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 week started with a real emergency around the Baker household. Phoenix, our resident gecko, was out of food. Normally, we would run to Duluth and pick him up some crickets or tasty mealworms. It was late into the evening before we figured out he needed a fresh supply of protein. The last light of day had just faded when I jumped into the Suburban. I wasn’t too thrilled with this mission, but somewhere, way down the list of parental and husbandly duties, was making sure the gecko was fed. M...
There was history. There was agreement. There were dull-as-unbuttered-toast moments. And, like a main event, the moment everyone had been waiting for - direct opinions from each school board member on the future of the Wrenshall and Carlton districts. While there likely never has never been a joint meeting between the full boards before, it doesn't mean the two districts are on solid footing when it comes to consolidation, a notion that has fallen on the two small districts for decades. The...
It rained in the morning. It rained in the afternoon. But everything still went mostly as planned in Cloquet for its annual Fourth of July celebration, from the parade and free rainbows to wiffleball, pie eating and fireworks. We have a pull-out Fourth photo album in the middle of today’s Pine Knot News. Relive the Fourth through the lens of Pine Knot photographers. It all starts on Page 9....
Most of the time, rock- hounds have to hit up gravel pits, freshly plowed fields or pebble-strewn beaches to find prime examples of the state gemstone, the Lake Superior agate. This weekend, all they have to do is head to downtown Moose Lake. As part of the annual Moose Lake Agate Days, dump trucks will again travel down two blocks of Elm Avenue depositing all kinds of rocks and gravel, plus 400 pounds of agates, $400 in quarters and $100 in 50-cent pieces for the Clark-Olsen Agate Stampede at 3...
Historic Minnesota events that took place July 12-18. July 12 1829 Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor ends his command at Fort Snelling, which had begun May 24, 1828. He would later lead the U.S. Army in the war against Mexico, and “Old Rough and Ready” would ride that fame to the White House. Taylor is the only president to have spent a significant amount of time in Minnesota. July 13 1787 Congress passes the Northwest Ordinance. Authored by Thomas Jefferson, it set up the rules of government for the Northwest Territory of the United States, wh...
Pollution and homelessness, two significant issues facing the country and our county, have sparked creative and innovative solutions. One group in Carlton seeks to address both issues with its 100-percent-recycled plastic sleeping mats. Every Tuesday, a group of half a dozen people gather at 9 a.m. to cut, tie, and crochet plastic bags into durable sleeping mats for the homeless population living throughout Carlton County. Maureen Singleton, the group's founder, was a member of a similar group...
Farmers drove their tractors and brought gas cans to the Wrenshall General Store Friday - excited about the opportunity to fill up with the new premium diesel on tap. Store owner Jeff Bloom said he's had people asking him to offer the fuel for some time, and he got the new tank operating the last week in June. The giant tank just south of the store offers both on- and off-road premium diesel. People can fill up at the tank and go inside to pay. "Nobody else sells it around here," Bloom said. "I...
The Life Link III helicopter responded to a motorcycle crash Sunday, July 7, in Twin Lakes Township. Stone River Boulanger was injured when his motorcycle apparently spun out at the end of his driveway on the 1500 block of Lakeridge Trail. According to the state of Minnesota public crash report, Boulanger's wife reported the accident at 4:01 p.m. Sunday. When deputies from the Carlton County Sheriff's Office arrived, Boulanger was sitting on the bike, but was confused about how he crashed and...
This spring, Cloquet school board members asked activities director Paul Riess to prepare a report showing the different sports teams, their participation numbers and the number of coaches for each team. What that report revealed was significant disparity in coach-to-kid ratios, particularly in two sports: cross-country running and Nordic skiing, where the ratio of kids to coaches was nearly 50:1. On Monday, board members voted to partially correct that disparity. Riess said he tried to compare...
Sam Kavanaugh, a 2009 Carlton High School graduate, showed the country how a teacher handles the Jeopardy quiz show in a taping shown Wednesday, winning $38,000 and knocking off the three-day winner for the right to play again. A crowd of supporters watched the Minneapolis teacher at the Streetcar Kitchen and Pub in Carlton, where his aunt and uncle, Rob and Teresa Kavanaugh, held a Jeopardy viewing party. They offered a free drink if he answered a Daily Double. He did. Sam is the son of Ed and...
About a dozen residents attended the hearing on funding a new Carlton County transportation garage in Barnum on Tuesday during the regular meeting of the Carlton County Board of Commissioners. Most people attending voiced concern that using a half-percent sales tax for funding the building would hinder road maintenance projects. In a PowerPoint presentation, county engineer JinYeene Neumann said space is limited at the aging facility, which was built in 1975 and added onto in 1978. In the 1970s, dump trucks were 25-feet long and motor graders w...
The Cloquet Community Band will perform favorite concert band music starting at 7 p.m. Monday, July 15 at the amphitheater at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. This will be the first concert of the year for the community band. Director Carol Risdon — who was out of commission with two broken arms — promises a range of music, including swing, polkas and marches. “There should be something for everyone,” she said, adding that the volunteer community band is always looking for new members...
The Carlton County Master Gardeners is offering a self-guided tour of gardens in the Barnum and Mahtowa area 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, July 16. Highlights of the tour will be yards with perennials, vegetables and a pumpkin patch, a lake home with a woodland garden featuring trilliums, Jack-in-the-pulpit, toad lilies and Lady’s Slippers, a residence with beehives and fruit trees and, as an added bonus, a local grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork and poultry farm. Maps for this free event are available at the Extension office in Carlton, TJ’s in Mah...
Arrowhead Senior Nutrition menu for July 12-19: Friday, July 12: Hamloaf, strawberry shortcake Monday, July 15: Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti, fresh fruit Tuesday, July 16: Chef salad, yogurt Wednesday, July 17: Liver and onions or alternative, strawberry cream pie Thursday, July 18: Roast turkey dinner, fresh fruit Friday, July 19: Stuffed peppers, banana cake Call 24 hours in advance to order the alternative entree. Frozen meals are available for weekends. Meals are served at the Cloquet Senior Center, open Monday-Friday at 11:30 a.m....
Votes — or rather the lack of any vote at all — by Carlton County commissioner Tom Proulx on several resolutions during the June 24 county board meeting had us scratching our heads here at the Pine Knot News. After all, what does it mean when an elected official doesn’t vote? We learned there is no simple answer to that question. In neighboring St. Louis County, according to the policy manual, a commissioner may be excused from voting on a question by the majority of the board in case of a demonstrated possible conflict of interest, with the r...
The Cloquet library is a godsend to parents in the summer. No sooner did we walk in last week than several kids greeted Tommy and Patrick, apparently friends of theirs from school. Soon, the girls were playing with Eleanor and the boys were looking up sports information. I found a great book written by Paul Fahlstrom, who grew up here and wrote about his hometown from his home in Maryland. The book, “Old Cloquet, Minnesota: White Pine Capital of the World” was published in 1997, and the cop...
While students in our area are enjoying summer break, I’m thinking ahead to the start of the new school year. I’d love every student to have one-on-one support, but school districts simply don’t have the resources. Fortunately, Cloquet, Barnum and Carlton all have partners with a literacy program called Minnesota Reading Corps. It helps our students get ready for kindergarten and on track to be successful readers by the end of third grade. To help our students succeed, we’re looking for 12 new tutors for the 2019-20 school year to fill opening...
An avid runner, I have participated in a lot of 5K runs over the years. The Cloquet Sawdust 5K may be one of the hardest ones I have ever done, but it’s also one of the best. With its killer hills and hot humid conditions that always come on the Fourth of July, the Sawdust is the race that runners love to hate. What is it about the Sawdust that brings more than 400 people to the starting line at 8 a.m. on a holiday? What is it that made me turn down an invitation to an out-of-town barbeque w...
Awake. Verb, intransitive verb. (A person can “awake,” as in Wake Up [verb], or a person can be awake, as in: “I’m awake [intransitive], so turn off the alarm.” These states are mutually exclusive, albeit infinitesimally.) I spent last week in California. Again. Oakland isn’t San Francisco the way earth isn’t topsoil. One needs both, of course, to plant a vineyard or attract tourists or foundationalize the Raiders (When the levee breaks …). Or the A’s. Or the Giants or 49ers, Warriors, etc. ...
A recent Harry’s Gang column in the Cloquet Pine Knot News addressed the topic of who should be allowed to vote. Most of the article focused on criminal activity as it pertains to voting rights being restricted. What I found interesting was the fact that the author asked some people if 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote. I think the question should be: Should 18-year-olds continue to be allowed to vote? Recently both Duluth and Hermantown have raised the age to purchase tobacco goods to 21. The Minnesota Department of Health website r...
Autumn (Adele) Aubút Autumn Aubút, 64, of Carlton, passed away suddenly from a brain tumor Saturday, June 29, 2019, with family by her side. Autumn was born Adele Aubút on Nov. 20, 1954, to Thomas and Donna Aubút of Duluth. Autumn was enrolled in the Metis Nation of the Rising Sun, Quebec, Canada. She graduated from Central High School in 1972. She attended the University of Wisconsin Superior and earned a degree in art therapy. She spent the last 31 years working in Native American adv...
Steven Ray Martin Steven Ray Martin, 63, died peacefully,surrounded by his family, on Oct. 14, 2018 at Lakeland Medical Center in St. Joseph, Mich. Steve was born on Nov. 23, 1954, in Cook County, Ill., to Janet and Arthur Martin. He graduated from Cloquet High School and went into the construction trades. Steve married Vickie Cora on April 24, 1983. They were residing in Waukesha, Wis., at the time of his death. Steve was a lover of life. He loved God and his family more than anything. He...
Roger F. Thompson died May 4, 2019, at his “home on the Rocks” in Apache Junction, Ariz. Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. memorial service Saturday, July 20 at Barnum United Community Church. In accordance with Roger’s wishes, a Celebration of Life at his “home on the lake” will be held following the service. All friends and family invited. Donations may be made in Roger’s memory to the Barnum United Methodist Church or to Barnum Dollars for Scholars for the Thompson Scholarship Fund....
Five years ago, family and friends of Cole Drechsler came together at the Cloquet Rotary’s Color Run to walk for Cole, a bright and vibrant young man who had passed away three days before. The 2013 Cloquet High School grad died as the result of injuries from a crash with an extremely drunk driver, Philip Bergerson, on July 11, 2015, on the Highway 61 Expressway between Two Harbors and Duluth. Cole died four days later while being treated for his critical injuries. The drunk driver was killed o...
Last week we spent a lot of time with our son, as he took a week off before starting a new job. On Monday we took a North Shore Scenic Railroad trip up the North Shore past Congdon Park and back. We also enjoyed a cruise on the Vista Star, which took us around the Duluth Harbor. The excursion lasted an hour and 45 minutes and, as it was on a Tuesday, the cost was only $5. Yes, they have $5 Tuesdays, and it is a great experience for those who have never been or haven’t been on the lake for y...
