Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

A four-run first inning was enough to propel the South Ridge boys baseball team to a 4-1 win over the Cloquet Lumberjacks Monday night in Culver. The game marked the return of Tyler Olin to the... Full story

With improved weather, local softball teams are playing catchup to get in as many regular-season games as possible before the playoffs begin right around the corner. The Pine Knot also spent some... Full story

A penalty-filled first period was too much for the Minnesota Wilderness to overcome in Friday night's home 5-1 playoff loss to the Anchorage Wolverines. The loss eliminated the Wilderness from the... Full story

Cloquet High School hosted the Section 7AA True Team meet on Tuesday afternoon under sunny skies and temperatures that zoomed into the 80s. It was the first real warm day for track athletes, giving th... Full story

Last Thursday six area boys and girls track teams met in Esko for the Esko Sports Alliance Showcase Invitational track meet. In the end the Esko boys and girls dominated to take first place, but... Full story

The road to the Robertson Cup for the Minnesota Wilderness has been bumpy. A week ago the Wilderness fought out of a two-game deficit to eventually eliminate Fairbanks, setting up a second series... Full story

The Minnesota Wilderness returned home last week a wounded animal. The Cloquet junior hockey team had dropped back-to-back road playoff games in Alaska to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Any hopes of moving... Full story

Local baseball teams have had a tough time getting onto the diamond this spring, but last Thursday Barnum was finally able to host a game as they downed neighboring Carlton 6-1. Leading the way for... Full story

After weeks of cold, rainy and snowy weather disrupting game schedules, the Cloquet softball team has been busy over the last few days. Last Friday the Lumberjacks bombed Milaca 17-0, and Monday they... Full story

If the Minnesota Wilderness are going to move on in their league playoffs, they will need to string together three straight wins pronto. In Alaska last Friday and Saturday, the Wilderness dropped the... Full story

It's been quite a week for Courtney Olin and her father, Dave Esse. After seven years as head coach for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team, Olin went public with a decision to leave the... Full story

Mother Nature has not been kind to local high school baseball teams this spring. Cold, snowy and rainy weather has caused more than normal cancellations and postponements in the northern half of the... Full story

It took the 60th and final game of the season at home for the Minnesota Wilderness to clinch a playoff berth in the North American Hockey League playoffs Saturday. After dropping a 7-2 decision on... Full story

The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys tennis team has struggled against rain and snow to sneak in some playing time this spring, postponing four of the first six matches because of bad weather. With 29... Full story

The Minnesota Wilderness has enjoyed a huge second-half resurgence this season and are fighting for a top playoff spot in the North American Hockey League. What most local fans of the Cloquet-based te... Full story

On Tuesday, Cloquet graduate Koby Bender finally reached the end of a long hockey road when he signed a professional contract with the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League after... Full story

Opening the high school softball season against one of the top teams in the area is never easy, but to open on the road when your team has not had a chance to practice outside is even tougher. That... Full story

Opening the high school softball season against one of the top teams in the area is never easy, but to open on the road when your team has not had a chance to practice outside is even tougher. That... Full story

The warm weather of spring and the melting snow has local track teams getting ready for another exciting season. Take a look at some of these athletes in this preview of the 2022 track and field... Full story

For Carley Lawry, one draw for the new pairing of Carlton and Wrenshall athletes in softball are the Raptors uniforms. "The jersey colors are snazzy," the eighth-grader said Tuesday at practice in a... Full story

Just a few months ago the Minnesota Wilderness were in fifth place in the North American Hockey League Midwest Division. Only the top four teams in each division make the playoffs, and the team was... Full story

A year ago Katelyn Olson was waiting to take over as the Lumberjacks girls soccer team starting goaltender. Last fall she helped lead her Lumberjacks to the Class AA Minnesota state soccer tournament,... Full story

The local softball world lost an icon last week when Roger Plachta passed away. I first got to know Roger when I coached against him in the 1990s in the Lake Superior Fastpitch League in Duluth. I... Full story

A slow second half for the Esko boys basketball team allowed Pequot Lakes just enough time to pick up a come-from-behind win in the Section 7AA boys championship game last Thursday night. The Patriots... Full story

The basketball season ended with no local teams moving on to state, but the movement of local coaches has just begun. At Moose Lake/Willow River, six-year head coach Wes Cummins has decided to step... Full story