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Articles from the September 15, 2023 edition


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  • The Hall comes calling

    Kerry Rodd|Sep 15, 2023

    It's still sinking in for Cloquet native Jamie Langenbrunner. Already a revered hockey player from the high school, professional and national team ranks, he will become a hall of fame inductee in December. "I was up playing golf at Giants Ridge a week ago and, when we drove by the (United States) Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, it kind of hit me that this time next year I will be there," Langenbrunner said from his home in the Twin Cities area. Langenbrunner has known since July that he will be...

  • Wrenshall will entertain Carlton site

    Brady Slater|Sep 15, 2023

    In the ongoing back-and-forth between school boards considering a merger between districts, the Wrenshall contingent unanimously agreed Monday to consider the South Terrace site in Carlton as a proposed one-site option with its neighboring district. But, the Wrenshall board's latest formal letter opened the door for a tour of all three school buildings between the two communities. Previously, Carlton had agreed to reopen consolidation discussions provided the existing South Terrace was the only...

  • Weekend highlights

    Sep 15, 2023

    The festival season continues this weekend, with the West End Celebration in Cloquet on Saturday and the Kismet in Carlton Hot Air Balloon Festival at Black Bear Friday and Saturday. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the West End of Cloquet will turn into a combination street fair and car show, a bustling, pedestrian-friendly festival with plenty to see and do. There will be art and artisans, live music all day, demonstrations, shopping, food trucks and informational booths. Vendors will line... Full story

  • Arrival of cells marks jail progress

    Brady Slater|Sep 15, 2023

    The trucks began arriving near the end of last month, transporting jail cells from Baldwin, Georgia. The cells came six to a semitrailer, three trucks per arrival. As of this week, there are 70 jail cells consolidated onto the grounds of the new $75 million Justice Center, which is under construction along Carlton County Road 61 in Carlton. Some of the cells are already installed, stacked to create two floors, and awaiting the construction of a second-level mezzanine in the men's unit. Jail admi...

  • FDL buildings evacuated

    Sep 15, 2023

    The local tribal reservation experienced evacuations of two buildings Sept. 7, when the Mino-Aya-Win human services building and Tagwii Recovery Center were locked and staff “safely evacuated,” a Facebook post said. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa also closed community centers in Cloquet, Brookston and Sawyer “out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of our community’s children and staff.” The Band did not respond to inquiries from the Pine Knot News about the nature of the disturbances, or why the Band was able to s...

  • Train-car crash kills one

    Sep 15, 2023

    A Wright man died Saturday morning after his car was hit broadside by a train near Sawyer. According to a news release from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, Brock Hascall, 22, was driving south on Lammi Road when his vehicle was struck broadside by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train traveling westbound, parallel with Hwy 210, just after 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. Hascall was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no other occupants in the car and no BNSF personnel on the train were injured. This remains an ongoing i...

  • Let your Finn flag fly on Mojakka Day Saturday

    Sep 15, 2023

    SAMPO Association’s Mojakka Day is 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7095 Saginaw Road. Enjoy music, Finnish baked goods, white elephant sale, raffle drawings. Mojakka (soup) meal with bread, beverage and dessert. $12/adult, $6/age 6 and under.... Full story

  • Pet clinic returns next Saturday

    Sep 15, 2023

    Don’t miss the low-cost pet microchip and vaccine clinic for Cloquet and Carlton County residents from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23 near the picnic shelter at Veterans Park in Cloquet. Previous clinics have included free microchips for up to three pets, and $15 vaccinations for rabies, distemper/parvo and bordetella. Nail trims are $10. With no animal shelter in Carlton County, local authorities share in the cost of the clinic because pets that are microchipped are far more likely to be reunited with their owners quickly than those w... Full story

  • County road closure

    Sep 15, 2023

    Carlton County Road 5 between Carlton County Road 61 and Nendick Road is closed for a Northern Natural Gas project. The closure is estimated to last until the first week of October. There is a signed detour....

  • Two dead in Floodwood crash

    Sep 15, 2023

    Deputies from the St Louis County Sheriff’s Office responded at 2:45 a.m. Saturday to an automated 911 call from an iPhone stating that the owner had been in a severe crash. Upon arrival, Deputies found two occupants of the vehicle deceased: Joseph David Trowbridge of Woodbury, Minnesota, and Madison Joy Warren of Oakdale, Minnesota. Driver Darren Andrew Tenney was in critical condition, still trapped inside. Tenney was airlifted to a nearby hospital and is currently in stable condition. Alcohol and speed appear to be contributing factors of t...

  • Man volunteers guilt in death of spouse

    Jana Peterson|Sep 15, 2023

    A Carlton County man pleaded guilty Friday, Sept. 8, to shooting his wife in what he termed a “mercy killing” in December 2021. Raymond Arthur Julian, age 67, of Kalavala Township, has been in the Carlton County jail since he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, with intent, not premeditated, for allegedly shooting and killing his wife, Tracy Julian, who was 62. Julian was arrested after Carlton County 911 dispatch received a call at 2:35 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, 2021 requesting a w...

  • Coming soon: Indoor ice

    Jana Peterson|Sep 15, 2023

    The long summer without ice at Cloquet's Northwoods Credit Union Arena is coming to a close, with delivery and installation of a new cooling tower completed earlier this week. Facilities manager Justin Harriman expects to have ice within two weeks, which should allow the Minnesota Wilderness junior hockey team to come back home and youth and high school hockey seasons to progress as normal. Harriman said the cooling tower works like a giant car radiator, cooling the freon after it passes under...

  • New sports facility nears finish line

    Jana Peterson|Sep 15, 2023

    Weather permitting, it’s looking “pretty likely” that the homeless Cloquet football and soccer teams will get to play at least one game in the revamped athletic grounds this fall. Superintendent Michael Cary is optimistic, but stressed there are no guarantees; but “if the option is there, we’ll take it,” he said. Dylan Carlson, facilities manager for the Cloquet school district, told school board members Monday that workers are putting the final surface on the tennis courts this week, follo...

  • Wildfire is officially contained

    Mike Creger|Sep 15, 2023

    With the help of wetter and colder weather, the County Road 11 fire in Barnum Township was declared 100-percent contained on Tuesday, eight days after smoke was observed in the area on Labor Day. On Wednesday, command of the fire was handed off to local firefighters to monitor hot spots, mostly in areas of shallow peat among the 82 acres of mostly swampland that burned. The fire spread quickly after a hot and windy Labor Day weekend but was mostly contained a day after the fire was reported. It...

  • Board agrees to take on lacrosse programs

    Ted Lammi|Sep 15, 2023

    Esko school board members voted Monday to add both boys and girls lacrosse to its slate of available sports starting in spring of 2024, following the same vote by the partnering Cloquet school board in August. The girls lacrosse team will be a cooperative of five schools including Hermantown, Proctor, Carlton, Cloquet and Esko. Board chairman Jerry Frederick wanted to know if five schools is too much. “Who would our competitors be with all five schools together?” he quipped. “You will be traveling … and that’s one of the challenge... Full story

  • Business Spotlight: Burger's Shoes, Cloquet

    Sep 15, 2023

    From Carmen LaPlant Owner, Burger's Shoes September means so many things to me: the end of summer, the start of fall, and another year of small business ownership. While September marks two years of my owning Burger's Shoes, this destination store has been a part of Cloquet's many small businesses for a grand total of 65 years. That's a long time! There's so much history since Ludwig Burger began as a cobbler in a small shop on 10th Street. I still have people come in and share stories about... Full story

  • Our View: School officer spat is confounding

    Sep 15, 2023

    For those trying to get a foothold of understanding on the issues that have arisen over a new law regarding use of restraint by police officers hired by Minnesota schools, good luck. Whether it is mere posturing or naked politics that are muddying the waters, the losers in this debate are students at the schools and the parents who want to be sure everyone at school is safe when it comes to conflicts. We did a lot of searching for information on the exact issue that has some police departments pulling officers out of schools because they say... Full story

  • Harry's Gang: Effort needed to stay in home

    Pete Radosevich|Sep 15, 2023

    They’re called “homes” for a reason. It’s where we live. Eat. Sleep. It’s where we keep our most precious possessions; it’s where we raise our kids. No one wants to leave their homes. Even after a wonderful, relaxing vacation, what do people always say? “It was a great vacation, but it’s good to be home.” I know I do. When I meet with older clients about estate planning, one of their biggest concerns is how they can stay at home as long as possible. It’s not just old people. Other seniors feel... Full story

  • Letter to the editor: Nelson's Funeral Care makes parades a real comfort

    Sep 15, 2023

    We want to give a heap of thanks to Rob and Lori Nelson and everyone else at Nelson Funeral Care. Every time there is a parade, we get to sit in comfortable seats, have donuts, coffee, juice and water. Cloquet is the only town in the area that does this for parades. Carole and Mick Balow, Carlton... Full story

  • Notes from the small pond: Nothing matters

    Parnell Thill|Sep 15, 2023

    Since matter cannot be created or destroyed, it follows that the same earthly deposit of gold, from which Cleopatra’s boat was built, as she sailed the warm, breezy, mosquito-thick Nile with Marc Antony — no wait, Julius Caesar (Cleopatra got around!) — approximately 47 years before Jesus of Nazareth was born — is the same stuff in Olga Korbut’s Olympic gold medal from 1972 and the wedding ring I gave my wife in 1988 and again in 2009 and the same stuff my dad gave my mom in 1962 and the same... Full story

  • Sunnyside is a bright light of care

    Sep 15, 2023

    Hidden away in Cloquet lies an absolute gem. My parents, Lyle and Alda Twite, spent their last years at Sunnyside Health Care Center. Many of my friends have struggled to find acceptable care for their aging parents, often moving them from facility to facility after being displeased with the care. I have had the opposite experience. I have seen nurses, nurse’s aides, and housekeepers come in and absolutely love my parents. They loved them like I did. My dad passed away during the Covid-19 pandemic, and we lost my mom in August. Every time I’d l... Full story

  • On The Farm: School's pollinator habitat program sows a lot of hope

    Sandy Dugan|Sep 15, 2023

    On Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 12, a group of 20 students, parents, staff and volunteers gathered on the Wrenshall school grounds to complete the installation of dozens of native flowering plants and trees that will beautify the landscape, attract pollinators, and show learners the food web of plants, trees, insects, and birds. The three-hour event included an overview of the project, a presentation on phenology, work details, and a community meal. A 300-square-foot plot on the south side of the...

  • The Ticker: A quick look at area teams in action

    Sep 15, 2023

    Thursday, Sept. 7 Girls Soccer Cloquet/Carlton 3 Bemidji 1 Eden Prarie 2 Esko 1 Boys Soccer CEC 4 Hermantown 1 Swimming Hibbing 112 CEC 74 Volleyball Cloquet 3 North Branch 0 Cromwell 3 McGregor 0 Esko 3 ML/WR 0 Friday, Sept. 8 Football Cromwell-Wright 28 Bertha-Hewitt 0 Barnum 50 Chisholm 6 Hermantown 41 Cloquet 7 Ogilvie 83 Carlton/Wrenshall 20 Deer River 48 South Ridge 12 Esko 73 Proctor 6 ML/WR 26 Aitkin 0 Saturday, Sept. 9 Volleyball Esko 2 Carlton/Wrenshall 0 Howard Lake/Waverly 2 Cloquet 0 Northeast Range 2 ML/WR 1 Greenway 2 ML/WR 0... Full story

  • Lumberjacks stay hot with sweep

    Dwight Cadwell|Sep 15, 2023

    The Cloquet volleyball team raced to a fast start this season, a trend that continued with a sweep of Moose Lake/Willow River on Tuesday at Moose Lake Area School. Cloquet won the first set 25-15, and the second set 25-16. Each of those sets were tight battles in the early going, but the Lumberjacks took control and distanced themselves from ML/WR in both games, thanks to timely kills from Ava Carlson, who finished with 22 kills on the night. The Rebels were unwilling to quit in an extended... Full story

  • Homeless 'Jacks are in a 0-2 hole

    Kerry Rodd|Sep 15, 2023

    When does a high school home opening football game not feel like a home game? When your home game is played 12 miles away in another town, that's when. Such was the case last Friday night when Cloquet opened its home season at Proctor playing against the Hermantown Hawks. The game was moved because the new Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium is not quite ready for a home game. "Anytime you get to play football under the lights on a Friday night is special," said Lumberjacks head coach Jeff... Full story

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