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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Gathered together for a moment of celebration, supporters of the Carlton County Historical Society did not try to conceal their enthusiasm last week. Carlton County had just signed over the deed to the 99-year-old Shaw Memorial Library Building in Cloquet. Excited to take on a future filled with both big challenges and new possibilities, the group assembled in the museum's exhibit area on a late April afternoon. Executive director Mark King summed things up. "It has been a harrowing path for...
Kathryn Mary Vigliaturo, 84, of Carlton, Minn. passed away April 30, 2019 in Oak Terrace Senior Living in Jordan, Minn. She was born Sept. 11, 1934 in Carlton to Ed and Lillian (Godbout) Lavigne. Kathryn graduated from Carlton High School in 1952 and from UMD in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in education. She worked sporadically as a teacher in Carlton County for more than 40 years. She enjoyed volunteering with seniors, gardening, canning, music, playing cards and berry picking. Kathryn was p... Full story
Grace M. Otteson, 98, passed away Thursday, May 2, 2019 at Parklane Care Center in Wentzville, Mo. She was born Sept. 8, 1920 in Hibbing, Minn. to Carlo and Vittoria (Giovian) Colalillo. Grace worked at Diamond Match in Cloquet for many years, and retired in 1974. She also worked at the Pine Knot in Cloquet. She enjoyed bowling, softball and golfing. She was a lifetime member of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary and a member of the Italian American Club auxiliary. She was a member of St. F... Full story
A total of 14 junior Rotarians planned and attended their final Cloquet Rotary Club lunch on Tuesday, April 16, marking the culmination of the 2018-2019 Junior Rotarian Program. Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian services, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. The Junior Rotarian Program provides an opportunity for student leaders to meet and interact with community...
They don't have a name or a mascot yet, but the combined Carlton-Wrenshall football team players know what colors they will be wearing - blue and orange - and that they will get to play football, and even have some substitutes when needed. Casting a unanimous vote Monday, the Carlton school board joined the Wrenshall board in approving a cooperative football program for next fall. Per Minnesota State High School League rules, the cooperative agreement is for a minimum of two years. It will...
There is some celebrating going on at Cold One Liquor in Cloquet this weekend. It's billed as a "new ownership grand opening" but the faces at the 15-year-old store will be familiar. Dean and Alison Crotteau are part of the Stowell family that has run a plethora of enterprises in Cloquet since the early 1960s, most notably grocery stores and the movie theater adjacent to the liquor store at 906 Highway 33. Alison is Gary Stowell's niece. He and his wife, Candi, sold the liquor store to the...
The Cloquet Middle School gym was filled with the sound of footsteps, voices and beating drums Saturday, as nearly 400 people gathered for the annual Ziigwan (Spring) Powwow. Teresa Angell, Cloquet American Indian Education Program director, said attendance was great, with 11 drums, more than 120 registered dancers and a dozen visiting royalty from other schools and communities. "This was the sixth annual powwow for Cloquet Schools and is a celebration to honor our students, staff and program,"...
Voters in the Wrenshall and Moose Lake school districts are being asked to approve an increase in school taxes to pay for improvements at the schools in local elections set for May 14. Eligible voters who can’t participate in the special elections May 14 can cast absentee ballots at the auditor’s office at the Carlton County Courthouse in Carlton on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Monday, May 13. The auditor’s office will also be open for absentee voting from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 11. To receive absentee ballots by mail,... Full story
Cloquet Senior High rocked. Sure, that hockey championship remained elusive (I see you, Edina), and we weren't getting Lakeside views (I see you, East), but - as far as I'm concerned - we had the best teaching staff in the biz. We had an English department that taught its students to write and think concisely (I'm sorry if that's no longer apparent in my writing); a science, math, and social studies program that taught us how to critically reason; a well-rounded phy ed, art, music, and home ec p... Full story
Let’s get into it — it’s the donkey in the room — we still have a race issue in this nation and it’s not going away anytime soon. Nowhere else in the world is there as racially diverse a nation as the United States. It can be argued that European nations have quickly approached similar numbers per capita, but those nations were built on a national identity first and only in the past five decades have we seen an influx in immigration that is responsible for propping up those numbers. Here’s th...
We boarded the bus with blankets, pillows and anticipation. Our long-awaited class trip was finally beginning. On April 11, 2019 at 2:00 in the morning, 34 seniors departed Cloquet High School and headed for Washington, D.C. Chris Swanson, a social studies teacher at CHS, organizes the incredible experience every year. Since 1985 the school had followed the Close Up program, designed to bring students to our nation's capital. In recent years, however, Swanson has taken over the entire operation...
In the space of about four years, the culture at the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program has been transformed, thanks to a school-wide, top-to-bottom adoption of Restorative Practices, which focuses on building relationships and including all voices. And people from all around the state are noticing. Last week, student ambassadors from CAAEP were interviewed for the "Student Voice in Creating Positive School Climates" podcast developed by the Minnesota Department of Education. This interv...
As I walk alongside my mother in her final journey from death to life, I realize that Christianity - as well as other religions, and nature itself -suggests that the pattern of transformation is not death avoided, but death transformed. In other words, the only trustworthy pattern of spiritual transformation is death and resurrection. Death and life are two sides of the same coin; you cannot have one without the other. Each time you surrender, each time you trust the dying, your faith is led to...
Cloquet’s local sales tax revenue is dedicated to specific projects and needs in our community. Seven years ago, the Minnesota Legislature and local voters allowed Cloquet to collect the tax — to be used specifically for park/trail improvements, public infrastructure and infrastructure improvements for a potential commercial development — but required that specific dollar amounts be tied to the three project areas. That included $5.8 million to develop the swampy corner adjacent to Highway 33 and Interstate 35. At the time, that area was thoug...
To the editor: We got the letter yesterday, telling us we will raise our taxes if we vote “yes” on the May 14 Wrenshall school referendum. Strange system. People actually get to vote to decide if they want to raise their own taxes. Usually tax decisions are made by city councils, county supervisors or state legislators. Imagine if we could vote to decide whether we want to fund our fire departments or police forces? But this is the system we have for education in Minnesota and it won’t change until the state legislature makes it happen. In th...
I appreciate Rick Nolan. After Chip Cravaack broke the stranglehold Jim Oberstar had on the 8th Congressional District seat in 2010, Rick Nolan came out of political retirement and challenged Cravaack two years later. He won handily. Now, I was a fan of Chip Cravaack, although I didn’t vote for him and didn’t agree with his politics. But he embodied what I believe is the spirit of American politics: representative democracy by engaged citizens, willing to work for the people. Cravaack, unf...
Almost three years after it was dismantled, and moved brick by brick from Cloquet to Pennsylvania, the R.W. Lindholm House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is open for business. The R.W. Lindholm House — known as Mäntylä, Finnish for “under the pines” — was commissioned by the same family that built Cloquet’s Wright-designed gas station. In 2016, Peter and Julene McKinney donated the home and much of the Wright-designed furnishings to the nonprofit group Usonian Preservation, with the intention of relocating it to Polymath Park in Acme, Penn. The... Full story
A Carlton County art crawl (driving recommended) from Cloquet to Carlton begins Thursday, May 9. The two-part event starts with an artist's reception for "chair lady" Kris Nelson 4-6 p.m. at the Pine Knot News office (122 Ave. C, Cloquet) and ends with a gallery opening at the Magnolia Café (206 Third St., Carlton) featuring artwork by painter Adam Swanson 6-9 p.m. There will be food and beverages in both places, and music in Carlton. There is no admission charge for either showing and all are... Full story
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. In recognition of this designation, the speech language department at Community Memorial Hospital will offer free hearing screenings. To schedule a screening, call 218-878-7010....
The Cloquet City Council will meet in a special session with the Carlton County Board of Commissioners and Fond du Lac Reservation starting at 9 a.m. Monday, May 6, in the Lake Hall at the Black Bear Casino and Resort, to discuss mutual concerns facing Carlton County, Fond du Lac, and the City of Cloquet....
Yard waste and brush is being accepted at the Cloquet Public Works Garage, 410 Armory Road, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Yard wastes include leaves, grass and pine needles. Brush will be accepted and will be limited to a maximum of one pickup load per Cloquet residence. Brush should be no larger than 3 inches in diameter. No other trash, household waste, appliances, scrap metal or wood will be accepted. These may be disposed of at the Carlton County Transfer Station located on Highway 210 during their normal operating hours....
As warm and dry weather continues to spread throughout the state, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added more northern Minnesota counties to the burn restriction list, which now includes Carlton, south St. Louis, Pine, Wright and Aitkin counties in the Pine Knot News coverage area. The state will not issue burning permits for brush or yard waste in these counties until the restrictions are lifted. “Warm and dry conditions are key factors for wildfires, so we have to remain vigilant about restricting open burning,” said Casey Mc...
The Moose Lake school district will be holding a bond referendum election Tuesday, May 14, to ask voters to approve the sale of bonds to complete the athletic field complex and build practice fields at the new school. There will be two questions on the ballot: one for nearly $4 million and the second for an additional $2.7 million. Question One would have to pass during the referendum election before Question Two could pass. The old Moose Lake school suffered damages when it was flooded in 2012, and the community and area legislators were...
We were enjoying some beautiful spring days with warmer temps and melting snow, when all of a sudden —BAM! — winter hit us again. Cold, strong winds and wet heavy snow sent us back to winter. Thankfully, we northern Minnesota Finns have lots of SISU. We’ll come out on the other side of this, welcoming the real spring and ready to dig into the soil and dance in the sunshine. Speaking of dancing … This month has a lot of music scheduled. So pull out your dancing shoes and get ready to hit the road, enjoy some wonderful music, and dance the nig...
Last Saturday the annual Chicken Swap was held at Carlton’s Four Seasons complex parking lot. Although the weather was a bit chilly, many local community members set up booths to trade or sell their chickens, goats, rabbits, puppies, kittens and homemade goodies. Hundreds of people came out to check out the animals, and maybe add to their menagerie at home. Shoppers could also purchase maple syrup, honey, baked goods and homemade items. If you missed this Chicken Swap, there will be another one...
