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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With Judge Robert Macaulay retiring on Aug. 31, the wheels are in motion to find a replacement for the longtime Carlton County Sixth District judge. The Commission on Judicial Selection recommended three candidates to Gov. Tim Walz for consideration to fill the upcoming vacancy: Nicole Bettendorf-Hopps, Clarissa Ek and Amy Lukasavitz. The commission shared background on each candidate: • Nicole Bettendorf-Hopps: Serves as the managing attorney for the Sixth District Public Defender’s Office. Her experience includes the areas of rehabilitative j...
The intersection of Carlton Avenue and 14th Street was reopened for traffic on Carlton Avenue this week, but officials still recommend people choose another route, as the intersection is unfinished. Carlton County assistant engineer Rick Norrgard said the city’s work on the utilities between Cloquet and Carlton Avenue is complete and the roadway graded, plus concrete curb and gutter poured. The first layer of bituminous pavement should be poured by Labor Day in that section. Utility work is almost complete in the portion of the project from C...
A pop-up camper parked at the Knife Island Campground burned and was destroyed Tuesday, but no one was injured. According to the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, the fire was reported at 8:16 p.m. Aug. 24, by someone driving by on Interstate 35. The camper was unoccupied. The owner returned while the fire was being extinguished. He reported he had used the stove to cook food prior to leaving. The cause of the fire is undetermined but not suspicious. Crews from the Esko and Carlton fire departments responded and extinguished the fire. The c...
Traffic slowed to a crawl on Interstate 35 Monday morning as law enforcement officials responded to a 911 call reporting numerous individuals stopping and walking toward an active Enbridge Line 3 construction site in the median between the north- and southbound lanes. Officers from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Patrol and Fond du Lac Tribal Police Department along with members of the Carlton Ambulance and Fire responded to the scene. No injuries were reported but numerous individuals were parked and standing on and a...
Residents of Sunnyside Health Care Center enjoyed a sunny afternoon outside earlier this month when cardiac rehab director Azur Coleman brought her daughters Araya and Keaira, and their horses, to entertain residents. Residents rewarded the horses for their performances with a big basket of carrots....
Members of both the Gordy Lundquist family and the Gordy's Hi-Hat family are inviting the community to celebrate his memory at an ice cream social set for 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19 in the parking lot of the Hi-Hat restaurant on Highway 33 in Cloquet. There will be a brief tribute at 5 p.m. The ice cream is free and so are the stories. Everyone in the community is invited. Gordy Lundquist, who founded Gordy's Hi-Hat restaurant with his wife, Marilyn, passed away July 6 at the age of 93. "Anyone...
It’s not only metro area police departments that are seeing a rise in public safety employees claiming disability since the state changed its rules about job-induced post traumatic stress disorder. As reported in the July 30 issue of the Pine Knot, Cloquet has seen seven officers retire on disability since 2019 — when the new ruling went into effect — nearly a third of the department. Although the Public Employees Retirement Association covers approved disability payments, according to state law the employer is required to continue to provi...
We need to re-evaluate how we select judges in Minnesota. Judge Robert Macaulay, who has served Carlton County since 1995, is retiring next week. A statewide panel called the Commission on Judicial Selection accepts applications from lawyers who want judgeships, and recommends three of the applicants to the governor, who makes the appointment. The commission picks candidates using such criteria as integrity, maturity, temperament, legal knowledge, ability and experience, and community service. It’s that last one that has us concerned. A...
This is in regard to the appointment of Bill Dian to the Wrenshall School Board. My husband and I have lived in the Wrenshall School District for 50 years, and I was a teacher in the district for 28 of those years. Thus, I have been familiar with many school boards throughout those years. I read in the Pine Knot that some people are concerned with what Mr. Dian had posted on his Facebook page. He has the right to say what he feels, and I can’t figure out what his being pro-Trump has to do with his appointment to the board. I haven’t known Mr....
Retired Chief Master Sgt. David Hennum died Aug. 12, 2021, at the age of 79. He was born on Oct. 17, 1941, in Cloquet. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Esther Hennum; brother, Merton; and sister, Connie Hennum Beck. He is survived by his wife, Teresa Hennum; sister-in-law, Maxine Hennum; sons, Mark (Eleanor) Easy, Thomas (Vyvyan), and Gregory (Lauren); along with beloved nieces and nephews, Steven (Bonnie) Beck, Sharon (Kirk) Wimmer, Carol (Joseph) Colt, Gayle (Brian) Lamb,...
Merton "Chum" Juntunen of Esko died on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, at his home. He was born on Feb. 11, 1932, in Esko to Hjalmer and Hilma Juntunen. Chum graduated from Esko High School, where he excelled in basketball and football. He married the love of his life, Donna Mattson, on Nov. 24, 1956, in the Apostolic Lutheran Church. They had been married for 64 years. His first job was working at the family farm. When he got married, he worked at Gamble Lumber, the Duluth airport, and owned Regional...
Audre (Mowers) Goransondied on Aug. 16, 2021. She was born in Duluth on July 6, 1927, to Alice and Earnest Mowers, the first of five children. Audre attended school and church in the Lester Park area and played first cello at East Junior High. When Audre was 14 the Mowers family moved to a dairy farm in Cromwell. Audre graduated from Cromwell High School. In 1945 she married Gilbert Goranson and they raised their five children in Wright. Gilbert precede...
Graduates: Scholastica The College of St. Scholastica has announced its list of conferred graduates for spring 2021. They include: Cloquet Courtney Ableiter, Alysha Anderson, Damien Autio, Kolby Barney, Isaac Boedigheimer, Rachel Broadway, Brooke Dickison, Angela Evenson, Lisa Follett Pollak, Jada Johnson, Morgan Leslie, Shelby Lonne-Rogentine, Shanelle Oakland, Gina Olson, Gregory White Esko Bryce Bottila, Justin Jones, Rachel Kuntz, Camille Mattonen, Paige McCoy Carlton Courtney Gregory, Samuel Macor Cromwell Allie Hakamaki, Andrea Hakamaki,...
After a slow start to the Carlton County Fair on a hot Thursday, attendance numbers rose as the temperatures dropped. "It was absolutely full on Saturday," said fair manager Lindsey Larson. "We thought we were going to run out of parking. Vendors ran out of food, the midway (people) said they did awesome. When we looked out the window of the office, it was hectic." She wasn't exaggerating. The back parking lot was nearly full by noon Saturday and fairgoers had to take a long walk to get to the r...
Pine Knot News Over the past 20 days, the number of Covid-19 cases in Carlton County has increased by 141, while the number of deaths due to Covid went up by one. The Cloquet zip code showed the largest increase in number of cases in the Aug. 19 report, with 22 new cases versus seven (in Moose Lake) or fewer in other parts of the county. Over that same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid Data Tracker, Carlton County went from “moderate” Covid transmission to “substantial” to “high” for the period Aug. 1...
Catherine Ann (Shinn) Liptak, 90, passed away Aug. 7, 2021 with family at her side at the Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet. She was born Dec. 29, 1930, in Hart, Michigan to Eleanor (Osborn) and Hyman Hubert Shinn. She graduated as valedictorian from Hart High School in 1948 and with honors from the University of Michigan in 1952, with a degree in English and speech, followed by a master's in library science. Catherine taught at a number of schools in Michigan and Minnesota until meeting...
The annual Christian music festival made its comeback after missing 2020 due to Covid and had a good day, according to organizers, although attendance was down somewhat. Like many things after the pandemic, the Christian music festival was changed. No. 1, it was renamed the Wood City Worship Festival. Lee Harris, who helps lead the Kingdom Builders Ministry that puts on the annual festival, said they hit the reset button during the pandemic, both for the Common Ground Coffee Bar & Deli in...
It's been 10 years since Charlotte Polo retired from working at Polo Liquors in Scanlon, stepping down after 65 years at the helm of the family business. Last week her family helped "Gramma Polo" celebrate another milestone: her 100th birthday! That's right. At the age of 90, Polo was still working 14-hour days at least three times a week, running the store, which was touted as one of the oldest single-family-owned liquor stores in the state. "She's had a long and busy life," granddaughter Jodi...
The signs are down and Chub Lake Beach is safe for swimming again, according to Carlton County officials, who retested the beach since sending out a notice in July. Carlton County zoning and environmental services administrator Heather Cunningham explained that when the beach is closed due to failed test results, it applies only to the county-owned public beach, not the entire lake. Reasons for a failed test can vary, she said, but it is not because of failed septic systems at Chub Lake, a groundwater-fed lake which generally has good water. A...
Residents turned out in large numbers for many of this year’s Esko Fun Days events, according to Community Ed director Michele Carlson. “I think people were excited to get back together,” she said. “We had a great turnout — I think there were close to 500 people at the park and a hundred at the street dance.” A very meaningful part of the annual celebration in Thomson Township is the Davis Helberg award, recognizing volunteers in Esko. The winner of the 2021 Davis Helberg Community Impact Award is Frank Liupakka. “Frank is a pillar of the...
It’s always fun to drive past Cloquet’s Veterans Park and see bustling activity — crowds of people, cars parked along the road, bright tents and kiddie games, food vendors, and musicians on a big stage in the corner. This time, it was the Kingdom Builders Ministry that brought back its annual festival to the park last Saturday, after a break last year due to the pandemic. We couldn’t be happier to see them. The park was updated by the city in 2016, to the tune of more than $1 million, to add walkways, the wall honoring veterans, shelter...
I don’t know about you, but this week’s news about our county’s rise in cases really hit me hard. I have been “Covid careful” for at least 16 months. I have been cautiously optimistic that “Minnesota Nice” would make us all realize our personal role in each other’s safety and that science would lick this pandemic quickly, so we could get on with life. But alas, the news is not good. It is a big world, full of diverse opinions, disparities and inequalities, all impacting the outcome of this crisis. And so, as I have done often in my life, I t...
Almost 20 years ago, my daughter, her unborn son and my sister were killed in a car accident. Another daughter survived with life-changing injuries. People say “time heals,” but my reality is heartbreak that never goes away. So when on the news I heard a Minnesota State Patrol trooper talk about the increased fatality rates on our highways due to speed and selfishness, I was motivated to write. The road is a place we share on life’s journey. It is a place where we all make mistakes — where we don’t know which way to turn or can get lost — wh...
We want to acknowledge a very generous man, Dike (hope we have the name right). We were at Super One grocery shopping on Aug. 13 and were at the counter when he approached us, offering to pay for our groceries. When we asked why, he said that he and his wife like to help people. Our bill was $205.70. He paid it all. Not only did he pay for our groceries, but for the person behind us also. Thank you to this thoughtful person. You are truly an angel. Donald and Betty Fossum, Cloquet...
I am a lifelong resident of Cloquet. I am the grandma of Cloquet students and the mom of former students. I am also a retired Cloquet district preschool teacher. When I read that the school board was considering making wearing masks optional I was shocked and dismayed. Something so simple that can help us be safe, well, that should be the obvious decision. Yes, the virus is mainly infecting unvaccinated people. But not only are all children under 12 unvaccinated, some people cannot be vaccinated because of medical conditions. The Delta variant...
