Articles written by Mike Creger
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Students find science outside
It was one of those picture-perfect fall days. Cerulean blue sky, the slight, wet waft of decaying organic matter, the hillsides seemingly turning orange and red and yellow in the moment. On Dunlap... Full story
Wildfire is officially contained
With the help of wetter and colder weather, the County Road 11 fire in Barnum Township was declared 100-percent contained on Tuesday, eight days after smoke was observed in the area on Labor Day. On...
Labor Day wildfire under control
You could say that parts of Carlton County lucked out this past Labor Day weekend. Things could have been much worse. Days after a swath across northern Minnesota, including all of the county, was... Full story
It's a ring lost in time, until now
One could call it a mystery solved, but only partially, very partially, since one resolved fact has only led to more mystery involving a pair of 1950s Cloquet High School graduates and their...
It's been quite the blueberry season
A cathedral of pines serves as entry to a path that winds over and through 32 acres of undulating land off Prevost Road, just north of Cloquet. A short walk is enough to slough off any travails of... Full story
Knot Pining: Festivals hold traditions
My hometown festival takes place this weekend. And I won’t be attending. Southern Minnesota, many of us know, is simply too hot this time of year for us northerners. Instead, I’ll likely poke around that big air conditioner called Lake Superior a... Full story
Body recovery on Nemadji tests area rescue teams
A father and his two sons canoeing on the Nemadji River in southeast Carlton County Saturday called in a report of human remains found on the river bank east of Minnesota Highway 23 and south of the...
MSOP assault case: Prison was intention
A man housed in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program facility in Moose Lake was sentenced to 220 months — over 18 years — in state prison Monday to attempted second-degree murder. Nicolas Ladell Aron-Jones’ victim made a statement in the...
Agates are the lure in moose lake
The most interesting portion of the Agate Stampede in Moose Lake Saturday was all the pregame talk along Elm Street about strategy. Some vow to wait back and snatch the loot others miss after the two...
What's wrong in Wright?
The Over the Hill Rangers band - Mick Heaser, Digger DeRusha, Davey Jokimaki, Ron Jokimaki - entertained in the park in Wright Saturday afternoon as adults caught up with each other in pockets of...
Knot Pining: Speak for Smokey; because he can't
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has quite an opportunity for those looking for a deal when it comes to the Minnesota State Fair. In its email blast this week, it offers opportunities to... Full story
Letter explains dismissal of HRA director
The former executive director of the Cloquet/Carlton Housing & Redevelopment Authority was fired on May 12 for a long list of reasons outlined in a letter its board gave her that day. In the letter, board members declared that the “serious nature...
Barn was bursting with people at film festival
Things were busy last Friday and Saturday night at the Free Range Film Festival in rural Wrenshall. The act of watching a series of short films inside a barn built more than 100 years ago continued...
Esko eschews 'Eskomos' moniker
By unanimous vote of the school board Monday night, the Esko school nickname will no longer be "the Eskomos" as of June 30. The change, which has been urged for at least three years by some in the...
Missing senior weighs heavily in Wrenshall graduation
The graduation ceremony in Wrenshall Friday afternoon was remarkable in that it wasn't your typical look back on school years or forward to whatever is next. It was grounded in living every moment,... Full story
Brothers retrace father's final trip
Their dad's plane went down in Cloquet 50 years ago, killing him and an uncle David sat right down in the bramble, overcome with thoughts of what happened in this spot exactly 50 years ago. He is... Full story
Local projects see benefits from legislative session
Both legislative bodies approved a capital investment package to fund infrastructure projects around the state Monday, just hours before the session adjourned. It included funding for three District...
Board removes HRA director
The Cloquet/Carlton Housing & Redevelopment Authority’s board of commissioners fired the agency’s executive director on Friday, May 12. Residents in facilities run by the HRA received word that Debra Shaff was “no longer employed” after a...
Photo story: Gone Fishing
They were going to be out at Chub Lake south of Carlton Saturday no matter the weather. That's where the LeDoux family of Proctor starts the new fishing season each year, Aaron said as he sat in his... Full story
Staff assaulted at Moose Lake sex offender facility
Daniel Wilson, a committed client at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program facility in Moose Lake, said Wednesday that a "vast majority of clients are horrified" by the two assaults that took place there...
Native plantings take over area yards
If you'd like to join a movement, helping the region become a pollinator-friendly one would be a good choice. That's because right here in Carlton County, you can find some of the best resources in... Full story
Bill would explore counties joining Dakotas
Carlton County's Dotseth supports secession study The seriousness of a Republican bill introduced last week can likely be summed up in its author's preferred name for it, the "Rocks and Cows Act." The bill would produce a study by an appointed...
Sudden 70s strike snowpack, leading to flooding worries
One could easily mistake a northeastern Minnesota meteorologist for a sadist these days. Just two days after the messy April 4-5 snowstorm, followed by some slight signs of an actual spring, the... Full story
Tiny Cromwell gets some national love
Midway through the second quarter of the NCAA Division II women's basketball championship game, the announcers on the CBS Sports Network national broadcast mentioned Cromwell. That's because they... Full story
Virgin Mary no-show leaves its legacies
Mike Shannon was such a curmudgeon - with a capital C - a picture of him could be expected next to the word in any illustrated dictionary. I had many maddening conversations with him in low light at...
