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

During his 23 years as head coach of the Moose Lake/Willow River football team, Dave Louzek has looked to a strong defense - and an equally strong running game - as the recipe for success. On Friday... Full story

The Section 7AA girls team tennis tournament is one of the toughest sections in the state. With an unprecedented 17 teams, it is almost impossible to win a section title. No team knows that better... Full story

Last Thursday, the Barnum volleyball team swept Cromwell-Wright and then had a successful Saturday at the Mesabi East Tournament, going 3-1 on the day. "Right now our team is meshing well together,"... Full story

Undefeated Esko and once-beaten Two Harbors football teams collided on the Esko field for homecoming and the Eskomos proved who is the elite team, taking it to the Agates 24-0. After a scoreless first... Full story

So far this season both the Wrenshall and South Ridge volleyball teams have had to learn to adjust, thanks to injuries and the occasional Covid-19 exposure. Before their match Tuesday, the Pine Knot... Full story

After starting the season 0-2-1, the Minnesota Wilderness have reeled off five straight wins, including a pair of wins this past weekend at home against the Janesville Jets. "It was a nice weekend and... Full story

The first half of the Cloquet vs. Duluth East football game was all about the Greyhounds and their star running back Austan Orvedahl. Eventually, the Lumberjacks defense found answers for Orvedahl,... Full story

Last week the Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors football team had to take a week off due to Covid restrictions and was unable to play their scheduled game with South Ridge. This week the Raptors got in a... Full story

Imagine waking up in the morning, going to school and then at the end of the day going to the pool and swimming nonstop for more than two hours and almost 2 miles. The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swim... Full story

The word "improvement" is the word of the day for Cloquet cross country coach Chandra Allen. "The boys team has been improving each week. They have been working on closing the gap between the top... Full story

Former Cloquet-Esko-Carlton hockey player Westin Michaud is hoping a move west will give him a chance to realize his dream of playing in the NHL. After playing professionally for the Manitoba Moose la... Full story

After two section titles in a row, the Cloquet girls soccer team remains a favorite for a three-peat in Section 7. Last week the Lumberjacks split a pair of games, beating Hibbing 8-0 Tuesday, then... Full story

When the Esko and Barnum volleyball teams met up last week, tradition would have predicted the Eskomos would be walking out of the gym with a win. Not this year. The Bombers went into Esko and walked... Full story

After opening the season with a thrilling come-from-behind, last-minute win, the Cromwell-Wright/Floodwood football team fell on tough times last Friday when it was dismantled 58-0 by Ogilvie. It was... Full story

It's been so long since the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team beat Duluth East that nobody can remember when it happened. Last Thursday, the Lumberjacks got an impressive 4-3 win over the... Full story

The Cloquet football team opened the season on the road at Proctor on Friday night and executed a game plan nearly to perfection in picking up a 38-6 win. After stopping the Rails on their opening... Full story

The Esko football team rolled to an impressive 37- 0 win over Duluth Denfeld Sept. 2 to open the season. The Eskomos put up impressive offensive and defensive numbers. "I still think we made too many... Full story

Cloquet and Esko girls soccer fans were treated to a solid early-season game Tuesday night in Esko. In the end, the Lumberjacks won 1-0, but the game was well-played despite being the first game of th... Full story

Thursday, Aug. 26 Girls soccer St. Francis-2 Cloquet-0 Boys soccer CEC-6 Proctor-0 Monday, Aug. 30 Volleyball Esko-3 Cook County-0 Moose Lake-Willow River-3 East Central-2 Julia Jusczak 18 digs;... Full story

The fall sports season kicked off in earnest last Thursday morning when a total of 10 local boys and girls cross country teams got together for an informal kickoff meet at Chub Lake in Carlton. "Esko,... Full story

After a year's hiatus, the smell of exhaust and the roar of car engines engulfed the fairgrounds in Barnum last weekend. The return of the Carlton County Fair brought the return of the Oval races,... Full story

The more the Covid-19 pandemic lingers, the more questions pop up about how high schools sports seasons will be run this fall. Last week, activities directors across Minnesota hoped for guidance from... Full story

It was a chilly day in March when former Esko High School athlete Sami Mattson's cell phone buzzed. The call was from Bob Bartell, her former college softball coach at Concordia University in St.... Full story

Don’t look now, but the fall sports season is right around the corner. In fact, local teams will be hitting the fields and courts within the next two weeks, and practices officially begin on Monday... Full story

The summer baseball season came to a close over the weekend as Esko fell in the championship game of the Junior Legion baseball tournament and Cloquet dropped its first two games in the VFW...