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Thanksgiving is around the corner, and so is the massive free community dinner with turkey and all the fixings. Never content with the status quo, this year the Carlton County Disabled American Veterans and partner Zion Lutheran Church are gearing up for not one, but four dining options for Carlton County residents on Thursday, Nov. 23. Sit-down and takeout meals will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thanksgiving Day at Zion Lutheran Church at 1000 Washington Ave. in Cloquet. DAV member and... Full story
When building contractor John Riihiluoma stood in front of a cast of township supervisors and personnel on Tuesday, he turned over the keys to the first town hall in Twin Lakes history. "This is the day we were looking forward to when we started in June," said Riihiluoma, principal partner for Cloquet-based Ray Riihiluoma Inc. construction. The $1.35 million space sits on 30 acres along Douglas Road, a short drive from the new Carlton County courthouse and jail along County Highway 61. The...
Exploration of a merger between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts left the board rooms behind on Monday, as the two school boards convened to tour facilities between the districts. The two groups visited Carlton High School, South Terrace Elementary School, and the three-story K-12 Wrenshall school and its Career and Technical Education building. The tours were limited to 20 minutes each, allowing board members to peek into classrooms, gymnasiums, offices and specialty areas, such as...
A driver of a pickup was seriously injured Monday night when his 2014 GMC Sierra collided with a trailer of corn pulled by a tractor in Silver Brook Township, forcing a closure of the highway to clean up the corn and clear the vehicles. A 911 call about the accident came into the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office at 9:30 p.m. Monday. The accident report says Kyle Leveau, 26, of Wrenshall, was driving the tractor east on Carlton County Road 4 southeast of Wrenshall and attempted to turn into a driveway when the pickup hit the trailer. Pickup drive...
The Carlton County Master Gardeners will present a class on winter sowing 6-7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Carlton County Transportation Building, 1630 County Road 61. Cost is $5 at the door, free for 18 and younger. Winter sowing is a simple method of starting seeds outdoors in winter for spring transplanting. A plastic milk jug works like a mini greenhouse, allowing Mother Nature to germinate the seeds when the conditions are just right. Save time and money with no grow light or warming mats, providing everything for the plant, with no need to...
Pine Knot News deadlines will be moved up one day for the Thanksgiving holiday next week. That means all news announcements, obituaries and legal notices must be received by 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 20. Call 218-878-9332 with any questions. The Pine Knot offices will be closed Thursday. Friday home delivery should not be affected....
The ninth annual Christmas lighting showcase wants to hear from lighting enthusiasts so they can create a map of area lighting displays to drive by or visit. Folks in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin are encouraged to enter their decorated homes and businesses and help spread some holiday cheer. Registration is free and can be completed at christmaslightingchallenge.com. Regardless of the size of your display, everyone is encouraged to be part of this joyful tradition. There isn’t a contest this year, so anyone can join in the merriment w...
Those searching for greenery and other holiday decorations after the Thanksgiving holiday can visit minnesotagrown.com to find Christmas tree growers and other producers of Minnesota agricultural products. They can also check out the list below. Opening Nov. 18, Chub Lake Tree Farm is probably Carlton County's most well-known tree farm. Other area tree farms include Leaning Barn Farms at 176 Thomson Road, Esko; the Butkiewicz Family Farm at 6710 Butkiewicz Road in Kettle River; Vichorek Tree... Full story
The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced Wednesday it will begin reissuing nearly 150,000 one-time tax rebate checks that have gone uncashed and subsequently expired after 60 days from their August and September issuance dates. The reissued checks will go out in two batches: one batch this week and the second batch in early December. The reissued checks will be valid for 60 days from the date of issuance. Paper checks appear in a plain white envelope. They will be from Submittable Holdings located in Missoula, Montana and will carry the...
For those wanting to escape rampant consumerism, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is waiving vehicle permit fees at all 75 state parks and recreation areas on Friday, Nov. 24 (aka Black Friday). With the support of the state legislature, the DNR offers Free Park Days to encourage Minnesotans to get outdoors and enjoy the health and wellness benefits of spending time in nature....
A Carlton County board meeting flared hot Tuesday, when commissioner Tom Proulx and county staff squared off over the use of contracted social work. Despite a 4-1 vote affirming the use of contracted social workers to address a surge in disability services and long-term elder care cases, the preceding debate stirred tensions at a time of union contract negotiations. Proulx first squared off with public health and human services director David Lee over the issue. “What would happen if we said no?” asked Proulx. “I would have to come back and a...
The Ma & Pa Kettle Days tree lighting and craft sale is 4-6 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Veterans Building. If you’re interested in having a space at the sale, contact Mary Sanders. Santa will be there 5-6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting and a fire for roasting marshmallows to make s’mores. The next Kettle River city council meeting is at 7 p.m. on Dec. 12 at the Kettle River Senior Center. Cookies and caroling will be at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 19 at the Suomalainen Kirkko (Finnish Cultural Center) on the corner of Minnesota Highway 73 and Carlton Cou... Full story
A 21-year-old Mahtowa man is faced with unrelated charges of child pornography and sexual abuse of a child following new charges after his arrest this summer. Ricky Onefeather Tobolaski, 21, of Mahtowa, was arrested June 16 and charged with possession of pornographic work involving a minor under the age of 14, along with possessing pornographic work electronically. Late last month, while in jail on the pornography charges, additional charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct were filed against Tobolaski. According to the criminal... Full story
With 1,284 students this year, Esko schools may be at its highest K-12 enrollment ever, superintendent Aaron Fischer told school board members Monday. "That's a lot of students, more than we projected," Fischer said. "And they all fit into our current class size targets and programming and elective schedules, so we had no more expenditures to bring those in." That's 25 more students than last school year; each one brings more dollars for the school district from the state, which funds schools...
B&B Market has been part of the Cloquet community for 65 years, a one-stop shop for many that offers gas, a full line of groceries, a meat department and catering. Named after founders Bob and Babe, who started the store in 1958, the store saw Gary and Dorothy Huard take ownership next, then John and Kim Lind. August 29 marked the second anniversary of the most recent change of ownership, to Jacob and Mikayla Richardson. Jacob had worked at B&B for several years before expressing interest in... Full story
I was saddened when I learned that Sunnyside nursing home was going to be closed. But I was not surprised, since they had been operating at a loss for many years. Reimbursement was not keeping up with expenses so the inevitable was bound to happen. Sunnyside was 5-star-rated for many years, even though it was old and outdated. I have heard many positive comments about its operation thanks to the friendly staff and sound administration. It was indeed a real asset for our community. I feel sorry for the residents who considered it their home and... Full story
There’s a real need for housing in Cloquet. It seems to me, slowly but surely, the central part of the city is deteriorating as more and more people move out to the larger lots available on the city’s edges. For example, some lots in the Sunnyside neighborhood are about one-third acre, while many lots in the older parts of Cloquet are much, much smaller. So when those older houses get too worn out to repair, they become vacant, taking up space that can’t readily be sold, because the lots are t... Full story
Two days after his previously unbeaten football team was eliminated by Annandale, 14-7, at a state quarterfinal game in Brainerd, Esko head coach Scott Arntson remained puzzled. "It just seemed like everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that game," Arntson told the Pine Knot on Monday. He'd watched a tape of the game twice, replaying how the team lost key players to injury, including its star Koi Perich, and let control of the game tilt in a second half that produced no first downs for... Full story
The Moose Lake/Willow River boys football team entered last week's Class AA quarterfinals confident after a section victory over Barnum and how well the defense had played all season long, but Eden Valley-Watkins brought weapons the Rebels had not faced much this season. The game ended with a 60-0 shutout victory for the Eagles in Forest Lake Thursday night. The Eagles' high-octane offense started on the second play from scrimmage when EVW's quarterback Nolan Geislinger took the snap from the... Full story
Toward the middle of a long swim season, Lumberjacks diving coach Nannette "Newt" Snyder had a talk with her divers. "'Where do you want to be, in the middle of the pack? Or do you want to be champions?'" she asked them. "'Because I can help you be a champion if you really want to.'" After that challenge, she saw a change in diver Rilee Durovec. "It's from then on that she kind of buckled down and just started getting more and more consistent," Snyder said. "Then we started increasing the... Full story
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team evened its season record at 1-1 Tuesday night with a 1-0 victory over the Moose Lake Area Rebels at Riverside Arena in Moose Lake. Lumberjacks junior defender Sarah Blais scored with one second left in the first period for the only goal of the game. The game marked the first win and shutout for Lumberjacks eighth grade goaltender, Izzy Strang, as part of the CEC varsity. With only five seniors on the CEC roster this season, underclassmen are expected to... Full story
An Ashton Dahms goal and solid goaltending from Adam Prokop were the key ingredients for the Minnesota Wilderness in a 1-0 victory Saturday night. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and split the weekend series following a 5-4 loss Friday night to the Janesville Jets (9-9-2). Owners of a 10-game winning streak earlier this season, Minnesota (12-6-2) remains in first place in the Midwest Division. Dahms, of Lakeville, Minnesota, scored the game’s only goal late in the first period. While on power play, Dahms received a pass from D... Full story
Why do bad things happen to good people? A couple of years ago, Andrea and I started a vegetable garden. Since then, we've learned at least one thing: we're pretty lousy gardeners. Or, at least, I am. I can tell I am a lousy gardener because, when I talk to serious gardeners, I usually have no clue what they're talking about. This is especially true when it comes to weeding. No matter what we plant, by the time things start growing I can't tell a bean or tomato plant from any other plant that... Full story
Carlton High School Quarter 1 A Honor Roll Sixth grade Benjamin Abbott Annika Erickson Donovan Jenne TayLynn Laveau Persephony Matuszak Mackenzie Mullenix Morris Olson Aowyn Rupp Alaina Soukkala Deklin Towslee Kylan Ward Seventh grade Lila Manning Eighth grade Katelyn Cadotte Jaylah Crane Jorgen Herman Baily Line Gabriella Loucks Cooper Miller Selah Rupp Taylor-Rose Skagerberg Kyria Tuttle Kaden Ward Ninth grade Harley Erickson Ava Jenne Landon Jenne Lydia Kiehl Nixon Mitchell Brielle Simula Teagen Tessier 10th grade Karysa Brown Alexis Coy... Full story
Esko High School Quarter 1 Honor Roll Bella Abrahamson Will Abrahamson Emma Adkins Rachel Amireault Adisyn Anderson Simone Anderson Santiago Anich Joseph Antonutti Joshua Antonutti Hank Backstrom Lucye Backstrom Aaron Bailey Ellahna Barnes Lourdes Barousse Joel Barta Ellynor Barta Lucy Barta Alena Beare Ashlynn Beare William Beisang Levi Belland Harper Benedix Jaxon Benedix Aspen Berg Cambrie Berger Wyatt Bergstedt Aviana Bergstrand Gino Bertogliat Wyatt Blotti Emmeline Bohlman Genevieve Bohlman Leah Borden Nickolas Borden Isabella Bowman... Full story