Catherine Partsch Conlan
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catconlan.net
Catherine Partsch Conlan
@catconlan.net
2.4K followers 600 following 7.8K posts
Editor of a Labor newspaper. Union card, clinic escort, Nebraska roots, now Minnesota. Hockey, abortion, cake, abolition, liberation. I love it when goalies lose in OT. She/they. Radicalizing over time. Banner photo: IG @havington
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catconlan.net
The ladies from the Landing brought a lil Eddie Vedder to the photo shoot
Three women in Pearl Jam shirts and jeans are standing by the Pearl Jam Jamboni Zamboni, with a (slightly smaller than?) life-size cutout of Eddie Vedder
November 13, 2025 at 3:18 AM
catconlan.net
holy shit you guys look at the zamboni at my local hockey rink; the arena manager reached out to Pearl Jam for a sponsorship and got it and now we have a JAMBONI ZAMBONI
ice-cleaning machine with a crest painted on the side that says PEARL JAM with a big PJ and two crossed hockey sticks. The arena manager is grinning in the driver's seat. On the wall is a sponsorship sign from the Landing Sports Bar, the muni bar in town; credit to them for the photo
November 13, 2025 at 3:16 AM
catconlan.net
Worth the wait
the Aurora/northern lights, looking like a shadowy ghostly figure in the sky, sprinkled with stars The Aurora/northern lights swooping in reddish/green streamers across a starry sky The Aurora/northern lights, mostly green shimmers, with trees and a dark farm light silhouetted along the bottom The Aurora/northern lights starting to form “curtain” shapes
November 13, 2025 at 3:03 AM
catconlan.net
Okay!!
Green pillars of northern lights stretch above a tree line
November 13, 2025 at 2:41 AM
catconlan.net
if the clouds are this bright without a moon, that display must be incredible
glowing cloud cover with black trees silhouetted along the bottom of the photo
November 12, 2025 at 2:23 AM
catconlan.net
lil frozen particle can’t decide if it’s a graupel or a snowflake
A piece of firewood, covered with tiny pieces of frozen precipitation, wood shavings, dirt and other organic debris. Most of the precipitation is simply tiny white frozen pellets, but one, right in the center, is like a six-sided star, like a holiday cookie for a fairy
November 9, 2025 at 8:15 PM
catconlan.net
henlo we are with the dmnir and we are here to check ur tag
Two dogs are on a woodland trail in the fall. One is a black staffy mix with a white chest, the other is a brindle pitty mix. They are both wearing blaze orange vests with reflective tape for SAFETY during deer season
November 9, 2025 at 7:17 PM
catconlan.net
"Welcome to Target!!"
Screenshot from Shoresy S1E1. The b'ys are about to get in a fight with a bouncer. Ted Hitchcock (if you say it fast it sounds like Ten Inch Cock), a Newfie in a fisherman's sweater, is baring his teeth (except for a big gap in the front). Goody, an absolute beauty, is removing his bridge. Dolo (un foi) is in a hoodie and stocking cap, his face impassive. All three are facing a big bald bouncer, who has his back to us and clearly doesn't understand he's about to get his ass kicked, as if he had looked someone in the eye and smiled at them at Target.
November 9, 2025 at 4:48 PM
catconlan.net
pondering additional anarchy to loose upon the world (except its kind of cold so maybe not right now)
A brindle pittie mix is lying on a (decrepit) dog bed, looking out a window by a front door. He is unrepentant about barging on the rug earlier
November 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
catconlan.net
judge my poutine
Fries covered with brown gravy, cheese curds and green onions. Glass of cab sav almost done next to it. Curds were nicely melted and this was a big plate
November 8, 2025 at 12:10 AM
catconlan.net
I don’t hear from my nibbling often but when I do it’s extremely urgent
Text message: the one and only Kings Hand poster has been to Two Harbors. Attached are a couple of tweets, one from cool becky: I’m in Two Harbors, Minnesota
November 7, 2025 at 10:05 PM
catconlan.net
I posted this one when we finally got rural broadband here at the house (less than 10 years ago)
A WPA poster showing a stylized house (black with white windows) on a red hill with a blue background. Three giant white arrows are pointing at the house, with the word RADIO over the top and RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION at the bottom
November 7, 2025 at 2:38 PM
catconlan.net
moonlight walk (on leashes because it’s porcupine weather)
blurry darkish photo with some dramatic full moon lighting: two dogs on leashes have stopped to sniff the air
November 6, 2025 at 12:52 AM
catconlan.net
The Workers Aid committee of one of the unions at the Labor Temple had a Solidarity Food Table out yesterday. The cage on the table is to keep crows off the supplies. I LEARNED THAT THEY ARE BEING FED ELSEWHERE AT THE TEMPLE 🥹
A folding table at the edge of a parking lot in front of a 1930s building. The table has various dried, canned and packaged foods on it and a sign that says "Solidarity Food Table: Free. THis table is set up by the Workers Aid committee of USW Local 9460." Some of the packaged food is under a wire drawer turned upside down to protect it.
November 4, 2025 at 6:07 PM
catconlan.net
these two are generally okay sleeping late but 4-6 p.m. is definitely the witching hour around here
A black staffy mix and a brindle pitty/mastiff mix are in the backseat of a car. The staffy is definitely concerned about the driver’s speed, attention, route and destination, while the brindle is smiling with an open mouth and is just having a good time.
November 2, 2025 at 11:06 PM
catconlan.net
I can't believe I forgot one of his most common nicknames, which is Creepy Watson, after the glitchy Watson in Sherlock Holmes Nemesis. Corbu has a knack for silently appearing behind you, looking at you, when you were sure you had left him in the last room.
A screenshot from a video game; a Dr. Watson-looking figure is standing and looking at you in a hallway. He's dressed in an Edwardian era (?) suit and a bowler, and has a mustache. The glitch is that as you walk through the video game, you may leave him in another room, and when you turn around, he's right behind you, just looking at you.
November 1, 2025 at 4:02 PM
catconlan.net
He is dapper and ridiculous at the same time, both timid and completely secure in what he does. I wonder what his early years were like; he's not damaged, just odd, and I would love to know why. He's the bestest. Corbu, Corbulicious, Le Corbusier, Corbubu, Black Dog, Booboo, the Bestest Boy.
A black staffy mix with a white blaze and toes is sitting up in a living room. He is looking at you with an expression that is a little unreadable, kinda serious, but his body language is confident and relaxed. He is the bestest boy.
November 1, 2025 at 12:45 AM
catconlan.net
He is a loverboy & cannonball & homebody & goofball, but all on his terms: He will dissociate at the slightest inconvenience and is a diva about his paws (no wetness or crunchy leaves or grass clippings allowed). It's hard to know what he's thinking; the first time he wagged his tail, we cheered.
A black staffy mix sitting in grass and leaves; he's caught while licking his lips and is showing a very pink mouth and tongue. The whole effect is casual but alert.
November 1, 2025 at 12:35 AM
catconlan.net
It took him five days to get to this point. Family members fed him by hand and sometimes gave him water by hand. He wasn't afraid, but was extremely Bartleby the Scrivener: He simply Preferred Not To.
A black staffy mix with white toes is stepping out of a wire crate onto a dog bed, looking up at you. Half of his body is still in the crate. He looks a little cautious but not afraid.
November 1, 2025 at 12:28 AM
catconlan.net
How it started in 2020 as a pandemic project, how it's going five years and quite a few pounds later. Corbu was a heartworm+ Texas transplant who didn't know how to dog and didn't get out of his crate for three days. In 👏 This 👏 House 👏 we don't have favorites but...he's my favorite.
Blurry photo of a black staffy mix cowering in his crate. His body language is more "I don't get it" than "please don't hurt me" but it is sad and pthetic. He looks a little skinny but his black coat is shiny and it's clear that just letting him go at his own pace is the way to make him most comfortable. Same dog sitting in a living room. The white blaze in his chest is visible, and his eyes are soft and his body language is clearly much more comfortable. He's a little heftier and has a lil more white on his chin.
October 31, 2025 at 11:58 PM
catconlan.net
In an baffling turn, Tolkkinen turns her "WOWWW if you'd just be NICER maybe we'd consider HELPING YOU" finger-wagging to the Red Lake Nation, which confiscated a single-engine plane after the pilot violated its airspace.
Screen shot of an excerpt from a column by Minnesota Star Tribune rural columnist Karen Tolkkinen: Red Lake Nation leaders didn’t return my messages, so I can’t share their thoughts. Was the confiscation a flex to remind everyone of their sovereignty, after which they will return Smedsmo’s airplane? It’s not the first time a tribe has tangled with a private pilot. In 2009, the Hualapai Tribe of Arizona confiscated a paraglider used by a tour guide to fly over tribal land to take photos. The case was settled, so although the Federal Aviation Administration says tribes have no control over airspace, there was never a court decision on it. Red Lake’s 1978 resolution was passed to prevent all aircraft, especially military planes, from crossing above the Red Lake Nation to protect its wildlife and 6,000 residents from the effects of high-speed, low-altitude flights, according to the resolution. It apparently hasn’t worked, as tribal members have complained online about frequent aircraft sightings. I’m trying to understand why the tribe feels it’s justified in claiming 20,000 feet of airspace, when 500-1,000 feet is more in line with private land rights, and why it is punishing a pilot who had to make a lifesaving landing. Their move might seem needlessly antagonistic, but then, too, I’m sure it’s meaningful for the tribe to be the one holding the cards when for so much of their history they have been pushed around. Unique among Minnesota tribes, the Red Lake reservation remains intact, its ancestors having wisely and skillfully fended off congressional attempts to divide it the way the government had other tribes. Red Lake lands are not owned by individuals; the tribe holds them in common. The tribe has the right to decide who gets to visit or live on the reservation, and it’s not subject to state government or courts. It governs itself, only subject to federal law. I don’t think anyone would begrudge the tribal members for exercising these rights. I admire them for hanging onto their values and their privacy in the face of intense outside pressure. Yet even Red Lake, as independent as it is, needs the outside world at times. One of its chief goals is to regain full ownership of Upper Red Lake, which it steadfastly maintains was never ceded to the government. It is a claim that deserves rigorous review and, if they are correct, political action. But banning and seizing aircraft won’t win anybody over. A moment that could have built bonds between two cultures ended up driving more division, as reflected in mutually hostile comments on social media.
October 31, 2025 at 2:32 PM
catconlan.net
Moose had some more quills to remove so we went to the regular Vee-ee-tee today. He needed some heavy sedation and we had a not terrible appt! My favorite part was when it was all over and the vet looked at half-conscious Moose and said “ketamine boy” in his deep Slavic voice with great affection
The face of a dog who is feeling no pain. Brindle pitty/mastiff mix with a purple box muzzle on his face. He’s lying on the floor and is covered in a fleece blanket. His eyes are open but blank
October 30, 2025 at 8:10 PM
catconlan.net
went to reshare this and the photo disappeared at some point so I'll post it again for some Halloween joy:
A young white couple: They are both wearing light blue dresses little-girl with a pink sash and bow at the waist, white knee socks and barrettes. You can't see it, but they are both wearing black Mary Janes. They are holding hands and have blank expressions. They are the twins from the Shining and the punchline is that she is 5’1” and he is 6’7” with a beard. She BARELY reaches his shoulder
October 30, 2025 at 6:38 PM
catconlan.net
not my photo and not exactly this angle, but you can feel the presence of the big lake when you come out and it's an interesting regrounding
The William A. Irvin, a large red ore boat, currently tied up in the Minnesota Slip in the Duluth Harbor (photo from wikipedia)
October 30, 2025 at 12:33 AM
catconlan.net
a lil encouragement from a gas pump in Indiana
a foil holographic sticker on a gas pump, the sticker says “you are aight”
October 29, 2025 at 1:48 PM