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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Minnesotans are pulling out the at-home Covid-19 tests, again. The Minnesota Department of Health is seeing requests increase for its free self-test kits following a continued upward trend in Covid hospitalizations. Residents can order the tests online at https://sayyeshometest.org/. MDH spokesperson Amy Barrett said last week that there had been an “explosion of orders” and interest continues to be elevated. The state program allows households to order four free self-tests while supplies last. People may order a new set of testing kits eac... Full story
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced approval and authorization of updated Covid-19 vaccines formulated to more closely target the Covid-19 variants that are currently circulating. “Getting vaccinated against Covid-19 remains one of the best tools in our toolbox to fight Covid-19 and keep Minnesotans safe,” said Minnesota commissioner of health Dr. Brooke Cunningham in a news release Wednesday. “The newly authorized, updated vaccines are an even more effective tool, targeting the variants we know are in our commu...
The Minnesota Department of Health is extending its long-Covid work this year with the aim to increase knowledge, awareness and resources for the condition among the public and providers. The effects of Covid-19 can vary greatly, from cold and flu-like symptoms to life-threatening complications. Recovery can be similarly complicated. Not everyone who contracts Covid-19 makes a fast or full recovery. Tens of thousands of Minnesotans face ongoing or new symptoms such as shortness of breath, extrem... Full story
The Minnesota Department of Health announced that four additional free at-home rapid Covid-19 tests are available to all Minnesota households through the state’s online ordering program. This will be the last chance for Minnesotans to get free tests before the program ends. Minnesotans can also place orders through the Minnesota Department of Health Covid-19 Public Hotline at 833-431-2053 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.... Full story
The Covid-19 pandemic will reach its third anniversary in March but, unlike in years past, the early winter is so far not showing signs of a transmission peak. Only 4.1 percent of the county’s hospital beds were occupied by Covid-19 patients in the week through Dec. 28, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its weekly update of pandemic-related statistics. During past winters at this time, intensive care units had seen Covid-19 patients fill 40 percent or more of available beds through the early parts of the winter. The c... Full story
Carlton County Public Health and Human Services will be offering two drive-through vaccination clinics in October. In addition to the new Covid-19 vaccine booster shot, the county will offer a standard flu shot for ages 6 months and older, and a high-dose flu shot for ages 65 and older, as well as a FluMist shot as long as supplies last. The Covid shots are available for anyone 12 years old or older who has completed the primary vaccine series and hasn’t had a Covid shot in the past two m... Full story
Carlton County Public Health and Human Services will be offering two drive-through vaccination clinics in October. In addition to the new Covid-19 vaccine booster shot, the county will offer a standard flu shot for ages 6 months and older, and a high-dose flu shot for ages 65 and older, as well as a FluMist shot as long as supplies last. The Covid shots are available for anyone 12 years old or older who has completed the primary vaccine series and hasn’t had a Covid shot in the past two m... Full story
Appointments are available for Minnesotans to receive the bivalent booster at the state-run vaccination site at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. The DECC will be open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Mondays from noon to 7 p.m. Along with state-run vaccination sites, pharmacies are making appointments available for eligible Minnesotans to get the updated booster.... Full story
New state test data released Aug. 25 shows the majority of Minnesota students are below state proficiency standards in math, and just over half are proficient in reading — a sharp decline since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Just under 52 percent of students met or exceeded reading standards — a drop of 8 percentage points since schools moved to distance learning at the start of the pandemic. Fewer than 46 percent of students statewide met or exceeded math standards — a drop of 10 percentage points from 2019. Minnesota schools were far l... 
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Appointments are now available for Minnesotans to receive an updated bivalent booster at the state-run vaccination site at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center. Appointments for the Pfizer bivalent booster are available as early as Sunday, Sept. 11, at the DECC. The DECC will be open on Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Mondays 12-7 p.m. Along with state-run vaccination sites, pharmacies are making appointments for eligible Minnesotans to get their updated booster. Minnesota health care systems, local public health and tribal health... Full story
People ask physician Dan Palmquist why he’s so adamant about encouraging the Covid-19 vaccination. “I tell them, ‘You go to a tire salesman, you expect to be sold tires,’” said Dr. Palmquist, of Community Memorial Hospital and Raiter Clinic in Cloquet. “If you go to a family doc, expect to be lectured about getting vaccinated,” he added. “It’s how we make the biggest impact on the lives of our patients.” Palmquist joined Carlton County public health nurse specialist Jenny Barta, who coordina... Full story
Cloquet school board members discussed changes to their Covid-19 policy at their Aug. 22 meeting, with superintendent Michael Cary predicting that school will start to resemble what it looked like pre-Covid. These policy changes follow new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated earlier this month. The new CDC guidelines promote staying up to date on the Covid-19 vaccine and isolating yourself for five days if you have tested positive for Covid, and recommend that instead of quarantining if you were exposed to... Full story
Now that the Centers for Disease Control and prevention have authorized Covid-19 vaccinations by Moderna and Pfizer for children ages six months and older, the vaccines are available. Carlton County Public Health officials encourage caregivers to contact their health care provider to get any child scheduled for a Covid vaccination or look on the MDH website under Vaccine Finder to find another community provider. Carlton County Public Health and Human Services does not have any clinics scheduled. CMH Raiter Family Clinic is offering the shots.... Full story
Covid-19 case counts are trending up in the state and region after a month of respite. Hospitalizations are also on the rise, but the cases seen are less severe, said Rick Breuer, CEO of Cloquet’s Community Memorial Hospital. More people are being treated at clinics or at home, Breuer said. It’s a milder wave of Covid that people have been looking for. “It can be heresy to talk about Covid like the flu,” Breuer said. “It’s not to minimize it, but that’s what we have hoped for.” The problem with any Covid case these days, he said, is that i... Full story
St. Luke’s hospital in Duluth is welcoming new participants to a study with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and five other research sites across the country to study how Covid-19 moves through populations of people. Healthcare workers, first responders and anyone whose job involves interacting with others are welcome. It is an exciting opportunity to be a part of history as a participant in one of the biggest and longest-running studies of Covid-19. Most anyone who works outside of the house for at least 20 hours a week is e... Full story
It was a quiet Friday afternoon, until it wasn’t. On Friday, March 6, 2020 — the Minnesota Department of Health announced the first case of Covid-19 had been confirmed in Minnesota. It set off a whirlwind of drastic change in the state, including in Carlton County. A lot has happened in the two years since then. Minnesota’s first year living with Covid-19 was marked by uncertainty, the loneliness of being apart and a lockdown. Near the end of 2020, there was hope, as Minnesotans began to be vaccinated. In 2021, things loosened up as an incre... Full story
Local Covid-19 case numbers continue to decline dramatically, with the most recent weekly numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health report (released every Thursday) showing an increase of only 42 cases from Feb. 24 to March 3. That same week, however, showed four deaths from Covid-19, the largest weekly increase of deaths in Carlton County this year. MDH numbers for Wednesday, March 9, showed the county with 8,796 cumulative cases, an increase of 30 from the previous Thursday’s numbers. One additional Covid-19 death had been recorded o... Full story
Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com courtesy of the federal government. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order. • Limit of one order per residential address; • One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests.... Full story
Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS.com courtesy of the federal government. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order. • Limit of one order per residential address; • One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests; • Orders will ship free.... Full story
Esko senior Nate Rengo has been vocal about mask wearing at the high school, saying he advocates taking any “proactive” measures to avoid a school shutdown and missing school events in his final year. After a board meeting earlier in January when mask use was debated, Rengo wrote a letter and sent it to administration and teachers. “We are in the middle of a huge surge of cases, and wearing masks could be the difference between online and in-person school,” Rengo wrote. “Distance learning is awful, just ask any student or teacher.” And that is...
Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of four free at-home tests from USPS.com courtesy of the federal government. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order. Here’s what you need to know about your order: Limit of one order per residential address; One order includes four individual rapid antigen Covid-19 tests; Orders will ship free starting in late January.... Full story
With local health care leaders asking for help and a Mayo Clinic data scientist predicting a peak in Omicron Covid cases in the next two weeks, Mayor Roger Maki declared a local emergency due to the pandemic effective Wednesday. As part of that declaration, he mandated that face coverings be worn in all indoor public gathering spaces in the city of Cloquet. "We can reduce exposure of people and I believe that to be in the public interest and safety," Maki said. Fond du Lac medical director Dr. C... Full story
Carlton County Public Health and Human Services will hold a free Moderna booster clinic 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21 in the second-floor conference room at the Carlton County Community Services Building, 14 N. 11th St., Cloquet. Registration is required due to limited doses, so visit https://prepmod.health.state.mn.us/appointment/en/reg/8569570121 to make an appointment.... Full story
Households in the U.S. can order one set of four free at-home tests from USPS.com, courtesy of the federal government. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order. Here’s what you need to know about your order: • Limit one order per residential address; • One order includes four individual rapid antigen Covid-19 tests; • Orders will ship free starting in late January... Full story
