Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

Community transmission of Covid-19 locally and statewide has been consistently “high” since August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s not getting any better yet. Like last winter, cases are climbing as the... Full story

U.S. regulators on Friday opened up Covid-19 booster shots to all adults, expanding the government’s campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays. While all three vaccines used in the...  Website

Monday’s Wrenshall school board meeting began with a palpable moment of silence. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said the family of board member Alice Kloepke reported she had taken a turn for the worse in a battle with Covid-19 and was in an... Full story

A year ago, almost all of Chey Eisenman’s car service customers wore masks. “We were at almost 100 percent of people — regardless of how they felt about COVID or masks — were wearing them,” she said. “And that was fascinating to me. And... Full story

Raiter Clinic Cloquet Call for an appt 218-879-1271 PCR Test, 3-5 days for results. Do not have to be a Raiter Clinic patient to test Med Express Cloquet Call 218-878-7903 when you arrive to parking lot Tests are first come, first served. Wait times... Full story

Community Memorial Hospital will be giving Covid-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11 from 4:15-6:15 p.m. Nov. 22 by appointment only. To schedule, call 218-879-1271. Additionally, parents can schedule Covid-19 vaccine appointments at St. Luke’s and... Full story

Catharine Richert/MPR News Starting this week, Minnesota kids age 5-11 now have access to Covid-19 vaccines, as the state started rolling out doses of the Pfizer shots tailor-made for younger children. “Getting our children vaccinated will help...  Website

Carlton County Public Health will be offering a walk-in flu clinic Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Services Building at 14 N. 11th St. in Cloquet. The clinic will be held in the second-floor conference rooms and is open to... Full story

Numbers of cases and deaths continue to rise in Carlton County with 23 cases on Oct. 18 and a seven-day average of 20. Overall, the county continues at a heightened infection rate, but case numbers fluctuate daily. On Oct. 8, 40 new cases were... Full story

Gov. Tim Walz toured a Covid-19 testing site in Duluth last Thursday morning — one of more than a dozen community testing sites around the state. He said officials were getting ready to announce an additional expansion of testing capacity around th... Full story

Carlton County will be running two drive- thru dual influenza and Covid-19 vaccination clinics targeted to Carlton County residents next week. From 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, residents can drive through at the Carlton County... Full story

Minnesota’s spreading Covid-19 outbreak has been pummeling greater Minnesota for weeks, and hospitals are feeling the impact. For the first time in the pandemic, there are more Covid patients hospitalized in greater Minnesota than in the Twin Citie...  Website

The availability of hospital beds is also an issue locally, particularly for transfers to larger hospitals, said Community Memorial Hospital CEO Rick Breuer. “It’s hard to find open beds in Duluth for anything,” he said. Beds at CMH have been... Full story

Minnesota’s current Covid-19 surge won’t relent. The newest data show the disease still firmly entrenched in the state. While a jump in testing can explain much of the latest increase in case counts, the numbers also show the current wave... Full story

The latest data for Carlton County show the number of Covid cases is still going up, but at a lower rate, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases in Carlton County increased by 84 from Sept. 15 to 22, but the CDC s... Full story

Youth from across the state joined a virtual town hall with medical professionals to engage with peers about Covid-19 Monday afternoon. The town hall was led by student leaders to give students an opportunity to discuss how the pandemic has impacted... Full story

The drug REGEN- COV, a monoclonal antibody therapy used in treatment of Covid- 19 infection and post- exposure preventive treatment, is available at Community Memorial Hospital. The drug is indicated for use in adult patients or pediatric patients 12... Full story

The state of Minnesota is adding more Covid- 19 testing sites to meet a resurgent demand. Early in the summer the state had closed some of its community testing sites as fewer people were seeking tests. But rising case counts driven by the more-... Full story

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... Full story

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... Full story