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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Two of three incumbents were upset in Tuesday's elections for leadership of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Bruce Savage will be the new chairman of the Reservation Business Committee, defeating two-term incumbent Kevin Dupuis Sr., by 52 votes, 478 to 426. Earl Otis defeated Roger Smith 104 to 69 for District 3 (Brookston) representative. District 1 (Cloquet) incumbent Wally Dupuis defeated Michelle DeBolt, 343 to 233. All three were elected to four-year terms that will begin in...
Erik Peterson does what he loves, consulting for grassroots advocacy in agriculture, the environment and social justice. It finds him regularly doing work with people all over the world, including as far away as Australia. All of it he does from his home off North Cloquet Road in Esko, since 2009. For some tasks, he's got to make sure his wife is not on the computer, so that his internet connection through telephone lines isn't disrupted. It was years before the Petersons learned that not all... Full story
Ellie Evenson is not your typical beauty queen. Crowned Miss Minnesota for America Strong on June 2, the Cloquet grad wrestled her senior year at Cloquet High School and portrayed a delightfully wicked witch in the "Wizard of Oz," the school fall musical in 2022. Evenson would also say the Miss Minnesota for America Strong is also not a stereotypical pageant. Part of the Mrs. America organization - which also includes Mrs. America World and Mrs. World - participants are encouraged to be... Full story
Fewer than a third of Minnesota students achieve grade-level proficiency in literacy and math, making individual support more important than ever. Reading Corps, Math Corps, and Early Learning Corps are looking for tutors all across the state to serve in area schools and preschools beginning this August. Tutors are fully trained and will serve on-site at a local school 35, 25 or 18 hours a week. Using scripted activities, tutors meet with students individually and in small groups to practice essential skills. Prior teaching experience isn’t r...
The Fond du Lac Resource Management Department confirmed the presence of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) within the Fond du Lac Reservation boundaries last month. Signs of emerald-colored beetle were found on the north side of Houle Road on the eastern edge of the Reservation. EAB is an invasive forest pest known for its devastating impact on ash trees. Although the infestation is currently small, with only a few individual trees showing signs of infestation, it is likely that there are more affected...
More than 100 people turned out Monday to tour the recently completed Esko Fitness Center. The response was very positive, said Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer. A large two-story blue and gray structure attached to the south side of the school building, the space contains a variety of fitness equipment and lots of natural light, including a view of the baseball field outside. Some of the equipment is personalized. Bright blue weight benches say "SISU" in gold lettering while the weights...
The Wrenshall school board meeting Monday featured one of the more enthusiastic votes a board can give. Each of the five members exclaimed their affirmative vote to extend the contract for part-time superintendent Jeff Pesta. In doing so, the members lightly razzed the administrator about his loquacious manner — getting their money’s worth as far as the number of words he uses, they said. But thorough, detailed explanations were necessary to help get the district out of a $300,000-plus deficit last year. In accomplishing that, as well as ini...
Carlton County office will be closed Wednesday in honor of the Juneteenth Holiday. This includes County Courthouse offices, County Government Services Building, County Transportation Department, Human Services, Public Health, Motor Vehicle License Bureau, Veterans Service Office, and the University of Minnesota Extension Service/Carlton County. The Hwy 210 Transfer Station will be open Wednesday. Cloquet City Hall is also closed Wednesday and the U.S. Postal Service....
Volunteers needed to help set up at Veterans Park starting at 5 p.m. July 3 and tear down starting at 9 a.m. July 5. On the Fourth, help is needed with face painting, wiffleball, parade line-up, garbage pickup and more. Call Jana or Ivan at 218-878-9332 or 218-213-1231 or stop by the Pine Knot office at 122 Avenue C and make a plan.... Full story
Cloquet area residents who want to receive text messages or emails with public safety news should register with the Cloquet Police Department’s Nixle service. Nixle was created for local law enforcement, designed to notify the public of community updates, public advisories and emergency alerts. To sign up for notifications and alerts using the Nixle messaging system, text the city’s zip code (55720) to 888777 and follow the prompts, or follow the link https://local.nixle.com/register. Nixle also offers an anonymous tip line for the public to...
An official raising and presentation of the first flags by the 934th Air Force Civil Engineer Reserve Unit will start at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 15 at the Forgotten Heroes Ranges and Retreat at 23796 450th St., McGregor, Minnesota.These flags were flown over national and state capitals in honor of the Forgotten Heroes retreat, which aims to provide handicap accessible outdoor rifle, pistol and archery ranges, along with a veterans center, camp sites, pathways and a fire pit area. Find directions and more information at Forgott... Full story
An impasse between the Carlton and Wrenshall school boards is threatening consolidation efforts by the districts. The Carlton school board reached a consensus at its working session Monday to not have further discussion with Wrenshall until August at the earliest. An email later this week between superintendents - obtained by the Pine Knot News through a public records request - confirmed the Carlton position. "(B)ecause sending letters back and forth to each other doesn't seem to be getting us...
Longtime Cromwell Wright Area Fire District chief Lucas Goodin is no longer with the department after being dismissed by the CWAFD board earlier this spring. In response to a public data request from the Pine Knot News, attorney Donald Erickson shared that Goodin was dismissed as chief and a member of the fire district for several reasons, including: • Payroll and timecard theft: Goodin was accused of signing into his time card electronically and then changing the time to an earlier start time, on at least four occasions, added time that he w...
A 60-year-old Mahtowa Township man was charged with arson after allegedly setting a barn on fire following a dispute. Dennis James Jurek was charged in Sixth District Carlton County Court Tuesday, June 11, with first- and second-degree felony arson, felony first-degree damage to property with foreseeable risk of bodily harm and three gross misdemeanor charges of physically assaulting and interfering with a police officer. According to the criminal complaint, at approximately 9:52 p.m. Sunday, June 9, Fond du Lac and assisting law enforcement...
The senior citizens turned out early for the fifth annual Cloquet Senior Day, and found lots of vendors, food trucks and information waiting for them. Almost 30 vendors lined the walkways southeast of the picnic shelter at Veterans Park, offering everything from jewelry and cookware to cleaning services and free newspapers, plus a wide array of booths simply offering information about local resources for more than 150 seniors, plus plenty of free swag for the taking. WKLK's Dwight Cadwell...
Two parking lots in downtown Esko are the site of the latest Superfund cleanup in Carlton County. The site in Esko amounts to the Post Office and its lot, plus another lot used as an auxiliary student parking lot by Esko High School during the school year. Similar to the Frank Lloyd Wright gas station in Cloquet, dry cleaning chemicals are the main culprit. A building on the site that was first a creamery, then a coin-operated dry cleaner, was demolished in the 1980s. Chemicals used in dry...
In a bid to fight erosion around the Northridge Park pavilion, the Thomson Township board of supervisors voted to install gutters on the park building at last week’s board meeting. The move is part of ongoing improvements to the pavilion, such as upgraded indoor lights and a security light approved at the end of last month, and new tables and chairs approved last October. A study to improve the park, kickstarted the end of last year, is on hold due to FEMA floodplain guidelines, supervisor Dave Sunnarborg told the Pine Knot. The gutters will c...
Call me shocked the other day when the 6-year-old started unpacking groceries and putting them away after her long day at camp. Unprodded. She also brushed her teeth that night without any coaxing. Every day has its moments, and those were nice ones. Of course, parenting is often laden with a tug and pull to get your kid to listen to anything you say or to move one muscle to help with anything. A lyric often comes to mind when in the throes of child negotiations: "My love and I, we are boxing... Full story
My granddaughter was recently sitting on my lap and asked, "Why do you have such hairy knuckles, Grandpa?" Kind of a personal question, but it made me pause and think. My dad had hairy knuckles. The hair even curled. To my eyes, he always had big, strong hands. He died 40 years ago, when I was 29. My dad, for most of his working life, was a car mechanic and gas station owner. When not at work, he was putzing around in his four-stall garage. He could fix almost anything: cars, plumbing,... Full story
The Cromwell community thanks Terry and Peggy Olson and family for putting up all the American flags on veteran graves for Memorial Day. Remembering our veterans with flags is a great tradition. Take time to fly the flag on Flag Day, June 14. Several area folks motored to Pine River on June 8 to celebrate Ryanne Schultz’s graduation from high school and college. Ryanne got a two-year community college degree along with her high school diploma, all while working part time in her junior and s...
The Moose Lake Library used book sale is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 at the Riverside Ice Arena. It's part of the 2024 library's vendor and craft fair, and the book sale proceeds will go toward helping the library continue to serve the community. The Finnish Luncheon is at noon on June 18 at the Kettle River senior center. You don't have to be Finnish to attend, so come and enjoy some good food, time to visit with friends and maybe win a prize. The Kantela Players... Full story
A mostly failed Section 7AA championship surprise Gatorade shower, courtesy of his giddy players, sent legendary Esko baseball skipper Ben Haugen ducking for cover during an onfield post-game interview. The coach, who is quick enough to dodge drops during the rain storms that peppered section play last week, was equally adept at explaining how his team won a second-straight 7AA title by clipping Duluth Marshall 10-3 and 4-2 last Thursday night at Wade Stadium in Duluth. It was a stunning... Full story
Steve Korby [email protected] The Cloquet High School boys golf team competed in the Class AA Minnesota State Golf Tournament Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lumberjacks finished seventh in the eight-team field. Cloquet had won the section tournament on six straight occasions and has placed higher at state, including a championship in 2021, but this year the top teams from around Minnesota played better over two days in a rain-shortened event. The tournament was held, again, at the Ridges At Sa... Full story
The Cloquet Lumberjacks top boys finisher at last weekend's Class AA Minnesota State High School League's boys and girls track and field state meet was Andrew Shepherd, who was ninth in the 800-meter run. The state meet ran last Thursday through Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville High School. Shepherd was also part of the 4x800 relay team which finished 13th, along with Calvin Snesrud, Emmett Prosen and Evan Rothamel. "Shepherd is going to be awfully fun to watch in his next two seasons," said... Full story
Kerry Rodd [email protected] Carlton County was well-represented last weekend at the Class A Minnesota State High School League's boys and girls track and field state meet at St. Michael-Albertville High School. While there was no state champion from the area this season, a number of athletes made the finals and medaled for being in the top 10 places. Barnum's Annaka Bogenholm had the best state meet of all area athletes by finishing third in the discus in Class A and seventh in the shot... Full story
