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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With Covid-19 infections ramping up but no state of emergency in Minnesota or nationally, decisions on how to keep kids safe at school this fall have been left up to local school boards. It hasn’t been easy. Masks have become controversial, with some residents asking boards to simply recommend rather than require them, while others say they won’t send their unvaccinated children to school if they aren’t required. It’s also a different time in the pandemic, because people can be vaccinated, which was not the case last fall. According to its mos...
The sights and sounds of the Lakehead Harvest Show near Esko this past weekend were all about nostalgia for farm equipment and other machinery from days gone by, especially machines powered by steam. It was also a child's paradise, with train rides, a petting zoo, and mini-tractor pull....
When the Carlton County Central Labor Body officials voted on this year’s Labor Day celebration back in March, they had no way of forecasting what things would be like come September. But they figured the parade was a safe bet, and that’s happening, starting at 11 a.m. Monday. Response has been good, said organizer Chad Turra, adding that it’s basically been a two-man show this year, with him and Joe Kneisel, respectively vice president and president of the Carlton County Central Labor Body, running things. “This town was built on Labor -- ther...
The Carlton County Riders, an ATV club, outfitted a Carlton Fire Department ATV with an additional $1,500 in accessories including a rear winch, steel roof, front rack, 12-volt high-water pump and a sticker kit. "We raise money from the sponsors to outfit emergency service ATVs to make them a better rescue vehicle," said club president Eric Senarighi. "A lot of times they get these machines pretty bare-bones, depending on funding and where they get them. We try to bring them to the next level....
Judge Robert Macaulay rode his bike to work at the Carlton County Courthouse for the last time Tuesday, Aug. 31. This time he wasn't alone making the trek: nearly 10 co-workers joined him at the Scanlon Park and Ride lot along with several police and sheriff's department cars for the final leg of the ride. With lights swirling, the group made its way down the shoulder of Highway 45 between Scanlon and the courthouse in their helmets and brightly colored clothing. Macaulay was greeted by even...
With Covid-19 cases still rising, Carlton County Public Health and others are bringing the vaccinations to the people. On Wednesday night, there were clinics at school open house events in Wrenshall and Barnum. They’re working on a clinic in Blackhoof for Sept. 11, and still advising other residents to seek out vaccines at local hospitals, health care clinics and pharmacies. Some 70.4 percent of county residents ages 16 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, with the number of vaccinations in August almost double what it was in J...
Just inside the front door of the Cloquet VFW sits a table with 13 glasses, reserved for 13 U.S. service members who will never arrive. All 13 died Aug. 26, outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, as the result of a suicide bombing attack during evacuations there. "Reserved," proclaims a framed sign in the center of the round table. "In honor of the 13 heroes who served, fighting for our freedom, and won't be coming home. Freedom is not free." The military branch and rank, name, age and...
Things have changed at the Carlton County Transfer Station effective this week. Prices have changed and users are being asked to sort loads so items are neatly arranged and visible before arriving at the facility on Minnesota Highway 210 west of Interstate 35. The goal is customers making fewer trips to the station to avoid traffic snarls. Carlton County Zoning and Environmental Services, which operates the station, posted online a photo of traffic backed up and recalled an incident when a car was nearly rear-ended in the left-hand turn lane....
The Black Bear Casino Resort revved up the first-ever Tesla Supercharger installed within a tribal casino property last week. The Supercharger will augment existing electrical vehicle charging stations at the facility. Superchargers allow Tesla electric vehicle drivers to charge vehicles in less than an hour and, in some cases, top up in just a few minutes. A single charge lets drivers of some Tesla models go from Duluth to Minneapolis and back without a recharge. The FDL Supercharger stall was designed and built with Tesla’s Cybertruck in m...
A 38-year-old Cromwell man was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison Monday for engaging in oral sex with a 7-year-old girl. Francis Lenard Marsh was convicted of three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree, including penetrative sex with a victim under 16, multiple acts, by a jury. On Monday, Carlton County Sixth District judge Robert Macaulay sentenced Marsh to concurrent sentences of 280 months (23 years, 4 months) and 187 months (15 years, 7 months) in prison. He is expected to serve at least two-thirds of the longest se...
Shirley Goodwin of Barnum was honored as the Outstanding Senior Citizen at the Carlton County Fair in Barnum last month. "It was quite the experience," she said this week as she prepared to head to the Minnesota State Fair Thursday for honors there. Shirley and Kae Goodwin moved to Barnum 43 years ago when he was hired as a special education teacher in Moose Lake. They raised three children. Shirley worked at Northview Bank, attaining the position of manager before retiring in 2005. Shirley has...
A short emergency meeting of the Wrenshall school board Wednesday night resulted in a vote to begin an investigation into the actions of one of its own members. The investigation will focus on the special board meeting held the night before as board members and a public audience discussed Covid-19 protocols before the district opens school for in-person classes next week. The issue of whether or not to require mask wearing by students and staff dominated the discussion. The board, after two...
We love having our kids home all summer, but many parents are just as happy to have them back in school, masks or no masks. Most parents are aware that this will be the second year that all children will be offered free meals at schools, thanks to the pandemic. The federal program is welcome, but it is coming at an unexpected cost to our local school districts. They are pleading with parents to fill out the forms filed in normal times, in order to gauge the number of those eligible for free and reduced-cost lunches. That number is tied to the...
Yard parties are a pretty good way to get to know your neighbors - sort of a National Night Out, but on our own terms and conditions. So, we held a big yard party last week. It was all Kathy Lund's idea. She realized that several new families had moved into our Cloquet neighborhood the past couple of years and we had never all come together to get acquainted. Picking a date that worked for everyone was the hardest part. We finally decided on last Wednesday and, if someone couldn't make it, we'd...
It's that time of year again. The time when the sun comes up a little later in the morning, goes down a little earlier at night, and the evenings start to take on a little cooler tinge. It's also the time when our streets begin to bustle with buses and children moving to and from school in the mornings and afternoons. Cloquet is welcoming back most of our students on Sept. 8, while our kindergartners start their educational journey on Sept. 9, and we're excited to know they're on their way. As...
The appointment of Bill Dian to the Wrenshall School Board has drawn a number of objections. All parties affirm that it’s about the process, not Mr. Dian. According to the Aug. 27 issue of the Pine Knot, the Minnesota School Board Association confirmed that “the board followed the letter of the law when it came to making the appointment.” The petition to reject the appointment of Mr. Dian states that the candidate was “interviewed privately by the chair and a few school board members rather than holding a public interview process or even a...
I was with Bill Dian Saturday, Aug. 29, at Wrenshall Park. Bill talked with people as they came there to sign a petition to rescind his appointment to the Wrenshall school board. The petition was started by someone who doesn’t live in our district. Most of the people Bill talked to said the school board didn’t follow the statute, as reported in your paper on Aug. 20. The Pine Knot ran a correction on Aug. 27, but the damage was done. What’s the saying? “A lie goes around the world before the truth gets its pants on.” Bill Dian is a good man...
Stanley Adrian Berglund, 71, longtime resident of Mahtowa, died peacefully, surrounded by his family, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, at St. Luke's Hospice after a hard-fought battle with esophageal cancer. He was born in Moose Lake on March 19, 1950 to Adrian and Elizabeth (Pearson) Berglund. Stan was raised on the family farm east of Bruno and graduated from Askov High School in 1968. He played basketball and baseball throughout elementary and high school and continued to love sports throughout his...
Sept. 1, 2021, we lost an amazing person. Arlene A. Anderson, 87, passed away peacefully at Plainview Estates in Cloquet. She was born Sept. 20, 1933, to George and Senja (Ylikoski) Ahlgren in Cloquet. Arlene was married to her high school sweetheart, Dennis, until his passing in 1993. She was preceded in death by her parents, and her brothers, Arnold and Gordy. Arlene was a wonderful mother who will be missed by her children, Tami Rodd, Karrie (Rob) Osvold, and Kris (Kari) Anderson; seven...
Jo Anne McMillan, 65, of Meadowlands passed away in her home Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. She was born in Duluth on Dec. 16, 1955, to Clyde and Helen Morse. She grew up in Meadowlands and graduated from Toivola-Meadowlands High School. Jo married James McMillan on July 9, 1994. Jo retired after 40 years of service with St. Louis County as a child support officer. She was a great homemaker. She loved canning, baking and sewing. She also loved being on the board of the local fair. Jo was preceded in...
Roy Tobolaski, 90, died peacefully in his sleep Saturday Aug. 28, 2021 at Augustana Care in Moose Lake. An informal memorial open house will be held 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at Mahtowa Covenant Church, 2732 2nd St., Mahtowa Cake and coffee will be served. Wesley Duane Hunter, 87, of Cloquet died January 2, 2021 in his home. He was born Aug. 31, 1933 in Fleming Township in Aitkin County. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12 at The River’s Edge Presbyterian in Carlton....
Hospital systems serving swaths of northeastern and northwestern Minnesota are struggling with the newest surge of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations amid a shortage of health care staff and rising numbers of non-Covid patients. “We were running as though it were a sprint to begin with. And it really turned out to be a marathon. And as any sprinter will tell you, you can’t run a marathon at that pace,” said Harmony Tyner, an infectious disease physician at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. The Essentia Health system, with operations in Minnesota,... 
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In 1976, Roy and Rose Aho decided to sell their dairy cattle and quit farming. Roy had been hired full-time at the paper mill (now Sappi). With small children to care for, Rose could not manage the milking and chores alone. "We bought a camping trailer. We took a trip out West to see my sister, went down to Disneyland," Roy said. "We were home for two weeks and said, 'Eh.' We got into beef cows." "And they've been here ever since," Rose said of the place found north of Cloquet. According to...
Cloquet and Esko girls soccer fans were treated to a solid early-season game Tuesday night in Esko. In the end, the Lumberjacks won 1-0, but the game was well-played despite being the first game of the season for Esko and the second for the 'Jacks. "For our first game of the year, I thought things went OK," said Esko head coach Caitlin Lilly. "We have a lot of kinks to work out, but to open against a dangerous offense like Cloquet has can be tough." Esko goaltender Orie Randall and her defense m...
After the undefeated CEC boys soccer team was stunned by Denfeld in the second round of the playoffs last season, things got only more complicated. The unexpected departure of head coach Dave Bergan - who took a leave of absence to move to Alaska with his family - left the team "sad but motivated," said senior captain Ryan Tomsche. The tide changed when John Sundquist took the reins of the rebuild. Sundquist, a two-year member of the coaching staff, knew the potential of his new team, despite...
