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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After winning 15 state awards after its first full year of operation, the Pine Knot News doubled its haul last week, collecting 33 awards from the Minnesota Newspaper Association through its annual contest judging newspapers for overall quality. The unprecedented number of awards means the Pine Knot office now holds the Mills Trophy from MNA as the "Minnesota's most outstanding weekly newspaper." The trophy has been in the hands of just a few papers the size of the Pine Knot in the 40 years it... Full story
The dogs once again stole the show at the start of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Sunday. Fans were not allowed to gather at the start due to pandemic precautions. Read about a Cloquet musher and who won the races on Page 9....
In December, former Carlton girls basketball coach Robert Pioro pleaded guilty to four counts of felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from a sexual relationship with an athlete some 20 years ago. Two weeks ago, another girls basketball coach was arrested on similar charges with a 17-year-old girl on his team this year, a case that is only beginning to wind its way through the courts to an unknown conclusion. Those charges came only a week after the arrest of a Cloquet man for first-degree sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl.... Full story
Sharon Mattinen Goergen sure knew who the mystery angler was from last week. Kris Nelson, who has compiled a booklet on some of the history of Big Lake, used the photo for the cover but never knew who the person was or the story behind it. Sharon fills us in: "The young man in the photo is my brother, Bobby Mattinen, age 15, of Cloquet. Bobby loved to fish and often rode his bike from town out to Otter Creek (crick, as we called it) and to Big Lake to spend the day fishing. "Our family was...
Dan Britton, a driver for Cloquet distributor Upper Lakes Foods, chats with Matt Baker from competitor US Foods last Thursday in Duluth's Canal Park. Britton said he knew Baker when he first started at Upper Lakes and catching up with him was just natural. He laughed at the notion of competition getting in the way of basic friendliness. "It's no big deal to me," Britton said. "When I worked for Pepsi, I talked to the Coke guys." Food and beverage distributors in the region are busy early this...
The Cloquet library opened to the public again on Monday, Feb. 1. Open hours are Monday-Friday 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday. The library will be observing the following protocols to ensure the continued safety of the public and library staff: • Anyone entering the building will be required to wear a mask at all times • No open food or beverages will be allowed • Hand sanitizer will be available at various locations throughout the library Patrons will be able to use the computers, browse the shelves and check out mater... Full story
Joseph James Fohrenkam, 18, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter charges in the shooting death of his friend, 16-year-old Joseph James Peterson, in a virtual hearing held Monday, Feb. 1 in Sixth District Court in Duluth. According to the criminal complaint, Fohrenkam was drinking with four other young men — Peterson was the youngest — in a parked truck outside a home on the 3600 block of Giiniw Road the night of Dec. 27. According to three witnesses who were interviewed by law enforcement, they were just drinking and talking, not...
Super One store in Pike Lake Friday, Jan. 29 ended with the suspect fleeing the car after it went off the road near the Saginaw Union Station bar at the intersection of Highways 2 and 194, according to information from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Scott Michael Jordan, 34, of Duluth was armed when he carjacked the vehicle and its occupants, a woman and her 16-year-old son. When the car crashed in the Union Station parking lot, the carjacker fled on foot and the victims were able to call for help. St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office dep...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and the Northeast Minnesota Beekeepers Association are hosting a virtual symposium called “Beekeeping and More!” Saturday, Feb. 13, for anyone interested in learning about beekeeping as a hobby or as a commercial enterprise. The virtual symposium will open at 8:45 a.m. and classes run 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom. Registration is $10. Pre-registration is required, available online at https://bit.ly/3ahMKB6. Zoom links to the day’s presentations will be emailed to registered participants. Other sessi...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking for online public comment through Feb. 15 on its outdoor recreation task force recommendations for enhancing the state's outdoor recreation opportunities. The initiative is quite broad and includes many state-owned and operated areas in Carlton County. These include Jay Cooke and Moose Lake state parks, Fond du Lac State Forest, and the Soo Line north and south trails, among others. The DNR's State Forest Trail and Management Revisions Proj...
Local law enforcement and firefighters are keeping busy as protesters continue to disrupt and potentially delay construction of the Enbridge Line 3 replacement pipeline through the Fond du Lac reservation and Carlton County. Late Monday afternoon, three water protectors were arrested. Two of the protestors — Nicholas Tippins and Joseph Morales — were arrested while blocking the entrance to the site, while the third, Jeff Nichols-Haining, climbed onto a section of the pipeline dangling over a trench. According to a press release from the Wat...
Cloquet city councilors approved a plan Tuesday to continue the city's transition toward being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, particularly where sidewalks, pedestrian ramps and traffic signals are concerned. The 63-page ADA Transition Plan is federally mandated and must be developed in order to qualify for certain funding streams. Were every suggestion to be implemented, the work would cost the city an estimated $1.2 million. Of that, reconstructed 550 pedestrian ramps would...
By some important accounts, you are reading the “most outstanding weekly newspaper” in Minnesota. And we could not be more proud. As you can read elsewhere in this issue, your Pine Knot News won 33 awards and a trophy at last week’s Minnesota Newspaper Association online awards ceremony. And while we take credit for boldly creating a new Pine Knot just a couple of years ago — in a climate not particularly friendly to newspapers — we credit you, Carlton County residents and former residents, for making our paper so good. It’s you, the readers...
My son Patrick wrote a little poem a few years ago that went something like this: "If we practice an 'eye for an eye' pretty soon we'll all be blind." I had been trying to teach my boys about the concept of "turning the other cheek" and how sometimes "you have to go backward in order to go forward." It was pretty a successful lesson, but my goal was to get these two brothers, just a year apart in age, to stop squabbling so much. Did it work? I'm not sure yet. Sibling rivalry is as old as Cain... Full story
Thomson Township resident John Luomala was exceedingly happy to get his Covid-19 vaccination shot from Essentia Healthcare in Duluth last week. From the first recorded call - when he waited 45 minutes, but just left the phone on speaker - to get an appointment to his arrival at the Essentia auditorium to check in, then getting his actual shot, Luomala said it was smooth sailing. There were only about six people in front of him waiting for shots, and the line moved quickly. "A young nurse... Full story
Jana and I were doing the math. It’s a common game to play after the awards ceremony at the annual convention that draws newspaper people in from across the state each January. We win this, enter that, carry the one … we could have a trophy. Someday. That’s what we kicked around last year after the ceremony that was part of the last in-person convention we can expect for a while. Each year, the Minnesota Newspaper Association hosts what it calls the “Better Newspaper Contest.” Newspapers large and small submit entries of the best writing,... Full story
Most high school students have been “distance learning” since last March. Last school year we were sent home from school for the rest of the academic year due to rising Covid-19 cases. That being said, we only had about two months left of the semester. It was easy for teachers to post their end-of-the-year assignments and for the students to move on with our summers. No one knew we wouldn’t be back on campus for the fall semester. Most teachers and students were unprepared to go back to distance learning, as everyone assumed we would be back...
I have sent notes to the Cloquet City Council and park board about the safety concerns at the park and playground on Dunlap Island. There is no fence to protect kids from accidentally falling into the river. We have lost people in the river either by snowmobile or just falling in. It would be a terrible situation to have a child fall into the river and nobody be able to get to them fast enough. Are we going to wait until this happens, like so many times, or are we going to get the city to put a fence along the river’s edge to protect the c...
I cannot believe how the Democrats are scrambling to undo President Trump’s progress. I just heard on the news where President Biden is signing executive orders at a rate much higher than his predecessors. He is totally bypassing Congress. It is looking like a dictatorship. We as the voting taxpayers (Democrats and Republicans) must be challenging these. Wake up, America. LeRoy Bergstrom, Cloquet...
Jane Joleen (Wickstrom) Hugdahl, 74, passed away peacefully Jan. 18, 2021, at home in Maplewood. Jane was born Jan. 5, 1947, in Cloquet. She worked for many years in the nursing field in Minneapolis. Throughout her life Jane took much joy in her family, and had a deep appreciation for arts and crafts, attending the performing arts, flowers, travels and letter writing. She was preceded in death by her parents, Grace and Elmer Wickstrom; sisters Jean Ekholm and Joan Coyer; husband, James Hugdahl;... Full story
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 53 cases over the past week, and there were no new deaths. As of Wednesday, Feb. 3, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,909 Covid-19 cases with 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 196 positive tests so far — the same as last week — with 92 of those on the reservation, also the same as the week bef... Full story
Anna Elizabeth Kauma, 86, of Esko passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. A private family service will be held on Saturday. A spring burial will be at Apostolic Lutheran Cemetery in Esko. To leave an online condolence, visit www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.... Full story
Covid-19 forced Cloquet's Billie Thompson into the Beargrease 40 race this year. The neuro-trauma nurse had planned to return to racing the mid-distance Beargrease 120, but she got Covid in December and is still not fully recovered. "That put me out of training for a couple of weeks obviously still dealing with the side effects," Thompson said, mentioning ongoing shortness of breath. "I just didn't feel like I would have been able to safely take my team 120 miles this year so we came down to... Full story
The Lumberjacks, left, celebrate a goal by Jaxson Ochis against Duluth East at Essentia Duluth Heritage Center Monday. Duluth East broke open a tight game with three third-period goals to defeat Cloquet-Esko-Carlton 5-1, after defeating the 'Jacks 2-1 earlier this season in Cloquet. Cole Christian finished with a hat trick for the Greyhounds.... Full story
Plans for championship experiences were approved today during the Minnesota State High School League's Board of Directors meeting that was held in a virtual format, according to the following press release from the MSHSL. The Board of Directors supported a conceptual postseason plan for the winter tournament season that includes state tournament dates and formats. Under the projected plan, a five-week run of state tournament events would begin with Dance on March 12 and end with basketball champ... Full story
