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
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 37
Almost every morning for 10 weeks, college student Emma Waugh has risen out of bed and logged onto her computer in her Cloquet bedroom to start work on a project for NASA. With specialized computer programs open, she spends her time coding and analyzing data from satellite imagery of several lakes in central Texas, monitoring for potential algae blooms. Waugh's four colleagues meet with her on Zoom at least once a day to discuss the project, and hours are spent learning in front of the... Full story
Get your party on, Carlton County, this weekend is packed with community festivals. Esko got a head start on the weekend with Esko Fun Days kicking off earlier in the week. Still to come is fun at the football field on Friday, featuring a cornhole tournament starting at 6 p.m. Saturday is the grand finale of all the fun, with a 5K race at 8 a.m., an 11 a.m. parade, games in the park starting at 11:30 a.m. and a grass volleyball tournament starting at 2 p.m. The street dance that evening starts... Full story
Since Dakota Koski went from being a volunteer mentor as a high school sophomore to being executive director of REACH 10 years ago, the local nonprofit organization has been evolving. Over that time REACH — an acronym for Recreational Experiences Achieving Community Harmony — has gone from primarily a mentoring program to one that still works with youth, but takes a much more comprehensive approach to helping them tackle the various challenges of being young in today’s world, from homew... Full story
Friday, Aug. 6 French toast and sausage with warm apples, blueberry fluff Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 7-8 Frozen meals available Monday, Aug. 9 Twisted taco, pudding with topping Tuesday, Aug. 10 Pork loin chop, rhubarb custard dessert Wednesday, Aug. 11 Parmesan-crusted chicken, fruit Thursday, Aug. 12 Penne with Italian sausage, fresh fruit Friday, Aug. 13 Hamloaf or alternative entrée (call 24 hours in advance to order), chocolate marble cake Call the Senior Center, 218-879-5870, from your car for curbside meal pickup. Meals are served... Full story
FRIDAY, AUG. 13 Friends of the Library book sale 12-2 p.m. Friday, Cloquet Public Library. "One-Dog Canoe” Kinder Konzerts in a Bag kids’ take-and-make kits are available at the Cloquet Public, Carlton Area, Duluth Public and Moose Lake Public libraries. The Kinder Konzerts in a Bag kit was created by the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra and Arrowhead Library System and contains everything you need to create a musical storytelling experience at home: parents’ guide, “One-Dog Canoe” book, access to videos including the performance and narra... Full story
Cloquet City Councilors took action Tuesday to correct a large deficit in the fund that is used to pay for street projects, among other things. Councilors approved the transfer of $435,000 from the city’s General Fund into the Permanent Improvement fund, wiping out a deficit from city street overlay projects in 2017. The permanent improvement fund pays the city’s share of projects. That includes street projects, but also larger projects such as the Washington Avenue project, which also inc...
After more than a year of pandemic delays, Thomson Township residents will have one final opportunity to weigh in on the township’s evolving Comprehensive Plan. A public comment session regarding the proposed 2040 Thomson Township Comprehensive Plan is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9, 2021 in the boardroom at the Thomson Town Hall, 25 E. Harney Road, Esko. The comment session is open to all. Each speaker or group representative will be provided two minutes to share their thoughts related to the Comprehensive Plan update. The public c... Full story
The Arrowhead Library System and the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra are providing “Kinder Konzerts in a Bag” kits to member public libraries this month. The kits, developed by the Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra, contain everything needed for kids and caregivers to create a musical storytelling experience at home. The kits feature the book, “One-Dog Canoe,” written by award-winning Minnesota author Mary Casanova and illustrated by Ard Hoyt. These kits are geared towards kids ages 3-6 and...
Covid-19 cases are on the rise again in Minnesota and across the country, but with most restrictions lifted and Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers gone, the response to this latest spike is in the hands of local leaders and businesses. The number of Covid-19 cases reported Tuesday was up 61 percent over the previous Tuesday’s report from the state. Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said that’s largely because of the highly transmissible delta variants rapid spread through unvaccinated Minnesotans. “We’re concerned that we’re going to see... 
Website
Editor's note: The level of Covid transmission jumped to "substantial" in Carlton County after this story was published. On Saturday it was at a rate of 80.85 per 100,000 people according to the CDC Covid tracker. Get an update in next week's Pine Knot News. As a public health nurse, whether it's required or not, Jenny Barta says it's never a bad idea to put on a mask. While Carlton County had not reinstated any masking requirements before the Pine Knot News went to press, St. Louis County is... Full story
We appreciate the forward thinking of local law enforcement by embracing the addition of Troy Homstad to their toolbox of public safety resources. Homstad is a social worker from the Human Development Center who is now working with the Cloquet, Fond du Lac, and Moose Lake police departments and the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office to support officers as they respond to 911 calls that aren’t necessarily crimes. Adding a social worker to the police force is an appropriate supplement to the hard and appreciated work of traditional law enf... Full story
I’m disappointed the county has decided to put the new jail out in Olsonville, where the transportation building is now. Sure, it’s just three miles away from its current location, but I think it’s going to leave a big hole in downtown Carlton, and that’s a shame. By law, the courts will need to be included in the jail site plan. Add the likely end of Carlton High School and Carlton suddenly has some gaping holes to fill. Other county offices will remain, and the businesses aren’t going any... Full story
The guy in the wheelchair and Chicago Bulls basketball shorts and no shirt with the shiny, sun-tanned watermelon belly and aviator sunglasses waits at the stoplight for the WALK sign at the bottom of the hill on Carlton Avenue, where it intersects with Highway 33. The other guy, 20-something, with much better sunglasses and much worse taste sidles up to wait with him. “Headed to the pool?” The aviator glasses spin to the right, over the shoulder, to see who’s that, and the eyes behind the glass... Full story
Writer Janice Laurie shared this poem with the Pine Knot News recently. Writing is her passion, but she didn’t have much time when she and her husband, Brian, were raising their kids in Esko. Now Laurie is working on her writing skill again and wanted to share this poem with our readers. Good Enough by Janice Laurie We all have demons in our minds. We all fight the battles of feeling not good enough. Even the person who always seems to be happy, fights these battles. Even the person who wishes you good morning with a sunny smile on her face, fi... Full story
Grant Leon Grider passed away peacefully in his sleep the early morning of July 8, 2021, at home, with his wife of 49 years, Barbara, at his side. He had courageously battled cancer for more than two years, and was under hospice care his last 10 days. Grant was born March 4, 1943, in St. Paul to Earl and Emily Grider, the second of their two sons. In 1950 the family moved to a small dairy farm in Floodwood and in 1958 to the Proctor area where they worked for Jeno Paulucci. Grant was a fishing... Full story
Lisa Renee Mattinen, 55, of St. Marie, Montana passed away July 30, 2021 at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital in Glasgow, Montana. Lisa was born Nov. 10, 1965 in Cloquet to Carl and Geraldine (Burnette) Mattinen. She received her schooling in Carlton. Lisa lived in Chicago for many years before joining her brother in St. Marie. She was a jack of all trades, waiting tables, bartending and working in factories, but her favorite job was working at Petco. Lisa was an animal lover and she enjoyed... Full story
Victoria Catherine Permealia Schwartz, 97, resident of Alborn for more than 95 years, passed away peacefully Dec. 9, 2020 in her home with her family by her side. She was born Jan. 1, 1923 to Herbert and Agnes (Bertrand) Miller in Duluth. This woman was simply amazing! She was hardworking and selfless her entire life. Victoria touched many lives, was dearly loved, and will be greatly missed! Victoria was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of nearly 60 years, Stanley J.; daughters... Full story
Watch the County Seat children’s theater production of “When Silents Was Golden” on CAT-7. For the month of August, the cable access channel is showing videos of weeks 3 and 4 of the children’s theater production at 3 and 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Each show is roughly 30 minutes long. Also on CAT-7, enjoy video of this year’s July Fourth parade and Harry’s Gang episodes, along with recordings of Cloquet City Council and Cloquet Economic Authority meetings. Other new shows on CAT-7 in... Full story
Dorothy E. Gault, 89, of Wrenshall passed away Nov. 9, 2020. A Celebration of Life will be held 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28 at Silver Brook Town Hall in Wrenshall.... Full story
On July 19, 20 teams and 80 players converged on the Cloquet Country Club to play in the second annual Moose Cancer Golf Fundraiser. Gary “Moose” Pastika, a 50-year member of the club, died of colon cancer in 2018. The tournament (canceled because of the pandemic last year) is a tribute to him. Most funds generated go to the Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital Foundation, with an additional donation made to the Second Harvest Northern Lakes Food Bank. The hospital foundation has plans to buy a s... Full story
Kids on bikes turned out in force Saturday morning, with nearly 100 participating in an event called Kids Pedal the Pines Day at Cloquet’s Pine Valley recreation area. There were bikers of all ages. “We were pleasantly surprised,” said Allison Jerde, secretary of the The Cloquet Singletrackers, a bike club advocating for trail use in Cloquet. “There were some really tiny kids on their strider bikes, using their feet to push, all the way up to teenagers,” she said. Singletrackers collabora... Full story
The summer baseball season came to a close over the weekend as Esko fell in the championship game of the Junior Legion baseball tournament and Cloquet dropped its first two games in the VFW tournament over the weekend. Esko wins way to finals Esko opened play Tuesday, July 27, in Ely with a 6-3 victory over Taconite. Leading the offensive charge for Esko were Sam Haugen and Ty Christensen, who had three and two hits respectively. "Those two guys carried our offense," said Esko coach Jordan...
Visitors to the Superior National Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Area, will need to store food properly to help protect wild bears and humans. This food storage order is the result of increases in human-bear interactions with negative outcomes. Superior National Forest wildlife biologist Cheron Ferland said a new bear action plan implemented this year, easing how bear sightings can be reported, has likely led to more eyewitness sightings "but this by itself doesn't a...
The abnormally dry- to drought conditions occurring across Minnesota are creating challenging conditions for people trying to get their boats into or out of the water at public boat launches, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. When water levels drop during extended dry periods, the concrete ramps at boat launches may no longer reach all the way into the water and hazards such as prop-wash holes can become more problematic. Prop-wash holes are caused by “power loading” the boat onto the trailer instead of using the pre...
Upon arrival at the gathering on Cloquet's White Pine Drive, laughter and conversations echo down the block. Children jump in a bouncy house while firefighters attentively give tours of the giant trucks. Adults enjoy grilled food and chat with each other in lawn chairs scattered around the driveway. Cloquet Police Department stickers are plastered on everybody. Altogether, the positivity of this gathering encompasses what National Night Out (NNO) is about. The neighborhood around White Pine...
