A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 151
Ivy Vainio's large-scale photo prints of Anishinaabe elders grace our multicolored brick wall at the Pine Knot News office, a striking introduction to a portrait exhibit which opens today, April 8, with an artists reception 5-7 p.m. at the Pine Knot Gallery at 122 Ave. C in Cloquet's West End. One set of Vainio's photos depicts elders participating in cultural events. Virgil Sohm shares an Anishinaabe hand drum song, photographed at the Kiwenz Ojibwe language camp. Another captures the late Ron...
Russia’s current invasion of Ukraine, a peaceful independent nation, can only be explained by revisiting late 20th-century history. I am rusty on much of this, so I’ve spent some time reviewing the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The totalitarian Soviet Union began to change course in the mid-1980s when Mikhail Gorbachev, as general secretary of the Communist Party, initiated glasnost, supporting more open discussion of political and social issues and ushering in democratization of the...
For two weeks in a row, classmates, parents, grandparents, siblings, and community members were treated to marvelous song — alone and with others — and a sparkling One Act Play at the Cromwell-Wright School. On Feb. 2, a variety show, dubbed “February,” filled the auditorium with songs. Music teacher MaryRose Varo, in a change of approach, allowed the students to choose the songs they most wanted to sing. Amusingly, they mostly concerned the joys and travails of young love. The trio of Kieriah...
You may have heard that some school boards and communities in our state are fighting over the oddly named “critical race theory.” Oddly, because if you read what some of the theory’s protagonists are writing and saying, I wouldn’t call it a theory. Rather, it’s a respectable commitment to considering, probing, understanding and debating the origins of racial inequality in our country and its persistence over many decades, even centuries. I’ve been reading widely about racism in our nation’s hi...
Lately, I’ve been reading about American political history since World War II. Prominent topics include the civil rights movement, the Congress of American Indians (founded in 1944), the women’s movement beginning in the late 1950s, and the anti-Vietnam War movement of the 1960s. I’ve learned a great deal. One of the most amazing insights is how important it is for us as citizens to be engaged in the political process and especially to organize with others to share views on priorities and to su...
Last week, residents of Cromwell's Cardinal Court and Villa Vista care complex were treated to the rousing music of Florian Chmielewski's accordion and his banter between numbers. Lots of laughter, giggling, and smiles. Such periodic events at the Villa are coordinated by Julie Hedin, the Villa's social director. Rod Walli and I like to go, both to visit residents and to dance, if it's appropriate. And dance we did: polkas and waltzes, surrounded by residents and guests. I haven't mastered the...
It was a cold, cold day - even at 1 p.m. - minus 8 degrees with modest winds. The chalet at Pine Valley was crowded with kids and parents. The Cloquet Ski Club's Jenny Barta ably led us through the outdoor practices to come, ensuring skis needing wax had received it. Based on parents' prior feedback, she divided us into groups with two volunteer adults leading five to seven kids each. Some parents joined in too. No one seemed to mind the cold: the snow apparel was impressive and appropriate....
On Monday evening last week, the Cromwell-Wright School gym hosted choral and instrumental performances of young people of all ages. The bleachers on the gym's south side were crammed with parents, grandparents, siblings and community members. Choir teacher MaryRose Varo led half a dozen ensembles, including the full middle school and high school choirs, through heartening songs of Christmas. Andrew Morrisette, the band director, led various instrumentalists through rousing, energetic pieces...
Carlton County workers and businesses are receiving economic development support through funds provided by the State of Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Recently announced competitive awards fall into two categories: business expansion grants and workforce development grants. In a recent competition for $6 million in business expansion grants, Carlton’s Chemstar Products Company has been awarded $140,000 from the state’s job creation fund. Chemstar, a leadi...
The Knot Gallery's current exhibit features two area photographers whose subjects are all "out of doors." Colorful and majestic framed landscapes by retired Raiter Clinic physician Dan Malkovich hang along the multi-colored brick wall at the Pine Knot News office on Avenue C. Among his framed prints, we've interspersed Will Stenberg's remarkable wildlife photos, often intimate with flashes of movement. Last week, we held an opening for the two artists during the West End open house that helped k...
After 12 years of living full-time in Red Clover Township, I’m beginning to understand the power of local ties and community. Growing up in an inner-ring Minneapolis suburb, we lived in a house cheek-to-jowl with other post-World War II single-family homes. All were recently built on post-WWII prosperity, expanded educational opportunities and federally subsidized home mortgage loans. My parents both graduated from the University of Minnesota in the late 1930s, then tuition-free, and each lived...
Senior high choir and band members sang and played their hearts out to an enthralled audience Nov. 9 in the Cromwell-Wright auditorium. The full senior high choir kicked off with Walter Rodby's "Calypso Joe," accompanied by band/music teacher Andrew Morrisette on the congas and choral teacher MaryRose Varo on guitar. Next, Augustas Poskus, an exchange student from Lithuania, played the incredibly challenging Rachmaninoff piano piece, "Prelude in C Sharp Minor Op. 3 No. 2." It's gorgeous and...
Some years ago, I reported on the success of Carlton and Aitkin counties in attracting new residents. University of Minnesota researchers found that for the period 2000-2010, these two counties gained more people than they lost to death or outmigration. Both counties were among the highest net gainers through net in-migration. Although many young people moved out of these counties after high school to find jobs elsewhere, substantial numbers of people aged 30 to 70 moved in, including families...
It’s been a tough year for most of us. We lost many people, especially among our elderly populations. Many workers lost their jobs. Others had to show up, especially those in our health care centers, at considerable personal risk. Many businesses closed, laid off workers, and/or weathered a collapse in sales and earnings. As the ranks of laid-off workers expanded, many others chose to leave work to take care of preschoolers, school-aged kids or sick family members. Many of us have had to dip i...
Among area enterprises propelled into the Covid hotseat, Community Memorial Hospital must be our local ground zero. Demand for its care and services skyrocketed from the start, peaking in winter 2020. To explore how its management team and staff are navigating ongoing Covid cases, I sat down, adequately distanced, to talk with CEO Rick Breuer. Breuer emphasized that Covid outbreaks are not behind us. New variants are emerging. “We can tailor something that will defeat it,” Breuer notes, “bu...
Northeastern Minnesota failed to match the state’s population growth rate (6.3 percent) from 2010 to 2019. The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), using estimates from the U.S. Census, found that the seven northeastern counties’ population declined by 0.6 percent, down 1,935 residents. Cook County accounted for the fastest population growth rate at 5.5 percent, still below the statewide average. Carlton County was the other net gainer in the region, posting a growth rat...
On the evenings of Aug. 20-21, the Dugan and Fisher- Merritt clan will again host the Free Range Film Festival at their heritage barn in Wrenshall. Screening the films ahead of time, I’ve marveled and enjoyed the range of offerings, short to long, reflective to performative. Beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, the first evening’s 15 films — some short, some longer — offer us personality profiles, small and exceptional spaces and impressionistic journeys, as well as adventurers and competitors in action....
After thinking about it for months, my husband, Rod, and I decided to install solar power at our home. Rod researched the options. We chose to go with a small company, Wolf Track Energy of Duluth, recommended by Jeff Corey of One Roof Community Housing. We decided against putting the panels on our roof, concerned about potential damage. We opted instead to install them in the yard south of our home. More than a decade ago, we installed ground source heating and cooling, using an extensive...
I have thoroughly enjoyed the half-dozen grad parties I attended the last few weeks. It's always sweet to see how the featured grad beams at you and answers your "what's next?" questions. And I love the photo displays where you can trace the grad's trajectory, from lovable baby through finding himself or herself with the guidance and joy of strangers and siblings. A good party also involves sitting down, forking up yummy food, and visiting with neighbors and strangers. It struck me this year...
What would you like to see in an upgrade of Cloquet's Pine Valley recreation area? The city of Cloquet recently hired a team of consultants to consider options and survey the public on our priorities. On June 21, the consultants presented an overview and received feedback from a couple dozen community members at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Many participants proposed improvements for Pine Valley. Cross-country skiers, ski jumpers, snowshoers, trail runners, mountain and winter...
Early this morning, a ruby- throated hummingbird scouted our bird feeders, then departed for sweeter options. I poured sugar into a quart jar, added water and shook, retrieved and filled the feeders from the basement, and hung them out on their usual hooks. I'm hoping. Spring brings so many flashes of color into our winter-suppressed environs. And it's not just their raiment. High in the maples and oaks, a choir of goldfinches entertain us with their shared song. Other returnees engage in...
Reflecting earlier this month, Cromwell-Wright principal and superintendent Nathan Libbon recounted how he and his teachers, staff, parents and school board members managed to host most of their K-12 students in person for the past school year. Few other schools stayed open at similar levels. Due to a number of close Covid-19 contacts, the district sent students in grades 7-12 home for two weeks in November, but that was it for distance learning. During the rest of the year, a few families...
Even newspaper owners don’t always agree, and that’s OK. This week I’d like to examine the other side of the argument for raising the minimum wage, in response to my fellow Pine Knot board member Pete Radosevich’s “Harry’s Gang” column last week. As a retired economics professor, I can tell you there is an irreconcilable conflict of interest between employer and employee when it comes to sharing the proceeds of their joint work. The power to determine compensation is unevenly distributed. That’s...
T. S. Eliot begins his "The Burial of the Dead," the first section of his poem, "The Waste Land," with this: April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers. I'll always remember these lines which I first read in college. And especially so this April, with its occasional warm teases followed by below-freezing...
Do you have godchildren? It was customary when my husband and I were born, mid-twentieth century, to acquire them. Having godchildren and keeping in touch can be so much fun, a form of extended family. My godmother was Aunt Dorothy (Dot), who lived just a mile away, a great stopover spot after school. We played gin rummy at the kitchen table while she fashioned some delicious supper or dessert. My godfather was also my grandfather, Joseph Roell, who lived with his two daughters in Minneapolis....
