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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There’s a primary election coming up in Cloquet’s Ward 3, and three very good candidates are running. I had a chance to interview all three on “Harry’s Gang” on CAT-7. We talked, one-on-one, for an hour each; all three programs are airing repeatedly on CAT-7 until the election. Here’s a summary: I started with Ray Schow, whom I met on “Harry’s Gang” when I first got to town 20 years ago. Ray has an intense interest in local politics and a deep understanding of how government works. He believe...
Residents of Cloquet’s Ward 3 will vote Tuesday, Nov. 5 at the old City Hall. (Future Ward 3 elections will be held at the new hall, so this is the last election at old City Hall.) This is a primary election, as three people are running to replace former councilor Dakota Koski, who resigned when he moved elsewhere in the city. The City Council appointed Chris Swanson to the seat, pending the election. The Nov. 5 primary election will reduce the number of candidates to two, with the Ward 3 special general election set for Feb. 11, 2020. Ward 3...
Tuesday’s Cloquet City Council meeting marked the move of the “public comment” portion to the beginning — rather than the end — of the meeting. The council changed the process to allow public input on issues before voting, rather than after. The city installed a digital timer to keep comments under 3 minutes, and some rules about the mayor’s authority to limit comments, if necessary, were read. The new system did not get a trial, though, as no citizens were present to make comments at the meeting. The city got good news on the search for...
The Cloquet City Council heard a presentation on a proposed ordinance on tobacco sales from the Carlton County Public Health and Human Services Department at its Oct. 15 work session. “Tobacco 21” is an initiative backed by the health department to reduce tobacco use — including smokeless options such as vaping — by restricting sales of the products to those under 21 years old. “So far, 36 cities statewide, and eight counties, have passed ‘Tobacco 21’ ordinances in Minnesota,” said Alli Mueller, who made the presentation with Meghann Levitt,...
“Sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but my walk-in cooler isn’t working and if you can’t fix it today, I’ll have to throw everything out ... or do an awful lot of eating tonight!” That’s the voicemail I left Bruce Welman, co-owner of Aire Serv in Scanlon. (You’ve probably heard of them; they advertise more than McDonald’s, it seems.) Bruce is a pretty good guy. He started Bruce’s Refrigeration about the time I opened my pizza joint in Esko, and then teamed up with Dan Veno to start “Aire Serv...
President George W. Bush used to say he was a “uniter; not a divider” and in a lot of ways he was right. I wasn’t a particularly big fan of his conservative politics and I felt he jumped onto too many popular causes to solidify his constituent base. But he was good for the country, overall, and while I would have preferred both of his opponents, the country survived quite well under his leadership. While I rarely agreed with his political decisions, I never thought he was actually wrong — he...
It’s been 20 years, and Cloquet has changed a bit since I first moved to town on Oct. 1, 1999. There were two weekly newspapers then, too, the old Pine Knot and the upstart Cloquet Journal. But those papers eventually merged into the Pine Journal, and we had one paper until the new Pine Knot News started up last year. Cloquet had video rental stores all over: McDonald Rental, Spotlight Video and a few others. Some gas stations rented videos too — big, clunky VHS tapes. DVDs were just gai...
It’s been happening since people started having kids, but in recent years some people are trying to do something about it. I’m talking about First Witness, a group dedicated to protecting children from sexual abuse. I’m familiar with their work, because in divorce cases, sometimes there are allegations of child abuse, and First Witness gets involved. Their work is impeccably reliable. Generally, if First Witness says abuse happened, it did. Just as importantly: if First Witness says they have...
Esko's Corner won't have a gas station after today, when the Esko Self Serve closes down after more than 40 years in business. Beth Belden, whose family has operated the popular store known around town as the "Esko Mini Mall" said they struggled to get local support in the face of increased competition, and eventually decided to close the store after no buyers could be found to continue the business. She plans to sell the building after the canopy, gas pumps and storage tanks are removed this...
They say you can’t go home again, but it sure would be nice sometimes if some people did. For example, former Cloquet City Administrator Brian Fritsinger served Cloquet for over 18 years — capably, by most accounts. But it’s been a few years now, Mr. Fritsinger, since you ran a city council meeting, and we miss you. Sure, the council has met every two weeks (or so) like clockwork without you, and probably will for years long after we’re all gone. After all, Cloquet has had a city council...
Del Prevost was looking sharp in his colorful jacket, tie, and creased slacks, but when he stepped to the pulpit at the end of Mass at the rededication of the Sawyer Log Church at Saints Mary and Joseph in Sawyer on Sunday, Sept. 8, a gentle chuckle wafted through the worshippers crowded in the small wooden pews. Apparently, no one was expecting the retired lawyer and former president of Members Cooperative Credit Union to deliver his words with such enthusiasm and energy. It was a fitting end...
I have a lot of respect for coaches; they are mostly parents or teachers who take on the task of guiding children through soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and a dozen more sports popular with kids these days. Most coaches are dedicated. Most love their jobs. Most don’t make any money from coaching, or make very little. And most parents appreciate their efforts. But most parents, occasionally, also can find a reason to criticize their kid’s coach for one reason or another. We should be ashamed of our...
Cloquet Ford, one of the community’s prominent high-profile small businesses, has held a sales event at Veterans Park in Cloquet a couple of times in the past, but when it went to reserve the park for another event this fall, its permit was denied. Apparently, last year, some complaints were made about commercial use of the park, and whether a car sales event is an appropriate use for a city park. At that time, city officials had researched the zoning rules and regulations, and determined t...
I’m fascinated at how political the immigration issue has become in America. The fact is, the issue is much too complicated to be solved easily, and all sides are not too far apart. But it’s just too easy to pin blame and stand your ground, rather than work out a reasonable solution. And that shouldn’t surprise anyone, either: a reasonable solution has been elusive for at least 30 years. Immigration is so highly charged politically, that no one will dare to address it rationally. If a Repub...
I took a bribe the other day. And I’ve been a little uneasy about it ever since. For politicians, there are some pretty strict laws against bribery, and for good reason. A small bribe can be pretty effective in swaying politicians’ positions on issues, and because there is so much power in leadership, those trying to get their way may sometimes resort to the unseemly world of bribery. So, Minnesota passed a law, first applicable to state officials, then amended to include local officials, suc...
The “Help Wanted” sign is out again at City Hall. Not only does Cloquet need to hire a new police chief, we also need to find a good city administrator. Those are two of the most important city positions, and we need to proceed carefully and deliberately. Let’s hope the new employees will be in their jobs for a long time. Hiring is a tricky process. There’s a reason why selecting new employees starts with a resume but ends with an interview — we’re looking for the right person for the job. While...
The Washington Monument is a pretty impressive structure, located in the heart of the "swamp" of Washington, D.C. It's an obelisk, a four-sided tapered tower with a pyramid on top. It's just about the only time most of us will ever use the term "obelisk." At 555 feet tall, it was once the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1884, and is still the tallest building in D.C. It's oddly two-toned: construction stopped at about 150 feet up and resumed a few years later, but with...
Admittedly, I have a vested interest in CAT-7, the local public access television station. I’ve hosted “Harry’s Gang” on that channel for almost 20 years, and I’ve developed close friendships with both its coordinators, the late Jeff Korpi and now Eric Lipponen. CAT-7 is a small part of the city’s responsibilities, but I’m glad outgoing Cloquet city administrator Aaron Reeves took some time to respond to our editorials and stories on CAT-7. Even though he’s planning to leave the city in Septemb...
I’m always tempted to apply for elected positions in government when there is a vacant seat. Running for election is too much work. It would be an honor to serve … but too much of a chore to run a campaign. I suspect that others agree with me. There is often no primary election for city council seats, but when there’s an opening, like when Dakota Koski had to vacate his seat recently, there are usually a few people applying. Four citizens of Ward 3 applied. I watched the interviews on the city’s...
The Cloquet library is a godsend to parents in the summer. No sooner did we walk in last week than several kids greeted Tommy and Patrick, apparently friends of theirs from school. Soon, the girls were playing with Eleanor and the boys were looking up sports information. I found a great book written by Paul Fahlstrom, who grew up here and wrote about his hometown from his home in Maryland. The book, “Old Cloquet, Minnesota: White Pine Capital of the World” was published in 1997, and the cop...
For years, I’ve been asking candidates for sheriff (there’s been only one for more than a decade) and county board how they feel about a new jail. I get to do this because “Harry’s Gang” and the Cloquet Chamber have sponsored candidate forums every election for the past 20 years, and I’ve been fortunate enough to moderate most of them, along with Barry Bergquist. I always included that question, because I thought it was inevitable that a new jail would be necessary in Carlton County. The...
For years, the only people eligible to vote were male property owners. Yet humanity flourished. In America, women weren’t allowed to vote until 1920. Blacks were given the right in 1870 but many actually couldn’t easily exercise those rights until 1965. People under 21 got the right to vote in 1970, but they still have to be at least 18. A democracy can flourish even when, sometimes, voting rights are restricted. Now, I am not advocating for voting restrictions. I generally oppose voter ID laws,...
Now that summer has arrived, The Beach at Pinehurst Park is open and ready for swimmers. Or is it? The City of Cloquet spent millions to renovate Pinehurst Park to make a clean, safe swimming facility. It was a long, community-involved process. Consultants gave us three options for remodeling the old Pinehurst Pond and neighbors debated the merits of each option for months. It didn’t help much that the consultants labeled the options as “Good,” “Better” and “Best.” Those designations caused a lo...
The Thomson Township board approved the hiring of a comprehensive plan consultant at its June 6 meeting. The current comprehensive plan is 20 years old and township officials are working on updating it. Planning and zoning commission chairman Dale Reed reported the review of three responses to the request for proposals and was most impressed with MSA Professional Services. The board approved moving forward with hiring the company. Thomson Township already has a relationship with MSA; it acts as...
My dad would have turned 100 years old tomorrow. Out of respect for him, and because my siblings look for any excuse to get together, we are all assembling at my sister’s house in St. Paul for a birthday party. There’s a total of seven Radosevich siblings, plus all my cousins and their families, so there will be quite a few relatives in her backyard. It will be noisy. A few years before Dad passed away, my parents asked me to help them with their health care directives, sometimes called “li...
