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 30
Police are in short supply these days, so Cloquet city councilors voted Tuesday to spend the money to keep its department competitive, approving raises of 6, 5 and 4 percent in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Then they voted again after a closed session to make the pay even more competitive: adding a "market adjustment" to police hourly pay, a move that will likely increase taxes, city officials say. "We value our police department and we want to keep them working in Cloquet," said Ward 4 councilor Kerry...
Storm chasing is a dangerous and unpredictable hobby, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. For me, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of chasing a storm cell and trying to capture the perfect shot. I had the opportunity to do just that when a severe thunderstorm warning was issued June 12 for our area. I grabbed my camera and headed out into the field, hoping to get a glimpse of a tornado or just amazing cloud formations. As I drove, I watched the storm clouds build in the distance. T... Full story
Residents and businesses can maximize their impact on fighting hunger and homelessness next month. Every financial gift in July will be matched, providing vital resources to the Salvation Army food shelves, which assist vulnerable individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. The Summer Challenge initiative is intended to encourage folks to help restock their local food shelves during a time when donations are traditionally slow, and when demand for food assistance is high when kids...
A simple gesture saved a life. But it’s a complicated story, beginning in Cloquet and covering the 5,000-mile trip to war-torn Ukraine, and then back to Cloquet. The story starts in 2022 and continues through 2024. “My niece is a doctor in Ukraine and when the war started she called me and was in tears,” said Galyna Tuttle of Carlton, who grew up in Ukraine. “There had been an accident from an explosion and a 10-year-old boy was wounded by shrapnel. She said the wounds were deep, but they ha... Full story
The northbound on-ramp to Interstate 35 from Highway 45 will be closing on Wednesday, June 26, from 9 a.m. to approximately 2 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced this week. The closure is needed to complete pavement repairs on the ramp. If inclement weather occurs, the closure and work will take place on June 27. A detour will be posted to take southbound I-35 to exit 237 northbound Highway 33 and move through the roundabout to return to northbound I-35....
For the fourth straight year, the Minnesota Wilderness will open its season at home. The North American Hockey League has released its schedule for the 2024-25 regular season. The Wilderness will play 59 regular-season contests, with all 28 of its home games at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet. The opener will be Sept. 13 against Fairbanks. The Wilderness will also play three games in the NAHL Showcase tournament in Blaine, Minnesota Sept. 25-28. The first road contest is Sept. 21 at Chippewa Falls. The Wilderness will again host a...
Carlton business manager Angela Lind said busing costs are too high, and driving a deficit for the next school year. At their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, the Carlton school board approved a budget for the 2024-25 school year that showed a deficit of $102,380, with $6,206,726 in estimated revenues, and $6,309,106 in estimated expenses. "The revenues we receive for transportation do not ... come close to our expenses," Lind said. "There's a $192,000 deficit in transportation."...
Earlier this month the Pine Knot reported on a proposal by Talon Metals to bring a nickel mine to Tamarack, near the border of Carlton County and Aitkin County. But it’s not the only mineral-based exploration being conducted in the area. Rio Tinto, the second-largest mining group in the world, has conducted an exploratory drill in Carlton County, outside Tamarack, in an attempt to locate bedrock that would be ripe for carbon sequestration. The area is part of the 11-mile Tamarack Intrusive Complex that has had 500 exploratory drills in s...
USG Interiors was fined $18,949 for air quality violations at its Cloquet facility two years ago by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. According to an MPCA enforcement investigation, USG exceeded nitrogen oxide emissions by 10 percent above permit limits for nearly 50 days during the summer of 2022. The violations were confirmed following a failed stack test of equipment that dries materials to be formed into ceiling tiles at the company’s facility in Cloquet, Minn. An MPCA staff inspection in May 2023 also confirmed other violations i...
A Cloquet man who once served time for kidnapping and raping an ex-girlfriend was found guilty by a jury on June 7 of four felony counts related to his attempted sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl. Tony Allen Gohl, 40, was charged in fall 2023 with a series of crimes related to an incident involving a girl he’d been taking care of for approximately one year. His trial was conducted at the Sixth District Carlton County Courthouse before Judge Rebekka Stumme. The jury found Gohl guilty of two counts of attempted criminal sexual conduct in t...
The Laveau Grandview Dairy in Wrenshall, Carlton County, will host Breakfast on the Farm from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 29 at 508 Cemetery Road in Wrenshall. The event includes a breakfast, farm tours, milking demonstrations, wagon rides and hands-on activities for all ages. The event is free, including breakfast (pancakes, sausage, milk, and coffee). Donations will be accepted. There is parking on site, with a tractor-pulled carriage for your convenience.... Full story
Volunteers needed to help set up at Veterans Park starting at 5 p.m. July 3 and tear down starting at 9 a.m. July 5. On the Fourth, help is needed with face painting, wiffleball, parade line-up, garbage pickup and more. Call Jana or Ivan at 218-878-9332 or 218-213-1231 or stop by the Pine Knot office at 122 Avenue C and make a plan....
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted high school students interested in exploring healthcare at Scrubs Camp June 12-14 during the annual Indigenous Healthcare Career Exploration Camp. Topics for this year’s camp include midwifery, physician’s assistant-orthopedics, aging services, alcohol and drug counseling, emergency medicine, pharmacy, equine assisted therapy, occupational therapy, medical research, and nursing. “The Indigenous Healthcare Career Exploration Camp is a tremendous opportunity for indigenous, rural or under...
A rural Carlton County man pleaded guilty to producing child pornography in U.S. District Court earlier this month. Cord Cameron Schipman, 33, was arrested last fall after an FBI covert operation revealed “sexually explicit contact” with a minor, including an explicit photograph. According to the criminal complaint, a special online covert FBI employee was searching chat rooms on Kik Messenger, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation calls a “predator’s paradise.” They found a post by Schipman under the name Cord218 in a chat room...
From discussions about making a pitch for Hockey Day Minnesota, a less complicated, more locally driven idea was born: Hockey Day Cloquet. It's an idea that has legs now that the Cloquet City Council gave the city's blessing to use Veterans Park for the first-time event, set for Jan. 7-17, 2025. Nate Knutsen, who spearheaded fundraising efforts for the high school's new outdoor athletic facilities and the baseball updates at Mettner Field, presented the idea to the council at Tuesday's meeting.... Full story
It’s been four years since Covid-19 threw schools into disarray, and enrollment in Cloquet has still not bounced back. Even with more severe staffing cuts this spring than usual, on June 10 Cloquet School Board members approved a general fund budget for the 2024-25 school year that was approximately $88,000 in the red, with general fund revenues projected at $35,638,978 and expenditures of $35,727,681. The unassigned general fund is where most of the district’s payroll and day-to-day money comes from, versus specialized funds for tra...
The Mahtowa Tavern is located in the heart of Mahtowa, and is well-loved by many! After more than 30 years, Rob finally got to retire, and passed the torch to Glenn and Renee Gaffney March 1. Glenn and Renee continue to dedicate their lives to serving the community, maintaining old-fashioned traditions, and providing great food and fun for everyone. Glenn and Renee also own TJ's Country Corner, the perfect source of the freshest burger possible for the Mahtowa Tavern. They grind fresh lean beef... Full story
A few weeks ago we used this space to express our love of all that are the lazy, hazy days of summer. This week, we don’t mind reminding you of that again — with some help. Inside today’s issue is a comprehensive guide to warm-weather activities in the area. There’s also a new column by Darrell Davey, a part-time employee at the Pine Knot who helps us mind the city’s cable-TV channel CAT-7. He’s galavanting around the region with his wife and twin girls and agreed to share his day trips with us. That’s on Page 15, right after the pull-out summ... Full story
Earlier this month I saw a TV news story that some cities are placing cameras at stop signs. When you are caught not stopping at a stop sign, you might expect a fine. A lot of the comments were against this practice. I would be OK with this, and I’ll tell you why. Every day when I’m around town, I see drivers not stopping for stop signs. It happens quite frequently. One of the worst places is the four-way stop at the intersection of 14th Street and Doddridge Avenue. Some vehicles seem to make no effort to stop. I believe stop signs do not mea... Full story
In recent weeks, local schools held graduation ceremonies to honor this rite of passage into adulthood. These are momentous occasions, but most of us carry few memories of the speeches or the ritual after a few years have passed. What we do carry with us are the knowledge and lifelong emotional connections to our classmates. The grad parties and celebrations will continue for a while, but then it is time to move on. As the Class of ’24 continues to find its way in the world, they hold m... Full story
For 36 years, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College has fulfilled its mission of providing higher education opportunities for its communities in a welcoming, culturally diverse environment. As an institution, we have much to be grateful for. In reflecting on our history, my thoughts go back to what took place behind the scenes in 1987, and years prior, to officially establish our unique institution. We are the only college in the nation that is both a Tribal college and a state community... Full story
Top-seeded Esko got off to a strong start in its quest for back-to-back Class AA baseball state championships with a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Montevideo on June 13 at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. A 4-0 semifinal loss to Foley the next day, also at Dick Putz, foiled Esko’s state title aspirations. But Esko responded immediately afterwards with a workmanlike 4-1 win over Le Sueur-Henderson in the third-place game. Esko jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning in the quarterfinal against M... Full story
A weak tornado touched down in Beseman Township last Wednesday, June12. I was home at the time, and the rain came down in sheets, along with the high winds whipping the trees around in my yard. It wasn’t until the next morning that I realized several large trees came down on the north side of my driveway, blocking the road. My brother Mark Dahlman came over and cut the tree limbs back far enough for me to get out, but there will still be lots of logging to do to clean up the mess. Mark also info...
Foundation grants increase The Northland Foundation has increased the amount of funding available through its Native American-led Maada’ookiing program to $5,000 per grant, twice the previous cap of $2,500. The increase is effective immediately, so those applying for the fall 2024 grant round (Sept. 15 deadline) may request up to $5,000. The board also opted to allow recipients to apply for additional grants within the same year. “Grantees are facing higher expenses for supplies, renting spa...
Children in Wrenshall Community Education’s Wrens Club program are learning about plants and pollination this summer. In mid-June, the Wrenshall Parents in Education group engaged the kids in a daylong activity that included hearing a hands-on presentation by a retired biologist, transplanting a native pollinator-friendly plant to take home, weeding a garden at the school, crafting a solar-powered night light with bee decorations, and visiting a nearby farm that relies critically on natural poll...
