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  • Body found in Cloquet, police say death not considered suspicious

    Pine Knot News staff|Oct 25, 2024

    Cloquet police confirmed Tuesday, Oct. 29, that a deceased person was found in the wooded area behind the 218 Taphouse at approximately 9 p.m. Oct. 18. A preliminary investigation did not uncover any firearms, bullet holes, or other apparent indicators of foul play, according to a news release issued Tuesday. “No evidence suggests suspicious circumstances,” said Cloquet Chief of Police Derek Randall. The man was later identified by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office as 64-year-old Timothy Scott Morse, whose last known address is Grand Maria... Full story

  • Man sentenced for spike attack

    Pine Knot News staff|Oct 11, 2024

    A 38-year-old Carlton man was sentenced this week to eight years, eight months in prison for a violent attack earlier this year. Jacob Robert Clarin had pleaded guilty in August to felony first-degree assault — great bodily harm, for attacking another resident on Feb. 21 at the Lake Venoah Board and Lodge outside Carlton, in Twin Lakes Township. Judge Rebekka Stumme accepted the guilty plea, and an amended charge — first-degree assault down from attempted murder. In return for the guilty plea, a charge of second-degree assault with a dan...

  • Crowds make this year's Fourth a huge celebration in Cloquet

    Pine Knot News staff|Jul 12, 2024

    The weather held and the crowds turned out for the annual Cloquet Fourth of July celebration last Thursday. It was a day full of all kinds of gatherings. There was lots to see and do all day long, including the Sawdust 5K and LaVonna 1-mile race, kids' games, helicoptors and food trucks galore at Veterans Park, a car show and music at the NorthEastern and basketball at Pinehurst. "It was definitely the best turnout we've had since the pandemic," said July Fourth co-coordinator Jana Peterson,... Full story

  • Stop for speeding leads to drug arrests

    Pine Knot News staff|Apr 26, 2024

    A couple stopped while traveling through Carlton County earlier this month remained in the local jail this week facing multiple felony charges. Kenneth Sky Quade, 30, of Duluth, and Bethenia Elaine Rankins, 33, of Woodbury, Minnesota, both face first- and fifth-degree drug possession charges, with first degree charges for possession of 25 grams or more of heroin or fentanyl carrying up to $1 million in fines with maximum sentences of more than 30 years in prison. A Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped the couple for speeding at 4:30 a...

  • Driver kills pedestrian in Moose Lake

    Pine Knot News staff|Mar 22, 2024

    A 21-year-old man from Pengilly, Minnesota was arrested for criminal vehicular homicide Thursday, March 21 after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle in Moose Lake. The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office said Brent Keranen was transported to the Carlton County jail. Responders believed that alcohol impairment was a contributing factor in the incident that occurred just after 2 p.m. The sheriff’s office said reports from staff at the Minnesota Corrections Facility came in about a pedestrian, Justin McNeil, 61, of Moose Lake, laying in... Full story

  • Fond du Lac Band searches for missing man

    Pine Knot News staff|Mar 15, 2024

    A search was underway Wednesday morning on the Fond du Lac Reservation for a 31-year-old Native American man last seen and heard from on Friday. Peter Michael Martin is considered a missing person, according to a Fond du Lac Band news release. A search and rescue effort began at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, March 13, using police and volunteers combing the Mahnomen neighborhood. The search-and-rescue effort was being coordinated out of the Brookston Community Center at 8200 Belich Road in Cloquet.... Full story

  • Girls Basketball Playoffs updates, first round

    Pine Knot News staff|Mar 1, 2024

    CLASS A Floodwood vs Carlton/Wrenshall, 43-30 South Ridge vs Silver Bay, 87-61 - South Ridge will play Floodwood at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Esko Cromwell-Wright 82, Fond du Lac 24 - Cromwell-Wright plays Hill City at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2 at Esko CLASS AA Esko 92, International Falls 32 - Esko plays Proctor at 11 a.m. Saturday Moose Lake/Willow River 19, Mesabi East 58 CLASS AAA Cloquet vs Hibbing, 58-20 Cloquet (18 - 9) - Lelani Fonoti 6, Ava Carlson 10, Quinn Danielson 13, Carly Johnson 10, Riley Goranson 6, Kiley Issendorf 2.... Full story

  • CEC gets No. 2 spot in playoffs

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 16, 2024

    The Cloquet boys hockey team was seeded No. 2 for the upcoming Section 7A playoffs. Moose Lake Area is the last seed which is No. 9. Cloquet benefited from a strong finish to the season. After winning their last two games, they moved to No. 3 in the section in the QRF rankings. Then, because CEC defeated Hibbing in a head-to-head game, the Lumberjacks moved up to the No. 2 seed. Moose Lake will have a play-in game at 1 p.m. Saturday at International Falls, the No. 8 seed. The winner will move... Full story

  • Here comes the Fourth of July

    Pine Knot News staff|Jun 30, 2023

    After last year’s miserable weather, Fourth of July organizers in Cloquet have been busy refreshing the weather app on their phones. On Tuesday night — a week before the big day — the iPhone weather app predicted perfect Minnesota summer weather: partly sunny, temperatures in the upper 70s. The next morning the same weather app showed a 50-percent chance of rain on July 4. Nine hours later the forecast was back to no rain and a high of 81 degrees. Other than the weather, all the various event... Full story

  • 10,000 trees headed this way soon

    Pine Knot News staff|May 19, 2023

    Pine Knot News advertising director Ivan Hohnstadt had a tree-mendous idea three years ago. “Let’s give away 10,000 tree seedlings to celebrate the Pine Knot News being named the most outstanding newspaper in the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” he said, not knowing the paper would win the statewide award three years in a row. “Tree giveaway 3.0” is launching on Friday, May 26, a day when local businesses, schools and organizations will be giving away a grand total of 10,000 white pine and white spr... Full story

  • Warm weather brings plenty of outdoor opportunities

    Pine Knot News staff|May 5, 2023

    Whether you're looking for a way to while away an afternoon or plan an entire week's worth of activities - staycation style - there's plenty to do in Carlton County. Spring and summer are the perfect time to explore everything the area has to offer, from hiking in Jay Cooke State Park and whitewater rafting down the St. Louis River, to museums and other local attractions. Established in 1857 and home to more than 35,000 citizens, Carlton County encompasses Cloquet, Esko, Carlton, Moose Lake,... Full story

  • Back on a varsity field, Cards get a historic win

    Pine Knot News staff|May 6, 2022

    Cromwell-Wright had to wait 12 years between varsity baseball wins, but that's in the past, after the Cardinals defeated Carlton 3-1 on the road Tuesday, April 26, at Chub Lake. Varsity baseball returned to Cromwell this year for the first time since 2010, after the program was resurrected a few years ago with junior high ball. From 2011 through 2018, Cromwell-Wright athletes traveled to McGregor to play baseball. The young Cardinals got on the board first in the opening half-inning when... Full story

  • Officers determine Esko bomb scare a false alarm

    Pine Knot News staff|Mar 18, 2022

    Students and staff at Esko schools were safely evacuated Friday afternoon, after the Carlton County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous 911 call indicating an explosive device was seen in an Esko High School classroom. Officers and school officials initiated evacuation procedures, and enlisted the help of emergency responders and law enforcement from many different agencies to conduct an exhaustive search of the building and surroundings. No suspicious items were located, and the campus was... Full story

  • Council wards, polling places won't change in 2022

    Pine Knot News staff|Mar 4, 2022

    When the 2020 Census showed an increase of 444 residents in Cloquet, city officials took a look at their own version of redistricting and decided to keep things the way they were. City administrator Tim Peterson explained to the council members during Tuesday’s meeting that unlike U.S. House District 8 — which is expanding west to include the White Earth and Red Lake nations — Cloquet saw only small changes to the population numbers in the city’s five council wards. Current population numbers and percentage of average population are listed...

  • Winter weather packs a wallop

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 25, 2022

    Sunday wasn't exactly a spring-like day in Carlton, but compared to the tight grip of cold on the region this winter, it felt rather balmy as temperatures neared 30 degrees and a bit of melt occurred. Not so fast, winter said, as a two-day blow of cold and plenty of snow hit the area on Monday and Tuesday. The wind made snow totals difficult to measure. The National Weather Service in Duluth took reports of 11 to 15 inches of snow in Carlton County. Wrenshall had the highest total reported at 15...

  • Man accused of child sex abuse

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 25, 2022

    A 74-year-old Cloquet man is facing charges of sexually assaulting a child who was not a stranger to him. Edward Christian of Cloquet was charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree for allegedly performing sexually penetrative acts with a female child under the age of 10 years old. According to the criminal complaint, the child’s mother observed Christian allegedly showing the girl pornography when the two of them were on a FaceTime call. The mother and father had their daughter discontinue the call, then asked if Ch...

  • Updated: 12-year-old runaway child is found safely

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 25, 2022

    UPDATE: The Cloquet Police Department sent out a message just after noon Wednesday that a missing 12-year-old boy had been found and is safe. *** previous story below *** The Cloquet Police Department is seeking the community's help in locating a 12-year-old child that ran from his home here in Cloquet. According to an online alert issued at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, March 1, the missing child, Ian Javier Reynolds, is described as a Native American, male, 5'2", 110 lbs, and wearing wind pants and a... Full story

  • Pine Valley, where Olympic hopes grow

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 18, 2022

    In Cloquet, it isn't farfetched to have Olympic dreams. After all, Olympic Drive snakes around the land Joe Nowak convinced Northwest Paper to donate for a park, now home to ice arenas and a woodland park. Corey Millen and Jamie Langenbrunner played in the arenas when they were Lumberjacks. Millen was the first Cloquet hockey player to reach the Olympics, playing on the 1988 team. Langenbrunner played in the era when NHL players began competing. He was a last-second replacement on the 1998... Full story

  • Schools drop mask mandates as cases decline

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 18, 2022

    As Covid case numbers continue to fall after peaking here in early February, so too do the mask mandates. The only school district in the county to mandate universal mask wearing in all grades since the start of school, Cloquet school board members took a cautious approach through both the Delta and the Omicron variants, never altering the mandate. On Monday, however, board members voted 5-0 to end the mask mandate effective Saturday. Their decision was greeted with applause by nearly a dozen...

  • Prom dress giveaway finds home in Carlton

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 18, 2022

    For girls seeking the ultimate prom experience, finding and affording a dress can be a barrier to the big night. For the past several years, a mother-daughter team has put dresses within reach. Amy and Ashleigh Arntson's nonprofit If the Dress Fits helps teens find affordable dresses by collecting dress donations from across the region. After taking two years off during the pandemic, the team is back with a new concept this year. This year, dresses and fittings are taking place by appointment on... Full story

  • Remembering homemade ski jumps in the 'Wild 80'

    Pine Knot News staff|Feb 18, 2022

    The recent article by Steve Korby on his memories of sliding and skiing in the woods in Cloquet triggered my own memories from the early 1960s. I grew up on a dairy farm 3 miles northwest of Barnum. Even with few neighbor kids around, I don’t ever remember being bored for lack of fun or interesting things to do. I even felt a bit sorry for my classmates who lived in the big metropolis of Barnum — what would one do for fun in such a sterile, manmade environment? One problem we faced in the winter is that our farm and the area around it were lac... Full story

  • Council celebrates Native American heritage

    Pine Knot News staff|Nov 19, 2021

    A booming drum ceremony filled the meeting room at Cloquet city hall Tuesday as the city council and mayor acknowledged National Native American Heritage Month. Council member Lyz Jaakola, who represents Ward 5, which overlaps part of the Fond du Lac reservation, said it's constructive to have a month to encourage reflection on indigenous people, although the community thinks about its culture and issues every day of the year. She said she's encouraged by "hopeful discussions" across the...

  • Local hospitals begin giving booster shots

    Pine Knot News staff|Oct 1, 2021

    Following the CDC’s move last week to authorize booster shots for certain populations local hospitals including Essentia Healthcare, St. Luke’s and Community Memorial are providing the booster shots. Appointments will need to be scheduled. CMH CEO Rick Breuer said the Cloquet hospital held its first booster clinic last week for those with compromised immune systems. The CDC has recommended the following groups should get a booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after their s... Full story

  • The Ticker

    Pine Knot News staff|Sep 10, 2021

    Thursday, Sept. 2 Girls soccer Esko- 2 Princeton- 1 Boys soccer CEC- 7 Mesabi East- 0 Volleyball Marshall- 3 Cloquet- 1 Floodwood- 3 Carlton- 1 South Ridge- 3 Cook County- 2 Friday, Sept. 3 Football Moose Lake/ Willow River- 28 Hermantown- 21 Logan Orvedahl led the Rebels with 187 yards on the ground and a touchdown as well as an interception in the waning moments of the game. Orvedahl also returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score. Cromwell- Wright- 13 North Central- 12 With two minutes remaining, the Cards had a goal- line stand and then went...

  • Votes on school masks are mixed

    Pine Knot News staff|Sep 3, 2021

    With Covid-19 infections ramping up but no state of emergency in Minnesota or nationally, decisions on how to keep kids safe at school this fall have been left up to local school boards. It hasn’t been easy. Masks have become controversial, with some residents asking boards to simply recommend rather than require them, while others say they won’t send their unvaccinated children to school if they aren’t required. It’s also a different time in the pandemic, because people can be vaccinated, which was not the case last fall. According to its mos... Full story

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