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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Nearly every person in Minnesota, and, for that matter, everywhere, has known a close friend or relative who has had some form of cancer. My good friend, Gary "Moose" Pastika, a few years back, tested positive for colon cancer. His best chance for recovery was to have his colon totally removed. He recovered, went back to work, played golf well, and after several years was deemed cancer-free. But, as it often does, the cancer returned, he got sick, and the disease won, ending his life. He died...
One of Carlton County's premier used bookstores resides in one of its least populous towns, where roughly 5,000 titles of inventory is more than 10 times the resident population. "As my son would say, 'We're a hidden gem,'" said Janis Martin, who was working the desk at Twice Told Tales in downtown Mahtowa last week. Twice Told Tales has been around since 2006, and moved into its charming cottage of a bookstore in the spring of 2023. A brainchild of Mahtowa Covenant Church's mission and outreach...
THUMBS UP to Carlton County and the city of Cloquet for staying competitive when it comes to pay for law enforcement officers. Both jurisdictions saw their board and council, respectively, approve pay increases recently aimed at keeping wages comparable to those of surrounding departments and the local labor market. Nobody likes budget increases that stress tax levies. But, the alternatives are stark — losing peace officers to better-paying outfits and leaving our communities vulnerable. “The bigger issue is, if we can’t get qualified law e...
I was pleased to see the council approve the wage adjustment for the police officers and settle their three-year contract. I’m hoping this decision will enhance their morale and job satisfaction. Minnesota is currently grappling with a severe shortage of law enforcement officers. The number of candidates entering the job market is alarmingly low, posing a significant challenge to our law enforcement agencies. For instance, the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Peace Officer program, which used to attract nearly 100 students annually, has...
I am frequently asked whether or not the University of Minnesota’s Cloquet Forestry Center is now under the operation of the Fond du Lac Band. No, it is not. There has been no land transfer, although rumors and misinformation continue to be abundant. The following is based on my knowledge, which is l imited because all of the meetings are still held with no transparency. In the recent legislative session, bills were introduced in the House and Senate to satisfy the state’s obligation to settle the bonding debt involved and transfer the lan...
It is my opinion that word choices matter because they convey the writer’s opinion. Specifically, I am looking at the flier for the Ma and Pa Kettle Days Aug. 9-10 in Kettle River, Minnesota. It feels like the flier places a huge emphasis on the availability of alcohol and who is providing it, which I think implies that alcohol is more important than the scheduled events for those days, e.g., the steak fry. The flier has been approved by the committee and is available to the public, so it is too late to edit and amend the flier. Sandra S...
It’s a Friday night in June, just before 10. At the corner of 12th Street and Carlton Avenue slow cars drone by, going somewhere, their dull Doppler pitch rising and falling. An occasional cop car eases — then races past, sometimes with lights and sound. The cop traffic glides west, toward Pinehurst Park and the just-set sun. A purple pickup truck with Minnesota Vikings decals and a skinny driver with a tapered beard makes its way east, toward Highway 45, apparently where the trucks live. Rob...
By the time most of you read this, July Fourth will have come and gone. Weather permitting, the parade, family fun, car show, races, basketball, movie in the park, and fireworks will have brought great joy to thousands once again, a national birthday party that's been celebrated in Cloquet for more than a century. "July fourth was the best summer day ever. It always will be," wrote Cloquet native and local poet Patrick Stevens of his 55-year-old memories of the holiday. Many of us share some...
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all m...
It has been an honor for me to serve you as a Carlton County commissioner for the last 12 years. We have made many positive accomplishments, but there is still much work to be done. I have known Dan Reed and his family for many years. Dan served on the Barnum school board with my father when they built the new school. Dan and I have worked together on many county projects. We went to St. Paul and lobbied for funding for the new Justice Center and Highway 73. He assisted in helping keep the county’s Kettle River shop open. Dan represents the t...
We are getting closer to another election labeled again as “the most important of our lifetime.” Every election is important, and with every office fought for, it is imperative that we elect those who represent our convictions. Thousands of registered Republicans do not take the time to vote, and the offices won by Republicans are won by very slim margins. This shouldn’t be. We can’t assume that “We’ve got this, they don’t need my vote,” or that “It’s hopeless, why vote?” The only way to make a difference is to pick up the pencil and fill in th...
As another spring has arrived, the same story repeats itself: Wolves decimating deer herds, wolfing down farm livestock, and devouring pets. This past winter saw a renewed exposure of these nefarious activities of our exploding wolf population. Hunters and farmers have been silently steaming for years about this depredation, but it was the Hunters4Hunters group that brought this story to the forefront. With meetings all across northern Minnesota, this group united these voices with a real push to finally get some legislative action on wolves....
Do you remember the first Minnesota Twins game you attended in person? I sure do. The Washington Senators moved their major league baseball franchise from Washington, D.C. to Metropolitan Stadium in 1961. It was also the first year the Vikings became an NFL franchise. Met stadium was located in Bloomington, a Minneapolis suburb. Back then, there was no interstate highway between Duluth and the Twin Cities area. My uncle and aunt, Clifford and Helen Johnson, took my sister, Jan, and me to a...
I have always found solace in the outdoors. Growing up in suburban Tampa, Florida, would seem a hard place to find wilderness, but it was there if you knew where to look. Barefoot, with cutoff jeans and no way for anyone to know where I was, I’d venture out into the swamps along the Hillsborough River in search of a place to quiet my mind. I’d come home hours later, covered in mud and bug bites. This Sunday morning, I woke around 5 a.m. to see the sun reflecting off the trees, after days of gra...
Let’s talk about charging. One common question I hear is about charging my electric vehicle. People want to know how long it takes, and where and how it’s done. They mention their apprehension about driving any kind of distance without knowing if they’ll get home. These questions are valid and they remain on my mind as I get used to this new way of putting fuel in my car. We can read about charging options until our brains are full, but until we’ve gone through the process a few times, it’s all just theory. Most of us learned how to fuel our...
A few weeks ago we used this space to express our love of all that are the lazy, hazy days of summer. This week, we don’t mind reminding you of that again — with some help. Inside today’s issue is a comprehensive guide to warm-weather activities in the area. There’s also a new column by Darrell Davey, a part-time employee at the Pine Knot who helps us mind the city’s cable-TV channel CAT-7. He’s galavanting around the region with his wife and twin girls and agreed to share his day trips with us. That’s on Page 15, right after the pull-out summ...
Earlier this month I saw a TV news story that some cities are placing cameras at stop signs. When you are caught not stopping at a stop sign, you might expect a fine. A lot of the comments were against this practice. I would be OK with this, and I’ll tell you why. Every day when I’m around town, I see drivers not stopping for stop signs. It happens quite frequently. One of the worst places is the four-way stop at the intersection of 14th Street and Doddridge Avenue. Some vehicles seem to make no effort to stop. I believe stop signs do not mea...
In recent weeks, local schools held graduation ceremonies to honor this rite of passage into adulthood. These are momentous occasions, but most of us carry few memories of the speeches or the ritual after a few years have passed. What we do carry with us are the knowledge and lifelong emotional connections to our classmates. The grad parties and celebrations will continue for a while, but then it is time to move on. As the Class of ’24 continues to find its way in the world, they hold m...
Call me shocked the other day when the 6-year-old started unpacking groceries and putting them away after her long day at camp. Unprodded. She also brushed her teeth that night without any coaxing. Every day has its moments, and those were nice ones. Of course, parenting is often laden with a tug and pull to get your kid to listen to anything you say or to move one muscle to help with anything. A lyric often comes to mind when in the throes of child negotiations: "My love and I, we are boxing...
My granddaughter was recently sitting on my lap and asked, "Why do you have such hairy knuckles, Grandpa?" Kind of a personal question, but it made me pause and think. My dad had hairy knuckles. The hair even curled. To my eyes, he always had big, strong hands. He died 40 years ago, when I was 29. My dad, for most of his working life, was a car mechanic and gas station owner. When not at work, he was putzing around in his four-stall garage. He could fix almost anything: cars, plumbing,...
The Moose Lake Library used book sale is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15 at the Riverside Ice Arena. It's part of the 2024 library's vendor and craft fair, and the book sale proceeds will go toward helping the library continue to serve the community. The Finnish Luncheon is at noon on June 18 at the Kettle River senior center. You don't have to be Finnish to attend, so come and enjoy some good food, time to visit with friends and maybe win a prize. The Kantela Players...
Oh, glorious summer in Minnesota, we hail thee. Sunny days with blue skies and so much green. Summer rains. Pinehurst Park will soon be brightly lit at night with summer softball leagues, and the swimming pond is full and opens its doors next week. Whitewater rafting has plenty of water to ride in the St. Louis River, which is high and impressive, but not threatening (yet). The drought is no more in Carlton County and most of the state, a happy change. The farmers market is open again, mini golf opens soon and folks are firing up their grills...
Thank you, Mike Creger, for the excellent article about Cloquet native William Dupont in the May 24 edition of the Pine Knot News. It is the perfect reminder of what Memorial Day is all about. It is a very somber and poignant article that touches on the experience that way too many families across America have experienced when a loved one dies in warfare. You did a great job of introducing readers to the person behind the statistic. I was especially keen while reading the article because my paternal great-uncle from Itasca County was a B-17...
I am a member of the state bar association and received the article “Strong Link Between Teen Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk” in one of our weekly bar news updates. I am an assistant prosecutor for the cities of Carlton, Cloquet, and Scanlon, prosecuting misdemeanor offenses and select gross misdemeanor offenses such as thefts from Walmart and impaired driving. While in law school I trained as a guardian ad litem, which is someone who is court-appointed to be the voice for children in certain court proceedings. Part of the training inv...
When the philosophers and theologians and other Smart Alecs living in the realm of Enlightenment remind us that “Beauty Is Everywhere” if only we’d open our vacant, searching eyes to it and allow the reality of it to blanket us like a saffron, terrycloth robe, they tend to leave out the part about beauty — the aesthetic elements of it, anyway — being inherently subjective. Your Beauty may not be mine. So, when we’re encouraged to “allow beauty in,” we’re, in fact, being encouraged to define what...
