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 29
Standing under the Dunlap Island picnic shelter, celebrating the unveiling of the new riverfront cultural legacy signs along the St. Louis River in Cloquet, Jeff Savage shared the history of that particular area. Where Community Memorial Hospital stands today, there once was an Indian village. Even before that, the area around what is known today as Dunlap Island was a very important stopping place on the portage from Lake Superior to the Mississippi watershed, said the Fond du Lac museum... Full story
The Cloquet Police Department hosted four training sessions over the past week to help prepare officers and other first responders for active shooter response. The intense, all-day training was hosted by the CPD, and included approximately 120 people from across the area, including Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments, Carlton County Sheriff’s Office and dispatch, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota State Patrol, Cloquet Area Fire District, and several fire department m...
One of the county's smallest cities will again hold its unique celebration Friday through Sunday, for the 59th year in a row. Almost nothing goes right at Wrong Days in Wright, and that's by design. Softball players bat opposite their usual stance, running to third base first, then second, first and home. Instead of bingo, folks play ognib. They also play cribbage, but they play to lose, not win. They even dress for the occasion. "You wear your clothes inside out, unmatching sox. Most of our...
A 64-year-old Esko man was rescued Saturday evening after falling off a jet ski on Caribou Lake in Canosia Township. According to the St. Louis Sheriff’s Office, the man had taken the jet ski for a ride but was not wearing a personal flotation device. While riding, the jet ski flipped and the man fell off. The man struggled to stay above water and a good Samaritan saw him struggling in the water. The good Samaritan then responded on his jet ski and pulled the man from the water and to shore, where the man lost consciousness. The call came i...
Minnesota’s ruffed grouse spring population counts are similar to last year and to other recent peaks in the 10-year population cycle of grouse — a pattern recorded for 73 years. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and its partners use spring drumming counts to help monitor the ruffed grouse breeding population through time. The trend includes a low point in the cycle in 2021 that was not as low as previous lows, followed by the highest peak this year since 1972. Warm temperatures and dry conditions that favor high nest success and...
The Minnesota Department of Transportation announced this week that 13 sites have been selected to move to the next step in the process to receive funding from National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. The funds will be used to build and maintain EV fast charging stations across the state. Grant dollars are a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which is designed to provide a convenient, affordable, reliable and equitable national network of EV chargers. MnDOT selected 13 locations from 38 applicants along the desig...
Esko school board members bought a house Monday. Or rather, they took the first step, unanimously approving a purchase agreement of $280,000 for the buildings and land at 25 Lincoln Lane. The lot is adjacent and just east of school property, behind the former RAM Insurance building, now the Esko Education Center. It is one of six houses on that block, and the closest one to the school. Superintendent Aaron Fischer recommended the purchase, after the homeowners reached out last week and gave the...
An upbeat Carlton schools superintendent Donita Stepan believes the school district's switch to a four-day school week in September will trigger an uptick in enrollments. Nothing definite in terms of filed paperwork, "But we've done several tours," she said in an interview Tuesday. "We've probably got at least eight or nine new kids interested in coming so far." Regarding families possibly leaving over the same issue, Stepan indicated she had not seen any paperwork for kids leaving the...
The challenge has vexed Jason Amundsen for a few years. He’s brought in engineering students from the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Thomas University in St. Paul. He’s hired one of them full-time to tackle the problem. At Farm LoLa in Wrenshall, the mission is capturing water from the air — in a sense, making the concept of the indoor humidifier work outside. Amundsen said the world is starving, and he wants to find a way to better water crops. He cites endangered citrus crops in Texas...
Thomson Township passed its 2023 audit with flying colors, with one major suggestion - the township should probably have less money in its reserve fund. Auditors from Abdo, an accounting and consulting firm based in Edina, Minnesota, told township supervisors the general recommendation is to keep a minimum of 35- to 50 percent of the operating budget in the general fund reserves, to cover any unexpected costs or payment delays. "You guys are well above that. You have almost 200 percent of your...
If all goes as planned, construction on a new dental clinic will start this fall or in the spring in the city’s Business Park, after Cloquet city councilors approved the sale of a 1.3-acre lot just off Highway 33, behind the business park sign. Dentist Wendy Peterson attended Tuesday’s meeting. Peterson plans to build a $2.3 million dental facility called Woods & Water Family Dental with space for up to seven operatories, starting with four. Peterson started her career as a dental hygienist in 2006, then went back to school, graduating fro...
A Carlton County man charged with sexual contact involving three juvenile girls will be sentenced in August. Jamie Alden Godbout, 35, originally faced 10 felony charges in a 2022 case that combined charges for abuse of all three girls, but his attorneys requested the cases be split. Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola said her office had to honor the request, which meant dividing the charges and resulted in two of the cases being filed in 2023. According to Ketola, a jury found Godbout guilty three weeks ago in the first case to reach trial. O...
THUMBS UP to Carlton County and the city of Cloquet for staying competitive when it comes to pay for law enforcement officers. Both jurisdictions saw their board and council, respectively, approve pay increases recently aimed at keeping wages comparable to those of surrounding departments and the local labor market. Nobody likes budget increases that stress tax levies. But, the alternatives are stark — losing peace officers to better-paying outfits and leaving our communities vulnerable. “The bigger issue is, if we can’t get qualified law e... Full story
I was pleased to see the council approve the wage adjustment for the police officers and settle their three-year contract. I’m hoping this decision will enhance their morale and job satisfaction. Minnesota is currently grappling with a severe shortage of law enforcement officers. The number of candidates entering the job market is alarmingly low, posing a significant challenge to our law enforcement agencies. For instance, the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Peace Officer program, which used to attract nearly 100 students annually, has... Full story
National Ice Cream Day is July 21, proclaimed 40 years ago by President Ronald Reagan to take place on the third Sunday of July each year to honor a "wholesome and nutritious food eaten by 90 percent of Americans." Ice cream recipes appeared in print for the first time in 1718 in a cookbook written by Mary Eales, described as the confectioner to King William and Queen Anne, rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland. Eales wrote: "to ice cream, you must have a Pail, and lay some Straw at the... Full story
Taylor Sundbom won the Cloquet Invitational last weekend in dramatic fashion: a sudden death, one-hole playoff against old foe and longtime friend Alex Kolquist. He emerged as the victor of the 93rd annual Cloquet Country Club event. It was Sundbom's fifth championship. With 180 players, plus family and curious onlookers, the club parking lot and adjacent streets in the neighborhood were overflowing with cars and fans following the tournament. Watching the Sunday afternoon championship foursome...
Using stellar pitching, defense and hitting, a youth baseball team from Cloquet brought home a historic state title last weekend, winning its age group in the Gopher State Tournament of Champions. An unbeaten run through the tournament in Sartell, near St. Cloud, saw the Cloquet Lumberjacks 12-and-under AA baseball team beat Osseo-Maple Grove in the title game Sunday, 15-3. In doing so, it became the first baseball team in the history of the Cloquet Youth Baseball and Softball Association to... Full story
Well, I did it again. Last week I wrote the Wright news, and the wrong news. It was Scott Lehti, not Scott Hakamaki, who received the 2023 Carlton County Lifetime Achievement Award for his years of service with the Wright fire department and the Cromwell-Wright Area Fire District. Congratulations, Scott. To volunteer with the Cromwell-Wright Area Fire District, contact [email protected] or 218-644-3547 or 218-357-2080. All training is provided, no experience is needed, and the...
The old saying goes that water holds memories, and if that is true, the beach at Moose Lake city park holds its fair share of mine. Moose Lake was one of the campgrounds we would hit almost every year as I grew up. Now we bring our children to the same hallowed haunt where I spent many a summer day playing with my best friend, Kyle Burggraff, my sister, Hailey Graves, or any of the other family friends that joined us for the journey. If you are looking for a day trip or even to spend a few...
The 55th annual Agate Days in Moose Lake included the signature event of the weekend, the agate stampede on Saturday, when eager agate hunters line Elm Avenue downtown waiting for the trucks filled with agate-sprinkled rock to be dumped out. The trucks unload 400-plus pounds of agates mixed with regular rocks, and then the young and old scramble to collect agates and coins. About town, visitors explore stunning displays at the Carlton County gem and mineral show. The vendors had everything from...
John Bernard Erickson, born July 12, 1934, passed away peacefully in his sleep Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at his home in Cloquet. He had celebrated his 90th birthday just four days earlier with family and friends at his home. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. He is survived by his sons, Keith Erickson and Glen Erickson of Dallas; daughter, Susan Erickson Ingram and husband Harry Ingram III of Dallas; five grandchildren, Sarah Erickson (Bill Dory) of Floodwood, Keith Erickson... Full story
Peter John Manford Linden, 95, passed away on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Cardinal Courts Villa Court Senior Community assisted living in Cromwell. Peter was born on June 5, 1929, in Holmesville Township, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota to Carl and Clara Linden. Peter attended a rural school through the eighth grade, completing the second and third grades in the same year and testing out at age 13. He was united in marriage to Luella Corrine Janson on June 16, 1951. Together they raised five children.... Full story
Michael Lee "Mike" Suronen, 68, of Barnum took his last breath on Friday, June 28, 2024, at St. Mary's Medical Center in Duluth. He was surrounded by loved ones with his favorite classic country tunes playing, as his short but mighty battle with cancer came to an end. Mike was born Sept. 10, 1955, to Elmer and Lucille (Strandberg) Suronen in Cloquet, and grew up in Barnum, the youngest of three children. After high school, Mike married his first wife, Eleanor, and raised two daughters in his hom... Full story
Derek Allen Moen, 55, of Cloquet, passed away Monday, July 8, 2024. He was born April 9, 1969, to Richard and Dona (Leuch) Moen in Cloquet. Derek graduated from Cloquet High School in 1987. He made his home in Cloquet and worked as a custodian at Black Bear Casino Rrsort. He married Toni DeRusha in 2016. He was very happy the last nine years of his life with Toni. She was the light of his life. Derek was a gentle soul and he enjoyed fishing, camping, partridge hunting, taking rides, music, and... Full story
Shirley Berg passed away on July 11, 2024. She was born May 27, 1937 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Verner and Helen Walters. She lived in Cloquet all her life, traveling to Bella Vista, Arizona, and Mercedes, Texas for some time during the winter months. She graduated from Cloquet High School in 1955, attended St. Cloud University and graduated with her teaching certificate, and married her high school sweetheart, Harry, in 1962. Shirley is survived by her husband, Harry; her son, Andy (Jackie)... Full story
