Week of July 26, 2024
Week of July 26, 2024
Known for its hydroelectric power generation and appeal to kayakers, the Thomson Reservoir is soon to be the site of a $36 million construction project. Contractors are set to converge in August on the parking lot alongside Minnesota Highway 210 outside the Thomson Dam. They’ll be there through next summer, working to apply a layer of carbon pellets that will cover up and bind to contaminated sediments at the bottom of what is the St. Louis River. The process will prevent contaminants from... Full story
Carlton teen Abrianna Schmidt will be the grand marshal of this year's Carlton Daze parade on July 28. Schmidt won the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Journey of a Song contest earlier this year, with a song inspired by growing up in Carlton. Schmidt's song, "Small Town Girl," won her an all-expenses-paid trip to Nashville, and participation in the Hall of Fame's weeklong songwriting camp in June, working with music producers and other artists. The 18-year-old found out she was grand...
After hearing an annual report from the district's auditors on July 17, which highlighted the issue of the district writing off over half of its ambulance fee revenue, the Cloquet Area Fire District board approved a preliminary budget for 2025 which includes a 30-percent increase in the ambulance levy. The double-digit tax hike would be the largest since 2023, when the levy increased by 100 percent. For 2024, the ambulance levy increased by 2.83 percent. The reason for such a sharp increase in...
The sixth annual Northland Baseball Classic drew 59 teams ages 9-14 to Cloquet last weekend. The teams played at four different locations in the Cloquet and Carlton area over the weekend. Champions were crowned in five different age groups. "We had games being played at Pinehurst Park, Mettner Field and Braun Park in Cloquet as well as at Chub Lake Park in Carlton, said tournament director Nate Knutson. "We had teams from all over the state of Minnesota as well as Canada." It was a group...
More than 40 athletes competing in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games, representing various countries, have connections to Minnesota — whether they live here, train here or were born here. The athletes are competing in basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, taekwondo and more. MPR News will be tracking how the athletes with Minnesota ties are doing throughout the Paris Games. Check back here frequently for updates on competitions and who made it to the podium. The Paris Summer... Full story
Nearly every person in Minnesota, and, for that matter, everywhere, has known a close friend or relative who has had some form of cancer. My good friend, Gary "Moose" Pastika, a few years back, tested positive for colon cancer. His best chance for recovery was to have his colon totally removed. He recovered, went back to work, played golf well, and after several years was deemed cancer-free. But, as it often does, the cancer returned, he got sick, and the disease won, ending his life. He died... Full story
One of Carlton County's premier used bookstores resides in one of its least populous towns, where roughly 5,000 titles of inventory is more than 10 times the resident population. "As my son would say, 'We're a hidden gem,'" said Janis Martin, who was working the desk at Twice Told Tales in downtown Mahtowa last week. Twice Told Tales has been around since 2006, and moved into its charming cottage of a bookstore in the spring of 2023. A brainchild of Mahtowa Covenant Church's mission and... Full story
This weekend belongs to Carlton ... and all the thousands of people who will descend upon the small city to celebrate Carlton Daze, Paddlemania and the Voyageur Ultramarathon. There are so many events, it takes two pages to list them all (see Pages 10-11). Making that many things happen is a group effort, said Daisy Rose, Carlton Area Chamber of Commerce board member and Community Education director. "It's really a whole community thing," Rose said. "The Chamber promotes it as much as possible...
With plenty of water in the St. Louis River this year, the Fin Falls race returns to Paddlemania Saturday, said organizer Cliff Langley, calling it more of a sprint race. Kayakers will still paddle from just below the Thomson Dam to just above the rapids upstream of the swinging lift bridge at Jay Cooke State Park. From there, they will paddle the rapids upstream of the bridge - where spectators get excellent views of the action - then pass under the bridge about 100 years to where the river...
Have you ever come back from vacation feeling like you need a vacation? Have you ever felt empty at the end of what should have been a great day? Have you ever found yourself snapping at loved ones for no real reason? If you answered “no” to all of these questions, then I’d like to congratulate you on the ungodly amount of money you are going to make writing your bestseller. For the rest of us mere mortals, though, I’m guessing you’ve lived through some of these experiences. If... Full story
FRIDAY, JULY 26 Community chess club 3:30-5 p.m., Cloquet Public Library. 879-1531 Will Hale & the Tadpole Parade concert 3-4 p.m., Cloquet Public Library FinnFest continues in Duluth through Sunday at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 26-28 Family-friendly Carlton Daze festivities includes live music, vendors and food trucks all weekend. Friday’s highlights include a 5K race, kids’ races and bingo. Saturday: car show, corn hole tournament downtown, sales at Four Seasons and Paddlemania at Jay Cooke State... Full story
Arrowhead Senior Nutrition menu Friday, July 26 Hot beef sandwich, tomato cucumber salad, apple/cherry juice, chocolate chip cookie Sat-Sun, July 27-28 Frozen meals available Monday, July 29 Fish sandwich, orange craisins, gingersnap cookie Tuesday, July 30 Salisbury steak dinner, au gratin potatoes, carrots, honeycrisp apple Wednesday, July 31 Porketta sandwich, french fries, Normandy style vegetable, crisped rice bar Thursday, Aug. 1 Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, bean & pea salad, frosted cake Friday, Aug. 2 Chicken chow mein, rice,... Full story
