Articles from the February 26, 2021 edition
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 38
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
Bomb scare clears pipeline area
A total of 40 residences near Ditchbank Road were evacuated Friday because of fears that one or more explosive devices had been placed in the Line 3 pipeline currently under construction in Carlton... Full story
Line 3 workers caught in sting
Pine Knot News The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's human trafficking investigators task force announced on Feb. 19 that seven people were charged following arrests during a human trafficking operation in Itasca County. Two of the men charged...
It's back to school again in county
It's beginning to look like this school year will be a turnaround from previous school year, at least in terms of the pandemic. Last year, students enjoyed school as usual until mid-March, when Gov.... Full story
Cloquet School Board OKs talk with Carlton on possibilities
Following the declaration of a "pause" in consolidation talks between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts, Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary said Carlton had reached out to Cloquet again to...
Carlton sticks with superintendent
The Carlton school board this month voted to accept another one-year contract for superintendent John Engstrom. The contract for a salary of $108,784 runs from July 1 to the end of June 2022. Engstrom is currently on a one-year contract agreed to...
Esko school board to return to in-person meetings
Esko school board members decided to stop holding its meetings via Zoom and return to in-person meetings, most likely in the auditorium to allow for physical distancing. The next meeting is March 8 at 6:30 p.m. Board members also accepted the...
Townships compete for transportation grants
The Carlton County board of commissioners gave its blessing Tuesday, Feb. 22 for two township grant projects that will compete for limited transportation funding from an annual Legislature initiative for Greater Minnesota. County engineer JinYeene...
Thomson Town online meetings improved for viewers
Thomson Township supervisors unveiled a new audiovisual system at their meeting Feb. 18 that is expected to improve accessibility to meetings. The board had been experiencing audio and video issues since it began online meetings last year. It was...
Supreme Court backs band on groundwater
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was justified in arguing that pollution seeping into groundwater from the Minntac mine tailing basin...
County keeps focus on future new jail facility
The county has formed a special committee to focus on plans for a new county jail building and programming, which met for the first time Tuesday, Feb. 23. Sheriff Kelly Lake said there is increasing...
State offers "vaccine connector" website
Tim Nelson MPR News Minnesota is launching a new “vaccine connector” website to help line people up with Covid-19 shots. The site includes a questionnaire, asking enrollees for their address, age, occupation, medical history and other data that... Website
Our View: Church leads by example with Covid response
Good Hope Church in Cloquet recently suffered an outbreak of Covid-19 in its congregation, and immediately took steps to minimize the effect on the community, as we reported in last week’s Pine Knot News. We applaud the responsibility in acting... Full story
Harry's Gang: Voter ID is intrusion, plain and simple, by government
There's talk in the Minnesota Legislature to bring back the "voter ID" issue. The problem with voter ID is that the logic behind it is backward - that since we need an ID to write a check or buy... Full story
Letter: What would Jesus do in a pandemic world?
I have a question for Father Fish and for all the other Christians who feel unfairly treated by Covid-19 restrictions. If He were here today and living among us in human form, and He had two options — doing whatever He pleased in order to satisfy... Full story
Student Views: Arts deserve attention on same level as sports
The National Association for Music Education tells us that music is crucial to a developing brain. It helps language skills, social skills, and is good for overall intelligence. Music also helps... Full story
Share your pandemic thoughts, art or writings with PKN readers
It’s been nearly a year that we’ve been living under the new world order wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Pine Knot News would like to hear reader thoughts or see impressions related to... Full story
Obituaries: Donald Harvey Siiter
Donald Harvey Siiter, 89, passed away Jan. 18, 2021, of Covid 19-related pneumonia in Yorba Linda, California. He was born in Cloquet on May 19, 1931, and graduated Cloquet High School in 1949. He... Full story
Obituaries: David "Bud" W. Levinski
David “Bud” W. Levinski, 66, of Cloquet passed away suddenly at home on Feb. 18, 2021. He was born Nov. 20, 1954 in Cloquet, the son of William and Ethel (Westlund) Levinski. Bud graduated from... Full story
Obituaries: Michael C. Koncal
Michael C. Koncal, 65, of Wrenshall passed away Feb. 17, 2021 at home. He was born Dec. 6, 1955 in Duluth, the son of Charles and Pauline (Nichol) Koncal. Mike graduated from Proctor High School and... Full story
Death notices
Melanie Joy Synkiew, 57, of Cloquet died Feb. 13, 2021 in her home. A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 29 at Round Lake Cemetery in McGregor. Arrangements by Atkins-Northland Funeral Home, Cloquet. Elma McMillan, 101, formerly... Full story
Cloquet native in chef contest
Cloquet High School grad Kevin Aho is in the running to be named the world’s Favorite Chef, win $50,000 and be featured in a two-page advertising spread in Bon Appetit magazine. In his entry, Aho says he has been cooking 30 years, 25 of those as... Full story
Golf club raises prom money
The Rugged Spruce golf club, in association with Re/Max Results and team leader Randy Myhre, raised more than $800 to support the 2021 Barnum Junior Class Prom committee in a recent fundraiser. A... Full story
Cloquet's confidence grows
It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for the Cloquet boys basketball team this season. The Lumberjacks notched a 77-68 win over Pine City last Thursday to improve to 6-5 on the season, but now... Full story
The Ticker
Thursday, Feb. 18 Boys Hockey CEC-8 Eveleth-Gilbert-2 Girls Hockey Grand Rapids/Greenway-3 CEC-1 Duluth-3 Moose Lake Area-1 Boys Basketball Carlton-84 Silver Bay-50 Cloquet-77 Pine City-68 Ogilvie-73 Wrenshall-65 Girls Basketball Esko-58 Pine... Full story