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
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With a potential project labor agreement vote on the Cloquet city council agenda, union members from Duluth, Superior and beyond packed City Hall Tuesday. Well over 100 people, mostly men, filled the council chambers and the atrium, the hum of their voices outside the meeting room making it difficult to hear Mayor Roger Maki as he opened the meeting. In the end, councilors voted 5-2 to table the issue, with Maki and Ward 4 Councilor Kerry Kolodge dissenting. That vote to delay a decision came...
The Cloquet Area Home, Business & Sports Show is back — in person — after being canceled three years in a row due to the pandemic. The show will run from 1 to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 17-18 at the Black Bear Event Center. Admission is free. Cloquet Chamber president Kelly Zink said the local business organization is thrilled to host the popular community event once again. “It will be bigger than ever,” she said. “With over 125 booths including home improvement for your upcoming projects, clothing and shoes for shopp...
When Barnum residents elected Dale Riihiluoma as mayor, running unopposed, in November, it was the culmination of decades of public service. It was also something his wife of 47 years, the late Diane Riihiluoma, didn't want to see happen. Diane passed away in November 2021 after three decades of battling cancer. She tended to favor blending in over standing out. "When Diane was still living she never wanted me to be mayor - it was too far out there," Dale said. "'You're not doing that,' she'd...
A new animal rescue group operating out of Carlton County has registered with the state as a nonprofit organization, and could begin fostering lost or stray dogs and cats in a matter of weeks. "We're 30 or 60 days away from taking our first official animals for rescue," said Erin Thompson, a board member of the new Carlton County Animal Rescue. Thompson met with 16 others Tuesday at the Cloquet Public Library as part of the group's monthly meetings. It has been gathering since October 2021, but...
College sports will no longer be part of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, according to a letter from acting president Anita Hanson. Hanson said it was a difficult decision, but she decided to discontinue the athletics program there, including men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball. Football had already been eliminated. “Following conversations with campus leadership, the college’s athletic director, head coaches, staff, and faculty, it has been determined that funding currently used for athletics should be reallo...
The County Seat Theater in Cloquet presents “Tracks” on March 17-19 and March 30-April 2. In Peter Tarsi’s one-act play, a group of strangers meet in a subway station, only to learn there is no way out. They are faced with the unfortunate truth, and must decide whether to board an approaching subway train. Tickets online or by calling 218-878-0071....
Enjoy good soup and good company at the 17th annual Northeastern mojakka cookoff 12-4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 12 at the Northeastern Hotel and Saloon in Cloquet. The event is a fundraiser for the Carlton County Historical Society and a celebration of mostly Finnish soups. Sign up to enter your favorite soup in the contest to win the people’s choice medallions. There is no fee to enter. Call Bert Whittington at 218-879-3312 to enter. Any kind of soup will be accepted. There will be a $25 stipend for cooks to help cover the cost of ingredients, g...
Gordy's Hi-Hat opens its 63rd season on Wednesday, March 22. What started as one couple's hamburger stand has grown exponentially in terms of the number of family members involved and societal clout in its most recent years. It has been featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", and the restaurant's every move is tracked by news media outlets from across the state. It has also become a social media darling, with its food and locational backdrops appearing to let everyone know...
One of the oldest traditions in the history of Minnesota carries on Tuesday, March 14 in the annual township meetings. The township system of government was established as part of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which included the northeast portion of today's Minnesota as a territory. Areas of land were divided into 36-square-mile units called congressional townships. Today, the term "township" refers to organized but unincorporated areas of the state usually governed by a three-person board of...
Bruce Matuszak recalled the vacation stop in Wichita, Kansas, where he hatched the idea of conducting a daylong worship service. After some Bible reading and prayer in the morning, he was moved by a thought. "I had to do something," he said. He turned to his wife, Tami Matuszak, and said, "'We're going to organize a 24-hour worship service.'" Matuszak is a board member of Cloquet-based Kingdom Builders Ministries, and the event organizer of "24 hours of worship" beginning at 5 p.m. March 17 and...
Sunshine Week is an annual initiative to promote open government and journalism’s role in it. It is celebrated in the second full week of March. It was launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors — now News Leaders Association. The Pine Knot is a strong proponent of what Sunshine Week represents, keeping a light on government so everyone can stay informed. We are excited SunshineWeek is here (March 12-18) and proud to join good government organizations, media organizations and civic groups in promoting the significance of gov...
Thaw, freeze. Thaw, freeze. We’ve seen that cycle quite a bit this winter, especially as we close in on a record seasonal snowfall — will we beat the record of 113.4 inches? Stick around until May, and we’ll find out. There’s a lot of slush, too, which is fun to splash through while driving during the day, but becomes as solid as railroad tracks when it freezes. Humans have learned over the years how to beat the slippery ice. We use salt. A lot of it. Many places pour so much ice melt on thei...
History was made last month when 34 strong DFL senators at the Minnesota State Capitol delivered the critical commitment to safeguard our children’s future. The Minnesota 100 Percent Clean Energy bill, passed by the DFL on party-line Senate and House votes, represents the single-most important action fighting the enormous costs and deadly effects of global warming in Minnesota history. Combined with enormous financial incentives Congress created in the bipartisan 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the landmark climate-action 2...
Calling all farmers. Increase your forage supply, save fuel, reduce labor, and improve soil health while getting paid up to $80 per acre … and that’s no empty promise. The Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District was recently awarded over $14,000 in funding through the state of Minnesota to assist landowners in improving and renovating hayfields or pastures and planting cover crops. The Carlton SWCD and the Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program, in partnership with the University of Minnesota Extension, will hold a joi...
Tim Winker loves living here, and he's always looking for ways to engage his neighbors in his passions. Whether it's car racing, saunas, accordions, or the delicious soup/stew called mojakka, Tim wants to share his enthusiasm as far and wide as possible. Tim started the local mojakka cookoff 20 years ago, and it's still going strong. He also put together the website mojakka.com, where you can find recipes, memories and stories contributed by Finnish folks from the U.S. and Canada. The word...
From the right vantage point, the ski jumps at Pine Valley rise over tall pine trees and - along with the water tower and pulp mill - serve as an anchor in Cloquet's irregular skyline. On Sunday those jumps were crowded with kids wearing ski suits and helmets, swooshing down the inruns on extra-long skis only to fling themselves into the air and fly off the end. The best ones seemed to hang there, soundlessly suspended for seconds at a time before thumping back to the snow-covered ground at a...
A quick start helped propel the Lumberjacks girls basketball team past Hermantown 71-46 in the Section 7AAA semifinals Friday. "It was nice to see our girls start out strong," said Cloquet coach Heather Young. "Sometimes we struggle to get going right away; however, these girls realize the opportunity they have. They know they need to play their best to continue to move on. Hermantown is always a tough team to go up against. I am just really proud of our girls who were able to finish the job."...
Winners of four straight games, the Cloquet boys basketball team is headed to the Section 7AAA semifinals against Hermantown, after a 40-35 road win over Grand Rapids on Wednesday. The Lumberjacks trailed 21-18 at halftime, before getting double-digit scoring efforts from Jack Battaglia (11), Seth Rothamel (10) and Marco Mayorga (10) to squeeze out a playoff win. "I was really proud of our defensive effort - we didn't allow very many second chances," head coach Steve Battaglia said. "To hold a...
South Ridge rolled through its first two opponents in the Section 7A girls basketball playoffs, until Tuesday. That’s when the Panthers ran into No. 1 ranked Mt. Iron-Buhl in the semifinals. MIB had not lost to a Class A team all season, and the Rangers showed just how powerful they are by beating a good Panthers team 67-30 in Hibbing. The Rangers entered the semifinals on a 17-game win streak while the Panthers came in with an impressive record of 15-3 over their past 18 games. Much of what the Rangers accomplish is aided by their tenacious f...
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Esko girls basketball team dropped an 11-point decision to Duluth Marshall. On Saturday, the Eskomos played the Hilltoppers again, this time in the quarterfinal round of the Section 7AA tournament. Unfortunately, Marshall rode the hot hand of seventh-grader Chloe Johnson as the Hilltoppers eliminated Esko 62-52. "When we played them at the end of the regular season it was Regan Juenemann who killed us," said Esko coach Sue Northey. "This time it was Johnson, and...
After taking off her sophomore season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Barnum's Allison Marine made the decision to return to the basketball court the following year because of her teammates. And those Bomber mates are glad she did. Marine scored a game-best 17 points and none bigger than when the now 6-foot-3 senior snagged an offensive rebound and made a putback to put Barnum up for good in their wild 44-42 win over Upsala in a Section 5A semifinal Tuesday night before a packed...
A furious second-half comeback Tuesday helped send Cromwell-Wright into the Section 7A championship game against Mt. Iron-Buhl Friday in Hibbing. Cromwell-Wright and Ely entered the Section 7A semifinal with nearly identical records. The Cardinals were seeded No. 2 with a record of 23-5 and Ely was seeded No. 3 and sported a record of 23-4. The entire game was tight and the Timberwolves threw a scare into the Cards in the second half. Trailing by 21-20 at halftime, the Timberwolves came out of the gates in the second half on fire. Ely...
Beginning a two-week swing through Alaska, the Minnesota Wilderness swept the Kenai River Brown Bears last weekend by twin scores of 4-1. With the wins, Minnesota climbed into second place in its division and kept pace with the red-hot Wisconsin Windigo. The Wilderness got Bo Cosman’s first two goals for the team on Saturday, March 4. In Friday’s game, the Wilderness scored three goals in the span of 2 minutes, 44 seconds. Brian Lonergan, Michael Quinn and Reid Daavettila scored the goals in quick succession, putting the game away 10 min...
Cloquet-Esko wrestler Aiden Theisen competed in two matches at the state wrestling meet in St. Paul last weekend at Xcel Energy Center. He was pinned in both matches, competing for a total of 3 minutes, 46 seconds in the losses. The state tournament is a double elimination affair, providing the Lumberjacks eighth-grader invaluable experience for the future. Theisen was wrestling at 113 pounds in the AA bracket. Theisen was pinned in 1:48 in the first match and in 1:58 in the second. Theisen was the Lumberjacks’ top finisher throughout the c...
After a couple of years off due to the Covid pandemic, the competitive retiree dart league has returned to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cloquet. The league resumed in late fall, but now “spring training” is in full swing. The dartboard is the shape of a diamond with bases, strikes, balls, double plays, and sacrifices … and play is similar to a nine-inning baseball game. Players throw 6-inch darts underhand from about 15 feet from the target board until their “at bat” is concluded....
