Articles written by Brady Slater
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Health issues end an auto repair era
When Tom and Nancy Getchell started an automotive repair business, T&N Auto Repair, in a two-stall garage on Avenue B, they did so with an understanding: they'd offer fair prices and honesty for all... Full story
Wrenshall district cuts will be deep
The Wrenshall school board agreed to slightly more than $312,000 in budget cuts during a special meeting Tuesday — the biggest slice of three rounds of cuts to date, totaling $383,000. The board reiterated during its committee of the whole meeting...
Students frame up their future
It didn't take long for the Career and Technical Education building at Wrenshall school to show its value. The facility opened this school year after $2.1 million in renovations. By turning it into an...
Barnum mayor reflects on vibrant time for city
When Barnum residents elected Dale Riihiluoma as mayor, running unopposed, in November, it was the culmination of decades of public service. It was also something his wife of 47 years, the late Diane...
Animal shelter launches in Carlton County
A new animal rescue group operating out of Carlton County has registered with the state as a nonprofit organization, and could begin fostering lost or stray dogs and cats in a matter of weeks. "We're...
Unity is theme of 24-hour worship service
Bruce Matuszak recalled the vacation stop in Wichita, Kansas, where he hatched the idea of conducting a daylong worship service. After some Bible reading and prayer in the morning, he was moved by a... Full story
For DNR officer, this is home
New face minds Cloquet lakes, trails `The timing wasn't great, two weeks before the birth of his second son, but the opportunity for Tony Elwell and his family was too good to pass up. "Otherwise,...
Wrenshall council weighs RV ordinance, adds short-term rentals to mix
Following two weeks of uproar related to proposed ordinance changes in Wrenshall, the city council earned a muted response at its meeting Wednesday. There were fewer than a dozen visitors to City Hall, compared to the almost 100 who objected to an...
Young, old skiers shine at the Birkie
For Adrian Watt and Benjamin Bauer, last weekend's American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin, offered a tale of two trajectories. The 75-year-old Watt, of Esko, skied his 46th Birkie, on his way to... Full story
Town turns out for store owner
Nearly 100 people appeared Tuesday at a public hearing in Wrenshall related to proposed RV park regulations. About 15 percent of attendees spoke at the hearing, doing so resoundingly and to repeated a...
Fire strikes Bergquist Imports site
A fire at the site of Bergquist Imports along the Minnesota Highway 33 frontage road in Cloquet drew a large response Wednesday afternoon as smoke poured from the back of the complex of buildings.... Full story
Voters say 'yes' to $6.45 million
Voters in the Cromwell-Wright school district passed a referendum Tuesday, delivering a valentine to a district seeking $6.45 million in improvements to school safety and parking, along with a gym...
State money OK'd for 'blue' blizzard damage
Carlton County will receive more than $700,000 in state disaster relief following the winter storm Dec. 12-16 which coated the region with heavy snow, breaking tree limbs and crippling power...
Gay student group advisor confronted
A community member shouted questions at the teacher advisor to Wrenshall’s student-based Gender and Sexualities Alliance at Monday’s school board meeting. In doing so, the community member seemed...
Fire strikes Bergquist Imports site
A fire at the site of Bergquist Imports along the Minnesota Highway 33 frontage road in Cloquet drew a large response Wednesday afternoon as smoke poured from the back of the complex of buildings.... Full story
Board confronts costly tech tangle
A special school board meeting Feb. 1 featured an inquiry into rising technology costs, and revealed in startling detail “glaring security holes,” server updates that were missed, and antivirus packages purchased but not installed. “Nothing...
Oh baby, is she fast
"So, Kendra Kelley, you haven't lost a race in 2023." "I have not," said Kelley, the Cloquet native and North Dakota State University sprinter who is tearing up indoor tracks across the Midwest.... Full story
Volunteer ambulance 'not sustainable'
Bolstering Carlton ambulance service, costs pitched to townships A proposal to create two full-time positions atop the city of Carlton's all-volunteer ambulance service was met with optimism by... Full story
Wrenshall superintendent search to start with survey
The Wrenshall school board agreed in a special meeting Wednesday to survey community members before posting the district’s open superintendent position. “I don’t think we can rush this,” board member Misty Bergman said. “We don’t even...
Lakeside estate sale draws a crowd
'There's a lot of nice stuff there' In 30 years of auctioneering and conducting estate sales, Steven Wesely has never gone to a second weekend for a sale. Until this weekend. "This is by far the most... Full story
District wants $6.45 million for fixes
Voters in the Cromwell-Wright school district will go to the polls Feb. 14 with a chance to weigh a series of school improvements, costing $6.45 million and including updates to the second gym and... Full story
Charges filed in county burglaries case
A suspect in the burglary this month at the Esko post office was arrested Jan. 12 in Anoka County. The arrest came as a trail of evidence was located by investigators, indicating that the suspect was...
Carlton board rebuffs Wrenshall entreaty
Deeper cooperation between Wrenshall and Carlton schools was on the table Tuesday — and the Carlton school board promptly swept it off. The board members dismissed a letter from the Wrenshall board seeking greater collaboration, declining to move... Full story
Coach pleads guilty in DWI case
Cloquet High School head football coach Jeff Ojanen pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to a single fourth-degree misdemeanor count of driving while impaired related to his arrest last month. Ojanen, 39, was arrested by Cloquet police early in the morning on...
Cloquet rocker takes turn at center stage
Talking from his northeast Minneapolis residence, Tony Petersen described the home studio he named Double Pug after his dogs Patti and Doug. There are powerful microphones and compressors, good sound... Full story
