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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The same day that a Minneapolis jury was hearing closing arguments in the case of a police officer accused of killing a Black man, nearly three dozen Carlton High School students walked out of school to stand in solidarity against racial injustice. The students and some teachers marched from the front of the high school to the teachers' parking lot, chanting "No justice, no peace, prosecute the police," as they walked, led by speaker Jaylah Willis. She also led protests in Duluth last summer...
Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer said people are "overwhelmingly glad" to be back in in-person classes at school, following an extended period of distance- and hybrid learning. Fischer shared a story about a possible snow day several weeks ago, when there was a forecast for inclement weather. "In past years the students would lobby me to close school anytime the forecast called for snow, but not this year," he said. "The students lobbied me to stay open." The return to school has come with...
Even as people flocked to downtown Minneapolis Tuesday to celebrate the guilty verdict in the case of former police officer Derek Chauvin, many of Minnesota’s elected leaders vowed the state’s fight for racial justice wouldn’t end with this case. “I would not call today’s verdict justice, however, because justice implies true restoration,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. “But it is accountability, which is the first step towards justice, and now the cause of justice is in your hands.” The verdict of guilty on all three counts of... 
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The Wrenshall Homecoming ceremonies were titled "A Black Mask Affair" and the dress code was formal at the April 9 event held in the school gymnasium. Zeke Rousseau-Sheff was crowned homecoming king, while Anne Mattson was crowned homecoming queen. Other homecoming candidates / members of the court were Samantha Nyberg, Caleb Johnson, Angelina Kuehnow, Brook Kent, Mason Perry, Joseph Bergman, Hailey Tauzell and Mark Johnson. Crown bearers were Kinley Heittola and Abigail Hopp; train bearers...
After a yearlong delay due to the pandemic, the "West End Flourish" is once again back on track to celebrate arts and community. The project aims to revitalize Cloquet's West End business district and will feature the works of more than two dozen local and regional creative artists over the next 20 months as they imagine the West End of Cloquet as their canvas. Artists of all types - ranging from painters, sculptors, actors and dancers to musicians, writers, photographers and filmmakers - are...
Although April 22 marked the actual Earth Day and the 51st year of the annual event, there are plenty of opportunities to do your part this weekend, on your own, with family and friends, or in a larger group. There are at least two community cleanups scheduled for Saturday, April 24. In Cloquet, The Boldt Company and the city will host an Earth Day cleanup starting at the Dunlap Island Park shelter, where participants are asked to gather and register between 9:30 and 10 a.m. The cleanup will go...
A community of cooperative members “plugged in” — literally — to Lake Country Power for a virtual annual meeting held via Zoom videoconference Thursday evening, April 15. More than 125 members and guests heard about working through the pandemic, favorable achievements in 2020, new meters, and the co-op’s commitment to manage member resources wisely. Director election results were announced. District 3 was a special election to fill a two-year vacancy. The other three districts will fill three-year terms. Candidates ran unopposed in Districts...
With an end-of-year clock ticking, county officials are digging into the details of what a new Carlton County jail building plan will look like. The county's building committee, court system, finance committee, and the jail steering committee have focused on the project. Now a special Committee of the Whole meets at 2 p.m. on the third Monday of each month to study issues related to a new or expanded jail. The state has set a deadline of July 2023 for the county to have a new facility in place....
The Carlton school board agreed this week to move forward with a survey of district residents on a list of options for the future of the district. The survey will come after attempts to consolidate with neighboring district Wrenshall have stalled on issues around debt sharing and the fact that a state bill that would provide financial assistance remains in limbo. In a 6-0 vote at its regular monthly meeting Monday, the Carlton board agreed to begin gathering information for a survey that will...
The Pine Knot News team is soliciting submissions of bird images in any genre (photography, paintings, sculptures, woodworking, mobiles, etc.) for The Knot Gallery on Avenue C. Please send a few images and brief descriptions to our curator, Ann Markusen, at [email protected], by Monday, May 3. Your work can be listed for sale or not for sale. We have a Walker System and a deep front-window sill for display options. Questions? Please email Ann Markusen or call the office at 218...
After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, students from Cloquet, Esko and Carlton high schools are holding another “Nerf war” — so don’t be surprised to see kids chasing each other with brightly colored Nerf guns in the name of fun and fortune. Although not unique to northern Carlton County, this rite of spring is a big deal. Each spring, some 200 kids or so form teams, pay their entry fees, dig out their Nerf guns and prepare for battle. While it makes many adults uncomfortable in a world where public shootings happen far too often with rea...
Cloquet City Councilors took a step toward getting rid of the city requirement for project labor agreements Tuesday, as recommended by staff in response to a lawsuit targeting PLAs in Cloquet, Duluth and Two Harbors. A number of people — mostly union representatives — asked the council to continue with its PLA during the online meeting; only one person spoke against it. None of the councilors addressed the issue during the meeting, nor did they vote on the recommendation. Tuesday simply marked the first reading of the proposal to repeal the...
The Thomson Township board of supervisors is exploring the idea of making the township’s own road sign repair, after multiple complaints from residents about missing signs. Supervisor Bill Gerard reported at the township meeting Thursday, April 17, that he had received complaints from residents about missing signs on Kangas and Helberg roads. “The county has over 2,000 of their own signs and two employees, so it’s harder and harder to get them to come out,” road and utility management supervisor Logan Saline told the board. In order to get the...
Tuesday’s conviction was right. For the Floyd family, nothing will bring back George, but this verdict is a first step toward accountability. Attorney General Keith Ellison and his team did great work prosecuting this case, and the hometown witnesses and police officers who testified displayed such courage in reliving that horrific day and making the case for justice. This trial was about George Floyd’s murder, but it also captured his life. His brother Philonise Floyd introduced us to a dev...
Bruce Ahlgren is a pretty well-known guy around these parts, having served the community for decades: first on the Cloquet school board for 12 years, then as mayor for about 16 years. Meanwhile, he ran the courts as court administrator, which is how I first got to know him. I've admired the man since I first got to town, and even though we've had our skirmishes and disagreements over the years, I think he's a pretty good example of a local politician with the best interests of his community at...
I retired in 2020 after more than three decades as a firefighter, the last nine years as Cloquet Area Fire District fire chief. And while I carry with me many positive memories of my time serving the community, I also often think about my colleagues in the Minnesota fire service we lost along the way. Firefighters protect us, but what many people don’t know is that they often struggle to protect themselves, especially from cardiac, cardiovascular and mental health issues. Those issues have i...
On the same day I read a letter in this newspaper with the heading, “God should guide us,” Asa Hutchison, governor of Arkansas, signed a bill making it legal for doctors in that state to refuse medical treatment to LGBT people because of their religious beliefs. The letter quoted a well-known poem, “First They Came,” ending with the statement that because no one spoke up for the socialists or trade unionists or Jews there was no one left to speak up for “me” when the time came, and implied that one must speak out against radical ideology as a n...
There is a bill currently proposed in the legislature that would subsidize huge animal confinement operations by turning their toxic manure problem into “biogas,” under the misnomer “Natural Gas Innovation Act” (SF 421/HF239). It would also give our tax money to natural gas suppliers so they can develop the infrastructure to process this toxic manure. It is my opinion that we should discourage the establishment or support of giant animal confinement operations which produce manure that ends up being a toxic pollutant in need of huge, expensive,...
Do you have godchildren? It was customary when my husband and I were born, mid-twentieth century, to acquire them. Having godchildren and keeping in touch can be so much fun, a form of extended family. My godmother was Aunt Dorothy (Dot), who lived just a mile away, a great stopover spot after school. We played gin rummy at the kitchen table while she fashioned some delicious supper or dessert. My godfather was also my grandfather, Joseph Roell, who lived with his two daughters in Minneapolis....
Bradley Wolf, 58, of Duluth went to be with his Lord and Savior April 19, 2021, unexpectedly, of natural causes. He was born in Duluth on Aug. 28, 1962, the son of Harris "Corky" and Mary Lou (Mayberry) Wolf. Brad graduated from Proctor High School and entered the U.S. Army, and was stationed in Hawaii. He returned home and attended Lake Superior College, studying the culinary arts. Brad was employed at various places over the years, and worked as a caterer and as a disc jockey for Karaoke...
Afton Marie Schmidtke, 84, of Cloquet passed away April 17, 2021 in St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. She was born Oct. 13, 1936 in Shelly to Archie and Mildred Larson. She grew up in Shelly and graduated from Halstad High School. Afton received her bachelor's degree in education from Minnesota State University Moorhead and her master's degree in special education from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Afton met Gary Schmidtke while attending college, and the couple was married on June 16, 1957....
As I write my article, the weather has taken a turn for dark clouds, overcast and rain (again). We are all waiting for the sun to shine and dry out our yards so the raking can begin. On Monday, May 10, the City of Carlton Public Works will gather the bags of leaves and last fall’s yard debris from community yards, to be added to the compost pile at the recycling shed. Carlton High School students and staff are volunteering to rake community members’ yards and pick up trash Friday, May 7. If you...
Help support the ADK teachers sorority’s takeout dinner fundraiser for area scholarships from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 23 at the Rustic Diner in Barnum. Dinner includes barbecued pork, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw, applesauce and a roll for $13. Only 100 meals will be made and often sell out, so get there as close to 5 p.m. as you can. The scholarships are given to seniors at Barnum, Moose Lake, Cromwell-Wright and Willow River schools. I have had several requests for the YOT Senior Dances t...
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is May 21. That's when the grand Pine Knot News "tree giveaway" is launching, a day when local businesses and organizations will be giving away a grand total of 10,000 pine seedlings to anyone who promises to give them a good home. Sponsored by the Pine Knot News and Sappi, it's a way of giving back. It's a celebration of Sappi's multiple awards for being one of the most sustainable paper mills in the world, and of the Pine...
Growing up in an inner-ring Minneapolis suburb, we didn't think much of bees. We saw few, perhaps because my dad, along with other neighbors, zapped the dandelions every spring with an awful-smelling liquid he targeted from a tank. Years later, as we walked back along the Cloquet River after a highwater spring canoe trip, I asked him why nothing was growing along the roadway. "Sprayed with DDT," he answered, and went on to tell me about Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." Bees sting. They were our...
