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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After hearing an annual report from the district's auditors on July 17, which highlighted the issue of the district writing off over half of its ambulance fee revenue, the Cloquet Area Fire District board approved a preliminary budget for 2025 which includes a 30-percent increase in the ambulance levy. The double-digit tax hike would be the largest since 2023, when the levy increased by 100 percent. For 2024, the ambulance levy increased by 2.83 percent. The reason for such a sharp increase in...
The Cloquet Police Department hosted four training sessions over the past week to help prepare officers and other first responders for active shooter response. The intense, all-day training was hosted by the CPD, and included approximately 120 people from across the area, including Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments, Carlton County Sheriff’s Office and dispatch, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol, Cloquet Area Fire District, and several fire department m...
The Cloquet Police Department will be hosting an "Active Shooter Response" law enforcement training event at Cloquet High School from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. July 11, 15, 16 and 18. CPD wants the community to know this is a planned event. Community members may hear loud sounds, sirens, emergency lights, yelling, and there may be a display of firearms in or outside of the school. Expect a large police presence in and around the school. Cloquet police chief Derek Randall stressed that...
Christopher Henagin wanted to have a say in how Carlton County addresses its housing crisis, and on Monday the county board granted his wish. Henagin and three others were unanimously appointed to the oversight board of the county's first Housing Trust Fund. "I've used real estate myself to get a leg up," Henagin, 36, said. "I was raised in poverty, and I brought myself up to middle class." A resident of Cloquet, Henagin was once a member of the One Roof Community Housing board in Duluth. One...
Police are in short supply these days, so Cloquet city councilors voted Tuesday to spend the money to keep its department competitive, approving raises of 6, 5 and 4 percent in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Then they voted again after a closed session to make the pay even more competitive: adding a "market adjustment" to police hourly pay, a move that will likely increase taxes, city officials say. "We value our police department and we want to keep them working in Cloquet," said Ward 4 councilor Kerry...
Alert neighbors heard smoke alarms and called 911 last week, leading to the rescue of two dogs and a number of cats, along with the prevention of much-more serious fire damage. Cloquet Area Fire District firefighters were called to a possible structure fire at approximately 2 p.m. May 29 on the 300 block of Second Street in Cloquet. Upon arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the first level of a two-story home, but the homeowner wasn’t home. They quickly located the fire and e...
The candidate filing period for political races subject to a primary election ended on Tuesday, yielding a ballot with more than a few surprises. In Cloquet, councilors Lara Wilkinson, Iris Keller, Kerry Kolodge and Lyz Jaakola will all run unopposed, barring a write-in campaign mounted against any of them, on the Nov. 5 ballot. In Carlton County, the commissioners’ races are a tale of three different outcomes. To replace outgoing Dick Brenner in District 1, representing west Cloquet, Scanlon and Sawyer, Sarah Plante Buhs and Caleb Dunlap will...
I was able to attend the Floodwood’s graduation on May 31. This class has been very special to me, as I have subbed for them since kindergarten. When you are a substitute teacher, you follow them all the way through their school years, and many of them become special friends. I’d like to share the following poem with them and all our area seniors: To the Class of 2024: I’m glad I was your teacher, and I will miss you so. I can’t believe the end is here. I hate to let you go. Remember all the...
Since the chaotic end to the 2024 legislative session on May 19, folks back at home have been trying to figure out exactly what it all means. Local ambulance services expect to see some of the short-term emergency aid for rural EMS, but exactly how much is still uncertain. Steve Risacher, who serves on the board for the Cromwell-Wright Area Fire District, said they’re pleased something passed, but they still don’t know what it involves for the ambulance service there. How to gain access to it, and what it’s going to be used for, is still pendi...
Earlier this week at the group home, we experienced a harrowing moment. One of our residents fell from bed, screaming he was hurt. Lying tense on the floor as we assessed his condition, his vocalization turned to a new refrain, “I’m afraid!” We felt so bad for him. We know him well, and understand his history of traumatic falls. We consoled and comforted him until he calmed. The Cloquet Area Fire District paramedics were able to assess him, deem him unharmed, and help return him to bed. Our resident shared a cathartic conversation with Jorda...
Work to complete the Minnesota Highway 23 culvert replacement project at Perch Lake near Gary New Duluth will begin May 13. Contractors will begin mobilizing heavy equipment to the site on May 7. Motorists should expect a signal-controlled single-lane bypass. Work is expected to last about one month. A final phase of work to install a recreational bridge on the adjacent Marten Trail is expected to take place later in the summer. The culvert replacement is a part of a Minnesota Department of...
Congratulations to Tom Gervais on being recognized for excellence in leadership at the Cromwell-Wright Fire District’s annual get-together April 26. Tom’s leadership style is a steadfast commitment to serving others with integrity, and he is an inspiration and example of true leadership excellence. It was so great to see the wonderful photographs and paintings at the Pine Knot office in Cloquet last Friday evening. The exhibit will be up for several weeks, so stop in to take a gander at the...
Jason Eckenberg and Adam Swanson walked through the home of Cloquet resident Ed Enlund on a routine home safety visit Monday. The Cloquet Area Fire District firefighter/EMTs took note of which rooms needed smoke alarms, pulled out a ladder, and got to work. "I'd say it improves my living spaces and probably my life - more my life than living spaces," Enlund said. The lifespan of a smoke alarm is about 10 years. The CAFD's home safety visit program and American Red Cross's Home Fire Campaign...
When asked about proposed legislation to aid emergency medical services across the state, Cloquet Area Fire District chief Jesse Buhs said he believes CAFD “would be eligible for the proposed funding that will reach the Northeastern part of the state.” The fire district has supported the $120 million funding bill proposed by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, but Buhs is hopeful CAFD could see part of whatever funds are allocated for EMS services. CAFD provides fire protection to 170 squ...
They've been friends since they were both in kindergarten at Jefferson Elementary School on Eighth Street and Cloquet Avenue in Cloquet. Now, after roughly 70 years, they volunteer together at the Clothing Depot in Cromwell. Dardanell "Beanie" Randa and Jayne Hakamaki have been fixtures and leaders in the Cromwell area for years. Unfortunately for many of its devoted customers, plans call for the nonprofit organization to close its doors in August. Their paths have crossed and separated many...
Measures which promise to result in thousands of dollars in cost savings were approved at the March Cloquet Area Fire District board meeting, but speculation about the fate of bonding before the state legislature hung over conversations about the potential for a new building in Cloquet. "I think we're literally chasing good money after bad things anymore, and the safety and health and comfort of staff needs to come first," said Cloquet board representative Sheila Lamb, regarding Station 1...
Responding to a call about a shed on fire around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, firefighters with the Cloquet Area Fire District arrived at the 1500 block of Miskomin Street in Cloquet to find a house with heavy fire coming from the eaves and back of the building. The fire, which appears to be accidental, was quickly extinguished. Damage to the already boarded-up house was extensive, and the fire is still under investigation. Battalion chief Jason Maki said CAFD would like to remind everyone to...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
