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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Carlton County sent seven 4-Hers to the Minnesota 4-H State Horse Show the first two weekends of September. Held Sept. 5-9 in Cannon Falls and Sept. 13-14 in Sauk Centre, this year's events included 645 youth from eight counties across the state. Representing Carlton County were Klara Karulak, Keaira Coleman, Elianah Danger, Courtney Rowekamp, Riley McNamara, Brinn Jordan, Lydia Kiehl and Aviana Bergstrand. During the state show, 4-Hers demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of equine...
"I ask myself if I am one like those I complain about — those with different views from my own. " What does the other side think? Like the rest of you, I have experienced and witnessed countless interactions of people around me over the past many years. My education in human nature has continued from childhood to my present age. Over the past few years, I have witnessed some aspects of human nature that have caused concern but, at the same time, hope. I have been overwhelmed by how quickly some people can judge and separate from people they hav...
The Senior Golf League on Mondays and Fridays at the Rugged Spruce Golf Club in Mahtowa has several golfers definitely earning the "senior" designation. Ben Anderson, Walt Lindquist, Maynard Jokinen, and Gayle Grant are all more than 90 years old and regulars in the nine-hole scramble format. At a little under 2,000 yards from the forward tees, the Rugged Spruce is a perfect course venue for these gentlemen. "I can't quite drive the greens anymore, so I concentrate on my chipping and putting to...
A group of 15 high school students from Germany, along with two of their teachers, have been getting a whirlwind tour of the area this month as part of the ongoing German American Partnership Program. Cloquet High School has been participating in the exchange since 1996, with students going back and forth between the two countries. Germans come in the fall, and Cloquet students visit Germany in late spring. Cara Jago, a German teacher at the high school, took the Germans around Cloquet on Sept....
First Witness Child Advocacy Center relocated its annual I Stand With Kids campaign to Cloquet last week so they could honor Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola and her work to protect children. Since she took office in 2019, Ketola has changed the way the county investigates and prosecutes criminal sexual conduct cases involving juveniles. As outlined in the story "Transformative Justice" in the Pine Knot last October, since she was elected, her office has exploded the number of "crim sex" cas...
When she was searching for her next job, new Churchill Elementary School principal Jenny Holm said she wanted a place where the turnover wasn't too high. Mission accomplished. Holm took over from David Wangen, who retired after 27 years as principal at Churchill. "It's a place where principals can stay," she said. "The superintendent's been here a while. The teachers have been here a while. People aren't coming and going every year. I was kind of looking for that hometown feel." Being an...
Minnesota’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives office has a new leader. A profile image of Guadalupe Lopez Guadalupe Lopez became the new director for Minnesota's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives office at the end of July. The MMIR office was established in 2021.Courtesy of Minnesota Department of Public Safety Guadalupe Lopez, who is a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, took over the office in July. The MMIR office was established in 2021 and seeks to address the disproportionate number of Indigenous people who go m... 
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When we moved to our grandparents' farm in 1946, I soon found some work at the neighbors' farm, owned by Jacob and Sophie Walli. I was picking strawberries for 5 cents a quart. I met their son Carl, who had recently returned from World War II. He was very shy, it seemed to me, but soon he taught me to play checkers and we visited often. When walking to their place I had to go by the cemetery, which at that time was surrounded by a fence to keep cows and pigs out. It was also filled with large...
With sun and temperatures in the 70s, it was a perfect day for a parade and car show Monday, according to Bert Whittington, who has organized the Labor Day show for years. The annual show features a wide range of cars, from classic street rods to more modern vintages. Whittington estimated close to 130 cars showed up at the Northeastern Hotel and Saloon Monday, with 97 registered. Larry Agurkis drove his 1936 Ford Cabriolet from Moose Lake for the show. He has owned the spectacular convertible...
The small-town girl who broke onto the Nashville music scene last year has taken up semipermanent residence there as she watches her career take off. Next up for Carlton's Abrianna Schmidt: singing the national anthem next week at the home of baseball's red-hot Milwaukee Brewers. She'll sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to the 6:40 p.m. first pitch Monday between the Brewers and visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. The 19-year-old Schmidt sang the anthem before a Twins game last year. Now, she'll...
Carl Schenk celebrated his 91st birthday at the Senior dance Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the Hebert-Kennedy VFW Post 3979 in Cloquet. Schenk has been lining up music acts for the Senior dances at the VFW for close to 10 years. Dozens of dancers and the band Two for the Road helped him celebrate, along with daughters Deb Sievers and Tammy Schenk. A veteran, Schenk was drafted in 1954 and was sent to Germany for postwar occupation duties with the Army. The enthusiastic promoter and dance coordinator...
Have you ever had a moment of realization that someone wasn’t quite what you thought they were? I remember one basketball season, way back when I was in seventh grade. We were a pretty average team, but there was one team we always played close. I especially disliked the opposing point guard, so much so I even learned that his name was James. I thought he was cheap, too physical, and just an all-around nasty player. Fast forward one year, and I had to switch schools. And, lo and behold, who b...
I'd known him for over 60 years. I golfed and partnered with Steve Johnson in the Moose Cancer fundraiser at the Cloquet Country Club on July 21. I had a post-round celebratory beer with him and other tourney participants at the Lost Tavern. Among other things, we chatted about crazy adventures we had as kids in Scanlon. A few days later, I received the phone call. Rich Johnston, the former Air Force general from Scanlon, informed me that Steve Johnson had died in his sleep at his North Oaks hom...
Dawson Gaskell was buzzing around the Northeast Minnesota Beekeepers Association building at the Carlton County fairgrounds Sunday, handing out honey samples and generally making sure all questions were answered. The 14-year-old said he's been interested in bees for about six years now. Gaskell became one of the youngest beekeepers in the association this year. "I really like bees and bugs. I'm very used to being around bugs," he said. "About two months ago I started keeping the bees and I'm...
Don Lanhart was the star of a surprise 90th birthday party this month. The longtime Brookston resident was born Aug. 6, 1935, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. He volunteered for 15 years at the Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency senior dining center in Cloquet. The party was organized by the staff at AEOA in appreciation of Don's dedication and hard work. "It's been a privilege standing side by side here at senior dining and watching him perform," said volunteer Tim Lamminen. "In my opinion, Don...
The fairgrounds in Barnum were bustling Tuesday in preparation for the Carlton County Fair, which runs Thursday through Sunday this week, Aug. 14-17. Though some of the barns still awaited their animals and exhibits, an energy infused the area with excitement for the fair as everything started to come together. The name of the game was helping with the fair. Despite being busy, a few people took time to answer a question from Pine Knot News intern William Bauer: what's your favorite part of the...
We spotted an "I Think Knot" bumper sticker on Carlton Avenue in Cloquet last week, earning Rod Skagerberg of Cloquet a $25 gift certificate to B&B Market. Skagerberg was out collecting donations for the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. "I get a yearly subscription," he said, and so does his brother, Ray, of Norfolk, Virginia. "He wants to keep up with the hometown news." Get your own bumper sticker by visiting our office in the Historic West End of Cloquet, at 122 Ave. C. If we see you out...
Cloquet's Steven Birkemeyer, back row far right, was sworn in as the Minnesota American Legion Eighth District Commander along with others from across the state during the American Legion Department of Minnesota's 106th convention Willmar in July. Birkemeyer is in his fourth year as the Carl Anderson American Legion Post 262 Commander. As the district commander, he is responsible for the 34 posts in Koochiching, Itasca, St. Louis, Lake, Cook and Carlton counties. There are 10 Legion districts...
Marcia Sarvela has been selected the Outstanding Female Senior Citizen of Carlton County for 2025. Now 86, Marcia is a new member of the Kettle River city council and fills her week with volunteering and good deeds. Marcia was born in Kankakee, Illinois, raised in an ambitious middle class family, and decided to go for nursing studies. She married and had one son, Gary, who died relatively young. He made her a grandmother of six - Dorothea, Jonathan, Steve, Ben, Deborah and Elisabeth - and...
Clarence Badger was selected the Outstanding Male Senior Citizen of Carlton County for 2025. Although Badger has a long history in the county - and plenty of stories to go with it - what makes him so outstanding is his involvement with the community as a citizen. He is a familiar face to many local politicians, because he's not afraid to attend meetings and ask questions - always very politely - or make suggestions about issues or taxes. "I try not to get too ornery," Badger said. "Even when...
It's official, says the Ma & Pa Kettle Days committee. This year's Ma & Pa Kettle are longtime Kettle River residents Maija and John Kachinski. John and Maija, married 37 years, both have a long history in the area and exemplify the small town ethos of looking after your neighbors. John was born in Split Rock Township to Clem and Ethel (Lake) Kachinski and came from a family of six boys and one girl. Their farm was one of larger dairy farms on the banks of the Split Rock River. John worked for S...
"Well, it doesn't look good, Korbs," my Cloquet High School class of 1972 classmate, Mick Kolb, said to me by the practice green. He was referring to the weather radar on his phone. A very big red blob was coming quickly toward Carlton County. It was minutes before the shotgun start of the sixth annual Moose cancer fundraiser at the Cloquet Country Club. Gary "Moose" Pastika was also a 1972 Cloquet graduate who was an avid golfer. He died of colon cancer in 2018. The annual fundraiser, held in m...
The first thing you'll notice about Cayden Ragsdale is his smile. Then there are his eyes, which amplify the bit of low-key mirth further revealed after a conversation. Ask him what people might not know about him, and his answer is: "I do like fruits. Fruits are very cool." This is not a mundane answer, or a 16-year-old just trying to get through a newspaper interview. "I guess I just love the ordinary things." Ordinary is a key of life for the two-time cancer survivor who will be honored...
After a 30-year career with Sappi and Potlatch at the Cloquet mill, Tom Radovich officially retired on June 30. He ended his career as managing director - a job he never dreamed of when he interned there in the mid-1990s. He marveled at the 127-year legacy of that paper mill along the St. Louis River in Cloquet. "I got to be part of that story for 30 years," Radovich said. Before taking over as managing director, Radovich had experience with pretty much every part of the company, working his...
A trusted name in Cloquet since the early 1960s, Stock Tire has long been known for its dependable, hometown automotive service. Now under new ownership, the tradition continues, refreshed with a modern waiting area and service bays along with a renewed focus on customer-first values, modern technology, and a community-centered approach. Welcome to the next chapter: Stock Tire & Auto. From Suits to Boots and Back to His Roots After a successful career leading teams and operations across the...
