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 - 20 of 20
Christmas is a magical time for children. Kids everywhere send lists and requests to the North Pole in hopes of Santa granting their wishes. To one Cloquet girl's surprise, her wish is being granted. We think Santa just needed an extra year or two to iron out the details. Alice Swanson is 9 years old and in the third grade at Cloquet's Queen of Peace Catholic School. Alice has five brothers and no sisters. So when it came to writing a 2018 letter to Santa, Alice asked for a baby sister. "Dear...
While some 14-year-olds keep busy playing video games or watching movies during a pandemic quarantine, Cloquet's Ryan Huls has taken up a more productive hobby. In the midst of the global pandemic, Huls did his part using a 3-D printer to make "ear savers" and ventilator splitters. Ear savers are a device placed on the head that holds the mask straps instead of hooking behind the ears, which can irritate after extended mask use. The flat plastic connector rests on the back of a person's head... Full story
It's not only K-12 schools that are struggling with decisions about how to return to school - colleges everywhere are constructing plans and integrating new ideas and technology to make education available to students in all situations as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Locally, Fond du lac Tribal and Community College will start school Monday with a mix of learning styles: with students attending a "Zoom classroom" online, and in-person for clinicals and other classes that require skills...
For more than 100 years, Cloquet has celebrated the hardworking men and women of our area with parades and festivities. But Labor Day will be quieter this year. Organizer Mike Parrot said all of the regular Cloquet events -the parade, the carnival, the car show and even the picnic lunch at the Labor Hall - are not happening because of the coronavirus pandemic and the risk of spreading the disease with large gatherings. Organizers in Duluth have canceled activities there as well, including a... Full story
Every Saturday in Cloquet farmers and gardeners come together to provide fresh vegetables and goods from their homes and smaller farms. Even in the midst of a pandemic, farmers markets, modified for physical distancing, are a small joy in the sometimes stifling state of things. As a bonus, the county market has another location in Carlton that is open Tuesdays. Booths are spread out and customers can freely move around in the outdoor space. Signs remind people to be aware of physical distancing... Full story
Pine Knot News intern Caleb Swanson asked Carlton County students how they feel about plans to reopen schools this fall: "I don't want to go back because online was easier for me. But on the other hand, I do want to go back to be with my friends and just be in school again. The one thing I do not want Esko to do is to keep kids in the same classroom every day." Caden Grayson, Esko sophomore "I for sure want everything to go back to normal but I doubt that will happen. I'm hoping Esko still has... Full story
Local reactions to the loss of the football and volleyball seasons included disappointment but the acceptance that safety should come first. Cloquet quarterback Alec Turnbull said he was “happy that there will hopefully be a season, even though it’s pushed back. I’m hoping we are in school at least half the time.” In regard to her senior year and volleyball season, Cloquet’s Morgan VanReese said she understood why the Minnesota State High School League made the decision it did. “To keep everyone safe, so I understand,” she said. “But I’m sad...
Emily Tracy and her family are trying to change the rules around chickens in Cloquet city limits. She has written a petition and it is circulating the internet and gaining traction in the community. The petition explains the many blessings chickens can bring to a home, while still expressing an urge to change the current ordinance allowing farm animals on large lots only in certain parts of the city. "When it comes to the benefits, well, they are endless," Tracy said. She has had her chickens...
Near ballfields across Cloquet this weekend, cars lined streets and packed into parking lots for youth baseball. The ping of a bat or dugout chatter was welcome in a summer of pandemic that has halted many regular activities. Fans tried to physically distance themselves as much as they could, or cared to. Teams from the area faced off in Cloquet's Mettner, Pinehurst and Braun Park fields. The tournament featured teams ranging from U10 to U14. Cloquet teams took the U10 and U11 championships... Full story
As a senior in high school, putting life on hold is quite a challenge. The constant updates and news about our worldwide problem are exhausting. At this time of year, seniors' lives are changing as rapidly as the world is, and now we are distanced from our comfortable system of relationships we built over the past months and years of our lives. It can be easy to slip into a disappointing feeling about our school situation. But, I'd rather look on the bright side. With our new system, you can go...
Cloquet is a hockey town. From PeeWees to Bantams to high school to the Wilderness. Hockey is in our community's blood. However, hockey season falls on top of the blandest, most Vitamin D-deprived time of the school year. The holidays are over, the sun sets at 5 p.m. and spring break is too far on the horizon to bring any comfort. The year was 2004. Cloquet high school football coach Tom Lenarz had a handful of football players who didn't play a winter sport. Coach Lenarz creatively roped his... Full story
Cloquet High School senior Sydney Hall is a typical student in most aspects of life besides one - fashion. Fashion has been a focus of Sydney's since she was little. At some point, planning cute outfits took priority over homework, to her teachers' dismay. This habit evolved over the years to a full-fledged passion for fashion. Going into her senior year at Cloquet High School, Sydney was talking to her hairstylist uncle, Jason Backe, who told her he was going to New York Fashion Week. Sydney's...
If Mason Avey could offer one piece of advice, it would be to wear steel toe boots when mowing. Avey learned that lesson the hard way this summer. Two weeks before the football season, the Cloquet High School junior was mowing a small but steep hill in his front yard. He slipped on damp grass and jammed his foot into the spinning blades of the mower. "It didn't hurt, but I had a big shock," he said. Mason was rushed to the emergency room, to be told by doctors that his severed big toe was "not f...
A crowd of about 50 people gathered Aug. 14 to celebrate the start of something new: the Fond du Lac Cultural Language and Learning Center. Although it's a vacant lot now, by March 2020 the site will be home to a new building for Anishinaabe language and cultural health programs. Many members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and other local officials and construction industry representatives gathered near Tribal Center on a plot of land off Big Lake Road, eager to learn more...
Many of Jonny Dunaiski's peers know him from his work on the volleyball court and during floor hockey season, but one activity rises above the rest. Disc golf is the Cloquet High School senior's main focus. For those unfamiliar, disc golf is played with special discs (like Frisbees, but evolved) and follows the same rules as golf. The main difference is the players are trying to get a disc into a basket instead of a golf ball in a hole. Practicing for hours, competing, and traveling for disc... Full story
Newish park in Cloquet hosts first big event Skinned knees and bruised shins were a fate no one escaped as the Cloquet skatepark was transformed into a chaotic gauntlet of scooters, bikes, skateboards, and flying bodies Friday, thanks to a visit from Golden Valley's 3rd Lair Skatepark and Skateshop - which hosted a skateboarding demonstration, clinics and contests for local kids. While the event came 10 months after the $420,000 skatepark opened in Cloquet, it felt a little bit like an opening... Full story
A cold winter rolling into spring is not typically an ideal growing season for berries, but local farmer Jason Amundson saw potential in the cold Minnesotan weather. Happily, Minnesota has the same growing climate as Siberia. Farm LoLa in Wrenshall is welcoming new produce to its soil. Siberian honeyberries are similar to blueberries: They have the same faded blue color but are shaped like deflated footballs. Jason describes them as "a blueberry mixed with a Sweetarts (candy)." These oddly...
Dozens of runners and volunteers gathered to have fun and honor the late Cole Drechsler during the Cloquet Rotary Club’s annual Color Run Saturday, June 13. Their transformation from the start to the finish line rivaled caterpillars turning into butterflies. The Rotary Club, the local Junior Rotarian program and the Drechsler family worked hand-in-hand to create a colorful race that Cole would have loved. “He provided lots of color,” Dawn Drechsler said in last week’s interview with Pine Kn...
While Cloquet has seen its share of new buildings and businesses enter the local market since the new year started - think Members Cooperative Credit Union and Aldi grocery store - the changes don't end there. Other local businesses have remodeled, changed location or names, and at least two new businesses have popped up at existing properties. Pine Knot News intern Caleb Swanson hit the streets to find out what's moving and shaking in the business world. Ellison Family Chiropractic Ellison Fami...
Hello, readers, my name is Caleb Swanson and I am an intern at the Pine Knot News this summer. My parents are Chris and Natalie Swanson. My job is to work with my friend Jordan, the other intern here, but focussing on the marketing and social media for our local newspaper. Typically, I will be going around taking pictures and video of different activities and opportunities to get outside in Carlton County this summer. I am also going to help develop a marketing campaign for the Pine Knot and...
