research on another project recently I came across a Jim Heffernan column that was published thirty years ago when Duluth city councillors were again debating the naming of a road after native son Bob Dylan. (This debate went on for two decades, fwiw.) Heffernan, a journalist and humorist, responded by saying the city should honor Bob Dylan by naming giving the city itself a new name: Dylan. He writes:

Let's say we change the name of Duluth to Dylan in honor of the performer Bob Dylan who was born here in 1941. Duluth is such an old hat name anyway. Let's get with the '90s. Dylan, Minnesota 55802. It's got a ring to it, don't you think?

The thing about this Dylan idea that's so interesting is that it also starts with a D so it would work well to existing logos. The Duluth Dukes (a 1990s minor league baseball team here) would be the Dylan Dukes. Students' letter jackets for Central High School wouldn't even have to be changed. Take UMD the University of Minnesota-Dylan. The Bulldog teams could still be UMD.  

Hef also suggested that the City of Superior could be re-named Joan Baez, even though UWS (University of Wisconsin-Superior) would have to be changed to UWJB.

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There's risk involved when newspapers permit columnists to propose such radical ideas. I mean, there are quite a few locals who might seriously want to pursue this. If that happened, the City Council may get bogged down with debating it and using valuable meeting time that could be used to address our city's other problems like the shortage of affordable housing and the cost overruns of roundabouts. 

Nevertheless, Hef did build on his case for a rename noting that "First Bank-Dylan adapts well. Dylan Lighthouse for the Blind--it adapts social services." We could also end up with a Dylan News-Tribune (DNT),  Dylan Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) and a Dylan Missabe & Ir Railway (DM&IR), which all roll off the tongue rather nicely.

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Another major benefit of the city being renamed Dylan is that we'll no longer be confused with Duluth, Georgia, he wrote. I myself can't tell you how many times I've Googled a local store name and ended up with stores in our Georgia sister city. 

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One drawback, a minor one I believe, to this idea would be what to call our Duluth Dylan Fest should this proposal ever get adopted. Would Dylan Dylan Fest (DDF) be the new title for our weeklong celebration each May? It feels redundant, but if you only call it Dylan Fest, one might wonder if we're celebrating the city or the Nobel Prize recipient who was born here. 

In a digression, Heffernan presented a novel idea that might work well as an alternative method of conducting our singer/songwriter contest. Currently contestants sing one Dylan song and a song of their own. Hef suggested a "Freestyle" song competition "in which entrants can sing any Dylan song in a non-Dylan style (as in the rap version of 'Like a Rolling Stone')-- or sing any non-Dylan song in Dylanesque fashion."

Heffernan's column appeared in the DNT on 8/12/92. If I remember correctly, he closed with this witty barb:

There is another, admittedly selfish, reason to change the name of Duluth to Dylan. Duluth has such rotten weather.

Heffernan is a News-Tribune columnist and editorial page associate.

RELATED LINK
The Case for Celebrating Dylan's Home Town

Duty To Warn: Duluth Police Launch Catalytic Converter Initiative

1996 Dodge Ram catalytic converter

Last year my son-in-law's mom had her catalytic converter stolen. It was taken during the night while parked in her driveway in a quiet suburban neighborhood.

The average motorist probably doesn't  know what a catalytic converter is or what it does, and would be hard-pressed to even locate where it was underneath their vehicle. 

The purpose of catalytic converters is to reduce harmful by-products of combustion and thereby keep our air and the environment cleaner. That clue should tell you where it is located: somewhere between the engine and the tailpipe. 

The reason they are being stolen is because criminals have learned that they contain small amounts of three precious metals: rhodium, platinum and palladium. These metals have catalytic properties. That is, they serve as catalysts that interact with the exhaust to make it 90% cleaner. 

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EARLIER THIS MONTH I went on a Citizen Ride-Along with the Duluth Police Department. It was interesting. I spent six hours in a patrol car, observing and experiencing what law enforcement officers do. I learned quite a bit that day, one of item being that there are a lot of catalytic converters being stolen in Duluth.

This must have been going on for some time because last fall the city initiated a program to etch serial numbers and identification on you catalytic converter to deter theft. Evidently, if the device is marked, thieves will leave it alone because they can't re-sell them.

How much does it cost to replace a catalytic converter? Parts and labor can run between one and three thousand dollars. It's not only a hassle, it's a bite out of your wallet.

For more information about Duluth's Catalytic Converter I.D. Program, check out this article from the DNT.

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/duluth-police-introduce-program-to-deter-catalytic-converter-theft

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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the New Joseph Nease Gallery Generates More Enthusiasm for the Expanding Arts District

The official announcement went out in mid-September. The Joseph Nease Gallery would become the newest addition to Duluth's Historic Arts & Theater District (HART).

For everyone who felt that Don Ness was the epitome of Mayoral Cool, I'd suggest that Mayor Emily Larson has proven herself to be a great sequel. Yesterday she made an appearance at the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Joseph Nease Gallery in the emerging Duluth Arts District. Familiar faces included artists Matthew Kluber* (seen here in this scintillating sequence with the Mayor), Kathy McTavish, Tim White, and others. Former Duluth Poet Laureate Sheila Packa, journalist Claire Kirch, representatives from the Greater Downtown Council and Duluth Chamber of Commerce, Karen Anderson (Playlist) and assorted local media were all on hand for the occasion.

Mayor Larson, pausing to review notes...

...then lighting up the room.

Mayor Larson shared that she was excited for the Nease gallery opening and said thank you for choosing Duluth as their new home. She reminded those present and the public (by way of the media) of the significant economic impact the arts has been having on our region, affirming that "art is more important than ever... a beautiful mosaic that tells our stories." 

Joe Nease, who had the honors of doing the ribbon cutting, said he was happy to be downtown and was "glad we found this space." He shared that it was an opportunity to give Duluth exposure to other artists. The Nease Gallery in Kansas City had shows that on several occasions obtained national recognition. I personally have been looking forward to the contributions the Joseph Nease Gallery (JNG) will be bringing to the Twin Ports arts scene.

It's been a busy couple years for the Joe and Karen Nease who first had to find a suitable space, then purchase and renovate it. It's been a lot of work, and there's still more to do before Saturday's Opening Reception (2:00-5:00 p.m.) A few of the walls in the space are on wheels so they can be moved about for various kinds of exhibits, a conceptually intriguing idea in and of itself.

This first show, Three States, features Matthew Kluber, Kathy McTavish and James Woodfill. Woodfill was one of the Kansas artists with whom Joe Nease had been associated there. McTavish, one of our local artist explorers in the digital age of art, has been busy simultaneously preparing for tonight's major opening at the Tweed. You can catch a sneak preview here. 

Yesterday's ribbon cutting was just one more reason to be excited about what's happening here in the Northland arts scene. 

REMINDERS

"CHANCE" Tonight at the Tweed

GOIN' POSTAL FALL ART SHOW. 17 Artists. Friday, 6-9 p.m.

OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY for THREE STATES here at the Joseph Nease Gallery. Do drop in.

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*For Cleveland Indians fans: The answer is "Yes." Kluber is genealogically related to the young Indians ace. I also learned that Mr. Kluber's wife is a shirttail relative to Hall of Fame hurler Bob Feller, who one of my first teddy bears was named after. 

Is It Really True? Fake News and Other Misinformation

THROWBACK THURSDAY

With all the bluster about "fake news" lately, here's a post from seven years past that addresses the same issue. The lingo may change but the issues remain the same. In fact, the situation may be worse, as we're pretty much lacking in fact-checkers. 

Is It Really True? 
(October 2010)

Did you know that October this year has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays, and that this happens only once every 823 years?

That was something I saw Tweeted a few minutes ago, but I really do not have any way to verify it. Seems hard to believe. What do you think?

That's the way a lot of stuff is online. You read it, and it is stated so factually that your brain just nods its assent and you absorb it into your knowledge base. But how much of that knowledge base is misinformation that you just swallowed uncritically?

Misinformation didn't just begin with the Internet though. P.T. Barnum famously quipped, "A sucker is born every minute." Even before the online age, credible sources would be getting it wrong. For example, in 1949, Popular Mechanics asserted that "computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." The wording implies a fairly large measure of doubt, but we'll go out on a limb and weigh the possibility of it, even if unlikely.

The New York Times once warned that the electric light would cause blindness. How could it not be true? It was in the New York Times! Well, journalists make mistakes just like everyone else. Unfortunately, when it's in print it remains in print a long, long time. Whereas when it's on a blog or website, hey guess what? I can delete it or fix it in a minute.

That's a scary thought, too, though. If everything is transitory, if everything can be re-arranged, what's left that's firm and solid?

Better stop my rambling and get on with the day. Y'all have a good one.

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For What It's Worth Dept.

Duluth's 27th annual Art For Earth Day Gallery Hop is this weekend. The DNT has assembled a nice summary of places to go and what you can expect to find.