Superior Catches: 30 Local Gift Ideas

Of every $100 spent at locally owned stores, $68 stays as salaries, taxes and other expenditures, says a buy-local movement called the 3/50 Project. The same $100 spent at a chain store keeps only $43 here; buying online at a non-local outlet nets zero. In the magazine’s 30th year of celebrating our Lake Superior neighborhood, we’re giving you 30+ ideas categories to buy local gifts plus some specific samplers.

1.   Food

• Smoked lake trout from Russ Kendall’s Smoke House, Knife River, Minnesota (North Shore Scenic Drive), $8.40 per pound. 218-834-5995.
• Mini (3 ounce) traditional pasties with meat fillings, $8.50 per dozen. The Pasty Oven in Quinnesec, Michigan. 800-753-5257, www.pastys.com.

2.   Beverages

• A growler of local beer, light to dark ales, $11 or $16. Thirsty Pagan Brewing, Superior, 715-394-2500, www.thirstypaganbrewing.com.
• Growlers, from blonde beers to dark stouts, up to 120 different brews during a year, $15.46 first time; $12.15 refills. Fitger’s Brewhouse. 218-726-1392, www.brewhouse.net/2005.

3.  Home Products

• Loll Planters made in Duluth from 100 percent recycled plastic to work in any climate, $62-$250. Loll Designs. 877-740-3387, www.lolldesigns.com.

4.  Toys

• Handmade wooden children’s toboggan by Courtney Smith of Saginaw, Minnesota, $189.99. Explorations. 218-722-1651, www.explorationsduluth.com.

5.  Event Tickets

• Four regular-priced admission 2010 summer shows at Big Top Chautauqua, $40 (a $20 savings). Big Top Chautauqua, Washburn, Wisconsin. 888-244-8368, www.bigtop.org.
• Season tickets (generally four shows) for Lake Superior Theatre, Marquette. $50 adult. 906-228-0472, www.lakesuperiortheatre.com.
• Magnus Theatre Season Flex-Pass. 6 adult tickets to be used all for one show or in any combination of shows. $148.50-$166.50. 807-345-5552, www.magnus.on.ca.

6.  Boat Tours & Train Rides

• Eight-day cruise on Clelia II; $5,695-$12,995 per person/double occupancy for voyage, meals, beverages, lectures, etc. Toronto-Duluth. Great Lakes Cruising Company. 888-891-0203, www.greatlakescruising.com.
• Ferry Bayfield to Madeline Island, $11.50 adult round-trip. Madeline Island Ferry Line, Wisconsin. 715-747-2051, madferry.com.
• Winter train ride Sault Ste. Marie to Agawa Canyon. $73 (Can.) adult round-trip. Agawa Canyon Tour Train, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. 800-242-9287, www.agawacanyontourtrain.com.
• Birthday Caboose 90-minute train ride. $200 for 8 children, 2 adults with cake, museum admission, gift for birthday child. North Shore Scenic Railroad, Duluth. 800-423-1273, www.northshorescenicrailroad.org.

7.  Team Gear

• Northern Michigan University “WildCats” dangle charm bracelet. $12.99. NMU Bookstore, Marquette. 888-458-8668, www.nmubookstore.com.
• “Yellowjackets” Scuff Slippers (one size) $14.95. University of Wisconsin-Superior Bookstore. 715-394-8278, www.uwsuper.edu/bookstore.

8.  Crafts

• Handmade porcupine quill boxes (varying sizes), $350-$1,800 (Can.). Agawa Indian Crafts & The Canadian Carver, Pancake Bay, Ontario. 800-656-9676, www.pancakebay.com.
• Pottery bowls and plates by Dennis Sotala, Calumet, Michigan. $32-$48. 906-337-6879, www.traprockpottery.com.

9.  Fine Arts

• Most photographers published in this magazine sell prints online from about $7 to $450 depending on sizes. Search their names on the web.
• Original Karlyn Holman paintings, unmounted, $75 & up, no-interest payments possible. Karlyn’s Gallery, Washburn, Wisconsin.715-373-2922, www.karlynholman.com.

10.  Books

• The Cork O’Connor mystery series based in Minnesota and in Ontario by William Kent Krueger. Nine books, the latest is Heaven’s Keep (Atria Books), $25 (ISBN: 978-1416556763) at any independent bookseller.

11.  Jewelry

• Lake Superior stone & gold (24 karat & 14 karat) brooch by Jude Ortiz, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. $1,100 (Can.) 705-942-8283.
• Sterling silver necklace by local artist Carmen Olejniczak of Neva Design, $298. (Matching earrings $98, small; $149, medium; $169, large). The Art Dock, DeWitt-Seitz Marketplace, Duluth. 218-722-1451.

12.  Pet Stuff

• Wuff da! dog and Lutefisk cat bowls hand decorated by Bergquist Imports of Cloquet, Minnesota. $18-$20. 800-328-085, www.bergquistimports.com.

13.  Yard & Garden

• Woodwalks Threshold Mat of 100% reclaimed redwood from pickle brining tanks for indoors or outdoors, $52. Made at I’m in the Garden in Duluth. 218-349-9121, www.iminthegarden.com.

14.  Calendars

• 2010 calendar of Royal Canadian Mounted Police illustrations, $18. Tweed Museum of Art store, University of Minnesota Duluth. 218-726-6139. www.d.umn.edu/tma/store.
• 2010 Time & Life Calendar with beautiful, spiritual paintings of the late Roy Thomas. Ahnisnabae Art Gallery, Thunder Bay. 807-577-2656, www.ahnisnabae-art.com.

15.  Workshop & Classes

• Sailing Charter Certification Course. $895 (dates vary). Sailboats Inc. in Superior. 800-826-7010, www.sailboats-inc.com.
• Gift certificates to North House Folk School, Grand Marais, Minnesota. $50-$200. Classes or store items. 888-387-9762, www.northhouse.org.
• Copper bowl making with Ed Gray, $65 (includes materials). Check times. Porcupine Mountains Folk School, Ontonagon, Michigan. 906-884-4188. www.porkies.org.

16.  Kitchen Items

• Epicurean line of kitchen cutting boards of 100% recycled cardboard, lightweight, stain and heat resistant, dishwasher safe and made in Duluth.  $11.99-$34.99. 866-678-3500, www.epicureancs.com.

17.  Boats & Gear

• Two-person “Mitey-Toon” electric pontoon boat, deck 8 feet long by 6 feet wide, about $3,395 (includes solar charger) at Lakeside Dock and Lift in Minocqua, Wisconsin. Made by Northern Exposure Manufacturing in Duluth. 218-729-6566, www.miteytoon.com, sold at ports stores in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.

18.  Lake "Gems" & Minerals

• Genuine copper nuggets available either polished or “raw.” $3.50-$5.95. Da Yoopers Tourist Trap and Museum, Ishpeming, Michigan. 800-628-9978, www.dayoopers.com.

19.  Memberships

• Individual membership to Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, $35, or individual plus one (one free guest per visit) $50. Members park free, receive 10% off in the gift shop, get quarterly Currents e-newsletter, invites to members-only viewings. 218-740-3474, www.glaquarium.org.
• Basic annual membership to Freshwater Fishing Museum, Hayward, Wisconsin: $25 includes online edition of quarterly Splash and annual Record Book, an annual family pass, a patch, name on Wall of Fame, a calendar. 715-634-4440, www.freshwater-fishing.org.

20.  Charter Flights & Fishing

• Charters to Stannard Rock Lighthouse (44 miles north of Marquette). Fishing Fever Charters, a 10-hour trip for $650 for one to three people (add $150 for a fourth person). 906-359-4020, www.fishingfevercharters.com.
• Half-day fishing charters out of Tofte, Minnesota, $350 1 to 4; sightseeing trips $80 an hour for 1 to 4. Tofte Charters. 866-663-9932, www.toftecharters.com.