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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'God always takes the good ones first' Hundreds of people packed the National Guard Armory in Cloquet Tuesday morning to pay their respects to a Cloquet dad, husband, father and coach who died earlier this month. Master Sgt. Noah Feehan, 39, died of glioblastoma, a brain cancer likely caused by exposure to toxins emitted by burn pits and jet fuel while serving in the Air National Guard as an avionics technician for 18 years. Before the service started, the line of folks waiting to get in snaked...
Presented with a plan to cut a program that's been serving kindergarten-age children locally for decades, the Cloquet school board balked Monday. The board denied a recommendation to close the Early 5's wrap-around care program, but not before hearing from a host of mothers and past users of the program. "It's frustrating and upsetting to worry about other kids falling through the cracks," said Emily Dunaisky, whose son was in Early 5's. Carly Baker said her husband is 37 years old and "he did...
The city of Carlton may have hit a speed bump last week on its way to adding two full-timers to its ambulance service. A skeptical Wrenshall city council heard Carlton’s proposal during a special meeting April 19, and Wrenshall’s five-member board remained noncommittal, telling Carlton it would have an answer following its May 3 council meeting. “Why does Carlton have to be in the ambulance business?” asked Wrenshall councilor Melvin Martindale. “You’re 1,100 people strong and you’re just not big enough to support (it) and you’re raisin...
Carlton County's Dotseth supports secession study The seriousness of a Republican bill introduced last week can likely be summed up in its author's preferred name for it, the "Rocks and Cows Act." The bill would produce a study by an appointed commission on finding a pathway for Minnesota counties bordering North Dakota and South Dakota to be annexed into those states. The bill was introduced by Rep. Matt Grossell, with 19 other Republicans signing on, including Carlton County's Rep. Jeff Dotseth, who supports a study on why neighboring states...
Eight years have passed since the Carlton County Board of Commissioners approved the half-cent sales tax and the yearly $20 fee per vehicle licensed in Carlton County. In 2022 the net receipts of this funding mechanism has risen to more than $2.55 million, much higher than first anticipated. Originally, the funding was promoted as a way to rehabilitate and repair county roads numbered above 100, whether they were tarred roads or would remain gravel thoroughfares. State aid, coupled with federal...
Carlton County township officers had their spring meeting on Tuesday, April 25. Carlton County emergency management director Marlyn Halverson asked for townships to report on their increased costs suffered during the spring flooding this last two weeks. State funding is probably available, he said, asking township authorities to send photos, costs and other information to [email protected]. The township group approved a resolution to the county board to increase funding for the Transportation Department this next year by 6...
Newly released 2022 data from the Minnesota Department of Health show rising levels of syphilis in Minnesota. Chlamydia, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS numbers show a slight decline during 2022 compared to the previous year but continue to impact thousands of Minnesotans. Syphilis cases rose to 1,832 during 2022, a 25-percent increase from 1,457 cases in 2021 and hitting the highest level in recent years. New infections continued to be centered primarily within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, though health officials noted a syphilis outbreak...
Private wells and the water in them can be impacted by flooding with a risk of contamination. In addition, floodwaters can disrupt or damage the well or the supply lines connected to it. Damage may not be visible and can make cleanup and repairs difficult. • If your well is submerged and connected to a power source, be careful of the risk of electrocution. • If floodwaters get into your well, you will need to contact a licensed well contractor to inspect and clean out the well. • If floodwaters reach your well, but didn’t enter the well, t...
State Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Silver Township, said relief already is available for people who suffered property damage last winter, and the House approved more aid that could apply to spring flooding on a 127-0 vote and sent it to the governor for his anticipated approval. The House appropriated $40 million to the state's disaster assistance contingency account Thursday - the same day the city of Moose Lake declared a state of emergency due to flooding in the area. Dotseth said the disaster...
A 35-year-old Willow River man is faced with a first-degree felony drug charge following his arrest April 16 along Interstate 35 in Carlton County. Roger Petersen Jr. was pulled over after a Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed a traffic violation. A baggie containing 61 grams of “crystal-like” methamphetamine was found in the car, and authorities allege Petersen was also driving while intoxicated. Petersen is charged with first-degree felony possession of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The maximum sentence for the charg...
Cloquet will honor Arbor Day belatedly by giving away 10,000 tree seedlings starting May 26. The tree giveaway is a joint project between Sappi, which pays for the seedlings, Upper Lakes Food, which transports them, and the Pine Knot News, which dreamed up and has led the giveaway for three years. Pictured from left are some of those responsible for the giveaway, including Sappi's Chris Martland and Ross Korpela, Cloquet Mayor Roger Maki, ULF's Luke Olin and the Pine Knot's Ivan...
Amy Louhela calls it “growing the good.” “Instead of focusing on the bad things, you focus on the good things the community already has,” Louhela said. She is the coordinator of a five-year, $920,000 grant awarded in 2021 by the MN Department of Human Services specifically targeted at measures to reduce youth drug and alcohol use through positive community norms. “It’s about getting to know people and your community, finding the strength in your community and growing those strengths,” Louhela said, describing how they’ve been working with yo...
Unique unit highlighted at hospital U.S. Senator Tina Smith visited Community Memorial Hospital earlier this month and delivered a baby. Neither the mother nor the baby were real - both are part of the hospital's birth simulation training program, a high-tech lifelike experience that allows doctors, nurses, students and even senators to practice a wide range of live birth scenarios, from a cesarean section to breech birth to postpartum hemorrhaging. "At 3 a.m. it's them and the nurses,"...
At first blush, the affable and low-key Sen. Tina Smith seems to be somewhat out of place in the U.S. Senate, which is dominated by egos and where worth is measured in seniority and political power. But Smith, Minnesota's junior senator to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, has brought unique qualities to the Senate that are helping her not only survive, but thrive. Her background as a former Planned Parenthood executive gave Senate Democrats an experienced and authoritative voice on women's reproductive issue...
Although hopefully we’ll be mowing grass rather than moving snow soon, I thought a group of people — the “snow people” — deserve a standing ovation from all of us. All those people operating snowplows, loaders, blowers, roof rakes and shovels that kept our roads, parking lots, streets, sidewalks and roofs cleared so that life could go on, so everyone could get to where they needed to go. It is a tough job, always out in the worst of conditions: watching for trash cans, mailboxes, pedestrians, dogs, kids, cars and what other dangers might be...
The state legislature is busy finalizing the omnibus bills that fund all the state agencies and local governments. Within the omnibus bills there are new policy provisions; the public safety and judiciary omnibus bill has new policy provisions associated with reducing gun violence. The local state legislators have voted against the public safety and judiciary omnibus bills that would also appropriate funds that would support emergency services. Which raises the question if some major crimes in the senate district could be prevented. The Bureau...
Tucker Carlson, one of the most popular television personalities on Fox News, lost his job this week, to the cheers of liberals and to the tears of conservatives. But then Don Lemon, a liberal talk show host on CNN, was fired, too. That news softened the blow for conservatives who like to scream about the “liberal media” (a phrase about as false as the election fraud claims) and irritated liberals who like hearing Don attack conservatives on his weeknight show. I’ve never seen either progr...
The latest Knot Gallery art show features seven artists, who sew, knit, weave and otherwise create art out of fiber and fabric. Last week we featured three of the artists - this week we introduce readers to the other four. Julianne Motis Cloquet area farmer Julianne Motis is exhibiting three quilted pieces depicting a couple of incredibly colorful chickens and a cow, each one pieced together with fabric pieces of all shapes and sizes that come together to portray the animal, the same way a...
The Arrowhead Library System will be providing paper quilling “Take & Create” art kits to member public libraries to distribute May 1-31, at libraries across the system, including those in Carlton, Cloquet and Moose Lake. This art experience has been designed by the Duluth Folk School. Create anything from animals to flowers, mosaics, or fun patterns that you can make into a card or wall art. Participants will start with colorful, pre-cut paper strips which will be rolled into coils using a quilling tool, then learn how to pinch them into a v...
The Cloquet Community Band is seeking new members. If you have played an instrument, please check out the band. Practice is 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays at the Cloquet Presbyterian Church, 47 Fourth St., Cloquet. The band provides sheet music, and you bring your instrument. The band performs at a variety of community events (spring and winter concert, parades, nursing homes and other events as requested). Questions? Contact Becky at 218-206-4441....
It’s prom season, especially in Chanhassen, where it has been going on since February. The musical, that is. Chanhassen Dinner Theatres outside of Minneapolis is featuring “The Prom” on its Main Stage through June 10. “This uplifting, hilarious musical comedy dazzled Broadway audiences with its old-school song-and-dance energy and message of acceptance, and now it’s doing the same at Chanhassen,” the company reports. Based on a true story, a small Indiana town is rocked when a group of parents and school officials try to prevent high school...
Science fair is roaring back in the wake of Covid-19. For the first time since it was abruptly canceled in 2020, the Minnesota Academy of Science state science fair was held in person last month. They're on the right track, said Cynthia Welsh, longtime Cloquet middle school science teacher and research mentor, who organizes the annual Northeastern Minnesota Regional Science Fair. Prior to Covid, she said the regional fair boasted as many as 200 competitors from schools around northern...
Leading their best-of-five playoff series 2-0 following wins last weekend, the Minnesota Wilderness flew to Alaska this week in their attempt to close out the Kenai River Brown Bears and advance to the Midwest Division finals. "The next game in front of you is the most important game of the year," coach Brett Skinner said of what he's telling the team. "That's the same mentality we've had for a while now." A two-seed in the North American Hockey League's 16-team Robertson Cup playoffs, the Wilde...
Will Stenberg continues his outdoors photo hunt this spring, capturing a blue heron chilling out on the St. Louis River earlier this month. With the flood situation settled down and no new snow in sight, one might be inspired to snap a few signs of spring in the next few weeks. If you do, send one along for print to [email protected] with a brief explanation....
Junior Koi Perich is latest Eskomo to commit Avid area football fans by now have probably heard that Esko junior star running back and defensive back Koi Perich has committed to play for the Minnesota Gophers after graduating from Esko. The casual fan may not realize that as many as seven Eskomos will be playing college football two years from now when Perich plies his wares for Minnesota. Another player is undecided, which could mean as many as eight players in the college ranks. "If anything,...
