Articles written by Mike Creger
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'Thanks for being yellow' is new catchphrase
Bridget Peterson, a media specialist at the schools in Esko, held a door open for two elementary students on Tuesday. One of them said: "Thank you for being yellow." Peterson beamed. "That was so...
Hospital's super volunteer retires
Luckily for the Cloquet community, Darlene Carter has a propensity to get bored. Or "lonely, I guess," she said this month as she was honored for 45 years of volunteer service at Community Memorial...
Forestry center featured in National Geographic
The Cloquet Forestry Center has hit the big time. Well, it really has already made a name for itself in scientific circles. Researchers there are always happy to share what they are working on and... Full story
For Carlton, the show goes on
When Carlton school board members decided in January to cut funding for a spring play director, Amanda Radtke decided she would volunteer to direct, even though she had no experience and "very little... Full story
Ash borer has hit county
In pure Minnesotan parlance, it could be worse. This month, a tree infested with emerald ash borer larvae was spotted in Cloquet, marking the first confirmed sighting of the tree-killing pest in the... Full story
Knot Pining: Insect visitor conjures infestations of the past
I probably did not adequately express to Jana the trauma I felt when we discovered a boxelder bug in the front window of the Pine Knot News office this week. I had just spent most of the morning talking to people about ash borers, and their official... Full story
Cuts keep coming in Carlton
The mood at the Carlton school board meeting was subdued, an obvious reaction to what was on the agenda: more cuts to education programs as the board seeks to find $250,000 in budget savings for the next school year. After Monday, it was $135,000...
Dangerous stairs lead residents to eviction brink
Cloquet apartment building owner Roger Bruhn calls his current conundrum a "series of unfortunate events." When the pandemic hit in 2020, he faced, for the first time, tenants who were not paying...
Knot Pining: Being mindful of every breath
There’s been a truly serviceable public service announcement on area radio stations since the pandemic started. I say that because Kevin Love, the former Minnesota Timberwolves player, is speaking about anxieties in troubled times and turning to... Full story
History mystery: Barnum bus
The Carlton County Historical Society has this iconic photo of a Greyhound bus with formal lettering on the border saying, simply, “Barnum, Minnesota.” It’s as if it were a promotional piece or... Full story
Wrenshall: Board, teachers close to deal
Contract negotiations between the Wrenshall school district and its teachers went to the rare step of mediation last month in order to resolve sticking points. The Wrenshall school board on Monday agreed to table approval of the eventual agreement...
Knot Pining: Discourse as discord rises
Sometimes I feel like I’m 12 years old. Other times I feel all of the many decades of my nose to the journalism grindstone. It’s a constant battle of finding the youthful energy to be indignant versus what the spent energy will yield in the end f... Full story
New county judge hits her mark
Judge Amy Lukasavitz's chambers is a work in progress. There are just a few personal touches in the office that was once the realm of fellow Carlton County Sixth Judicial District Court judge Rebekka...
Child custody case wends way to trial
One of the two Cloquet women who had children taken from their custody in January appears ready to take her case to trial. Nicole Ammesmaki had what is called an admit/deny hearing Tuesday and her attorney stated that her client denies the court’s...
Knot Pining: Place your slogan here
I remain struck by the tagline for WDIO-TV in Duluth: “With You For Life.” Seems ominous, doesn’t it? It’s a double entendre, maybe. First meaning, perhaps, “with you through this journey of life.” But if it is a double entendre, I’m no... Full story
Teen sentenced to 7 years in shooting case
Judge Eric Hylden told Roxanne Peterson that her words spoke to him. He said the pain and agony she described in a Duluth courtroom Tuesday is painfully familiar. He lost a teenage son in 2009. Peterson had just given a victim impact statement...
Mother in custody case charged for alleged abuse
One of the mothers involved in a very public Cloquet child custody case was charged with three counts of malicious punishment of a child last week. Carlton County attorney Lauri Ketola announced Thursday that Nicole Ammesmaki would be charged. Her...
Knot Pining: It's time for new state flag
Don't blame the flag designer from 1893. It was a rush job, with one significant requirement that is vexing vexillologists today. That's the word used for flag experts, people who study and comment...
Carlton Schools: Budget cut discussion continues
The Carlton school board continued to explore its budget options Monday at its monthly regular meeting. It heard details from the online resource it currently uses to offer students a wider range of e...
Judges orders mediation in custody case
While arguments continue to be made in the custody cases involving 10 Cloquet children, Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekah Stumme made her feelings clearly known Tuesday when it comes to how representatives for the adoptive mothers and...
Knot Pining: Change is here, enjoy it
If you use the Cloquet clock, it was supposed to be spring this week. Gordy’s is open. Alas, that rite of spring and harbinger of summer rarely means we get matching weather, even as the conventional calendar says we’ve reached... Full story
Justice center details emerge
Preliminary site details for the new Carlton County justice center were revealed this week in an update from the working committee at a discussion-only meeting of the board of commissioners. The justi...
One-man battle on petition costs continues
It’s the petition that wouldn’t go away, or perhaps it’s just the angry district resident who won’t go away. An obviously distraught Tony Sheda repeated his demands to the Wrenshall school board Monday night that the creators of the petition...
Biochar: it's a better way to burn
Brad Matlack likes the idea of finding a better way for landowners to burn brush and other biomass from cleanups on properties. In late 2020, the manager of the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation... Full story
Robotics teams thrive at regional
The three-day throng of tech-inclined high school students called the Duluth Regionals in robotics didn't disappoint last weekend as 111 teams from Minnesota and neighboring states took over the...
