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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Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this week. April 11 1680 Father Louis Hennepin, exploring the Mississippi River north from Illinois by canoe, is captured by a group of Dakota. During his captivity he sees the Falls of St. Anthony, which he names for his patron saint. On July 25, Daniel Greysolon, the Sieur Du Luth, would arrange for Hennepin’s release. April 12 1937 Dennis J. Banks is born on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. An activist for indigenous rights, he would be one of the founders of the American Indian Movement in 1...
Property owners recently got bright yellow mailings from Carlton County telling them what the county considers the value of their property for tax purposes in 2021. But that doesn’t mean property owners should wait until next year to question assessed values, even as formal opportunities to do so this month are limited. The county wants calls about disputes right now. A number of Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meetings — usually held in April — have been delayed, changed in format, or ca...
Easter is a celebration of rebirth and renewed faith. It’s the most solemn of the Christian holidays, yet the most joyful, too. It comes in the springtime, coinciding with the end of a long winter and the new growth of spring. This year, Easter falls in the middle of a virus pandemic that reminds us that our time here on Earth is limited and tenuous. But the crisis surrounding the fear of the coronavirus can’t seem to dampen the spirits of our Carlton County friends and neighbors. It is apparent that we are coming together, while social dis...
People in jail are at risk to get the coronavirus, simply due to the close confines of a jail and the ease the virus spreads. To avoid a catastrophe, some authorities propose that some inmates be released, and allowed to go home under close monitoring. Serious offenders won’t be let out (other precautions are being taken to protect them from the virus). It hasn’t happened here, yet. But it might. This begs the question: What are these people doing in jail in the first place? It’s no secre...
Over the past 20 years, we have made tremendous progress in promoting and supporting breastfeeding, and you are much more likely to encounter a mother breastfeeding her child in public now than in years past. It is important that our community embrace this progress and make it easy for moms to feed their babies anytime and anywhere with ease and without restriction or negative remarks. Breastfeeding has many health benefits for children and mothers, and the Centers for Disease Control and...
Gordy's Hi-Hat opened Wednesday, offering car-hop-style service for the first time in its 60-year existence. In a change from what was originally planned, no customers were allowed inside the restaurant to order. Instead staff took orders from people parked in 21 numbered parking spots around the building, placed those orders inside and ultimately delivered the food and drinks back to the car. While there was no formal line for cars, that happened at lunch anyway, as cars snaked their way...
As confirmed and unconfirmed cases of COVID-19 certainly continue to climb across the state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz congratulated citizens Wednesday for "overreaching" and helping slow the spread of the disease. He also extended his stay-at-home order from the original end date of April 10 until May 4, along with limiting bars and restaurants to takeout only for the same period of time. The point of extending the orders is to buy Minnesota more time to prepare for the spread of the disease,...
Elmer Lindholm was buried in straw and in a coma inside a barn in France in 1918. He was one of the American troops sent to fight in World War I. For most of a week, Lindholm would be in the grip of the influenza that was spreading across the world and killing millions of people. The "Spanish" flu hit young people particularly hard. He was in his early 20s. Roy Grist, an Army physician at a hospital near Boston, wrote to a colleague about what he had been seeing in soldiers during the pandemic....
L&M Fleet Supply has donated a years-worth of dog food to the Cloquet Police Department and its K9 dog Vader. Manager Larry Tisdell presented the gift last week to an enthusiatic Vader and handler Laci Silgjord (out of frame) while clerk Hannah Warpula stood as witness....
Funerals - as normally practiced - have become another victim of the coronavirus pandemic response. With gatherings of more than 10 people banned, people are either postponing a, making them for immediate family only or getting creative, like the drive-through funeral held in Moose Lake last month or livestreaming a smaller funeral service so others can watch from a distance. In most cases, said Rob Nelson, people are choosing to wait, at least for now. "Even before now, you would have a lot of...
Those who would like to donate and have a photograph taken should contact Cline by email at [email protected] and tell him when you could have a photo done, along with your address, phone number, and email contacts. He will try to be efficient considering location and availability. Those who participate will get three digital photo with full rights. "There's no need to dress up for this," Cline said. "While it's fine if one chooses, it could be fun to document how folks look in their every...
Cloquet Area Fire District board members interviewed two finalists Tuesday for the fire chief position that will open up when Kevin Schroeder retires in June. It won't be easy, as evidenced by board member Bob DeCaigney's comment during the board's post-interview discussion that, according to the job description and duties, what they are really looking for is "Superman." A CAFD press release detailed the process so far: The search for a replacement began in late 2019, and the board hired Baker...
Since the coronavirus emerged, we've become acutely aware of our own social spaces - where we live, how close or far our families and neighbors are, how we move across local and regional space, the venues we visit and their features. Whether we live in dense urban, suburban, small-town or rural locales, we're learning how remarkably sociable are our day-to-day pathways. And how isolated we can feel when honoring stay-at-home and distancing strictures. On the internet, a broad and international...
The world cares. Sorta. The earth doesn’t give a darn. Planet Earth was so much healthier without us on it. Planet Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, as a lava- and gaseous-laden living thing for most of its life, slowly solidifying, evolving life, as its own “thing.” Then, about 200,000 years ago, we came around as arguable/inarguable humanoids and tried to make sense of the rock on which we lived, miraculously. Where’s the water? Where’s the meat? The oxygen unmentionably available...
People are so worried about this virus. But in reality when God decides it’s your time to go, we will go one way or another. Heaven or hell. For all eternity. We are not exempt. Just enjoy what you have. In the Bible, it’s God’s commandment to love one another. As he first loved us. He died for us. I would like to challenge people to give with all your heart. Maybe this community can pull itself through to continue on despite all these trials and tribulations. I notice a change in the commu...
Local kayakers are taking advantage of the fast, high waters of the St. Louis River during spring runoff too. Esko High School students Karsten Fetters and Baylor Litsey put their kayaks in just past the Highway 210 bridge for a thrilling Tuesday afternoon adventure, after kayaking from Scanlon to the reservoir first with four other friends. “It was a little chilly,” said Fetters, with a big smile. Thank goodness their buddy Andy Stingle (also pictured) was there to pick them up....
Volunteer Services of Carlton County is offering a new Groceries-To-Go service. The service is different from the Age Well Arrowhead service. Both non-profit services are serving older adults (over age 60) and are partnering with the Super One Foods store in Cloquet. Volunteer Services director Jill Hatfield said the non-profit organization in Carlton is starting the program because the need is high here and will only get higher as the coronavirus infection rates increase locally. They can also deliver pharmacy orders if needed. Volunteer...
Minnesota Veterans impacted by COVID-19 may be eligible for grants from the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA). Since Monday, MDVA has been accepting applications from Minnesota Veterans who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. MDVA will award one-time financial relief grants in the amount of $1,000. Funding is available for both Disaster Relief Grants and Special Needs Grants. To apply for the grant contact Carlton County Veterans Service Officer Duane Brownie at 218-499-6838 or a MDVA Field Operations...
Spring thaw and saturated soils from last fall’s flooding are impacting road and trail conditions. Several roads and trails in state forests, state parks, recreation areas, and wildlife management areas will close temporarily because they are not firm enough to support vehicle traffic without causing damage. Depending on weather conditions, the temporary closures could remain in effect until sometime in May. “Each spring, forest roads and trails become wet and fragile and we use closures to protect them from damage,” said Dave Schuller, state...
The SCARE program at Cloquet High School in 1970 was a big deal. For a whole week, students would be immersed only in environmental issues of the day. It came days before the first Earth Day, 50 years ago this month. SCARE was an acronym for Students Concerned About a Ravaged Environment. It was the brainchild of Cloquet High School social studies teacher Jack Pichotta. I recently caught up with Jack (he was my Cloquet neighbor not long ago and my teacher at CHS) to reminisce about this...
The first two weeks of distance learning has admittedly been a mixed bag for both students and staff at Carlton County schools, with many older kids adapting quickly to learning online, while some teachers struggle more with the daily grind of staring at a computer screen. Trying to reach students of all ages has been a challenge, administrators and teachers report. Technology breakdowns were another issue, from getting students hooked up with internet access, to software crashing, to fixing...
The Wrenshall School Board earlier this week approved bids for indoor air quality improvements at the school in Wrenshall. The board accepted the low bid of $4,158,000 from Max Gray Construction out of Hibbing to improve air quality in the older parts of the school. The board also accepted a bid of $436,922 from Mavo Systems out of Duluth for asbestos abatement. The board approved bonding for the work last year without a referendum from voters. Superintendent Kim Belcastro has said the work was too vital to wait for any improvements that might...
Sports as we usually know them may be on the back burner, but people all over the country are rediscovering ways to stay fit. Chief among those is walking. One look around neighborhoods in the area and most likely you'll see streets with people of all ages getting out of their houses and walking for both their mental and physical well-being. "My husband and I walk every day," said Scanlon resident Tina Schroeder. "He walked on the treadmill every day, but now we both prefer to get the fresh air...
Every sports fan has a favorite sport. For me, that sport is baseball. Every sports fan is probably missing watching his or her favorite sport on television, listening on the radio and reading about it in the paper. I am sure I am not alone when I say these past few weeks have been tough mentally. I am a creature of habit. There is nothing better than getting home from work on a spring day and turning on the radio and catching a broadcast of a Twins game. There is something comforting, at least...
It’s been nearly a month of quarantine for most of us, and it’s starting to feel normal to be staying at home most of the time. I guess this slower pace of life is a blessing for many, but it must be difficult for our senior citizens in area nursing homes and assisted living facilities. So please keep those phone calls, cards and letters coming to our elders — and any others, for that matter. I’ve spent a considerable amount of my time picking out “Thinking of You” greeting cards to send to my...
