∞

Lunch at New Scenic Cafe is a mandatory activity for us on the North Shore.

Plate with ahi tuna and avocado on flatbread crackers, a slaw salad, wasabi, and pickled ginger, on a floral-rimmed dishWhite plate with romaine lettuce, a grain bowl topped with cucumber slices and microgreens, blueberries, a strawberry, and a lime wedge.Auto-generated description: A plate with folded flatbreads and a small bowl of cinnamon sugar next to a spoon.

∞

Jay Cooke State Park

Finished hiking around Jay Cooke State Park 1.63 miles in 51.6 minutes. Beautiful scenery and delightful day. 🥾

A river rushes through a rocky landscape bordered by pine trees under a partly cloudy sky.A river flows rapidly over rocky terrain surrounded by leafless trees.A tranquil waterfall flows over rocks in a natural, forested landscape.A group of three people is posing for a photo outdoors, with a river and trees in the background.A forest scene shows a fallen tree trunk covered in moss surrounded by leafless trees and underbrush.Three people are smiling for a selfie in front of a rushing river and rocky landscape with trees under a blue sky.Rushing water flows over rocks in a forested landscape with bare trees.A suspension bridge crosses a rocky river in a forested area with sparse tree cover.A rushing river flows over dark rocks surrounded by trees under a partly cloudy sky.
∞

St. Louis River at Jay Cooke State Park.

∞

Busy morning at 190º Coffee & Tea this morning.

White paper cup of latte with rose-shaped milk foam art on a sunny wood counter at a coffee shop
∞

Nate Bargatze in Duluth

We had a night full of laughs seeing Nate Bargatze for the first time — and as it happens it was the very first show of his new Big Dumb Eyes tour here in Duluth! The show was completely sold out. Julian McCollough served as host and there were short bits from Steven Rogers, Keith Alberstadt, and Aaron Weber before Nate took the stage for the main event. Hilarious stuff! 🤣

Auto-generated description: A person is speaking into a microphone on a stage, with an audience seated in the background. Auto-generated description: Five people are performing on a lit stage in front of a large audience in an indoor arena.
∞

Seated for Nate Bargatze “Big Dumb Eyes” World Tour at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth. Looking forward to seeing him for the first time.

Packed arena crowd seated around a purple-lit center stage with large hanging speaker arrays and a screen showing a cartoon portrait overhead.
∞

Duluth / Stairs.

Black metal fire escapes zigzagging across the facades of two brick apartment buildings in Duluth
∞

End of day #TeamSPS photo at MnTech Tech Connect 2025. Sitting in the chair was by popular demand. 😬😊

Group of about 14 colleagues posing together indoors at a conference, some standing, some kneeling, one seated in a chair at center front.
∞

Was fun to share the stage with Melissa Flicek and Jenn Zmuda at the final session of MnTech Tech Connect 2025 during the CIO & CTO Panel. Many topics around AI adoption and leading digital transformations.

Four panelists seated in leather chairs on a conference stage beneath a lit MnTech sign, mid-discussion at a technology event.
∞

Learned a lot at “Economic Update - Tariffs & General Economic Trends” with Matt Haggerty of RSM at MnTech Tech Connect 2025.

55% chance of recession — Economist speak for “very high”. Predicted April will be the last month of positive job growth. Many false signals due to tariff “pull-ins”.

Presenter stands at front of conference room showing a slide titled Tariff-induced recession odds are rising to a seated audience of about 40 attendees.