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Articles from the March 5, 2021 edition


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  • As vaccinations rise, some vacillation

    Rebekah King|Mar 5, 2021

    Although first responders in Minnesota got to jump to the front of the line for the Covid-19 vaccine, some have said "no" to getting vaccinated despite their elevated risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus. Like other states, Minnesota is giving high-risk groups priority access to the vaccine during the first phases of vaccination. That includes all health care workers - including doctors, nurses, firefighters, paramedics, and other public health officials and emergency personnel -...

  • K-9 death reverberates beyond Duluth

    Jana Peterson|Mar 5, 2021

    Police officers and mourners made a sad trip to Scanlon Saturday to say farewell to Duluth K-9 Luna, who was killed in a standoff Thursday. People lined the route from a pet hospital in West Duluth and gathered on overpasses between there and the pet crematorium in Scanlon to pay their respects. This weekend marked the second time in three years that a procession to honor a Duluth police dog killed in the line of duty has ended in Scanlon. On Saturday, a long line of people stood along the...

  • History Mystery

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    The story about the closing of Wood City Lights & Hardware in the Pine Knot News a few weeks ago got us thinking about that nickname for Cloquet. It’s obvious why Wood City came to be, given the influence of the wood-related industry here. But when did Wood City gain traction as a nickname? If you can call it traction. The term is bandied about still today, but not as commonly as, say, the Big Apple, Big Easy, Charm City or Queen City. A cursory look at the newspapers.com archive, which has searchable newspapers dating back hundreds of years, s...

  • MPCA has puzzling plan to change water rules

    Stephanie Hemphill|Mar 5, 2021

    The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency wants to change the rules on water quality. The agency has been working on these rules for a few years and hopes to put them into effect this summer. The plan looks like a sort of Rubik’s cube, eliminating subcategories, moving limits from one category to another, and doing away with many numeric pollution limits in favor of a narrative description requiring a “translator.” Structured like a flowchart, the translator asks a series of questions designed to determine whether a particular effluent is likel...

  • Tobacco store plans move to Ave. C building

    Jana Peterson|Mar 5, 2021

    The former Avenue C restaurant space in West End Cloquet could soon be home to a tobacco and vape store, albeit not a new business. Rather, Lakeshore Tobacco Vapor owner Aysar Sadi said he needs to move his store from its current location at 902 Cloquet Avenue to the large First National Bank building at 207 Avenue C because his current landlord is selling and gave him notice to move by the end of March. Cloquet City Council members and staff held off on approving the tobacco license Tuesday...

  • Unconscious assault trial is reset

    Jana Peterson|Mar 5, 2021

    The trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman who was a guest at his home has been tentatively rescheduled for May, after being delayed because of courtroom shutdowns due to Covid-19 concerns. Jamin Paul Beardley, 45, of Sawyer, Minnesota faces charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct filed in August of 2020. He also faces charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor domestic assault in a separate case dating from November 2019. When defense attorney Joanna Wiegert asked that the...

  • Options grow regarding shots

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    • In Cloquet, Community Memorial Hospital has a vaccination registration form on its website, or call 218-879-1271. The form allows residents to register their interest but not to schedule an appointment. The hospital will notify people who have registered when they can schedule a visit. The second dose will be scheduled to take place after the proper number of days have passed from the initial dose. • Some local pharmacies are also offering vaccination appointments, including Walmart and Thrifty White pharmacies. Call them for more inf...

  • MPR News|Mar 5, 2021

    Vaccination acceleration may finally be here. The Health Department on Wednesday reported about 32,000 new vaccinations in Minnesota, nearly twice the number from last Wednesday. The seven-day trend is running at nearly 39,000 shots daily now, the highest since vaccinations began in late December. State public health leaders have said for weeks that they’d be ready to ramp up when they got more supply. With the federal government now promising enough vaccine to inoculate every adult American by the end of May — two months earlier than exp...  Website

  • Our View: Projects demand an engaged public

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    We took some heat recently for an Our View stating we were nervous about building a new fire station in Cloquet. Although we stand by our position that public officials need to be cautious about overtaxing residents, we also reiterate that help from the state is warranted and appreciated in the case of the fire district — which covers multiple communities — as well as the proposed county jail, which serves the entire county. We appreciate that the county formed a special committee to focus on the new jail issue, and invited citizens to committe...

  • Harry's Gang: Cold snap brings hard slap when it comes to heating bills

    Pete Radosevich|Mar 5, 2021

    That was quite a cold snap we just outlived, with 13 days in a row with lows of around 20 degrees below zero or even lower. Many of those days it never rose above zero. Our furnaces worked nonstop the whole time, or at least it sure seemed that way. Thank goodness that's over. It's been so warm this past week, relatively, that I can actually see brown spots in my yard. Sure, there's still plenty of snow and a big chance a blizzard will blanket us with snow before spring actually arrives, but...

  • Student Views: Find new uses for trash

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    A verdant forest flooding with life. A sun-baked land contrasted by the cool, calm sea. A fluttering flame of oranges, yellows, and reds. And a glittering wonderland crafted from diamonds. This is the land we were given, an immense, majestic being, now choking and sputtering on our waste. Over half of all material that could be composted is going to landfills instead, where it sits until it finally rots away, releasing gasses which suffocate the earth, and us along with it. If this waste were composted, many of these gasses would not be...

  • Obituaries: Robert L. Fjerstad

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Robert L. Fjerstad, 89, of Carlton passed away Feb. 27, 2021. He was born on June 21, 1931 in Fosston to Lloyd and Sadie (Carver) Fjerstad. He married Marie Cumber on June 13, 1959. He was a loving father of Clayton (Kim), Colin (Debbie), and Wayne (Angie), and dear grandfather of Cassandra, Kurtis, Amy, Janice, and Nicholas. He was a dear brother of Mavis (Bill) LaVoi, Shirley (Winton) Knudson, Janis (Dick) Aos, Russell Fjerstad, and Vicki (Wayne) Strom, and a special friend to Bob, Jodi,...

  • Obituaries: Marilyn Mae (West) Riihiluoma

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Marilyn Mae (West) Riihiluoma, born on Feb. 19, 1931, left this earth on Feb. 28, 2021, into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who welcomed her to her eternal home. Marilyn was privileged to know Jesus from her early days on Earth. She was a lover of God’s word and faithful in prayer. Marilyn was an exceptionally kind and gentle woman who spent her 90 years pouring out her life for her family and many others. She was a giver. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jay and G...

  • Obituaries: Charles Michael Diver

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Charles Michael Diver, 82, of Cloquet passed away Feb. 24, 2021. He was born on June 6, 1938 at the Fond du Lac Indian hospital to Charles and Elizabeth (Wood) Diver. He attended Wahpeton and Flandreau Indian schools. In 1959 he married Faye (Graves) Diver, and in 1960 they moved to Cleveland, Ohio through the federal Indian Relocation program. He was determined to work in partnership with his wife to provide a good life and education for their children. Chuck was proud to be a Teamster, and...

  • Death notices

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Kay Lenore Burgraff, 69, of Duluth and formerly of Holyoke, passed away Feb. 28, 2021, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. A gathering of family and friends will be held at a later date. Atkins Northland Funeral Home, Cloquet. Robert Schultz, 90, of Carlton passed away March 2, 2021, at Augustana Health Care in Moose Lake. Visitation: 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 6 at Atkins Northland Funeral Home, Cloquet. A private family service will follow....

  • Wrenshall News: Libraries are sacred space

    Elle Swanson|Mar 5, 2021

    Annie Dugan's recent column about what people are reading in the Wrenshall community got me thinking about libraries in schools. It's been a while since I've student-taught, but I can clearly remember the day I asked to see the library and was told the K-8 school did not have one. I grew up going to the public library and spending time in both the Churchill and Wrenshall libraries as a student. I was introduced to some of my favorite authors and books in these libraries. The readers I know...

  • Wright/Cromwell news

    Jennie K. Hanson|Mar 5, 2021

    Congratulations to Glenn and Fran Solomon on being chosen the king and queen at the Cardinal Court/Villa Vista’s recent annual Valentine’s Day celebration. Glenn and Fran are recent residents, having joined the Villa family last summer. Good luck to science students as they present their science fair projects. With a placing on Saturday, they could move on to state. Emaleigh Olesiak has a project called Air, Air Everywhere and the team of Isabella Anderson, Jack Irving, and Siiena Anderson hav...

  • Guest view: Districts have a lot invested in schools

    Mar 5, 2021

    The Pine Knot News asked the superintendents of the Wrenshall and Carlton school districts to update readers on the state of consolidation. Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro weighs in here: Since being hired as superintendent of Wrenshall school in 2012, the Carlton and Wrenshall districts have been in and out of consolidation talks for at least eight of the nine years. Many community members from the two districts will state that these talks have been going on for decades. It has been my priority to work closely with the Wrenshall school...

  • Guest view: Exploring the options

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    The Pine Knot News asked the superintendents of the Wrenshall and Carlton school districts to update readers on the state of consolidation. Carlton superintendent John Engstrom weighs in here: The Carlton school board is currently in the process of exploring various options. The primary options under consideration right now are a K-8 school with a high school tuition agreement, a new K-12 school, and reconstituting consolidation talks with Wrenshall along with gauging the interest of other area small districts in finding additional ways to...

  • Cloquet student named delegate to medical leaders conference

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Cloquet High School ninth-grader Quinn Danielson will be a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders March 20-21. The congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or to go into medical research fields. The purpose of the event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in these careers, to stay true to their dreams and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their...

  • CEC will return to state meet

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    By the narrowest of margins - one point exactly - the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys ski team is headed to the state meet next week, after taking second place in the Section 7 ski meet Wednesday. Duluth East took first place with 373 points, CEC with 356 and Ely with 355 points in a somewhat modified section meet at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. The top two teams in each section advance to state, along with the top six individuals who are not on the top two teams. This is the second year in a row that...

  • Small alpine team makes big strides this season

    Jana Peterson|Mar 5, 2021

    The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton alpine ski team wrapped up its regular season last week, and competed in the Section 7 Championships Tuesday, March 2 at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. For the girls team, freshman Madysen Waters was the top performer, taking 10th place in the Section 7 meet while Elle Rigas finished in 39th place and Emily Regas took 56th. "Madysen had a fantastic day, finishing in 10th, just three places out of qualifying for state," head coach Ryan Zimny said, adding that the girls' usual t...

  • The Ticker: A quick look at area teams in action

    Pine Knot News|Mar 5, 2021

    Thursday, Feb. 25 Boys Basketball Wrenshall-57 Cook County-47 Esko-78 Duluth Denfeld-34 Cherry-84 Carlton-46 Cloquet-78 Proctor-19 Girls Basketball Cook County-78 Wrenshall-68 Cromwell-Wright-54 Floodwood-17 Barnum-58 McGregor-43 Cloquet-61 Mesabi East-54 Esko-46 Hibbing-44 Friday, Feb. 26 Boys Hockey Moose Lake Area-6 Ely-3 Boys Basketball Two Harbors-88 Wrenshall-69 Nashwauk-Keewatin-78 Cromwell-Wright-31 Ely-67 South Ridge-64 Girls Basketball Pequot Lakes-88 Moose Lake/ Willow River-52 Saturday, Feb. 27 Boys Hockey CEC-3 Duluth Marshall-1...

  • South Ridge making run to postseason

    Kerry Rodd|Mar 5, 2021

    Don't look now, but the South Ridge Panthers girls basketball team is serving notice that they are going to be a tough team to beat come playoff time. The Panthers notched their fifth win in a row and their 10th win over the last 11 games when they defeated the Carlton Bulldogs 54-31 Thursday night. "It was a hard-fought victory for us and Carlton made us work very hard," said South Ridge coach Brad Olesiak. The Bulldogs fought hard to stay with the Panthers in the first half and trailed just...

  • Cards pluck Wrens

    Kerry Rodd|Mar 5, 2021

    Cromwell-Wright used the three-point shot Tuesday night to defeat Wrenshall 66-49 in a high school boys basketball game played in Cromwell. "We played pretty well tonight," said Cardinals coach Bill Pocernich after the game. "We had struggled with shooting beyond the arc for a few games, but last night and tonight we shot it well." The Cards hit 13 of the long-range bombs in the win over Wrenshall Tuesday. On Monday they hit 12 from beyond the arc in a 59-40 win over McGregor in another home...

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