A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
A lost or abandoned Siberian husky spotted by numerous people in Scanlon throughout December finally has a new home. The stray dog was trapped and rescued Dec. 26 by volunteers, and now resides in a temporary foster home for huskies in the Twin Cities area. The dog, first dubbed "Pete" for the way it was spotted around Trapper Pete's Steakhouse and Saloon, then "Petey" once her gender was discovered, has now been given the name Violet. "I felt bad for her," said Cindy Peterson, owner of Trapper...
A chapter in the history of two small-town basketball programs will draw to a close next week. But when it comes to the annual "Jug" games between the boys and girls teams at Carlton and Wrenshall, the question that arises is to what extent the history of the games has even been written. There are few definitives when it comes to the origin of a jug being the centerpiece of rivalries that go back generations. Those facts come from the jugs themselves, which have written on them the past scores a...
This was a fun photo we found while researching information on a story this past week. This photo is from the Carlton County News Graphic, dated Feb. 16, 1951. You'll find out that when digging for historic nuggets that information on women is always the most difficult to find, because names change from birth names. And to add insult, most women in newspaper archives are listed only as a Mrs. to their husband's first and last name. So your task this week is to tell us what became of the girls...
Commissioner Susan Zmyslony was sworn in as the new commissioner from District 4 of Carlton County this week, representing the southeast portion of the county, including Carlton, Barnum, Wrenshall, Mahtowa and Holyoke. Judge Rebekka Stumme officiated over the ceremonies Tuesday, which also included the swearing in of re-elected District 2 Commissioner Marv Bodie, County Attorney Lauri Ketola and Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake. The annual county board organizational meeting saw District 1...
To borrow from the Looney Tunes: “Is it rabbit season or duck season?” For Cloquet Community Education and Recreation, the answer is resoundingly “duck season.” Community Ed kicked off its second duck hunt earlier this month by planting four rubber ducks in Pinehurst Park. Folks who take selfies with the ducks and post them onto the Community Ed Facebook page are entered into a monthly drawing to win a $20 gift certificate to Carmen’s Bar and Restaurant. The contest lasts through March, with ducks moving to a different park each month. As...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has finalized an updated wolf management plan that incorporates the diverse views of Minnesotans and will guide the state’s approach to wolf conservation for the next 10 years. “We’re proud we brought people together to update Minnesota’s wolf plan,” said DNR commissioner Sarah Strommen. “We had great engagement from tribes, state and federal agencies, academia, and groups and individuals interested in wolves.” The updated plan is available on the DNR’s wolf plan page (mndnr.gov/WolfPlan). This is t...
Applications are now being accepted for a new grant program to support Minnesotans purchasing their first farms. The Down Payment Assistance Grant program is managed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and offers dollar-for-dollar matching up to $15,000 for qualified small-farmers to purchase farmland. The MDA’s Rural Finance Authority (RFA) is awarding this funding in a first come, first served application process that opened Jan. 4. The Minnesota Legislature appropriated $500,000 in Fiscal Year 2023 for these grants. Farmers m...
A new federal grant award will fund collaborative planning by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to further large-scale moose habitat restoration in northeast Minnesota. The award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, through the new America the Beautiful Challenge, will provide $443,600 to the DNR for the planning effort, with a goal of an implementation plan for moose habitat restoration on three areas of 10,000 to 50,000 contiguous acres each. Tribal, federal, county and non-governmental partner organizations helped...
The state’s federal legislators are weighing in on recurrent mail delays being experienced by residents throughout northeastern Minnesota. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Pete Stauber both addressed the topic last week. “During the past weeks, I have heard from many of you from all around the Northland about major disruptions in mail delivery,” said Stauber, R-Hermantown, in a Facebook post. “In some areas, people haven’t received mail in three weeks.” Klobuchar, a Democrat, wrote U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Dec. 31, urging him to do e...
Fresh from his oath of office, Rep. Jeff Dotseth promised on Tuesday to represent all of his constituents during the newly opened session of the Minnesota State Legislature "It's an honor to represent the people of our district at the Capitol," said Dotseth, R-Kettle River, in a news release. "I thank my constituents for entrusting me with this incredible responsibility and will do my level best to represent all the people of our district. It was a heartfelt swearing-in ceremony - humbling...
The Covid-19 pandemic will reach its third anniversary in March but, unlike in years past, the early winter is so far not showing signs of a transmission peak. Only 4.1 percent of the county’s hospital beds were occupied by Covid-19 patients in the week through Dec. 28, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its weekly update of pandemic-related statistics. During past winters at this time, intensive care units had seen Covid-19 patients fill 40 percent or more of available beds through the early parts of the winter. The c...
Cloquet students returned to school Wednesday — well, most of them did. With several inches of snow having fallen the night before and continuing that morning, some were delayed while others stayed home because of challenging roads. Superintendent Michael Cary said the “secondary” rural roads — often the last to be plowed — are the most challenging after snow events and Wednesday was no exception. In this case, a bus driver lost traction on a hill, but couldn’t back up because there was a turn at the bottom and they didn’t want to risk endin...
Once again, the Pine Knot News reached out to elected officials and other area leaders to solicit their New Year’s wishes and/or predictions, with the request that they share their thoughts on things within their own sphere of influence in 75 words or fewer. To find out what they said, read on. Carlton County District 1 Commissioner and chairman Dick Brenner I’m really hopeful for 2023 and I hope our economy turns around. In the county, the big thing moving forward is getting closer to the completion of the new Justice Center. And we’re going...
Christmas will have passed by the time this piece appears in the paper. Here’s hoping it was a time of peace and joy for all. Now, we look to the new year with expectations that maybe life will improve, inflation will drop, good-paying jobs will be plentiful, and all those nasty viruses will disappear. We know that’s not reality. Words of wisdom from an old friend and mentor continue to bolster my outlook when things begin looking gloomy. He said: “Happiness is not about having what you want;...
This season's version of the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team is a throwback look at old-time hockey. Last week, these Lumberjacks parlayed physical play, sound penalty killing and an opportunistic offense into three straight wins in the Duluth Heritage Classic with the end result a championship trophy. CEC opened the holiday tournament on Dec. 27, taking on Apple Valley/Burnsville, a game the 'Jacks won, 9-3. Dayne Painovich scored the lone goal of the first period as CEC went up 1-0....
Jumpers from as far away as Chicago and Ishpeming, Michigan traveled to northern Minnesota last week for Central Division meets in Cloquet and Coleraine. The Cloquet Ski Club hosted its invitational on Friday, Dec. 30, at Pine Valley. The Cloquet ski jumps - built in the 1960s from steel donated by the railroads - join Coleraine as the only jumps left in Greater Minnesota. More than 50 jumpers competed in this year's meet. "We handed out 70 bibs, but some kids did more than one jump," explained...
There were three generations on the stage and at least three generations on the dance floor Saturday afternoon for the annual New Year's Eve dance at the Cloquet VFW. Duane and Sandy Olson of Two Harbors were a lively couple to watch on the floor. There was also a potluck for all the attendees. Jo Zack of Holyoke, 89, and Will Riendeau of Hibbing, 92, were enjoying a turn on the floor. Will said he has been dancing for 80 years. Dancers traveled from as far south as Sandstone and as far north...
I hope everyone had a safe Christmas holiday and New Year’s Day. I know many make new year’s resolutions, but how many are able to keep them? Make your resolutions realistic. You need to work to keep them, so don’t make it something you will never be able to successfully keep. Quilting at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is every Wednesday from 9 a.m. until noon. One summer, when I was about 11, my parents went on a trip to Boston to visit my mother’s brother and his family. This was the first trip they had taken alone since they got married. My mo...
As you probably have noticed, the United States Postal Service has been having a lot of difficulties of late. Mail has not been delivered for days in some cases. Even our local post offices in Wright and Cromwell have had reduced hours due to staffing shortages. But at least we aren’t stuck in airports for days trying to get back home from Christmas trips. Let’s hope things improve in 2023. Lindsay Lally celebrated her 75th birthday on New Year’s Eve with a party and a houseful of family, neighbors and friends. There was glitz and glamo...
Karee Pauline Rowell, 64, of Cromwell passed away tragically on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Bullhead City, Arizona while visiting her cousin, Trisha Wallin. Karee was born on Nov. 3, 1958, in Sandstone, Minnesota to Lincoln and Marilyn Hansen. Karee grew up in Cromwell and graduated from Cromwell High School in 1976. She married William "Bill" Rowell on Oct. 19, 1997. Karee was the deputy city clerk for Otsego, Minnesota. She was the self-appointed president of the Social Butterfly and Drama...
Margery E. Dahl, 85, of Cloquet passed away Dec. 31, 2022, at Diamond Willow. She was born Aug. 10, 1937, in Scanlon, the daughter of Hans and Mildred (Dalbec) Olsen. Margery graduated from Cloquet High School in 1955, and was united in marriage to John Dahl on Aug. 30, 1958. She was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Margery loved camping, especially at the Corps of Engineers Campground at Cross Lake. She also enjoyed going to craft shows and shopping. Margery was preceded in death by...
Ronald "Ron" Frank, 65, died unexpectedly Dec. 21, 2022, of natural causes. He was born on Nov. 7, 1957, to Edith and Harold Frank at Cloquet Memorial Hospital in Cloquet, the seventh of what would eventually be a family of 10 children. Ron was a member of the Cloquet class of 1976. He attended Hennepin Technical College from 1978 through 1980, where he studied computer programming. Ron held several jobs, including working at USG, and most recently at Black Bear Casino, where he was a reliable a...
Trisha Lynn Wallin, 58, passed away tragically on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, in Bullhead City, Arizona. Trisha was born on May 24, 1964, in Cloquet to Sam and Sheila Maki. She was raised in Esko and graduated from Esko High School in 1983. Trisha married Anthony Wallin on Sept. 25, 1994 in Reno, Nevada. Trisha worked for many years in the hospitality business in Laughlin, Nevada. She and Tony also owned and operated the Kamper Kompanion RV park in Litchfield, Illinois in the early 2000s. She was a...
Judy Kay Hoppe, 83, of Barnum passed away at home on Dec. 30, 2022, at her home. Beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and daughter of Bill and Signe (Saukko) Pietila, and dear friend. She was born on Aug. 18, 1939, and grew up in Barnum. She married the love of her life, Bill Hoppe, on Dec. 30, 1961, at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Cloquet, and they were married exactly 61 years. She worked as a loan officer at the First National Bank of Cloquet for almost three decades. Judy's...
Catherine JoAnn Thompson, 82, of Cloquet passed away on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023 at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. JoAnn was born on Feb. 23, 1940, in Mahnomen, to Peter and Julia Lemieux. She married Joseph Glen Thompson. JoAnn worked for the Cloquet public schools, and the Black Bear Casino as the buffet manager. She enjoyed bird watching. She loved her life on Big Lake. In her early years she was involved in her children's sports activities. JoAnn was preceded in death by her husband,...
