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
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1802
A five-goal burst in the third period helped push the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team to an impressive 7-1 opening game win over Bloomington Jefferson at Northwoods Credit Union Arena on Saturday afternoon. "Every year we play them, they give us a good game and I thought this is one of the better teams they've had as of late," said CEC coach Shea Walters. "They came out hard in the second period, but we weathered the storm and then we really got things going in the third period." The... Full story
Heading into Tuesday's girls basketball Battle for the Paddle, neither Cloquet nor Esko had put a mark in the win column this season. The Lumberjacks entered the game 0-2, with losses to Proctor and Hermantown, and Esko came in 0-1 with a loss to Rock Ridge. On Tuesday night the 'Jacks were able to overcome a challenging game to come away with a 71-43 victory. They also won the paddle, which goes to the victors. "We got the paddle back," said Cloquet coach Heather Young. "We will take the win,... Full story
Arvid Brekke is a humble, Carlton County octogenarian and now a foreign sports medal winner. Brekke, who lives between Carlton and Esko on West Palkie Road, returned from Germany this fall after participating in a successful 2024 World Rowing Masters Regatta in Brandenburg. He was joined on his September journey by several of his teammates from the Duluth Rowing Club. Unlike the fairly recent George Clooney movie based on the Daniel Brown book, "The Boys in the Boat," this was not an Olympic... Full story
After more than 20 years with the Cloquet football program, head coach Jeff Ojanen has resigned. He told his team Nov. 20 about his decision. He said he wants to spend more time with his family. "It really comes down to how priorities change in your life," Ojanen said. "When I took the head coach job three years ago I thought I'd be able to handle missing some stuff for my girls, but it got harder and harder. Right now, I want to see my girls play and help them and their teammates in any way I... Full story
After four straight games against the Wisconsin Windigo, the Minnesota Wilderness are still looking for their first victory of the season against their rivals from across the border. The Windigo swept a weekend series last week in Cloquet, a week after winning both games at their home in Eagle River. The Wilderness scored a first period goal Friday night, but after that, the game belonged to the Windigo in a 5-1 final. Zach Homer scored the lone Minnesota goal with 9:01 remaining in the first after a turnover was forced in the offensive zone. N... Full story
Over the past few years, the Minnesota State High School League has aired public service advertisements on television and radio stations across the state asking people to "get in the game" and become officials. The reason those ads air is simple: in many sports across Minnesota, there is a vast need for more officials. The lack of football officials hit home in Carlton County this year when Esko had to move its homecoming football game time forward to 4 p.m. Oct. 4 while Barnum moved its game... Full story
Cloquet's Braun Park is sporting new safety netting thanks to a $7,000 matching grant from the Twins Community Fund. Essential to keep spectators safe, the new nets were installed this summer around the four fields, concession stand area and along sidelines to prevent foul balls from entering spectator areas. The nets they replaced were more than 20 years old. Under the aegis of the Cloquet Youth Baseball and Softball Association, the Braun Park fields host over 350 players each summer between... Full story
Having completed the best local girls diving season in two decades, Cloquet-Esko-Carlton senior Rilee Durovec will take a breather. But only until her winter diving schedule resumes. Durovec reached the finals and finished eighth in the state Class A swimming and diving meet last weekend at the University of Minnesota. She'd entered the competition striving to reach Saturday's finals for the top 16 divers. She accomplished that and more. "It really means a lot to know I could get there and... Full story
The Wilderness have had a rollercoaster ride both on and off the ice this season. Off the ice, head coach Colton St. Clair decided to step down as coach in early October and then the Wilderness hired Zach Stepan as the head coach for the team based in Cloquet. Stepan was not new to the organization, as he was already coaching the NA3HL Wilderness team based in Eveleth. “It’s been busy trying to get through the transition of new systems while not having had a full training camp for them to lea... Full story
All times are p.m. unless noted Friday, Nov. 22 Girls basketball Barnum vs Hinckley- Finlayson, 7:15 Cromwell-Wright at Ely, 7:15 Saturday, Nov. 23 Boys hockey MLA vs Red Wing, 11 a.m. CEC vs Bloomington Jefferson, 3 Girls hockey MLA vs Fort Frances, 1 CEC at River Lakes, 3 Girls basketball Cloquet vs Hermantown, 1 Monday, Nov. 25 Girls basketball Carlton/Wrenshall at Denfeld, 7 Tuesday, Nov. 26 Boys hockey CEC at Hibbing, 7 MLA at Greenway, 6 Girls hockey CEC at Orono, 7 Girls basketball Esko at Cloquet, 7:15 Barnum at Floodwood, 7:15 South... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness headed back to the Lower 48 after completing its second weekend of its first Alaska trip of the regular season. In the three-game series at Anchorage, the Wilderness were victorious in the Friday opener, 4-2, and fell in Saturday’s game, 6-3, before dropping the Sunday finale in overtime, 5-4. The Cloquet-based team went 3-2 over the two weekends away....
A strong developmental season for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls swimmers and divers came to a conclusion for all but one of the team's participants last weekend. The Section 7A championships in Grand Rapids featured scores of personal bests and many solid performances in race finals. But for Esko senior Rilee Durovec, a history-making season intensified starting Thursday with her participation at the girls state swimming and diving meet at the University of Minnesota. Durovec won the section... Full story
The Cromwell-Wright football team entered the state 9-player quarterfinals with a good feeling after a Section 5 championship win over defending state champion Nevis a week prior. Fertile-Beltrami dashed that groove Thursday night in Moorhead, handing the Cardinals a 48-7 defeat. The Falcons cruised with star running back Isaiah Wright, who rushed 10 times for an amazing 292 yards and four touchdowns, including the first play from scrimmage from 61 yards out. Wright would score on other runs of... Full story
Moose Lake/Willow River entered its 19th state football tournament with the Rebels normal poise and determination but - as Friday night's State AA quarterfinal kicked off in Brainerd - the Rebels saw an anomaly on the opening kickoff: a fumble and immediate momentum for Kimball Area, on its way to a 38-0 win. Kimball, on a state tournament drought since 1991, recovered the fumble at the 13-yard line and Mason Danelke scored the first of his two touchdowns on the night. "We needed to take care... Full story
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team came out fast and determined Tuesday night at Northwoods Credit Union Arena as the Lumberjacks scored three times in the first seven minutes. Although the Moose Lake Area team threatened, they couldn't overcome the CEC lead. The win moved the 'Jacks to 2-1 on the season. CEC defeated Anoka 3-0 Saturday in Anoka, but dropped the season opener last Thursday by a score of 4-1 to Grand Rapids-Greenway. On Tuesday, the Lumberjacks' first goal came just 51... Full story
When Cromwell-Wright took the field on Halloween night it seemed like all odds were stacked against them. The Cardinals were facing an undefeated team, last year's state champions, and the top-ranked team in nine-player football this season. Nevis had beaten them by 40 points a little over a month before hte Section 5 title game on Halloween night in Brainerd. Add to the odds the fact that Cromwell-Wright's starting quarterback was dealing with an injury. All that, and none of it mattered as the... Full story
When Moose Lake/Willow River and Mesabi East stepped onto the field in Esko for the Section 7AA championship game last Thursday, they had to deal with cold and wet and a field covered in snow. In the end the Rebels overcame the elements and the Giants, earning another trip to state - the 18th time in school history - by winning 24-14. The Rebels got two big runs from Levi Mikrot in the first quarter to gain the early lead. Mikrot rumbled 41 yards for the first score of the game, giving ML/WR an... Full story
On a beautiful Saturday morning, hundreds of Minnesota's top high school cross country runners raced across the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad golf course as part of the Minnesota State High School Cross Country Meet. With the temperature in the 50s, it was the perfect day for running and spectators, said Carlton/Wrenshall coach Brenda Knudsen. But the rolling hills of the course created some challenges. "There were not a lot of PRs (personal records) with all those hills. It's not a fast f... Full story
Accolades continue to pour in for area soccer players as All-State and All-Tournament teams were announced after the Minnesota State High School Soccer Tournament ended last week. Lauren Hughes of Cloquet/Carlton was named to first team All-State in Class AA and Reese Kuklinski of Esko was named first team All-State in Class A. “Reese is a true leader of our program,” said Esko coach Sharon Lahtii. “Academically, she is a 4.0 student, she mentors our younger players and is positive under pressure. Reese has a bright future ahead of her at Mi...
The first leg of an Alaska trip was a sweep for the Minnesota Wilderness last weekend in 6-3 and 5-2 wins over Kenai River. Ferry Netusil posted his second hat trick of the season in leading the Wilderness to victory Friday. Five players scored Saturday night to lead the Wilderness to a 5-2 victory and the sweep over Kenai River in Alaska. Netusil was named the NAHL Midwest Division Star of the Week. The native of Prague becomes the first forward in the NAHL to earn multiple weekly honors this season. Minnesota stays in Alaska for two games...
For three years in a row, the Esko volleyball team has met Rush City in the Section 7AA championship game and for three straight years the Tigers have come away with the title. The latest championship tilt came on Saturday night when the Tigers nabbed a 3-1 win in Hermantown. "Last year Rush City finished as the runner-up at the state tournament," Esko coach Pete Stasiuk said. "Our girls were excited to come out and play them." Esko started by grabbing a first set win with a strong finish,... Full story
The Esko girls made their mark in the Minnesota State Class A Soccer Tournament this past week. After winning on penalty kicks Oct. 24 over St. Cloud Cathedral in the opening round, Esko fell to top seed Southwest Christian, 2-1, in a tense semifinal game Tuesday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The first half of play was tightly played with the Esko defensive corps doing a stellar job of not allowing one of the state's best forwards, Maya Johnson, to get free as the teams went to halftime... Full story
Wednesday, Oct. 23 Volleyball 7AAA Princeton 3 Cloquet 1 7AA Barnum 3 Moose Lake/Willow River 1 Esko 3 Pine City 0 7A Floodwood 3 Fond du Lac Ojibwe 0 Cherry 3 Carlton/Wrenshall 0 South Ridge 3 Silver Bay 0 Thursday, Oct. 24 Girls soccer Class AA State quarterfinal Esko 1 St. Cloud Cathedral 0 Friday, Oct. 25 Volleyball 7A South Ridge 3 Cromwell-Wright 1 7AA Rush City 3 Barnum 0 Esko 3 Mora 0 Saturday, Oct. 26 Football Section 5 9-player Cromwell-Wright 25 Ogilvie 0 Section 7AA Mesabi East 22 Barnum 14 Moose Lake/WR 47 International Falls 6... Full story
It can be difficult to know just what might inspire a teenager these days, but Brenda Knudsen may have found something in October. The trails on Pincushion Mountain offer spectacular views of the harbor at Grand Marais and the expanse of Lake Superior. As Knudsen prepared her Carlton/Wrenshall girls cross country teams for the Oct. 10 Polar League Conference meet on those trails, she told them she'd jump into the lake if they won. "It was freezing," the coach said this week, looking back on a... Full story
University of Minnesota first-year player Koi Perich was honored as the “Big Ten Freshman of the Week” after Minnesota’s 48-23 football win against Maryland Oct. 26. Esko’s Perich posted his Big-Ten-leading fifth interception of the season in the game, taking it 45 yards and setting up a field goal. Perich also made three tackles in the win. Perich’s five interceptions are tied for fourth most in a season in the Gopher record book, and it was his third-straight game with an interception. Perich also returned three punts for 31 yards, including... Full story
