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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What's it like to be a young farmer in Minnesota? For starters, there's an expanding variety of farms and they're being passed down to young people who supplement their agrarian passions with off-farm jobs. It's a challenge as hard as ever before, but it's not insurmountable. "Many have other jobs, where farming is not their full-time job," said Brainerd-based University of Minnesota extension officer Nathan Hulinsky. "They need help knowing how to borrow money to run their business and how to...
The city of Carlton was expected to adopt a 4.01-percent levy increase following its Truth in Taxation hearing Dec. 4. The taxable levy on the city’s $1.81 million budget for 2025 rose to $516,367, up from $496,457 in 2024, accounting for the 4-percent increase. The city council met Dec. 5 for a special meeting aimed at finalizing the numbers prior to this week’s hearing. “We went through it line by line to see where we can make changes and save money,” mayor Mike Soderstrom said following the Dec. 5 meeting. “People can ask themselve...
Only three members of the public spoke at Wednesday’s Truth in Taxation hearing conducted by the Carlton County board and administration. While small in number, the three speakers seemed to carry the concerns of a broad swath of citizens. Namely, why do taxes keep going up? “If I don’t have enough money, I don’t go to my employer with a levy,” said Cody Gilbert, 43, of Moose Lake, who reported his property taxes have doubled in the seven years since he’s owned his home. Gilbert was comparing how the levy on property owners is used to balance ju...
When the state afforded an additional $10 million to Carlton County in 2023 to help fund the new $75 million Justice Center, the money came with a stipulation. The project would include a justice-involved female program to serve as a demonstration project that might one day be replicated in other parts of the state. More women were being jailed and incarcerated, and lawmakers were sold on the idea of a creative solution to the problem. The 16-bed justice-involved female portion of the jail -...
Every election season, candidates for county office talk about their desire to expand the tax base so that county expenses can be spread across a wider swath of property owners. Growth outpacing expenses would lower individual taxes, which have only risen in recent years. But those are campaign promises. Reality offers a more difficult picture. To learn more about how well Carlton County is positioned for growth, the Pine Knot met this week with one of the primary people responsible for it,...
The local firearm deer season has come and gone with an increased harvest, but a still downbeat mood. Statewide, hunters shot 152,430 deer — up from 126,531 in 2023. In Carlton County, zones 156 and 183 also saw improved numbers. Zone 156 on the western half of the county saw 1,540 deer taken, including 1,292 adult males, or bucks. That was improved from 1,299 overall and 1,066 bucks in 2023. In zone 183, on the eastern side of the county, surrounding Wrenshall, there were 1,264 deer taken, including 1,076 adult males. Comparatively, totals w...
Tom Cawcutt is calling it "the return of a tradition." After a hiatus brought upon by his own health maladies followed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the pianist/vocalist will resume his popular Christmas benefit concert series at 7 p.m. Dec. 13 at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, 612 12th St. in Cloquet. Tickets will be sold at the door - $20 for adults, $15 for students, and under 12 are free. Proceeds go to needy families. It'll be Cawcutt's first solo Christmas concert since 2014. He has been perform...
The region's correctional services for five counties, including Carlton, has found a replacement for its outgoing leadership. The Arrowhead Regional Corrections executive board announced Monday that it had appointed Becky Pogatchnik as executive director. She's replacing Wally Kostich, who is retiring after serving the organization in various capacities for 37 years. In the role, Pogatchnik will lead a staff of more than 250 people, and be responsible for ensuring probation services in Carlton,...
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...
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...
Cloquet police responded to a pair of explosions in October that shook a south Cloquet neighborhood and left one resident to wonder whether he’d been the subject of political violence. “My concern was they didn’t kill somebody,” said John Badger, 55, whose home is located at 1341 Valley View Drive. “It was more powerful than a firework. I had aluminum cans disintegrated into pieces of shrapnel and bottles turned to dust.” Badger sprang from his couch to a “loud bang” sometime after 10 p.m. Oct. 16, he said, and he witnessed a neighbor also come...
Forty percent of the Carlton County board of commissioners turned over on Tuesday, with voters electing two newcomers to go along with the familiar face of an incumbent. "I appreciate the support from the district, it's been great," said 59-year-old Tom Proulx, the District 3 commissioner representing northeast Cloquet, from Scanlon to beyond Sunnyside. Proulx ran unopposed, and earned 97 percent of the general election vote (2,667 votes out of 2,725 cast), winning his seat for a fifth straight...
Whether the Carlton school district consolidates with Barnum or Wrenshall, taxpayers in Carlton face higher taxes, say a pair of financial reports acquired by the newspaper. Last week’s revelation that Carlton and Barnum officials were considering consolidation between school districts included reference to a pair of financial impact reports conducted for Carlton by a Roseville, Minnesota financial advisor of public institutions. The Pine Knot received what were similar 13-page reports generated this year from Ehlers Public Finance Advisors, d...
The thought of objection to a marijuana smoking prohibition in public places evaporated like a puff of smoke at the Carlton County board this week. Unlike when restaurants and businesses went smoke-free in 2007, and bars followed in 2015, there was no great debate or consternation when the topic of public vaping and marijuana smoking cessation surfaced during a public hearing of the county board on Monday. The public hearing to change Carlton County’s smoke-free ordinance to reflect legalized adult marijuana use came and went without public c...
Come the Nov. 5 general election, voters in Wrenshall will be saying hello to three new school board members. Barring a successful write-in campaign, the new faces will be the three candidates on the ballot - Jon Beck, Ashley Laveau and Erin Riley. The trio has gotten to know one another, and agreed to put all of their names onto one campaign sign. "Three open seats for three people," Riley said, "we figured we'd save resources." "We've all kind of talked and feel like we can work well...
This is a story about elections and their consequences. About victims and justice. About hope for a safer, brighter future for the children in our midst. On Aug. 9, this newspaper covered two sentencings in Sixth District Court in Carlton, both criminal sexual conduct cases involving juvenile female victims. The cases were the latest in a series of similar cases being prosecuted locally since Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola took elected office in 2019. The emotional afternoon saw the...
A 26-year-old Duluth man was arrested Sunday after a report of someone breaking windows of Burger's Shoes, located at 1609 Carlton Ave., Cloquet. Matthew William Johnson was arrested shortly after the incident was reported at 8:55 p.m. Sunday. Johnson was charged Tuesday with first-degree felony damage to property and remained in Carlton County Jail into the week on $15,000 bail. According to the criminal complaint filed in Sixth District Court in Carlton, a witness called Cloquet police to say...
Carlton County is experiencing a steady flow of early voters and absentee ballots in advance of the Nov. 5 general election. “Since early voting started Sept. 20, we’ve been getting 50 to 100 voters each day,” said county auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt. “The mail-in ballots are rolling in, too — 150 to 200 by mail every day.” Early voting is taking place at the auditor/treasurer’s office on the second floor of the Carlton County Historic Courthouse (Room 205). Also called “in-person absentee voting,” early voting is available for all...
Frigid weather looming, dark afternoons creeping in: it's the perfect time for racquetball, say the dwindling number of players in Cloquet. What was once a bustling fraternity of players, filling spreadsheets of court times day after day, is now a dedicated cadre of survivors playing an endangered sport. "We're down to less than 20 people that play probably," said Dennis Painter, 47, of Cloquet. "There's our group of five or six guys, and then another couple of small groups of five-six guys and...
The Wrenshall school board is in the process of formalizing a policy for community use of school facilities. The policy received a first reading at the board’s meeting on Tuesday. Superintendent Jeff Pesta said that because it’s a new policy the board can conduct as many readings as it takes to get it right. “We want community feedback on this,” board chair Mary Carlson said. Depending on the category, users of the school could be charged fees. The six-page policy proposal prioritizes non-fee based use of the facility for pre-K through 12th gr...
A 44-year-old Saginaw man faces multiple felony charges following his alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl under his care earlier this summer. Lane Lowell Smith surrendered to authorities Sept. 23, and was charged with three felony crimes, including two first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges and a third for soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct. Smith faces a fourth gross misdemeanor charge for contributing to the delinquency of a child after allegedly providing the victim with alcohol and THC products prior to the assault. The...
The Carlton County board approved a preliminary 3-percent levy increase at its meeting Monday, containing costs in a way that had commissioners thanking staff, department heads and the finance committee that includes commissioners Susan Zmyslony and Dick Brenner. “I’d like to thank the finance committee for all the work they did on this,” commissioner Marv Bodie said. “I really appreciate it,” commissioner Gary Peterson added. “Myself, I was surprised.” “We worked very hard between our finance committee and the department heads,” Zmyslony said...
The former law enforcement program at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College features new courses and a new name aimed at providing graduates “a deeper understanding of officers’ roles in ensuring justice and providing service,” the college announced this week. The Criminal Justice/Peace Officer program was adopted to replace a focus on enforcement, and reflect “important changes in how officers serve their communities and interact with the public,” a news release said. New courses include one titled Mental Health Crisis Management and anoth...
The newest J-turn in Carlton County is being constructed near the Carlton Kwik Trip, with completion expected by the end of October, say transportation officials. "It's not a huge construction project," county engineer JinYeene Neumann said. "We're not doing anything with the existing traffic lanes; we're building alongside." Neumann compared the work at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 210 and Carlton County Highway 61 to a J-turn, or reduced-conflict intersection, installed outside...
Outside the Wrenshall school library on Wednesday, football players from the Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors cooperative team could be seen running through their practice paces. Inside the library, the football coach and Raptors athletic director Brent Pokornowski joined officials from both districts for a meeting about the sports cooperative. In doing so, officials from the districts were meeting for the first time since a series of setbacks in the ongoing effort to consolidate the districts. In one of the most recent setbacks, Carlton sought to...
