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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Robert Dahl was driving down a road in Carlton County when he received a call from an excavator operator. The operator was going to leave two beaver dams alone and told Dahl about new ones popping up at other sites the county monitors. It was not an unusual call for the county’s department of transportation maintenance supervisor. “Once a week [we] have the excavator out opening all these sites,” Dahl said. “Looking at them, monitoring them, making that decision: Do we need to open it up? Is...
In the years that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and subsequent calls for law enforcement reforms, choosing a career as a cop got more complicated and less popular. In 2019, 48 students graduated from the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College law enforcement program. In 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, there were 27. In 2022, only 15. Last year there were 24. There were 22 graduates at this year's Enhanced Skills Professional Peace Officers Education Program ceremo...
Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake attended the Moose Lake city council meeting in June and publicly shared that the city will have its first dedicated deputy available Aug. 1. In February, the council voted to contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office for its law enforcement services. The decision meant the city’s longstanding police force would come to an end. The city and sheriff’s office agreed to a plan that includes assigning four deputies to cover the city. The city’s police department is still operating under chief Chad Pattiso...
The Carlton County Master Gardeners are once again hosting a garden tour. The July 16 tour will showcase five gardens in the Cloquet area. Highlights of the tour will include a small-space garden with a children's area; a garden where a resident grows garlic and herbs and harvests maple syrup; stops at a beekeeper and a berry farmer; a community garden; and lots of perennials and garden art. The free, self-guided tour runs 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, rain or shine. Maps will be available after...
The Cloquet Country Club held its club championships June 29-30, with former Lumberjacks players (and their coach) taking a starring role in the men’s competition. 2021 Cloquet grad Sam Baker defeated 2023 grad Karson Patton for Men’s Champion, while Keegan Poppenberg, a 2019 Esko grad, defeated Lumberjacks boys coach Aaron Young for third place. Arica Lepage defeated Patti Sheff for Ladies Champion. Men’s flight winners were Blair Chartier, Randy Leyendecker, Chris Chartier, Mark Kayser, Keith...
Sheila Regan MinnPost The town of Tamarack, just across the Carlton County border with Aitkin County, is named after a kind of pine tree that turns yellow in the fall and loses its needles in the winter. It often grows in wet areas such as bogs or swamps, and there are a lot of them in the area, which used to be a giant proglacial lake. Tamarack sits on Ojibwe land and is 1855- and 1854 treaty territory. The past two weekends, artist and activist Shanai Matteson helped organize a tour of the area as part of a new project called Talon Mine... 
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A couple who moved away without their pets, resulting in the death of five cats due to lack of food or water, were sentenced last month for their crimes, a combination of probation and fines. Karlee Lynn Strum, 32, and Dominic James Welch, 28, moved from Cloquet to Arkansas in December 2023, but left seven cats behind without access to food or water. Four cats were dead by the time someone entered the apartment 18 days later. A fifth cat died the same day it was rescued and two cats were nursed back to health. At the time, Strum and Welch were...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has added Aitkin County in a deer feeding and attractant ban to reduce the risk of chronic wasting disease spread, following CWD detection in two additional wild deer near Grand Rapids in fall 2023. Feeding deer and using deer attractants is now banned in 24 Minnesota counties where disease surveillance efforts indicate a greater risk of CWD spread. The feeding and attractant ban is now in effect in Aitkin, Beltrami, Carver, Cass, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston,...
The northern Minnesota -based Northern Revival 17s team finished its club volleyball season at the Volleyball Festival in Phoenix, where the team finished 44th out of 96 teams after 11 matches in the 18s Club Division. It was one of three teams from Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Iowa to represent the upper midwest. The Revival played teams from all over the country, including Hawaii and Alaska, plus a few teams from Canada. The overall season record for 2024 ended at 48 wins and 42 losses....
Minnesota Department of Resources conservation officers are part of Operation Dry Water, a nationwide campaign that runs July 4-6 to highlight the dangers of boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs and call attention to the heavy penalties associated with boating while intoxicated. In Minnesota and across the nation, BWI is the leading contributing factor to boating accidents and fatalities. In Minnesota, which has particularly strong BWI laws, anyone convicted of drinking and driving — whether they’re operating a boat, motor veh...
Minnesotans can now vote early in Minnesota’s 2024 primary election, which is on Aug. 13. To be eligible to vote, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old on election day, a resident of Minnesota for 20 days, not under a court order prohibiting them from voting and not currently incarcerated for a felony. This will be the first statewide primary election that felons will be able to participate in as long as they are not currently incarcerated. In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law restoring voting rights to people w...
By the time most of you read this, July Fourth will have come and gone. Weather permitting, the parade, family fun, car show, races, basketball, movie in the park, and fireworks will have brought great joy to thousands once again, a national birthday party that's been celebrated in Cloquet for more than a century. "July fourth was the best summer day ever. It always will be," wrote Cloquet native and local poet Patrick Stevens of his 55-year-old memories of the holiday. Many of us share some...
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all m...
Fewer than 5 percent of the U.S. population make their livelihood in agriculture. When an urban family gets into their car to go out to the country and meet a family that makes a living farming, it can be unforgettable. Youngsters marvel at the animals and large-sized equipment and adults deepen their understanding of the food economy. Duane and Doreen Laveau hosted Breakfast on the Farm Saturday, June 29, at their 65-cow Laveau Grandview Dairy in Wrenshall and treated more than 750 people to a...
Esko's Elizabeth Naglak and her son, Edwin, make a great sales team at the Cloquet Farmers Market for their Bread in the Meadow business. Elizabeth said it's her eighth season at the farmers market, which sets up from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday in front of Premiere Theatres in Cloquet. Photo by Jana Peterson / Pine Knot News...
In a summer of dodgeball with so much rain, the fourth annual Wood City Classic Softball Tournament went smoothly last weekend at Braun Park in Cloquet. There were plenty of highlights to go around as 32 teams competed in three age divisions. “It was a special weekend,” said tournament director Adam Maslowski. “When we got to the fields on Friday morning they were under water, but our grounds crew busted their tails off and got the fields in great playing shape.” The tournament was started...
With the Fourth of July in the rearview mirror, planning for all the other Carlton County community festivals heats up. Here's a short list of all the fun, so you can make a plan. Agate Days, Moose Lake, July 13-14 It's the 55th annual Moose Lake Agate Days with the The Gem & Mineral Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 13 and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 14 at Riverside Arena, with a free kids dig outside. Saturday is the big day, and the Clark-Olsen Agate Stampede down Elm Avenue at 3...
Whether you love the old classics or Rat Rods are more your style, there are numerous summer car shows in and around Carlton County. Even if you missed Gordy's Curbside Classic on May 30 - it came early this year - or the big show during Spring Fever Days in Barnum, there are still lots of opportunities to see and be seen. The Northeastern Hotel & Saloon hosts two car shows every summer: one on July Fourth from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the other 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Labor Day, Sept. 7. Carlton...
David Michael McGovern, 80, passed away on June 21, 2024, at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. He was born on June 4, 1944, to Benjamin and Alice (White) McGovern in Duluth. David was raised in Hermantown and graduated from Hermantown High School. He entered the U.S. Air Force on Nov. 19, 1962, and completed his training in Amarillo, Texas. He later served in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Following his honorable discharge on Nov. 18, 1966, he returned to Duluth. David was u...
Donald Louis Robnik of Cloquet, known to his friends and family as Donny, passed away unexpectedly Sunday June 23, 2024, at age 58. He was born in Duluth on May 13, 1966, to Dennis and Mary Ann (Hill) Robnik. Donny graduated from Duluth Cathedral High School in 1984, where he was a gifted artist and earned a scholarship. Donny wore many professional hats in his life. A jack of all trades, he started out working for his family’s towing business in Rochester, Minnesota, then moved to Tulsa, O...
John R. Sibik, 81, of Cloquet passed away surrounded by his family on June 29, 2024, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth. He was born June 13, 1943, in Duluth, the son of Louis and Dorothy (Looby) Sibik. John graduated from Morgan Park High School in 1961. He was united in marriage to Cheryl J. Smith on July 25, 1964, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Duluth. John worked as an optometrist for many years and at many locations. He served in the 148th Air National Guard for 23 years and also w...
Josephine G. “Josie” Prevost, 94, of Cloquet passed away peacefully in the presence of loved ones on June 26, 2024, at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. She was born April 3, 1930, to Norbert and Hattie (VerBetan) Behl in Detroit. During her early years, Josie moved with her family to the Cloquet area and resided there for the duration of her life. She attended Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School and later graduated from Proctor High School. Josie began a career with a telep...
Mark A. Pajari was born in Wadena, Minnesota to Arnold Pajari and Phyllis (Burnette) Pajari on Jan. 12, 1960. He passed away on April 30, 2024, at Essentia Health in Duluth. Raised in Cloquet, Mark enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing, and especially spending time with family and friends. Mark was preceded in death by his parents, Arnold and Phyllis (Bernie Grindle); his maternal and paternal grandparents; nephew Benji Pajari; and beloved aunts and uncles. He is survived by his children, Nicole...
Frederic Arthur Hackensmith, 82, of Cloquet passed away June 25, 2024, at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. He was born June 18, 1942, to Harold and Gladys Hackensmith. He attended school in Carlton. Frederic worked at several local automotive shops and was an over-the-road trucker. He was a member of the Barnum Methodist Church. In his early years, he enjoyed spending time at dirt-track races and later in life he enjoyed puzzles. Frederic loved taking day trips to visit family and friends or...
The Kettle River city council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 9 at the Kettle River Senior Center. The next Ma & Pa Kettle Days committee meeting is at 6 p.m. Sunday, July 14. Plan to attend. The next Finnish Luncheon is at noon Tuesday, July 16. All are invited to attend. No reservations needed. Come and visit with friends. Ma & Pa Kettle Days is Aug. 9 and 10. Steak fry Friday night, breakfast, pie social, midway, mud bog, and bingo on Saturday. One winter in about 1958 or 1959 an organization in Chicago asked if we would make doll clothes for...
