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 26 - 50 of 277
After the Cloquet Area Fire District opened its February meeting with a moment of silence for fallen first responders in Burnsville, CAFD board members unanimously accepted a donation of 12 bulletproof vests from the Dead on Arms shooting range and firearms store. Assistant fire chief Corey Larson said acquiring the new Safe Life Defense vests fulfills a key objective of a crew safety system. The district has been working with the Cloquet Police Department over the past two years to maximize...
The Pine Knot News asked the two members of the Minnesota Legislature who represent the area to offer their views on the session that begins on Monday, Feb. 12. The often head-spinning budget session of 2023 had both Republicans, Sen. Jason Rarick and Rep. Jeff Dotseth, questioning the spending decisions of Democrats, who control the House and Senate in the current biennium. That control includes Democrat Gov. Tim Walz. State lawmakers' primary job following an election year is to create a... Full story
While a statewide task force examines challenges facing emergency medical services in rural Minnesota, the Cloquet Area Fire District's status as a special taxing district - with its ability to levy taxes over a broad area - is being looked at as a model. But its reliance on property taxes and ambulance billing with the absence of local government aid affects necessities such as building maintenance and staffing. CAFD officials are hoping the state legislature will come through with a more balan... Full story
A suspected double murder/suicide at the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet Monday resulted in the death of a Cloquet woman and two male hotel guests, one of the men the killer. The shooting forced the evacuation of the hotel and nearby businesses and a community lockdown as authorities searched for a suspect. That search ended in the hotel parking lot, where the suspected shooter was found dead with evidence suggesting a self-inflicted gunshot wound. By midweek, investigators still had no information on... Full story
After responding to a shooting, then issuing and later lifting an order to shelter-in-place, the Cloquet Police Department confirmed that a man killed two people at the Super 8 in Cloquet before taking his own life. According to a Cloquet Police Department news release, an employee of the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet called 911 at approximately 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, to report they'd found another hotel employee who looked like she'd been attacked. Cloquet police responded and found a... Full story
Three people from three different cities were killed Monday in a suspected double murder/suicide at the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet that forced the evacuation of the hotel and a community lockdown as authorities searched for a suspect. That search ended on hotel property, where the suspected shooter was found dead with evidence suggesting a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police continue to search for a motive. "Last night was a very difficult night for our community," said Cloquet Police Chief Derek... Full story
At the final meeting of 2023, Cloquet City Council members prepared for 2024. They selected the Pine Knot News as the city’s official newspaper, approved standing rules and selected at-large councilor Lara Wilkinson as the acting mayor again, to take over when mayor Roger Maki is absent. The council also set updated fees and charges. Taking a look ahead at the time when the Cloquet police department gets its new body cameras, they set the fee for public data requests regarding camera footage as payment for actual expenses incurred. Public W...
Property tax levies will increase in 2024 after the Cloquet Area Fire District board unanimously approved the tax and budget changes at Wednesday night’s meeting. The fire levy and ambulance levy will increase 2.99 percent and 2.83 percent, respectively. The $3.6 million the combined levies will generate, not including the $118,000 to be collected for servicing ambulance debt, is meant to absorb some of the impact of inflation. “As far as expenditures go, inflation has hit everything and everybody and every organization,” district fire chief...
As the days grow shorter, the Santa's Home for the Holidays celebration spread light and cheer last weekend. There were multiple Santa appearances, magic, meals, shopping, a parade, hot drinks, fireworks, s'mores and more fun spanning three days and multiple venues across the city of Cloquet. The new "Pet photos with Santa" saw a good turnout, with only one overexcited doggie accident, no cat fights and one well-behaved hedgehog. The annual Churchill Holiday Expo raised more than $10,000 for...
Cloquet city councilors and mayor Roger Maki approved a smaller budget Tuesday than they expected three months ago. That means the levy increase for property taxes will also be smaller than reflected in recent estimates, with a 2.85-percent levy increase versus 4.53 percent. One local business owner spoke during the Truth in Taxation hearing that preceded the vote. Jim Kuklis, who owns Trails Edge subdivision - consisting of two-family townhomes available for rent by residents over the age of 55...
Firefighters in the area were busy the past week with a spate of fires surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday. The most serious incident was a garage fire on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at a home in Brevator Township north of Cloquet in St. Louis County. A 64-year-old man suffered serious burns when trying to retrieve items from the burning garage. He was in stable condition by early this week. Deputies and the Cloquet Area Fire District were called to the 3500 block of Nelson Road, just west of...
Residents within the Cloquet Area Fire District boundaries will see increased ambulance rates and potentially a new community risk reduction officer since the CAFD board unanimously approved both at its Nov. 15 meeting. The CAFD board voted to increase ambulance rates by about 3 percent to align with inflation and Medicare reimbursement increases. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the rate hike will add between $50 and $100 to an ambulance bill, depending on the level of care needed. CAFD chief Jesse Buhs said the increase will place CAFD in the median...
A 64-year-old Brevator man was injured in a fire in a detached garage last week. The Cloquet Area Fire Department and St. Louis County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a report of a structure fire in the 3500 block of Nelson Road in Brevator Township at 3:29 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22. The homeowner had attempted to save items from the garage while it was borning, and was transported by ambulance to St. Mary's hospital. He is reported to be in serious but stable condition. Upon arrival of the Cloquet Area Fire District, the flames were quickly... Full story
The Cloquet Area Fire District is looking for a volunteer board member to represent the City of Cloquet. Candidates must live in the city of Cloquet and commit to a 3-year term. The board meets at 6 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month, plus occasional committee meetings throughout the year. Potential candidates are asked to email or call city administrator Tim Peterson at [email protected] or 218-879-3347 to express interest. Questions? Contact CAFD Chief Jesse Buhs at 218-499-4258 to discuss roles and responsibilit... Full story
Former Cloquet mayor Bruce Ahlgren died Friday, Oct. 27, in the hometown he loved and affected in so many ways. Ahlgren's wife, Marla, said he had been waiting to have heart surgery for five weeks, but collapsed and died at home. Their daughter, Angie, honored her "sweet, loving, gregarious father" on Facebook later that day. Whether it was leading the city as its longest serving mayor, running the court system or the myriad other ways he got involved in public service, Ahlgren was charming, and... Full story
After discussing its strategies to bring state money into the district, the Cloquet Area Fire District board approved new legislative priorities, which include lobbying for regular funding and bonds. The strategies discussed at the CAFD board’s Oct. 18 meeting include highlighting the impact of inflation and the effects of climate change on the district. The efforts are aimed at minimizing the burden on taxpayers in the CAFD service area. “A win for me would be that there’s an impact to the local [property tax] levy in such that we were able...
The Cloquet Area Fire District asked the city of Cloquet for a share of its public safety windfall from the state, and got a caring but firm “no” in response. Councilors and Mayor Roger Maki voted 6-1 Tuesday to deny the request for $165,000 of the $556,397 in one-time public safety aid dollars allocated by the state legislature in its most recent session. The vote wasn’t as bad as it seemed, Fire Chief Jesse Buhs said. He said the denial wasn’t bad for the fire district, at least long-te... Full story
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...
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...
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... Full story
Roughly six years after it overcame neighborhood protest to gain approval to shred old tires, a company operating on land north of Cloquet is under state investigation for its possible failure to meet permitted standards. Tire Aggregate, Inc., located along Minnesota Highway 33 just across the Carlton County line, was permitted by both St. Louis County and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 2017 to shred used tires to make a construction product called tire-derived aggregate. New complaints...
For $50, young people aged 14-20 can sign up for a new seven-month “fire explorer” program that offers exposure and training for both firefighting and emergency medical service careers. The Cloquet Area Fire District is offering the new program, which will be one of only a few in northern Minnesota. Assistant CAFD fire chief Corey Larson said the group will meet once or twice a month during the school year. The curriculum is very similar to firefighter and medic training courses CAFD alr...
Those who have used the services of the Cloquet Area Fire District may have had personal information about them compromised, according to a report from vendor EMS Management and Consultants, Inc. On May 31 and again in June, Progress Software Corp. publicly disclosed that its MOVEit Transfer tool had been compromised. The CAFD’s billing services provider, EMS Management and Consultants, is a user of that tool. EMS/MC reports that it is unaware of any misuse of information in relation to the breaches but it is providing potentially affected p...
The pastor at Good Hope Church returned from sabbatical last weekend to find it pouring ... inside the Cloquet church at 55 Armory Road. Someone had broken into the church, plugged drains and turned on the faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms, then brought a garden hose inside, turned it on "full blast" and left it running for what amounted to 10 hours. That's what lead pastor Mike Stevens walked into Saturday morning. Stevens initially thought the sprinklers were going off because there was so... Full story
Across Carlton County and the nation, Tuesday night saw residents, law enforcement, firefighters and others getting to know one another just a little bit better. While the idea that meeting your neighbors and public safety officials will help build a safer community remains at the core of National Night Out celebrations everywhere, each gathering is unique. In Scanlon Tuesday, local elected officials were out in force, along with a number of police officers and firefighters. Several - including... Full story
