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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Written by MPR News Dan Kraker, Nancy Yang, Brian Bakst and Nina Moini Gov. Tim Walz is loosening social distancing restrictions that he put in place at the end of March to slow the spread of COVID-19. The "Stay Safe Minnesota" order replaces his stay-at-home order, which expires May 18. Under the new order, retail businesses will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity and group gatherings of 10 or fewer people, including at places of worship, will be permitted once again. Restrictions on...
Through interviews, we’ve been learning about Carlton County’s small-business challenges with COVID-19 social distancing requirements and mandatory shutdowns of many kinds of businesses. Here’s a look back at the last decade of small business experiences in Carlton County, charting the impact of the Great Recession that resulted in many (especially small) businesses folding. I focus on food preparation jobs — especially hard-hit under COVID-19 distancing restrictions — and how this sector fared...
When Gov. Tim Walz mandated that non-essential Minnesota businesses close to the public, Mainstream Boutique's Kris and RyAnna Anvid decided to take the store to their customers. They didn't violate any social distancing measures. Rather, the mother-daughter team began doing weekly Facebook Live videos. "We idled for a week or two, then I told my daughter we had to do something. We didn't want to give up or let this virus be the end of Mainstream Boutique," said Kris, who owns both the women's...
The Cloquet school district made graduation ceremony plans before Minnesota Department of Health officials joined state education commissioners last week to announce guidelines for schools honoring senior classes. In short, schools, colleges and universities are being asked to host virtual graduation ceremonies people can watch from home. But many schools are attempting to do more than that by offering a more participatory approach for seniors. Cloquet's plans for a drive-in-style movie of...
A Canada goose cuddles with a gosling in this photo taken by Pine Knot News subscriber Mike Farmer, also an avid wildlife photographer. Farmer found the pair at the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor on Wednesday. Farmer said he'd been driving around "looking for critters" when he saw two geese across a small river and spied a tiny bit of yellow under the wing. "I knew it was gonna pop up like that," he said, adding that he ended up waiting about a half hour before the gosling...
Are they open? In this time of social distancing and myriad governor’s orders, don’t you wish there was a place to find out — or to communicate — which businesses in Carlton County are open, and which ones are not? There is. Our small staff can’t possibly cover everything, but the Open or Knot app on our website is an easy way for the community to “crowdsource’’ and consolidate this useful information in one convenient reputable place: www.pineknotnews.com. It’s free. Free for business owners and organizations to upload their own up-to-date in...
Minnesota National Guard and 934th Air Wing of the Air Force Reserve pilots flew over the state Wednesday to recognize those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic response. It was the second such operation this month. It included a direct path over Cloquet just after noon. The planes flew low due to cloud cover and were easily visible from the ground and, in one case, for workers on the roof of Community Memorial Hospital. The aircraft were F-16 Fighting Falcon and C-130 Hercules aircraft...
DONATE TO COVID-19 LOCAL RELIEF FUND The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic everyday survival items by sending grocery cards through the mail to local families who request help. The COVID-19 Local Relief Fund is open and accepting donations. To donate, text UWCARLTON to 41444 or visit the website. Send grocery cards to United Way of Carlton County, PO Box 250, Cloquet MN 55720. DONATE...
A bright orange canopy sits front and center in the Cloquet Walmart store parking lot now, awaiting the day when the local store offers outside pickup for groceries. A Walmart spokesperson said the Cloquet store expects to offer orders online or through the Walmart app with grocery pickup starting in July. Stay posted for more information in the Pine Knot News this summer....
In the early 1970s, a bunch of us guys finishing up our high school days wanted to continue to play competitive basketball. We played nearly every evening after school at the Cloquet Civic Center. Once in college, I talked to Kate Vestin, who was the center's manager, and told her I was interested in forming a team to play in a men's basketball league. I thought we could - although "undersized" - hold our own. Kate gave me league details and explained the need to find a sponsor. The sponsor's...
With the current lull in the sports world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, now is a good time to discuss two dire needs in the Minnesota sports world: referees and coaches. Across the state, the Minnesota State High School League and other sports leagues are begging for people to become officials and many local school districts are struggling to find not just qualified coaches, but coaches in general. As a former high school coach, I’ve seen firsthand the struggle of finding officials. In the s...
Avoiding the expected crowds, I slid the big blue Lund into the water a little past 4 a.m. on opener morning. By the light of the full moon, David, Joseph and I made our way slowly upstream from Boy Scout Landing on the St. Louis River. Several boats zipped by in the moonlight and shadows, brave enough or carefree enough to forge the river full speed ahead. I had planned to avoid the masses, but the draw of openers past nagged at me until I relented. Also, I wanted to target big fish. I decided...
About 14 years ago, Kate Isles gave her partner in life and music, Bill Isles, some direction while they were driving in St. Cloud. "Don't go down by the bridge," Bill recalls Kate saying. "(And) I just bellowed out 'Stay up high on the ridge.'" And that was the innocuous lyrical beginning of what became the song "Flood Waters," released on an album the couple produced in 2011. It became an audience favorite for the musical duo from Duluth that has a cabin and studio on Hay Lake in Carlton...
The scientific name for a weed I am seeing a lot around the farm this spring is urtica dioica, which sounds like something a doctor might tell you if your urinary tract infection has taken a turn for the worse. I much prefer the common name: nettles. The two t’s in the middle of the word look like the tiny spines on the stem of the plant itself. This is where the hollow hairs called trichomes reside. They act like hypodermic needles, injecting chemicals like histamines into flesh to produce a st...
Villa Vista/Cardinal Court volunteers are invited to stop by between 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Friday, May 15 to get a plant as an appreciation gift from Julie and Mike Peterson. They usually have a volunteers breakfast at their facility in May, but due to you-know-what, they will distribute plants outside instead. They also want to thank all the faithful volunteers who do so much with the residents every year, and hope that things can return to normal soon. So, residents and staff, hang in there!...
Sharon Oyat is from Uganda and previously worked as a newspaper intern in Cloquet and has many close ties in Carlton County and Minnesota. She writes an occasional column for the Pine Knot News and shared what the worldwide pandemic looks like in her country We are Africans. We have summer year-round. We eat healthful foods - ash is an ingredient in some of our delicacies. We are herbalists. This "corona thing" affects only the European countries. They are in winter now, it's very cold....
With teams of experts reminding us daily of the defensive measures we must all take to fight off the coronavirus, we tend to think that's all we need to do. But now comes our moment to go on the offensive, to win the bigger war - a war not only for our physical health, but for our mental, emotional and even spiritual health - the war to maintain the bonds of our community, maybe even our humanity. When Desiree Pederson, owner of Necessities Salon in Cloquet, thought about the challenge to her...
Residents at Diamond Willow Assisted Living facilities in the region have been able to virtually and, sometimes, physically - divided by glass - connect with loved ones in recent months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Below: Pearl Kaspari visits with her son and daughter-in-law through a doorway. Right: Betty Krause visits with family members....
The Pine Knot inadvertently left out some of our Mother's Day art submissions last week. Here are three of those celebrating generations of mothers....
I am breaking the first rule of writers: "Write about what you know." Even though my husband and I have raised gardens for 50 years, my knowledge of the plant world remains quite incomplete. I come from a long line of gardeners, not Master Gardeners, mind you, but women who mastered gardening to feed their families and spruce up the yard with flowers if they had time or energy to spare. It was understood that I would carry on this gardening tradition when I married and had children. We bought...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has published the eighth edition of its literary and arts anthology, "The Thunderbird Review." The journal features writing and art submitted by students from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and residents of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin communities. According to a FDLTCC press release, the journal received many high-quality submissions this year from both established and emerging writers and artists. The editorial staff...
Raymond William Kemi, 89, of Esko passed away on May 17, 2020 in Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. A drive-by visitation is scheduled for 10-11 a.m. Thursday, May 21 in the Atkins Northland Funeral Home parking lot. A private family service will be held. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery. Letters and cards of condolence may be sent to the family c/o Atkins Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th St., Cloquet MN 55720....
Donald James Olson, 81 of Cloquet passed away on Monday, April 27, 2020 in his home. He was born February 28. 1939 in Cloquet to Lloyd and Caroline Olson. He graduated from Cloquet High School in 1957. He received his Master’s Degree from UMD. After college he moved to Hollywood, California and worked as a teacher and college placement counselor at University High School until retiring in 1994. He moved back to Cloquet after retiring. There will be no services per Don’s request....
The nets were up at the Pinehurst Park basketball court by 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, following the decision at Tuesday's Cloquet city council meeting to fully reopen the parks. The skatepark is also open now. The city is asking residents to maintain social distancing at the parks, and to be aware that jungle gyms are not being sanitized. Parks workers are posting signs with cautions and suggested guidelines....
