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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Two schools in Esko and Cloquet were impacted by threats last week, but they weren't the only ones faced with frightening messages on St. Patrick's Day. Law enforcement responded to an anonymous 911 call at 12:49 p.m. Thursday indicating that an explosive device was seen in an Esko High School classroom. Students and staff were evacuated to a nearby safe spot and the entire school was closed down for several hours as the building and grounds were searched extensively. An online search of bomb...
A social media message between four teenage boys from Cloquet and Esko that was filled with derogatory statements about Native Americans left many students, parents and district staff reeling in shock last week. It also put Cloquet and Esko on the list of schools around the state that are dealing with what feels like a wave of overt racism, including students making monkey noises at Black basketball players and other students flashing a known white supremacy sign. In the case of the local students, it was a Snapchat thread Thursday afternoon,...
The local softball world lost an icon last week when Roger Plachta passed away. I first got to know Roger when I coached against him in the 1990s in the Lake Superior Fastpitch League in Duluth. I eventually joined him and one of my dearest friends, Mike Sylvester, on the coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Roger was a character in the truest sense of the word. One minute he was chewing out a player for not giving her best, the next minute he was telling her she was the best...
For the first time in three years of pandemic pandemonium, Gordy's Hi-Hat opened with counter service, with nary a carhop in sight. "The world is back to normal," said Sever Lundquist, the third generation of Lundquists to operate the popular Cloquet hamburger joint. The carhop was fun, he said, and they could serve a lot of food. But they missed seeing their customers, because people stayed in their cars and spoke only to staff taking their orders. On opening day Wednesday, Sever and his dad,...
A storm sewer freeze-up caused some minor flooding at the school in Wrenshall Thursday, March 17, forcing the district to send students home at midday because water had collected in the cafeteria. The school was open again on Friday. The Wrenshall school board met Wednesday to discuss the issue, since it coincided with the continuing construction improvements being made at the school. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said the district is trying to figure out where the problem stemmed from and how to make an insurance claim. If any work needs to be...
The Cloquet July Fourth committee is seeking volunteers to serve on the organizing committee as well as individuals and organizations willing to give their time on any of the dates July 3-5. Anyone interested in being a part of this community tradition is encouraged to email [email protected] or call Jana at 218-213-1231. A steering committee meeting will meet in early April....
Cloquet Sporting Goods announced that it will be closing April 1. The downtown Cloquet store sold new and gently used sports equipment and sports apparel. The store opened in 2020, and operated under the stress of the pandemic for its entire existence. “We wanted to provide a service and store that we felt the community needed, but unfortunately something happened in the world shortly after we announced our plans to open that has made it extremely difficult to stay in business,” owners wrote on Facebook earlier this month. It appears the phy...
Enrolled members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will vote for Reservation Business Council District II (Sawyer) candidates in a primary election scheduled for April 5. Candidates include Daniel G. LaPrairie, Michael J. Diver, Brad (Raff) Blacketter, Bruce M. Savage (incumbent) and Naomi Northrup. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 5 at the Sawyer Community Center, 3243 Moorhead Road in Sawyer. The election is open to members who have resided in District II for at least 30 days preceding the election. Because...
A 60-year-old man died in a recreational vehicle fire in Kalevala Township the morning of Friday, March 18. Law enforcement identified the man as Robert Charles Haufle. A 911 call reporting the fire on the 4900 block of Moline Road came in at 8:01 a.m. Firefighters from Kettle River, Moose Lake and Cromwell responded, along with Essentia Health ambulance and Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputies. When they arrived, emergency responders found a fifth-wheel camper fully engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire is under investigation by d...
Firefighters and deputies found a pole building completely engulfed in flames when they responded at 12:26 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. Despite the best efforts of firefighters, the building on the 300 block of Koski Road was considered a total loss. The property owner was not home at the time of the fire, but returned a short time later. He told law enforcement that approximately 70 sheep were inside the building and all perished in the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown but it is not considered suspicious. Law enforcement and firefighters...
John DuClos “Jock” Morrison, 87, lifelong resident of Duluth, died peacefully with family by his side March 5, 2022. He was born Nov. 17, 1934, in Duluth to John and Grace (DuClos) Morrison. After graduating from Duluth East High School in 1952, John attended the University of Minnesota Duluth, graduating with a degree in business. He met the love of his life, Joan Hallback, at UMD; they married on June 28, 1958, and raised their family in Duluth. John spent his professional career at the Nor...
Fees for playing on the Lumberjacks varsity and junior varsity hockey teams may increase in the future, as part of an effort by the Cloquet school district to decrease the burden on the overall budget. During the Cloquet school board work session Monday, March 21, board members and administration discussed the expensive lease agreement with the city for use of Northwoods Credit Union Arena for hockey games and practices. Superintendent Michael Cary told the board that player fees for the...
Seventh-graders at Cloquet Middle School got a hands-on opportunity to study the human brain last week under the guidance of psychology students and faculty from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Associate professor Rebecca Gilbertson started bringing UMD's mobile neuroscience lab to the middle school in 2015. The unique collaboration engages students in science-based experiential learning activities and also gives psychology students a chance to pass along concepts they've learned about...
The Carlton school board continued to explore its budget options Monday at its monthly regular meeting. It heard details from the online resource it currently uses to offer students a wider range of electives options. One of the goals of the board, in order to shave from its expected half-million-dollar deficit next year, is to increase online electives and eliminate teachers. The board formally approved allowing district office staff to seek cuts and offer recommendations to the board for consi...
Luella Corrine (Janson) Linden, 88, passed away Thursday, March 17, 2022, in Cardinal Courts Senior Living in Cromwell. Luella was born March 27, 1933, in Sugar Bush Township to John and Dagmar Janson. She graduated from the Waubun high school 1951. Following graduation, she was united in marriage to Peter Linden on June 16, 1951. Together they raised five children. Peter and Luella farmed in Rochert. Luella enjoyed gardening, canning, sewing, and rug making. After selling the farm, they...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has released details of more groundwater leaks caused by the construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline last year. The DNR has completed its investigation of three sites where crews installing the pipeline breached underground aquifers, causing uncontrolled - and unauthorized - flows of groundwater. State regulators previously identified one of the three locations, near Enbridge's Clearbrook terminal. In January 2021, crews installing the replacement...
The Cloquet Area Fire District has a new fire chief, but he's no stranger. CAFD board members voted unanimously last week to remove the "interim" title and appoint Jesse Buhs the full-time CAFD fire chief. Buhs has been interim chief since former fire chief Matt Ashmore resigned in December, a move that came after the former chief was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 11. It had taken the board two national searches and a revision of the job requirements to land on Ashmore, who lasted...
Cloquet resident and Esko businessman Pete Radosevich has been officially endorsed as the DFL candidate for House District 11A seat in this year's election, running against Jeff Dotseth, the previously endorsed Republican candidate. Both Radosevich and Senate District 11 candidate John Peura of Moose Lake earned endorsements at the DFL Senate District 11 Convention at Barnum High School Saturday, March 19. Radosevich was not unopposed. Retired economist Ann Markusen of Cromwell announced at the...
While arguments continue to be made in the custody cases involving 10 Cloquet children, Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekah Stumme made her feelings clearly known Tuesday when it comes to how representatives for the adoptive mothers and those who want the children kept out of their homes are interacting in front of her court. “Put away the knives,” Stumme said at the end of a hearing concerning petitioner Danielle Martineau — a relative who wants children removed from Dawn Ammesmaki’s care. The judge said she was dismayed by the ten...
A Cloquet police officer who was fired by the city in early February hopes to have that decision overturned, after requesting arbitration under the Veterans Preference statute. As that case makes its way through the Bureau of Mediation Services, it remains a mystery why Laci Silgjord was fired. However, the police officer is involved in another case — regarding the estate of a woman who died in 2020 — that may be related to her dismissal. Silgjord participated in a formal unsupervised probate hearing (held via Zoom) on Thursday, March 17, reg...
A woman charged with hitting a car and then coming back and hitting one of its occupants made her first appearance in Carlton County Sixth District Court last week. Rebecca Lee Glader, 38, faces seven charges, including three counts of felony criminal vehicular operation with substantial bodily harm and leaving the scene of an accident, along with gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor traffic violations including failure to stop, failure to notify police, reckless driving and violating the “keep to the right” traffic law. Glader’s attorney, Andre...
Editor’s note: This column was written for Sunshine Week — an initiative by newspapers across the country to shine a light on the need for open government and access to public information — two years ago. This year, Sunshine Week was scheduled for March 13-19, but we agree with the writer that a person’s right to know should not be limited, and that includes promoting that right through editorials in your local newspaper. Enjoy. The media are most definitely not your enemy. Far from being the enemy of the people, day in and day out we take ou...
If you use the Cloquet clock, it was supposed to be spring this week. Gordy’s is open. Alas, that rite of spring and harbinger of summer rarely means we get matching weather, even as the conventional calendar says we’ve reached “meteorological” spring. But here we are, in that waiting room between real warm and lingering winter. It has been an especially difficult end of winter here at the Pine Knot. Jana has been stuck at home with a bum leg for two months, meaning we can’t count on her ramblings about the community for pictures and all the t...
A slow second half for the Esko boys basketball team allowed Pequot Lakes just enough time to pick up a come-from-behind win in the Section 7AA boys championship game last Thursday night. The Patriots overcame a 5-point halftime deficit to win 58-50 and advance to the Minnesota State High School Class AA basketball tournament. "I thought in the first half we moved the ball well, but our shots didn't fall," said Esko coach Derek Anderson. "We defended well, but we missed some layups and we just s...
At Cloquet coach Rol Bromberg's recent visitation at Nelson Funeral Care, I was astounded by the preeminent collection of athletic and family photos on display. Undefeated football teams, track regional relay champs, Brom and his wife at Twins games, hugs with grandkids, birthdays, his own high school and college awards, the dedication of Bromberg Field. One particular picture brought a twinkle to my eye: a photo of Bromberg and Dickie Eklund out on the Athletic Park football field, dated 1979....
