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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In a normal year, the oppressive heat over the Fourth of July weekend may have kept people home or at the lake. But 2021 isn't a normal year. We are free to go about our community business as the Covid-19 pandemic eases. And as the temperature gauge rose into the mid-90s Sunday, people kept flocking to downtown for the 11 a.m. parade. Not everyone made it through the entire lineup, seeking shade here and there or some other cooldown. The scene was a sure sign that things are coming back to... Full story
Sixth District Judge Robert Macaulay will retire Aug. 31, the Pine Knot confirmed on Tuesday. Macaulay has served as a Carlton County judge since he was appointed in February 1995 by Gov. Arne Carlson, winning elections in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2020. Prior to his appointment, he served as an assistant Carlton County Attorney from 1984 through 1995. Macaulay, 64, served as mentor judge to the other Carlton County judge, Rebekka Stumme, who was appointed to a vacancy on the bench in Carlton County in May 2019. Minnesota’s Judicial S... Full story
Debra Esther (Timonen) Smith, 55, of Proctor died peacefully July 6, 2021, at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton after a brief battle with uterine cancer. Deb was born in Moose Lake, the daughter of Raymond and Mary Timonen. Deb grew up in Carlton and graduated from Carlton High School in 1984, and attended Bemidji State University. She was employed for the past 22 years at Kindred at Home as a care team coordinator, and had previously been employed with Vaydich Enterprises and Kmart. Deb was... Full story
A Northland legend has died. Gordy Lundquist, who founded Gordy's Hi-Hat restaurant with his wife, Marilyn, passed away Tuesday at the age of 93. He was home with Marilyn by his side. The two of them founded the famous restaurant - featured many times on cable television food shows and a favorite of residents and visitors alike - along Highway 33 in Cloquet in 1960. Until the pandemic, the two of them still worked at the restaurant frequently: Gordy taking orders up front with his son, Dan, and... Full story
It’s official. Nancy Klassen, longtime finance director for the city of Cloquet, is retiring. And she will be missed by city administrators. “I already tried to tell her no. That didn’t work,” city administrator Tim Peterson joked with council members during Tuesday’s unusually short meeting, which lasted all of 23 minutes. Klassen, who wins accounting awards like clockwork for her work for the city of Cloquet and the Cloquet Area Fire District, said her last day will be Sept. 30. The personnel committee will conduct interviews and the city hop...
Minnesota officials have settled a long-running tax case with Enbridge Energy, agreeing to pay the oil and gas company more than $45 million for overvaluing pipeline property after losing in state court. In conjunction with the deal, state lawmakers approved almost $30 million on Wednesday to cover the share owed by local governments along the pipeline routes. Even though the Department of Revenue had made faulty evaluations, the refund bill threatened to blow a hole in the budget of 13 counties, plus numerous cities, towns and school boards... 
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Minnesota has a new $52 billion, two-year state budget, but it didn’t come easy. The Legislature needed almost all the time between the end of the regular session on May 17 and the end of the fiscal year at midnight Wednesday to finish the budget. The special legislative session was one of a series over the past year and marked the first time many lawmakers were able to meet face to face in months. The budget came together without any of the tax increases that DFL Gov. Tim Walz and House Democrats had proposed earlier in the year, when the s... Website
A Cloquet man who was suspected of shooting a man in the leg was arrested last week. Nicholas Joseph Ammesmaki, 26, was taken into custody July 1 on an unrelated charge and is being held at the Northwest Regional Corrections Center in Crookston, Minnesota, according to a press release from the Cloquet Police Department. An arrest warrant for Ammesmaki was issued in Carlton County for possible charges of first-degree assault and possession of a firearm, stemming from two incidents in May. That’s when CPD officers responded to Scotty Drive in C...
Photographer Mark Cline found these lady slippers recently a couple of miles west of Minnesota Highway on the Superior Hiking Trail in Jay Cooke State Park. “I think that location is pretty well known as a great site for these beautiful wildflowers,” he said. Cline says this shot is made from several composites “stacked” from multiple exposures with progressive focus points to bring out every detail.... Full story
After 42 countries, one bear fight, and two attempted coups d'etat, Cloquet resident Roy Hagen has a resume to make any forester jealous. He has spent the majority of his forestry career in Africa and French-speaking countries and has created many memories and stories of his travels. Hagen grew up on a small dairy farm 3 miles outside of Barnum. More than half of the farm was wooded, and Hagen developed a special love for the forest. He found his passion for forestry while planting trees... Full story
Elk could soon be roaming Carlton County again, as a result of a longtime effort by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Last week, the Band submitted a proposal to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to expand the state's elk numbers and range by moving 100-150 elk from existing herds in northwest Minnesota to the area of the Fond du Lac Reservation and Fond du Lac State Forest in Carlton and southern St. Louis counties. Elk are native to Minnesota, with historic numbers...
Despite Covid-19, despite protests that called for defunding the police, last week Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College graduated every single student who enrolled in the law enforcement training program two years ago. The students made it through the difficult program and faced other challenges from Covid-19 to some who lost jobs and housing. "I was really excited and proud of this class," said program director Wade Lamirande. "With everything, all the unintended obstacles, we had everyone...
I surely love a fun ride in a fast motorboat, but people-powered paddling is my favorite way to explore from the water. Some of my fondest memories on the water are from a canoe or kayak point of view. The quiet of a people-powered boat allows paddlers to explore in stealth mode and enjoy nature when it is most unsuspecting. Our scenic corner of the world includes a big menu of waters from which to select for paddling fun. We have rivers that are slow and calm, and ones that are fast and...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is bringing back its Hot Summer Nights Concert series with two weeks of free concerts later this summer. Local bands Whiskey Trail and Rock-A-Billy Revue will perform 7 to 9 p.m. July 29 and Aug. 5, respectively, in the college’s spectacular amphitheater. Performances are free and open to the public. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, or seat cushions to sit on.... Full story
The nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) is partnering with the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability to launch the second Iron Range solar co-op. The group will help homeowners, farmers, and small businesses on the Range go solar. Carlton County residents are welcome, organizers said. The first community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 14 in Virginia at Hope Community Presbyterian Church (212 S. 5th Ave.). A second community meeting will be scheduled for Grand Rapids Aug. 11 at the YMCA (400 River Road). Both meetings... Full story
Carlton County will hold its next vaccination clinic at the Carlton County Community Services Building in downtown Cloquet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 13. Those age 18 or older can pre-register or just walk in for a free Johnson & Johnson or Moderna vaccine. In Carlton County, Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began stood at 3,544 as of Tuesday, July 6, an increase of 14 since June 22. The total number of Covid-related deaths increased by one, to 57, over the same period of time. There are currently no schools in Carlton County on the... Full story
Last month, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar entered a statement into the Congressional Record lamenting the loss of yet another newspaper in Minnesota, this time the Journal in International Falls. Klobuchar holds a special place for the industry, as the daughter of revered longtime Minneapolis reporter and columnist Jim Klobuchar, who died in May at age 93. “I grew up knowing just how important local newspapers like the International Falls Journal are,” the senator wrote. “Local papers played an irreplaceable role in my father’s life, as they conti... Full story
The Carlton and Wrenshall school boards refuse to make what I see as a responsible decision to combine. Another demonstration of political failure. I sit here and wonder, whose fault is it? Is it the voter, is it the school board, or is it the system? I think some of each. The voter becomes accustomed to others making decisions for us; we use them to remove our responsibility. School board members bring their biases, prejudices and personal desires to the meetings and then vote based on them (or are strongly influenced by them). Then there’s t...
My wife forgot our wedding anniversary last week. I am not sure I can forgive her. Shocked? So was I. Not a card; no flowers, candy, fancy dinner or beer. Nothing. Well, she didn’t completely forget; she did wish me a happy anniversary that morning as she started packing for our 5-day family camping trip. She organizes it every year, and this year she invited all my brothers and sisters and their families too. I guess she was too busy with all that to do anything special for me on our anniversar... Full story
Cloquet's Pinehurst Park was a sea of sweaty ballplayers Monday afternoon, with a turnout of more than 20 teams for the annual 3 on 3 basketball tournament. With two halfcourt games happening simultaneously - each one with an official referee - the courts were buzzing. Meanwhile, the fences were draped with players, coaches and supporters watching and/or waiting their turn. Organizer Paul Cameron said it was another great year of hoops. "Everything went off without any problems, people were... Full story
With July Fourth in the rearview mirror, summer festival season is heating up in Carlton County, and so are the crowds. Following are some community events around Carlton County this next month: Wrong Days in Wright, July 16-18 Friday, July 16 Rummage sale at St. John's Lutheran 2-5 p.m. Steak fry in the Big Top 4-7 p.m. Kids' games – Extreme Teen Youth Group Pie social at Bethlehem Church 5-7 p.m. Queen and King Coronation 7 p.m. at the Big Top "O-G-N-I-B" bingo at Bethlehem Lutheran Church 7... Full story
Brian K. Bakka, 51, of Cloquet passed away Sunday, July 4, 2021. He was born Nov. 10, 1969, the son of Roy and Phyllis (Kastanek) Bakka. Brian started working as a greeter for Walmart in Cloquet in 1998 and was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Brian was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his cousin Sheri Dauplaise, and other cousins. A memorial service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, July 8 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet, with an inurnment service at Maple... Full story
Charles R. Wick, 85, passed away peacefully July 4, 2021, surrounded by his family. He was born to Raymond and Elenore (Aiken) Wick on March 3, 1936. He married Sonja Swanson on Oct. 1, 1960. He was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe. Charles was a Korean War veteran who served his country with honor. He was a lifetime member of VFW Post 3979 and American Legion Post 262 and participated in the Honor Guard for more than 50 years. Charles worked as supervisor at Diamond Match for 34... Full story
Lowana Lee Johnson, 85, of Cloquet passed away Wednesday, June 30, 2021 with her loving family by her side. She was born Sept. 30, 1935 in Cloquet to Ralph and Lucille (Sundeen) Millen. She graduated from Cloquet High School in 1953. After high school she worked at Northwest Paper Company. On Aug. 4, 1956 she married Dwayne “Duke” Johnson. She stayed home while raising her family, and in the late ‘70s she went to work at Spies Disco Foods for about ten years. From 1995 until 2015 they winte... Full story
Lawrence Rasen, 80, of Virginia passed away Friday, July 2, 2021 in Essentia Health St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. Graveside Service: 11 a.m. Saturday, July 17 at Old Calvary Cemetery in Cloquet. Atkins Northland Funeral Home Wilbur “Pete” Emerson Mills, 99, of Carlton passed away Friday, July 2, 2021 in St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. Visitation: 1 p.m. until the 2 p.m. memorial service Tuesday, July 20 in Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Cloquet. Inurnment will be in Old Calvary Cemetery with military honors accorded by the Cloquet Combi... Full story
