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

Cloquet eighth-grader Alex Johnson rolls up a ramp at the Cloquet skatepark Tuesday, attempting an ollie jump. The skate park was bustling with teens Tuesday, skating or just hanging out at the...

The week before spring break, students at Cloquet Middle School spent time learning about further education and careers. Activities included interest assessments, career exploration, dress-up days...

The parable of the sower has always been one of my favorites. Found in Matthew 13 and Luke 8, it should come as no surprise that a farm boy from Iowa would relate to the imagery of planting. As I... Full story

Community service was drilled into many of us growing up. This was necessary in rural communities of the past that had little money to spare. People gave time and energy to provide community centers,... Full story

A goodly share of Cromwell-Wright High School students participate in vocal music every year. It's an art form requiring intensive individual work and attentiveness to instruction as well as the... Full story

Dawn French helped in an effort by St. Croix Hospice, Midwest Geriatrics, the United Way of Carlton County and B&B Market to fill enough reusable shopping bags for all 80-plus residents. The idea was...

To get photos of the northern lights, photographer Carla Goldschmidt first had to become a hunter. Not in the traditional sense, rather hunting with her camera and her wits for the elusive and...

I find myself saddened by a painful change in our community: It is harder to listen to each other and to understand each other. That difficulty then makes it harder for us to care for each other. As... Full story

Move over Jessica Lange, Jamie Langenbrunner and Sappi fine paper - Cloquet has a new export. Her name is Emerson Rock and she's a TikTok star. A recent post by Rock about "what negative 25 degrees... Full story

Annie Dugan's recent column about what people are reading in the Wrenshall community got me thinking about libraries in schools. It's been a while since I've student-taught, but I can clearly...

With our farm's first growing season fast approaching, a century-old picture on the living room wall inspires us. The image is cloudy and faded at the edges. The faces of the people are blurry. We... Full story

The Minnesota School Boards Association deemed the past week as Minnesota School Board Recognition Week to build awareness and understanding of the vital function elected school board members play in... Full story

In English, we have the term bookworm to describe someone who is always reading. According to historian Nick Kapur, most every other language has a similar phrase. In Spanish and French there is book...

The Knights of Columbus puts faith into action by service and helping the poor and people in need. In December, 10 Knights councils in the region conducted a drive to raise funds for the Union Gospel...

When Florian Chmielewski carries his accordion into the VFW in Cloquet, he can't help but smile. "I told someone that I have been doing that for 76 years, bringing my accordion into a place and... Full story

When I was young I remember my mom telling me a story about a guy whose car had broken down on a country road with a flat tire. It was late at night and bitter cold. He had helped his wife with a...

David Bellert has a question about his own back yard. He wants to know if anyone has information on the Evergreen Hites supper club that once sat on the southwest corner of Minnesota Highway 23 and...

Cloquet resident Anthony "Tony" Jurek, 88, died Dec. 31, 70 years and one month after he was captured during the Korean War. The Army veteran and Kettle River native spent nearly three years as a... Full story

It was a cold morning at the edge of the Old Holy Family Cemetery. This is where LeRoy DeFoe was put to rest on Dec. 28. It's important to note that fact, since DeFoe spent many years discovering... Full story

Have you ever had a conversation with someone so intelligent that 10 minutes into the exchange, you start to feel inferior? That maybe you should have accomplished more in your lifetime? That is how... Full story

For 39 years my family and I have been engaged in this area. I am blessed to have had the good fortune to have wonderful opportunities to engage with thousands of area people over the years. My involv... Full story

Six degrees and sunny made for perfect sledding weather Monday morning, as Jill Brenner and her sister, Mary Jo Durkin, and their sons, Owen Brenner and Joseph Durkin, hit the hills at Pinehurst...