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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Reflections. After their fifth-straight boys Section 7AA golf championship and Minnesota Class AA state tournament appearance, Cloquet head coach Aaron Young and senior captain Karson Patten shared their thoughts on the reasons and maybe even secrets of the team's success. Young, a Cloquet golf alumnus himself, has been the coach since 2020. "We've been fortunate at Cloquet to have a string of gifted and dedicated student athletes who also happened to have a passion for golf. It became a pride...
For the fifth time in a row, the Cloquet High School boys golf team won the Section 7AA tournament and will return to the prestigious Minnesota state golf tournament. Probably more of a surprise was the outstanding finish by the Cloquet High School girls golf team. In fourth place after Day 1, the girls climbed past Hermantown and Mesabi East to finish in second place to Section 7AA champ Rock Ridge. Both boys and girls section tournaments were held at the tight Quarry Golf Course at Giants...
Cloquet children's librarian Morgan Reardon grew up in Ashland, Wisconsin, about a 90-minute drive from Cloquet and a stone's throw away from Lake Superior. Boating, swimming, fishing and playing on the shoreline were all fun youth activities. Reardon was active in high school in drama, choir, speech and soccer. She is a Bad River tribal member and often visited with close family on the reservation, about an hour away. When she was in eighth grade, representatives from the University of...
Nearly 120 high school boys and girls golfers converged on the Cloquet Country Club for Monday’s Cloquet Invitational. “We enjoy hosting this annual, special event.” said Cloquet boys golf coach Aaron Young. “It gives us a chance to showcase our beautiful, 100-year-old golf course.” Not long ago, there were still snow banks in the golf course parking lot. Cloquet’s golf teams had played numerous away meets before even practicing outdoors. On Monday, however, it was bright and sunny, although ea...
Artistic masterpieces from Charlie Beck's handiwork dot the landscape of Carlton County. It doesn't stop there. His treasures can be found in several other states scattered across the country. His smile is contagious and, at 89 years old, he is living the good life in Wrenshall. This is the story of the infamous (Our Savior's League) retiree darts home run hitter ... Charlie Beck. Charlie was born and raised in Carlton. He played high school football at guard and tackle, and was one of the...
For the record, in the 1960s the West End of Cloquet produced and developed most of the city’s elite young golfers and future Olympic cross country skiers and ski jumpers. With Cloquet Country Club and the new Pine Valley Ski jump located there, neighborhood kids could walk or ride their bikes to these tremendous facilities. Central and eastern Cloquet kids had the Civic Center indoor gym on Cloquet Avenue and outside basketball hoops at Garfield, Sacred Heart, Pinehurst, Washington and Leech s...
My first cousin Byron Korby passed away Dec.11, 2022. At age 68, I guess it's somewhat expected and understandable, but, truth be told, I don't have that many cousins left on this earth. He was one of my favorites. He died at 74, from complications of Lewy body dementia, a disease with no known cure. He grew up in Cloquet and graduated from CHS in 1966. He was an all-state performer on the rifle team and played trumpet in the award-winning CHS marching band. Byron also graduated from the...
On April 13, the Cloquet High School boys golf team had an outdoor, "on real grass" golf meet. No April Fools joke. Granted, they had to travel to Red Wing, but once they got there, the players were greeted at the Mississippi National Golf Links by temperatures near 90 degrees and a course that had opened just a few days before. "We had 20 boys try out for the 12 available positions on the varsity and junior varsity teams," said CHS head coach Aaron Young, "which is great, but we had to have...
Like most Minnesotans, I was saddened to read that former Vikings Coach Bud Grant passed away last month. I never met the man personally, but felt near-bowing reverence. Like many fans, I’m sending my sincere condolences to his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids. Grant was a tremendous athlete. Born and brought up in nearby Superior, Wisconsin, he was a three-sport high school letterman in football, basketball and baseball. Maybe he played hoops in the Cloquet gymnasium? He entered the m...
I got on the phone to find out more about Cloquet High School senior Ellie Evenson, who was involved in the first year of girls wrestling at Cloquet. Evenson broke barriers and brought confidence to herself and teammates as they'd never imagined. In a November Pine Knot story, Kerry Rodd introduced readers to Evenson and the new sport at CHS. I wanted to find out more about her drive, purpose and motivation. It didn't take me long upon meeting her to recognize what a great (and busy) kid Ellie...
After a couple of years off due to the Covid pandemic, the competitive retiree dart league has returned to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cloquet. The league resumed in late fall, but now “spring training” is in full swing. The dartboard is the shape of a diamond with bases, strikes, balls, double plays, and sacrifices … and play is similar to a nine-inning baseball game. Players throw 6-inch darts underhand from about 15 feet from the target board until their “at bat” is concluded....
Oh, there have been a few, but not that many. I tried to think back on who would be on the all-time list of Division I college boys basketball prospects from northeastern Minnesota. Even though the hardwood has been a favorite forum for many young local athletes, a limited number have excelled enough to tread with the college and professional basketball elite. Of course, there is Kevin McHale and John Retica from Hibbing, Terry Kunze and Greg Downing and Como Pontliana from Duluth Central, Pat...
Cloquet and Hibbing, both in northern Minnesota, have had spirited sports encounters over the years, with the Lumberjacks and Bluejackets enjoying memorable and classic confrontations in football, boys hockey, soccer and basketball. The communities are similarly sized, with mostly blue collar residents and energized fans. When I was a 1971 Cloquet High School senior, the football team played the Bluejackets in what was dubbed the Super Bowl. It pitted Cloquet - the seasonlong Duluth/Zenith/Big...
When I seek feedback on Minnesota Twins or Vikings news and transactions, I turn to two reliable sources in Cloquet. The first is smiling Dave Haapanen, usually found stocking shelves in the cereal or salad dressing aisles at Super One. The second is Justin Dinger, who works with kids in the teen section of the Cloquet Public Library. This is Justin's story. Justin grew up in the Twin Cities - Brooklyn Center, to be exact - with his mom and dad, and two younger brothers, and attended Park...
For over 60 years, he has made me and many other Carlton County residents laugh. His name is Tom Marciniak, although "Maynard" has been his informal handle since childhood. All Scanlon kids had nicknames: Bird, Heinz, Singy, Mugger, Hawk, Wennie, Jase, Speedy, Kraut, Baz, and the list goes on. Tom grew up in Scanlon and he's very proud of that - just ask him. Sather Park was his home away from home. Any place where there was a ball or puck in Scanlon in the 1960s or '70s, Tom was likely nearby....
Stroke. I never thought I'd be speaking from experience, but I had a stroke on Oct. 7. It was frightening, but, so far, I haven't become disabled. While we're publishing more than two months later, I started typing this opening from my Duluth hospital bed. I hoped that if I shared what happened to me, and the knowledge I've gained, it could benefit other Carlton County residents. Stroke is one of the leading causes of American deaths following cardiac incidents. Can it be eliminated? Probably no...
This year marked the 50th anniversary of my high school graduation, a milestone that has brought back many memories. Good God, Eisenhower was president when we were born and Nixon was president when we graduated. Long live the Class of 1972. And thanks to all classmates who planned all the details for the recent reunion party at the Lost Tavern and the River Inn. Committee members included chair Wendy Wolf Yrjanson, Bill Sobeleski, Howard Simula, and Steve Jankowski. Here is one of my favorite...
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the legislatively approved Title IX provisions that required equal funding for genders in athletics. It is fitting and wonderful that Deb Hunter, who many feel is Cloquet's most gifted girls and women's athlete, made it back to her hometown in 2022 to share some of her fond sports memories. Even though it's not in her nature, I asked Deb to try to not be humble. I wanted to hear the classic sports stories from her vantage point, with no filters. It's...
It's the end of daylight saving time. For former Cloquet High athletic standout Mike Forrest, "turn back the clock" came a week early. Forrest was inducted into the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame Oct. 29 with a ceremony and dinner at Grand Casino in Hinckley. Forrest, 77, was a three-sport athlete at Cloquet High School and a household name in coffee shops in Carlton County in the early 1960s. Along with his all-state teammates Dave "Mouse" Meisner and Denny Breitbarth, Forrest will be forever...
A lifetime of journeys has brought Keiko Satomi to her newest position as adult services librarian for the Cloquet Public Library. A beloved children's librarian here in recent years, Satomi got the adult services job in August. But there was a time when the native of Japan thought Cloquet residents might not accept her as a librarian. Fortunately, she was wrong. Satomi grew up on the core island of Japan in an area called the Shiga Prefecture, a populous state in the middle of the island...
In May, the city of Cloquet hired a new library director for its expanded facility on 14th Street in the heart of the city. As with most jobs and careers, there are stereotypical profiles, with the most recognizable librarian stereotype being bespectacled, hair in a tight bun, stamping returned books, and finger on the lips, saying "shush." Courtney Dietsche, Cloquet's new library director, defies that stereotype and is providing fresh leadership in the important role. Dietsche was originally...
More than 150 golfers, from the very young to what most would consider quite old but young at heart, converged on the Cloquet Country Club to play in the weekend adult-child golf tournament. Golf, a sport for life, affords that opportunity. “We never advertise or publicize the event,” said Cloquet course pro/manager Bill Manahan. “Yet, we’re able to get numbers that rival our invitational tournament. We’ve had kids play in the tournament with their dad or mom, and now they’re playing wit...
Cloquet and Carlton County have an impressive history of producing their own “legends,” but we’ve also imported some of our talent. Starting as far back as the sawmills, regional employers — including the schools, manufacturing facilities and the public sector — were known to recruit talented employees from across the country, and some of them could play ball. This story is about Bill Powell, now in his 90s and living in Connecticut, a Northwest Paper mill recruit in the 1950s. Powell grew up in...
The mystery may have been solved. On Monday, Aug. 15, pharmacies across Carlton County were having an unexplained surge in sales of Bengay, ice packs, and Ace bandages. The reason may have been those seeking recovery help from the old-timers' game played by the 1972 Blackhoof Valley Men's Fastpitch Softball team. Fifty years ago, the team went 18-0 in the Carlton County 10-team league, and they were reunited recently to remember days of old and see if they could still hit, run, and field. The...
Cloquet resident Ron Tondryk has been a Minnesota Twins fan as far back as he can remember. He has framed autographed pictures of 1960s Twins stars Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Tony Oliva in his living room. Tondryk played baseball at Esko and was the Cloquet girls high school fastpitch softball coach for many years. He loves the Twins and the game. Last December, when MLB's Golden Days Era committee announced that former Twins right fielder Tony Oliva had been selected to the Baseball Hall...
