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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Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day was originally set aside to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting and decorating cemetery graves or holding family gatherings. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season. Local honor guard members and other veterans groups treat Memorial Day — and their stops at various cemeteries — as a sacred duty. Cloquet Combined Honor Guard Captain Rich Chassé said... Full story
During a break in consolidation committee meetings, Carlton and Wrenshall school boards have continued to negotiate via written communications. The most recent letter came from the Carlton board May 14 in response to Wrenshall’s April 8 proposal to move the consolidation’s start date to July 2026. The Wrenshall board had pushed the date back from 2025 after learning the Carlton superintendent Donita Stepan’s contract runs through the 2025-26 school year. Wrenshall had previously stipulated it did not want any long-term contracts spilling over...
"Time has a way of healing our heartaches but memories last forever." Tucked into a folder on Cloquet native William Dupont at the Carlton County Historical Society is a letter from Fred Asbell. He had been asked by a historian what he could recall about Dupont from World War II, when they were airplane navigators on the same base. It was 1990, nearly 50 years since the two had plied their skills guiding B-17s, the planes tasked with bombing deep into Germany and all around the European Theater... Full story
Cromwell-Wright kicked off the Carlton County high school graduation season last Friday, May 17, ending the ceremony with a spray of confetti. Many of the other graduations in the area are scheduled for today, with more next week. Starting on Page 25 of issue of the Pine Knot you will find the graduation section, with details on graduation ceremonies and photos of the members of the Class of 2024. Beginning on Page 9, find out what honors seniors received in Cloquet and Esko. The Pine Knot... Full story
Carlton's Ben and Deb Croft (that's Ben in the picture) received a gift certificate to Outdoor Advantage when they were spotted in a Cloquet parking lot earlier this month with a Pine Knot News "I Think Knot" bumper sticker. Pick up your own sticker at our office at 122 Avenue C in Cloquet and maybe you'll win a gift certificate.... Full story
Thirty-five years ago, Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program principal Connie Hyde would not have dreamed she would be retiring from one of the state's leading alternative learning centers, a school that sends staff and students to train their peers at other schools and which graduated its highest number of students (57) on Thursday. The surprise is not that Hyde remained an educator. "I think I was born for it," she said. "You know how you play school with the neighbor kids? Nine out of...
Come July 1, Cloquet's most popular downtown bar, The Jack, will be changing hands. Longtime owner Adam Bailey is selling to brothers Ryan Lindstrom and Zach Zezulka, owners of Carmen's Bar & Restaurant. Both are Cloquet grads, both know their way around a bar. But first things first: The Jack will still participate in the annual Labor Day parade, although no one knows if the elaborate dance routines often starring the bar owner will continue. "We've got some fun ideas, a few things up our... Full story
City planner and zoning administrator Al Cottingham received a round of applause during Tuesday's Cloquet City Council meeting - a meeting he hopes will be his last. Cottingham is retiring June 6, after 12 years with the city of Cloquet. "I will very very much miss seeing you here every day and keeping the rest of us on point," said city administrator Tim Peterson. Cottingham said he will miss the people, the job not so much. "It's time to retire and go do some things that I've been putting on...
More than 60 vehicles drove in for the "Bring What You Got" car get-together at the Kalevala Cultural Center Sunday near Kettle River. "It was awesome," commented Sam Huhta, one of the event organizers. Car styles ranged from classic, rat, antique, unique, hot rods and dragsters, among others. The event drew at least 125 area people to present and admire. Locals Dean Johnson, John Gran and Huhta were the spark plugs for the event. There was no official judging, people were asked to bring a...
Dear Graduates, Congratulations to the Class of 2024 on your graduation from high school. It is an accomplishment. You should be proud of yourselves. Please know that your community and loved ones are proud of you, too. As you go off to jobs, college, the military, trade school, work, a gap year (or two) or however you choose to begin adulthood, we’d like to offer some words of advice. While some of them seem cliche, that doesn’t mean they’re not sincere or based in reality. 1. Enjoy the moment, because you never know what’s coming next. W... Full story
For birding enthusiasts, it's hard to beat May in northern Minnesota. There was a day last week that we'll remember for a long time. Often, we plan an extended trip to go explore and look for birds in May, but we're just too busy this year. So, instead, we stayed close to home. And it was amazing. We decided to see what would happen if we looked for different species of birds all within a 15-mile radius of the farm here near Barnum. We awoke at dawn to a slight drizzle, but put on our rain gear... Full story
Cloquet High School held its awards convocation on May 8 and announced the following award and scholarship winners at the school, including those pictured on Page 9 of this week's Pine Knot News The George and Helen C. Medich Family Medical Scholarship: Kiley Issendorf Floy Gilman Scholarship: Grace Swanson Noah Feehan Memorial Scholarship: Owen Brenner and Mason Sundquist Cloquet Area Eagles Club Scholarship: Willow Putnam and Clara Wheale Bausch & Lomb Science Award: Josh Bleskacek Lake... Full story
On May 5, a large group of Esko High School seniors were awarded a variety of academic scholarships from local agencies and foundations, including the Esko Educational Foundation. Principal Greg Hexum said Esko's Class of 2024 is collectively receiving in excess of $1.5 million in academic awards from postsecondary institutions. The recipients are: The Santo Antonutti Family Scholarship: Gino Bertogliat The Julian "Bert" Bertogliat Family Scholarship: Gino Bertogliat Memorial Blood Bank... Full story
Carol Sedor, 90, passed away Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service Saturday, June 1 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet. Marchand C. Jackson, 69, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, February 19, 2024, at her home. A Celebration of Life will be held 12-2 p.m. Saturday, June 8, at Nelson Funeral Care.... Full story
Bonnie Jeanne Johnson, 78, of North Oaks, Minnesota, passed away peacefully in her home. Bonnie was born and raised in Cloquet by her parents Harold and Mario Tario, graduating from Cloquet High School in 1964 She took pride in being an awesome Mother and Grandmother, and also an excellent homemaker. She was always focused on helping others and loved to see her family and friends doing well. She often talked about her nice upbringing and the love from her parents Marie and Harold. She always... Full story
Lillian "Tilly" McDade, 81, of Superior, and formerly of Holyoke, passed away May 10, 2024, at Solvay House in Duluth, surrounded by family. Lillian was born Dec. 8, 1942, to Peter and Irene Delich in Duluth. She was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Karen Myers; and brother, Robert Delich. Lillian is survived by siblings, George (Val), Michael (Shelly) Delich of Duluth, and Barbara (Paul) Habighorst of Proctor; children, Mitchell (Sharon) Schelinder of Jacksonville, North Carolina;... Full story
Gerald Dale "Jerry" Cran passed away on May 10, 2024. He was born in Duluth, the sixth of seven children of Cecil and Nellie Cran. He was educated at Duluth schools, attending Ensign, Lincoln Junior High, and Denfeld High School. He attended the University of Minnesota Duluth for two years and went on to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, where he received a degree in mechanical engineering. He married Beverly Davis, and together they began their life's journey. He had a lifelong... Full story
Ramona Jean Green, 85, Cloquet, passed away May 12, 2024. She was born June 9, 1938, to Rudolph and Saima Paarni. She was a beloved mother, grandma and aunt. She was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings, Delbert, Marvin, Roger and Sheila; husband, Norman; and son, Stuart. She is survived by her daughter, Karina (Marco) Polo; daughter-in-law, Barb Green; grandchildren, Jeff Polo, John (Leah) Polo, Trina (Brandon) Johnson, Joshua (Tiffany Wold) Green; two great grandchildren; and... Full story
George Louis Henschel passed away Jan. 15, 2024 at his home in Gilbert, Minnesota. He was born to George and Lottie (Gallup) Henschel on Feb. 11, 1939 in Duluth, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Lorraine Trumble, Claudia Johnson and grandchild Clarence (Hipple) Forkner. George is survived by his brother Harold Henschel; sister Edith Bradley; his children Martin Henschel, Kurt (Kim) Henschel, Melissa (Damian) Forkner, Cindy Ranier, Phillip (Laurie) Johnson, Gerald (Mich... Full story
With rain looming Tuesday, proactive school officials rescheduled Section 7 softball action for Monday afternoon to keep things set for semifinal action on Thursday. Several local teams had byes in the opening round of action in both sections 7A and 7AA. In Class AA, Moose Lake/Willow River, South Ridge and Proctor had byes as the top teams in their respective sections, while Esko, Carlton/Wrenshall, Cromwell-Wright, and Barnum all opened victoriously on Monday afternoon. Section playoffs contin... Full story
First-year Lumberjacks head coach Andrew Miller aims to build a solid girls golf program, much like the Cloquet boys, a perennial frontrunner for the Section 7 championship. This year Miller has been able to double the number of athletes on the team. His group was rewarded on Monday with a third-place finish in the Lumberjack Invite held at the Cloquet Country Club. "The girls played well under some tougher conditions," said Miller. "It was raining as they warmed up, but then the rain stopped,... Full story
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton went 1-1 in the Section 7 boys tennis tournament play last week. The Lumberjacks opened with an impressive 7-0 win over Duluth Marshall before being ousted from tournament play in a 5-2 loss to Hibbing. "Winning 7-0 in our first playoff match at home was great," said CEC head coach Derek Johnson. "Against Hibbing we were the underdogs, and in the regular season we lost a close 4-3 match to them." Against Marshall, the Lumberjacks swept all singles and doubles games. Ethan... Full story
On May 13, the school board voted to accept the employment of Dr. Marcia Nelson as CAAEP principal Connie Hyde’s replacement at a salary of $111,576. “Dr. Nelson is being recommended due to her strong background and experience as a school principal and with alternative learning centers,” superintendent Michael Cary wrote in his recommendation. Nelson most recently worked in the educational specialist program at St. Mary’s University in Rochester, Minnesota. She has 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator in K-12 schools, with a...
Members of the Carlton County board and the Fond du Lac tribal council are scheduled to meet in June. The entities meet twice annually, and the topic of how the county ought to host the meeting came up during the board’s March 14 meeting in Carlton. When Fond du Lac conducts the meetings, attendees are greeted with a catered meal. Historically, that has not been the case when the meetings are hosted by the county. “When they come here, we get them donuts and strawberries,” said county coordinator Dennis Genereau, who sought state guida...
The filing period for elected offices opened this week, and two Cloquet city councilors are already on the list to run again. Ward 4 councilor Kerry Kolodge and Ward 3 councilor Iris Keller both filed affidavits of candidacy at City Hall on Tuesday. The Ward 3 race is for two years only. Keller was appointed to fill the seat until the next election when former councilor Chris Swanson moved outside of Ward 3; this election will determine who represents Ward 3 for the remainder of that four-year term. Other Cloquet City Council positions up for...
