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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The 125th anniversary of the Sappi mill in Cloquet will bring a company picnic in August, and another surprise following a quarter-century drought. "For the first time in 25 years we're actually going to have public mill tours in July and August," said managing director Tom Radovich earlier this week. "We've got about 12 dates picked." Look for details to come on those celebratory events. Radovich met with local members of the news media prior to a tour of the mill on Monday. He told the story...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College celebrated this year's graduates at a commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 11, with 74 of this year's 131 graduates walking the stage. Dr. Arne Vainio provided the commencement address, and student speakers included Valerie Zhaawendaagozikwe and Gracee Petersen. During her welcoming remarks in the Lester Jack Bridges Cultural Center, FDLTCC acting president Anita Hanson honored the former president, the late Stephanie Hammitt. "Yesterday and this...
The Cloquet/Carlton Housing & Redevelopment Authority’s board of commissioners fired the agency’s executive director on Friday, May 12. Residents in facilities run by the HRA received word that Debra Shaff was “no longer employed” after a closed meeting commissioners held with Shaff in attendance. Cynthia Slater, chairwoman of the Cloquet board, said Shaff was “released” from her duties based on some fact-finding done within the HRA organization. Slater was not specific on why Shaff was let go, but said findings showed that “we couldn’t fix...
Carlton school board members voted unanimously Monday on a path forward that appears to be unique in Carlton County. At its regular board meeting, superintendent-elect Donita Stepan summarized the new finalized strategic plan. She envisions making Carlton “the leader in educational transformation,” a phrase which headlined the handout she showcased to the board. The new plan will switch the Carlton school district to two lines of learning: one with a traditional curriculum, and another which follows a project-based progression. Students and...
The Cloquet American Legion Auxiliary Post 262 will observe this year’s National Poppy Day on Thursday, May 25. Each year, disabled veterans assemble and distribute memorial poppies to honor our nation’s fallen heroes and to benefit living veterans and their families. Auxiliary members will be at L&M, Super One and the Cloquet Armory National Guard from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to distribute poppies; donations go toward supporting local veterans and their families with their medical and financial needs....
Here is a complete schedule of stops on Memorial Day, May 29, for both the Cloquet and Carlton veterans groups. Cloquet Combined Honor Guard 8:15 a.m. Highway 210, Sawyer 8:30 a.m. Saints Mary and Joseph, Sawyer 8:45 a.m. Holy Family Mission 9:15 a.m. Maple Grove 9:30 a.m. New Calvary 9:50 a.m. Hill between old cemeteries, above Pinehurst Park 10:20 a.m. Apostolic Church, Esko 10:45 a.m. St. Matthews, North Cloquet Rd 11:05 a.m. Pine River, North Highway 33 11:30 a.m. Veterans Park program Carlton VFW Post 2962 Honor Guard and Auxiliary 7:45...
Pine Knot News advertising director Ivan Hohnstadt had a tree-mendous idea three years ago. “Let’s give away 10,000 tree seedlings to celebrate the Pine Knot News being named the most outstanding newspaper in the Land of 10,000 Lakes,” he said, not knowing the paper would win the statewide award three years in a row. “Tree giveaway 3.0” is launching on Friday, May 26, a day when local businesses, schools and organizations will be giving away a grand total of 10,000 white pine and white spr...
As residents continue to clean up trees damaged by heavy winter snow, Cloquet city councilors voted Tuesday to help its citizens dispose of that debris. Starting May 30, local contractor 3D Construction will drive every street within city limits to pick up brush, tree branches and tree trunks (in pieces no longer than 5 feet) from the roadside. “The contractor won’t skip your house because you have a 6-foot tree, but we want to be able to load it into a truck without having someone working out...
The Carlton County Board of Commissioners has declared “No Mow May” in the county, to protect bees and other pollinators. In May, many bees are coming out of hibernation and need flowers to feed themselves and their babies. The main purpose of No Mow May is to encourage people to let their lawns’ early spring flowers bloom before mowing. As part of the May 9 resolution, the board is directing county employees to not mow, and encouraging citizens to wait until after May 31 to mow their yards....
During National Nurses Week, Community Memorial Hospital announced its very first DAISY Award honoree. The DAISY Foundation was formed in 1999 by Bonnie and Mark Barnes in memory of their late son, Patrick Barnes. Moved by the kindness and compassion Patrick’s nurses showed him, the Barnes family wanted to start a program to recognize nurses for their exceptional care. Since January 2023, 24 CMH nurses have been nominated for the DAISY Award by patients, visitors, or colleagues. A panel of C...
The eighth annual Burgers & Bikes & Beer fundraiser hosted by the Sweet Spokes Cycling Team for the American Diabetes Association takes place 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 22 at Rendezvous Sports Bar & Grill in Scanlon. It’s free to attend and open to everyone. Meet members of the Sweet Spokes Cycling Team and have fun bidding on silent auction items donated by local businesses. All funds raised help in the fight against diabetes. Sweet Spokes, based in Cloquet, has raised more $250,000 in the fight against diabetes in the past 12 years and is hoping t...
The Cloquet Area Fire District brought its ladder truck to the Bergquist Imports complex again Monday, but there was no fire. This time investigators were taking aerial photos of the roof of the large warehouse that burned in February, said CAFD lead investigator Jason Maki. By the next day, much of the roof was gone, as a number of investigators from CAFD, the state fire marshal's office and more than one insurance company worked their way through the burned-out remains of the warehouse. The...
While the Wrenshall school board has yet to seal a contract with its proposed superintendent for next school year, Jeff Pesta was nonetheless in the audience at Monday’s board meeting. “We are in negotiations right now,” board chair Nicole Krisak said, meaning there would be no board approval of Pesta until June. The retired Deer River superintendent was offered the Wrenshall job earlier this month. He heard good news during the board meeting: for now, the district is done with budget cuts. “We’re at a comfortable place where we’re not making...
Carlton County has been awarded federal funds made available through the Department of Homeland Security under the Emergency Food and Shelter Board Program. Carlton County has been chosen to receive $5,987 from the State Set-Aside and $6,441.00 State Set-Aside Reallocation to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county. Carlton County has distributed Emergency Food and Shelter funds previously to the Salvation Army, Moose Lake Food Shelf, and the Tri-Community Food Shelf. Public or private volunteer agencies interested in...
Lake Country Power director election results were announced at the annual membership meeting in Cromwell on April 20. Districts 4 and 8 held a special election to fill a two-year vacancy. The other three districts will fill three-year terms. Candidates ran unopposed in Districts 3 and 7. Local results for District 8, which includes Cromwell and Kettle River in Carlton County, follow: Brian Napstad, McGregor, 283 votes Daniel Reed, Kettle River, 203 votes Danny Smith, Tamarack, 183 votes Marvin Ketola, McGregor, 182 votes Paul Vernon, Tamarack,...
University of Minnesota Extension Educators will offer four honey beekeeping field days across the state in May and June. They will be at the Hampton Homestead at 3487 Sandy Lake Road in Barnum 9-11 a.m. June 16. They will also be in Duluth, at Duluth Farming Company on Normanna Road 1:30-3:30 p.m. June 16. Apiculture educators from the Extension Service and local beekeepers will go through colony handling, common disease and insect pests, and safety information. The free, in-person workshops will demonstrate the steps for a proper hive...
A Cloquet man was charged last week with seven counts of criminal sexual conduct for allegedly assaulting a juvenile. Bradley Loren Owens, 40, was charged and appeared for a remote hearing in Sixth District Carlton County Court on May 11. He faces one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct (sexual penetration), five counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct (contact) with a juvenile under the age of 14, plus one count of soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct. According to the criminal complaint, the Cloquet Police...
From Shane Jopke's perspective, Little Esko Lutheran Preschool is a hidden gem among the myriad of preschool choices that local parents face today. Jopke has two children currently enrolled at the preschool, affectionately known as LELP, which is a part of St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Esko. "My wife and I are really happy we found LELP," Jopke said. "We're not super religious people, so initially I was a little nervous about the faith-based piece. But I have been pleasantly surprised and...
Who is the person that shows up when you call an ambulance? Five of the most important qualities of a paramedic, emergency medical technician (EMT) or emergency medical responder (EMR) are: • The ability to remain calm in a stressful situation. • Flexibility. • Great interpersonal skills. • A team player. • Positivity. An ambulance is summoned when something has gone wrong. It could be a person with chest pain, stroke symptoms, an accident that left someone severely injured, a drug overdose,...
Gilligan and his pals relied on it to keep (relatively) sane. Fortunes have been made, legacies created, ordinary people turned into superstars. It’s been central to many movies and at least two beloved TV shows. It told us about the attack on Pearl Harbor and announced D-Day. It’s how we first learned about JFK’s assassination, and were introduced to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. It had a Golden Age, a revival, and, most recently, a metamorphosis fueled by sports and politics. Many worked...
I was cleaning up the dishes from dinner when the phone rang. The voice on the other end was cheerful and vaguely familiar. “Hi, Grandma.” “Who is this?” I asked. “It’s your grandson,” he replied. “Well, which one? I have many.” “Your favorite one, of course.” “You’re all my favorite.” “Grandma, it’s me, Michael.” I paused. I have a son named Michael, not a grandson. “Hello Michael, how are you doing?” The person on the other end began to tell me about a fundraiser for school and asked if I would be interested in helping him out. He tol...
The Minnesota Wilderness are two big steps away from their first North American Hockey League championship since the 2015-16 season. But they may need to summit those steps without their best player. Kevin Marx Norén's status is unknown for the next round of the playoffs beginning Friday after he was injured during a high-speed collision on the ice in the team's most recent game. "We don't know yet - it's TBD," Wilderness coach Brett Skinner said Tuesday. "He lost some teeth, so he had to go...
Freshman soars at college meet Cloquet native and 2022 graduate Olivia Jameson finished a standout conference meet earlier this month at De Pere, Wisconsin May 5-6. A freshman architecture major from Cloquet competing for Illinois Tech, Jameson won the high jump with a height of 1.60 meters at the Division III Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Jameson earned conference Freshman of the Year after placing first in the high jump, fifth in the 100-meter...
Senior Night at Ed Mettner Field in Cloquet on Thursday, May 11 was special in more ways than one. The Lumberjacks honored 13 seniors between the varsity and junior varsity games, and fans got a chance to see many new renovations to the 14th Street complex, including a new scoreboard, new windscreen around the outfield fences, a new padded back stop, new dugout fencing and a brand-new sound system, new clay home plate area and a clay mound for the pitchers. "Nate Knutson has done a great job at...
A big first two innings helped propel the Esko baseball team to another impressive win on Monday night as the Eskomos downed Moose Lake/Willow River, 14-2, in Esko. The win was the 14th of the season for Esko. "Basically in the first two innings, we hit the ball and they didn't," said Esko coach Ben Haugen. "They also made some errors that we took advantage of and that helped us to build a big lead." Esko scored three in the first inning and five more in the second as they pulled ahead 8-1....
