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
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
Cloquet City Councilors voted to investigate one of their own with zero objections Tuesday, not even from the subject of the investigation, Steve Langley. "I welcome an investigation," the Ward 5 councilor said during the council meeting. "It will show these allegations are false." The action was taken in response to eight complaints about Langley submitted to the city on Jan. 30 by former police chief Wade Lamirande, who retired in 2014 after 24 years with the Cloquet police department.... Full story
Spring sports enthusiasts may have to wait just a little longer than normal to see their favorite team on the field or track. Or will they? February brought record snowfall for much of the region and the start of March had colder than average temperatures - not a good combination to get rid of the snow cover that blankets fields across the region. However, many of the ball teams have taken matters into their own hands over the past two weeks. In Cloquet, that meant the city's hands, or rather,...
Gramma Polo's Bottle Shoppe has been a family-owned business for 73 years. Come May 1, that will change. Polo's has been purchased by neighbor Kwik Trip, which will run its third liquor operation in Minnesota. Tom Romundstad owns the liquor store with his wife, Jodi Polo. He said it's time to retire, seven years after the couple took over the Scanlon-based business from Charlotte Polo, who retired at the age of 90. "It's one of the oldest family-owned liquor stores in the state," Romundstad...
A rural Sawyer home at 1252 Mission Road was completely consumed by fire early Saturday morning. According to Cloquet Area Fire District chief Kevin Schroeder, the severe damage was the result of "an extreme delay" calling 911, because the two people who escaped the structure did not have phones with them. "The guy exited the home as it was filling with smoke and couldn't find his cell phone," Schroeder said. "So he had to truck through thew woods and the snow, pounding on doors until he found...
Close your eyes, Cash fans, and listen to “The Man in Black” at the Cloquet VFW Auxiliary’s latest fundraising event, “J. Cash Lives” on Saturday, March 30. Performer Ter Scott, as Johnny Cash in his later years, will reflect back on Cash’s life in narration and song, starting with Sun Records through the days of Rick Rubin’s American Recordings label. “We thought it would be nice to try something different,” said auxiliary chaplain Deborah Weckert, who is the main organizer of next week’s event. She saw Scott perform before, and said it...
Ever wonder how the DNR sets deer hunting regulations? Or how you can provide input on deer management in your area? Local wildlife managers across the state are inviting the public to come to open house meetings to ask their deer questions and learn about the state’s most popular mammal. In Cloquet, the open house will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 28 at the DNR’s Cloquet area office located at 1604 Highway 33 S., Cloquet. In addition to discussing general concerns about deer, individuals can ask DNR staff about last year’s harvest data,...
With the risk of spring flooding increasing in many parts of the state, Minnesota health officials are urging private well users to prepare for the possibility that their wells might flood. Taking preventive action now may save well users more trouble down the road. Wells contaminated with floodwater pose a health risk, but the impact floodwaters have on wells and water quality are often not as visible as other flood damage. With that in mind, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) offers well users the following recommendations: If your...
Minnesotans who started 2019 enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan have until Sunday, March 31, to enroll in a different health care plan. Until March 31 they can switch to a different Medicare Advantage Plan that includes Part D (prescription drug coverage) or drop their Medicare Advantage Plan, return to Original Medicare and enroll in a separate Medicare Part D Drug Plan. “It’s important for consumers to review their Medicare coverage and make sure the plan is both affordable and provides access to doctors, clinics, hospitals and pha...
Thanks to a more competitive bidding process, Carlton County stands to save a lot of money on the cost of hauling garbage from the county transfer station to the landfill. Zoning and Environmental Services administrator Heather Cunningham told Carlton County commissioners during their March 12 meeting that hauling costs to the Superior, Wis. landfill have been bid openly for several years. The transfer station produces about 16,000 tons annually, and those costs went up in 2017 when SKB Environmental was the only bidder. However, last year,...
Statistics show that most crimes are committed by young people; and when it comes to violent crimes, rarely by older persons. Criminologists have a variety of explanations for this phenomenon but they generally agree: The vast majority of violent crimes are committed by young people. Aside from the roots of the problem, there is also serious, long-term damage caused to young criminals that has no effect on deterring crime: crimes they commit when they are young stay on the criminal record long after punishment. In some cases, that’s u...
Colorado just passed a state law where its electoral votes will go to the winner of the national popular vote. As you probably know, the Electoral College is used only to elect the president. In the past 30 years we’ve twice elected a president who did not receive the majority of the popular vote. This rankles some people, who believe the popular vote is the most democratic way to elect a president. They are right: it is the most democratic way. In a democracy, a simple majority of the people d...
To the editor: We are spending a lot of time on this consolidation issue between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts. Why do the school boards get decide if we merge? I have been told the two school boards will talk and then it will come to the public for a vote. Isn’t that backwards? I suggest that residents of both Carlton and Wrenshall school districts have a vote on the same day and have a ballot that asks both districts if they want to consider the idea before so much time and energy is put into talks between the school boards. L...
Once your daughter makes it in the world, you’ve made it. You’re done. Your sons are someone else’s problem. When your daughter makes it, turns out happy and satisfied and loved and actualized, maybe even a bit avenged, there’s a ringing of a bell, an aria in the space above your head, pianissimo and bright, like a bluebird in the morning, just after dawn, the billion-year-old sun baking your sleeping bag, the vapor of dew rising from your body like smoke or an offering. She smiles your way, wi...
Last Thursday, I was invited to the Oldenburg House for a presentation on “Phenology – Document Spring” by Betsy Dugan, a practitioner of backyard phenology. Since I had no idea what phenology meant, I looked it up on my phone. It is “the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life” (USA National Phenology Network). I think I like Betsy Dugan’s definition better. She explained that it is the timing of nature’s calendar: the...
Winter is finally leaving! Kevät on täällä! Spring is here! And all around there are signs of spring (“kevät” in Finnish), higher temperatures (yay!), snow melting, rain falling, roads and yards flooding, dangerous combinations of precipitation, etc. I just can’t wait until the REAL spring is here with flowers popping up, trees budding, and days filled with warm breezes and lots of sunshine. I’ll even welcome the thunderstorms, if they don’t include any form of cold, ice or snow! Along with spring popping, Finnish groups are starting to po...
Lovers of soup, St. Urho’s Day, and many things Finnish gathered Saturday for the annual NorthEastern Mojakka Cook-Off. After tasting her delicious Lihamojakka (beef) soup, the Pine Knot News asked Anja Bottila if she would share the recipe she learned from her mother, who emigrated from Finland in 1953. Bottila said she likes to share her knowledge, and has recently been teaching one of her nephews how to make a few Finnish dishes. “As an adult, I would ask my mother to show me how to make some of my favorite Finnish dishes, including moj...
Anna Mae "Dot" Loisel, 92, of Cloquet, Minn. passed away Wednesday, March 20, 2019 in Inter-Faith Care Center. She was born to Nels and May (Atkinson) Nelson on the family homestead at Atkinson, Minn. (a township named for her grandparents, John and Mary Atkinson) on Oct. 22, 1926. Anna graduated from Barnum High School as the valedictorian, and was homecoming queen. She was united in marriage to Harry Ernest Loisel Feb. 9, 1946 at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Cloquet. Anna... Full story
Joanne M. Wappes, 67, of Cloquet, died Monday, March 18, 2019 in St. Luke’s Hospital. A visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. funeral service Saturday, March 23, at Nelson Funeral Care. Interment will be in Maple Grove Cemetery. A luncheon will follow the service in the chapel.... Full story
Our area communities were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of Darrel L. Johnson, 78, of Tamarack, on March 12, 2019 at his home. We offer our sympathy to his wife Katy, and especially to Marty and Linde as they say their final farewells to their loved one. Darrel’s funeral was held Monday at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cromwell. Congratulations to our boys basketball team on winning Section 5A. They played in the quarterfinals of the state tournament on Thursday (after this was w...
Two Carlton County women are facing seven felony drug counts after a traffic stop in southwestern Minnesota earlier this month revealed the pair was traveling with 50 pounds of marijuana and marijuana wax used in vaping, police reported. Asia Ann Gobel, 18, of Moose Lake and Tanisha Rae Martineau, 20, of Cloquet will face charges in district court in Cottonwood County in early April on second-degree drug charges. According to a Windom police officer, a car Gobel was driving had only its daytime running lights on while it was snowing in the...
The County Seat Theater Company's production of "Sweet" won "Best of Festival" at the Minnesota Association of Community Theatres festival held in Austin this past weekend. The cast will move on to compete at the American Association of Community Theatres Region 5 competition in Aberdeen, S.D., April 25-28. "It was a surreal experience," director Joel Soukkala said. "You never really know what the adjudicators are looking for so you just go in and do your best performance." He said the cast did...
When Amy (Robnik) Joob was 15 and an Esko High School sophomore, a vocational inventory stated she was best suited to be a hotel manager, police officer or firefighter. She also considered being a cosmetologist and, in college, an FBI agent. But modeling wasn't really part of the 1990 Esko grad's long-term plan. Neither was writing a book, but now Joob has combined both with her new book, "Model Behavior: Make Your Career Path your Calling." While Joob describes it as a memoir of her modeling ca...
Joining forces can be difficult. Hesitant at first, members of the only combined Carlton-Wrenshall sports team told Carlton school board members Monday that the two teams started out the 2018 fall season feeling like two teams, but ended it united in friendship and competition. “In the beginning, I was not excited about joining with Carlton,” wrote Wrenshall junior Alexis Schmidt in a letter to the board. “The rivalry between our two schools made it really hard, but now that we’ve gotten...
The last couple of weeks I’ve detailed techniques that shape the way I approach most days on the water. Power-corking and lead-core trolling are fantastic tools that I’ve added to my arsenal — both serve me well at specific times and places. I don’t power-cork every day, and lead-core trolling shines only under certain circumstances; a third technique I use almost every time I hit the water is casting reaction-style baits. Over the years, subtle approaches like Lindy rigging and vertica...
CROSBY-The last time Cromwell-Wright sent a boys basketball team to the state tournament, there was just one champion crowned. The next year, boys basketball would move to the four-class format as we know it today. That 1996 boys state tourney was the final year of a two-year experiment that mixed small schools with large schools that resulted in one champion in the end. Both years, Minneapolis North would come away winners of the "Sweet Sixteen" tournament format. Although Minneapolis North...
