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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What's with all the snow? It's a question everyone is asking after another weekend of digging out and another 6-inches-or-more burst forecasted as this issue of the Pine Knot went to press. We are above average is all we can tell you right now, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service data. There are variable snowfall amounts in the area, recorded since the first light snowfall way back in October. Officially, between 64 and 72 inches of snow has...
When Tom and Nancy Getchell started an automotive repair business, T&N Auto Repair, in a two-stall garage on Avenue B, they did so with an understanding: they'd offer fair prices and honesty for all customers. "And that's the way it's worked for 25 years," Nancy said this week, just days after the shop closed for good on March 10. The reason for the end is tragic: Tom, 57, has terminal late-stage brain cancer in the form of two tumors. Thirty-one days of radiation earlier this winter was aimed...
Thomson Township residents voted to approve a 3.91-percent tax levy increase for 2024, despite significant pushback from a few residents at the annual meeting Tuesday. At the end of 2022, Thomson Township was left with a fund balance in its general operating expenses fund of almost $1.85 million. This amount concerned some residents, who felt that this “surplus” in funds should be applied toward the annual budget to take the burden off of taxpayers. Resident Ole Larson had concerns during the review of the township’s annual statement and propo...
The Esko School Board approved its 2022-2023 revised (and largely unchanged) budget of $16.14 million at its monthly meeting Monday, March 13, along with final funding and construction plans for the highly anticipated fitness center. Final construction plans for the fitness center detail a nearly 4,750-square-foot fitness center, two rooms for physical therapy, two bathrooms, and a front entryway with a welcome desk for use by the public. The building is being constructed using the existing...
Celebrate the art of quilting in Cloquet on National Quilting Day Saturday, March 18. Wood City Quilters will have displays and educational information at the Carlton County Historical Society from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Cloquet Public Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Can’t get there Saturday? Take a “quilt walk” in the West End and peruse the window displays at the Pine Knot News, Farmers Insurance and Common Ground through March 31....
Carlton County Public Health is holding two free childhood vaccine clinics in the coming weeks for children in grades K-12 who need vaccinations to meet school requirements, Thursday, March 23 and Tuesday, April 4 at the Carlton County Community Services Building at 14 N. 11th Street in Cloquet. There is no cost. Insurance information will be collected if the child is insured, and there is no charge for uninsured children. Parents must pre-register for appointments, available 3-4:30 p.m., online or by calling 218-879-4511. Available vaccines...
Neither wind nor snow could stop the 17th annual Mojakka Cookoff, held Sunday at the Northeastern Hotel and Saloon in Cloquet, where it's always been. What is mojakka, someone new to the area might ask. It's soup. Specifically, mojakka is the Finnish (or Finnish American) word for soup. On Sunday, a steady flow of people in search of delicious soups and good company kept coming through the door, paying their $10 and doing their best to sample all 14 different soups. There is no one mojakka...
Citing stress and burnout as the precipitating factor for three open positions in Health and Human Services, director Dave Lee said those staffers have “tough jobs.” Caseloads in child protection, mental health and involving vulnerable adults have swelled for county workers, with screenings of between three and 10 incidents reported daily. “These are heavy numbers, and it is growing, of child abuse cases,” observed County Attorney Lauri Ketola during Tuesday’s Carlton County board of commissioners meeting. “There are several factors for...
The Carlton school board heard bold ideas for getting the district to stand apart from neighboring school systems in an effort to reverse declines in student enrollment Monday. The committee of the whole took no action, but seemed excited by the creative thoughts. South Terrace principal Donita Stepan outlined the work of the District Advisory Committee which conceived the concept of a future dual path system for the upper grades. "[We'll have] a traditional track where students [attend class]...
The Wrenshall school board agreed to slightly more than $312,000 in budget cuts during a special meeting Tuesday — the biggest slice of three rounds of cuts to date, totaling $383,000. The board reiterated during its committee of the whole meeting a day later on Wednesday that it was on its way to $500,000 in cuts, money to cover its current deficit and allow for a modest surplus in the district’s fund balance. “We still have a lot of information to gather,” board member Eric Ankrum said. The final figure for cuts has been a moving target,...
It didn't take long for the Career and Technical Education building at Wrenshall school to show its value. The facility opened this school year after $2.1 million in renovations. By turning it into an asset, officials hope to attract students to a district currently in a budget crisis. "I like how big it is," said senior Peyton Johnson earlier this week. "Now look, we can build a house inside here." Johnson spoke as peers in his carpentry class spent the afternoon adding particle board sheeting...
Thumbs up to people having fun together, even when it’s cold or snowing outside. It’s all over the recent issues of the Pine Knot, from the City Meet to the Mojakka Cookoff. Sure, it takes time to organize these things, but the payoff goes way beyond the awards. Turning off the TV and voluntarily joining a group of people, at least some of them strangers, is what community is all about. And we can use more of that. Thumbs up to well-rounded schools. How great is it that schools in our area are ramping up their vocational offerings and enc...
Nothing strikes fear in a banker’s heart more than the words, “run on the bank.” It conjures up images of the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and Jimmy Stewart convincing his customers to believe in his savings and loan and stop taking all their money out, thus saving the bank and making a memorable classic movie. Mark Lanigan, president of Cloquet-area Frandsen Bank and Trust, is one of our local Jimmy Stewarts (or, maybe more appropriately, one of our George Baileys). I had a chat...
Go forward, but turn your wheels a bit. ... The other way. - How far? - Right there. If you get any traction, hit the brake. - Nothing. - Yeah. I smell rubber. Try going back, but not too far, the pole. - Just spinning. - Yeah. Let me dig a bit. - Which way now? - Forward, but try rocking back and forth. Don't just gun it. - Which way are my tires? - Turn 'em. No, the other way. - Maybe you should get in. - You're doing fine. It's just this snow, and the slush underneath. And I'm thinking you're...
Everyone deserves health insurance that is affordable, simple to use, and provides coverage for what they and their doctor decide is necessary to keep them healthy. Minnesota is lucky to have this kind of insurance for low-income working Minnesotans. It’s called MinnesotaCare. It was created in 1992 with bipartisan support. Years ago, when I was just getting started with my small business, I was able to buy into MNcare, paying a premium based on my income. As a Type 1 diabetic I could depend o...
A couple of decades ago, I wrote a book in which I talked about what it takes to be a good citizen in a representative democracy like ours. I thought the principles I laid out were timeless, but I recently reread them and boy, they seem a lot less clear-cut now. In principle, everything I wrote back then is still key to the functioning of our democracy: you need to vote; you need to take the time to be informed about policy and politics; you need to be in touch with your representatives to let...
When Aaron Hanson and Ryan Osvold purchased the River Inn Bar & Grill in September of 2016, the Third Base Bar owners were excited by all the opportunities at the River Inn, with its full-size kitchen, large event room and outside seating with a phenomenal view of the St. Louis River. Since then, "The Riv" has been revitalized, with healthy crowds of regulars and newcomers alike. The two owners give the credit to "great customers and a strong, caring and loyal employee base." In particular,...
The Duluth Miller Hill Mall isn't the only place in the Northland with a missing roof thanks to the snow. When Cloquet's Nick Brown went to bed the night of March 6, his detached garage was intact. By the next morning, the roof had collapsed and the top window had shattered from the force, blowing glass shards at least 20 feet out onto the driveway. Brown hadn't heard a thing. "My room is in the corner, so about 8 feet away, and my boy's room is in the back, and the neighbors didn't hear it eith...
A 3-point shot with just over 4 seconds remaining and stout defensive play were enough to give Barnum a wild 55-52 win over Cromwell-Wright in the Section 5A quarterfinals in Hinckley-Finlayson Monday night. The Bombers came in as the No. 1 seed in the east side of the section and the Cards were the No. 4 eastern seed. Barnum was attempting to win for the third time this season over their Polar League rival. While they did get the win, it did not come easy as the pesky Cardinals gave the...
The Eskomos are the lone local team remaining in the Section 7AA boys basketball tournament after Saturday's quarterfinal round of play. Esko picked up an impressive and easy win over Aitkin, while Moose Lake/Willow River dropped a hard-fought tight decision to Rock Ridge. Esko opened the quarterfinal round by easily dispatching the Gobblers 78-33 in a game they led 49-15 at halftime. "I thought we did a good job on defense," said Esko coach Derek Anderson. "We executed our game plan very well....
For the first time in franchise history last weekend, the Minnesota Wilderness finished an Alaska road swing undefeated, with 6-2 and 4-2 wins over the Anchorage Wolverines on March 10 and 11. Sawyer Scholl led the way, scoring four goals and adding an assist in the two games. The Wilderness finished 4-0 in two weeks of play in Alaska, beating Anchorage and the Kenai River Brown Bears twice each to extend Minnesota’s winning streak to five games. Scholl, 21, is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound native of Green Bay, Wisconsin. He was awarded North A...
After picking up an impressive quarterfinal win over Grand Rapids last Wednesday, Cloquet hit the road again March 10 to play Section 7AAA top seed Hermantown. When the dust cleared, the Lumberjacks fell 80-58 and were bounced from the playoffs. In the Friday loss to the Hawks, Cloquet struggled out of the gate and trailed 39-22 at halftime. The Hawks, on the other hand, had three players in double-digit scoring by halftime as Blake Schmitz, Abe Soumis and Nate Hill each had 10 points. "The...
All four local Section 7A boys basketball teams have been eliminated from the playoffs after play last week, but they kept fans on the edge of their seats to the end. Fond du Lac hung in there the longest before falling 62-61 to Mountain Iron-Buhl Saturday in Hermantown. It wasn't the only close playoff game for the Ogichidaa. Carlton, ranked No. 12, gave No. 5 seed Fond du Lac a scare in a back-and-forth game March 9 that ended 76-74 in favor of Fond du Lac. Leading FDL in scoring was Jordell...
One wouldn't be able to tell by seeing the Cloquet senior's red, teary eyes afterward, but Macie Majerle saved her best basketball game for last. Entering last week scoring just 5 points per contest, Majerle more than tripled that, scoring a team-best 18 points in looking to lead the Lumberjacks to their first state tournament since 2004. "I didn't want it to be over," Majerle said. "I knew I had to step up." Grand Rapids stepped in the way, winning its third consecutive Section 7AAA crown by...
For the second straight year and third time in the last five seasons, Mountain Iron-Buhl ended the Cromwell-Wright girls basketball team's hopes of advancing to the Minnesota Class A State tournament. At the final buzzer of Friday night's Section 7A final, the scoreboard read 67-38 in favor of the No. 1 ranked team in the state. The Rangers scored the first 10 points of the contest before Cardinal sophomore Siiena Anderson laid in her only two points of the game to cut the MIB advantage to...
