Articles written by Mike Creger
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Board member is under investigation
A short emergency meeting of the Wrenshall school board Wednesday night resulted in a vote to begin an investigation into the actions of one of its own members. The investigation will focus on the...
Petition: Board needs appointment redo
A petition is now circulating in the Wrenshall school district to block an appointment to the school board made Aug. 16. The hasty vote-in of Bill Dian to replace new school principal Michelle Blanchard — made with no discussion among board...
Wildflower Wow
Wildflowers were on grand display last week at the home of Sandy and Betsy Dugan south of Wrenshall. The Dugan place has the barn that has been the center of the Free Range Film Festival for nearly...
Free Range films return
The heat is finally breaking this late Friday afternoon on another 90-something degree day in Carlton County. The dry, hot summer has the poplars yielding, yet it still seems far too early for downed... Full story
Board replacement proves a surprise rush
It happened so quickly, Nicole Krisak didn’t even have a chance to react. While the official record will show that the Wrenshall school board voted unanimously to appoint a new person to its board Monday, Krisak could legitimately be considered a... Full story
Filings indicate shakeup at Cloquet car dealership
Public-record filings are indicating that there may be another shakeup in the direction of Cloquet’s only new car dealership, and its one-time owners have filed for bankruptcy. June filings with the Minnesota Secretary of State office shows that...
Carlton moves closer to high school solution
Superintendent John Engstrom read his prepared statement. After a pause that encapsulated the import of his words, Carlton school board member Sue Karp said “well stated.” Three other board members agreed. “Our hearts are in a K-12,” Karp...
Political flags are gone in Scanlon
A property in Scanlon with political flags on a pole disparaging President Joe Biden and voters with expletives, and supporting former President Donald Trump, is being sold, and the flags are gone....
Wrenshall School Board moves toward more fixes
The Wrenshall school district is moving ahead with plans to update a moldering building on its campus into a space for industrial and technology classrooms. The school board approved a plan Monday... Full story
80 years and still a kid's kid
Her voice has a certain gravitas to it, then at turns it is lifted by a whimsical lilt driving a hearty laugh. Free as a kid's laugh, really. It is her 80th birthday, and a party has sprung up near...
Post-pandemic construction heats up
Several building projects around Cloquet are being noticed after the ebbing Covid-19 pandemic shut many projects down due to a shortage of materials in the past year. The Pine Knot News talked to a...
Many factors driving tight labor market
We are beginning to see some of the longer-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic as life returns to normal. For many, the more precise term could be "new normal," because things are nothing like they...
Carlton, Wrenshall deal won't happen
Consolidation between the Carlton and Wrenshall school districts is no longer on pause. It's dead. The Carlton school board on Monday voted to remove consolidation from its list of future options for...
Board sets annual budget for next year
While it’s never an exact science when setting a budget nearly three months before students enter buildings for a new school year, the Cloquet school board approved numbers it was presented with at its regular meeting Monday night. The total...
Hiring bind forces lifejacket rule at The Beach
Attention, potential lifeguards: Preteens will soon be begging you to apply for a job at The Beach at Pinehurst Park this summer. That's because a staff shortage is requiring a major change in beach... Full story
Kavanaugh wins it all on Jeopardy!
The uproar at the Streetcar in Carlton late Friday afternoon was not sustained. There were those who specifically came to watch Sam Kavanaugh in the last game of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions... Full story
Sam edges closer to Jeopardy! championship
Sam Kavanaugh was watching himself on Jeopardy! Monday night and it felt foreign to him. While that can be expected for a show that was taped two months ago, it's Kavanaugh's whirlwind success in the... Full story
Board: Mask mandate will end in June
The Cloquet school board is whittling away at changing a new normal into just plain normal after an entire school year under the Covid-19 pandemic protocols. On Monday, board members agreed that masking mandates in district buildings would be lifted...
Barnum girls shocked with national title
The video is amazing. The reaction from Barnum High School sophomores Kate Ferrin and Ava Gran tells you all you need to know about how big a deal it was to find out last weekend that they are...
Survey looks to future of school district
The Carlton school board agreed this week to move forward with a survey of district residents on a list of options for the future of the district. The survey will come after attempts to consolidate...
Board approves Belcastro request to drop duties
The Wrenshall school board approved a major administrative shift for the district Wednesday night in a special meeting. The move was precipitated by superintendent Kim Belcastro’s request to reduce her duties by nearly half, primarily giving up...
Tax case hits keep coming
The erroneous property tax evaluation monster has struck again, and this time the bite is big. Two decisions in March, in favor of Enbridge and its pipeline that cuts across the state, in Minnesota Tax Court mean that Carlton County will need to...
Flags using F-words raise ire
Political flags flying in Scanlon underneath an American flag have caused a lot of consternation in the community. At the corner of 22nd Street and Doddridge Avenue, which runs along the border...
Hitting the skids on Covid
For a year I've been begging Stockholm syndrome to kick in. To get used to the Covid-19 pandemic holding us hostage. Find a groove and take it through the murky tunnel. Find that a world turned... Full story
Ice racers take to the river
It's always hit and miss when it comes to hosting motorcycle ice racing on the St. Louis River in Scanlon. But the mid-February cold snap allowed Jeff Berg to rally racers online for an event last... Full story
