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

Compiled from reports via Pine Knot News partner Minnesota Public Radio. Afflicted age range is 0 to 104 The median age of Minnesota’s confirmed COVID-19 cases is 47, but the median age of those who’ve needed hospitalization is 64, and it is 84...

The city of Cloquet closed all its outdoor play structures on Wednesday, including playgrounds, the skatepark and other athletic facilities as part of its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. City administrator Tim Peterson said the decision...

A house fire in Barnum Township Sunday put three people in the hospital for smoke inhalation, and destroyed the home, killing several pets that were inside. According to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call...

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act authorizes stimulus payments to those who qualify. As a result, scammers may target Minnesotans and try to steal their personal information. Government agencies, including the IRS and the...

It’s difficult to see the effect COVID-19 has had on our county. Businesses are closed. Schools are closed. People are staying home. But people are getting creative to stimulate their need for social interaction: using social media, teddy bear...

For many of us, the normal routines of work, life, and play are sidelined. Which means more free time or new situations (kids home all day, for example). The natural reaction is to resent all this. It’s a total pain, brings about new inconveniences...

It’s Sunday morning and your most recent edition sits open to page six on our dining room table. Because we enjoy reading and digesting the articles slowly, we are rationing the paper so it lasts until the next issue arrives. We have come to trust...

The Pine Knot News has a new page designed to provide some light in these troubling times for the community. It’s called “Life During a Pandemic.” How are you coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to stop its spread?...

There are several free book boxes in the area, including a Book Barn and Kitchen Cabinet outside the Jadeke family’s house at the corner of Sixth Street and Selmer Avenue in Cloquet, where both books and food supplies are free for the taking (or... Full story

Spring schools activities on hold through May 4 The Minnesota State High School League sent out a press release following the order that schools remain closed and transition to distance learning through May 4 by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, noting that ... Full story

United Way The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic, everyday survival items by sending... Full story

Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this week. March 27 1905 The Aerial Bridge, spanning the Duluth shipping canal, carries its first passengers across the harbor inside a carriage suspended from the bridge framework. The system would be...

In Wrenshall, superintendent Kim Belcastro updated the school board this week on where the district was since the closure order March 15. “I will admit it did feel like the last week of school for the students,” Belcastro wrote in her memo about... Full story

We live in an era of overwhelming information. And you’ve heard it before in this current micro-era of divided politics: Be careful where you get your news. Perhaps you are. Or perhaps you’ve chosen to remain in a comfortable bubble where your... Full story

For more than 60 years, the United Way of Carlton County has been fighting for the health, education, basic needs and financial stability of every person in every community in Carlton County. As we collectively navigate our way through these uncertai...