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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In a world where nothing has seemed normal since March, the hits keep on coming. This week, the Minnesota State High School League announced that football and volleyball will be played in the spring while other fall sports will come under strict Covid-19 pandemic safeguards. The decision adds to apprehension about the opening of the school year while the virus lurks invisible across the country. Scenes like the crowd above at an Esko football game last fall are a distant memory. For more on the... Full story
An August scramble like no other is on across Carlton County this August as schools prepare to reopen for the year. School boards, staff and administrators are meeting this week and next to make almost-final decisions after it was announced last week by Gov. Tim Walz that districts will have discretion on how school days will go while still in the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic. This week, more fodder was tossed in as the Minnesota State High School League on Tuesday moved the volleyball and foo... Full story
Pine Knot News intern Caleb Swanson asked Carlton County students how they feel about plans to reopen schools this fall: "I don't want to go back because online was easier for me. But on the other hand, I do want to go back to be with my friends and just be in school again. The one thing I do not want Esko to do is to keep kids in the same classroom every day." Caden Grayson, Esko sophomore "I for sure want everything to go back to normal but I doubt that will happen. I'm hoping Esko still has... Full story
As is everything in this year of Covid-19, the election season is also changed. Far more people have voted absentee this year than ever before, and more mail-in ballots are being cast in Carlton County for Tuesday's primary election than in the past. Additionally, a state rule change giving mail ballots an extra two days to reach the courthouse will likely delay results in any close races until the end of the week. But polling stations will also be open as usual (sort of) on Aug. 11. According... Full story
Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this week. Aug. 7 1915 Towed by the Ottumwa Belle, the last log raft passes from Minnesota and into Iowa. It was the last of just two runs on the river for the season. The sawmills along the river soon cease operations as the lumbering era draws to a close. At the peak of the timber industry in Minnesota and the region in the 1880s, some 500 rafts of white pine came down the Mississippi each month. Aug. 8 1857 An organized baseball team is organized and for the first time in Minnesota, a baseball...
Slowly but surely, the Cloquet Police Department is getting back up to full strength. On Tuesday, the department got one more spot filled when the Cloquet City Council unanimously approved the appointment of David O'Connor as the new patrol commander. Police Chief Derek Randall said the appointment will bring the department up to 18 sworn officers (out of 24 budgeted positions), and fill the remaining vacant administrative position. O'Connor comes to the job after working as a police officer...
In an agreement filed July 29, former Carlton County attorney Thom Pertler waived his right to a hearing and agreed to disbarment for committing “professional misconduct warranting public discipline.” That could change, though. The final decision would be up to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which has taken the discipline under advisement. The Minnesota Supreme Court could accept the recommendation or take an entirely different path, according to Susan Humiston, director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility, who filed the pet...
Wrenshall had its annual Community Night Out last week, keeping with a tradition despite the current Covid-19 pandemic. All summer, organizers have bucked the physical distance trend and hosted bingo, music and other fun at the city park. The night out included a free picnic - courtesy of local businesses Bricks Pub & Grub, Wrenshall General Store and the Brickyard Restaurant - of hot dogs, chips, root beer floats, and watermelon as residents mingled with firefighters and Carlton County...
The south State Highway 33 corridor will be seeing more changes in the future, specifically where Gillette Road and Frontage Road open onto the highway south of the Walmart traffic lights in Cloquet. With the anticipated construction of the new Essentia Clinic on Gillette Road west of Highway 33 and bustling business traffic along the Frontage Road on the east side, city officials said they want to be proactive. "We are trying to get ahead of the potential traffic impacts that we know are...
A Barnum man sustained life threatening injuries in a crash Tuesday on Highway 2, in Solway Township. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, Dominic Lisic, 23, of Barnum was driving a 2006 Pontiac G6 westbound on Highway 2 and drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Highway 194. He was struck in a T-bone collision by a 2010 Dodge Ram driven by Ricky Odette, 55, who was pulling a trailer. The incident report states that alcohol was a factor with Lisic, and not with Odette. Lisic was transported to Essentia St. Mary’s Hospital in D...
Carlton county land commissioner Greg Bernu is asking local residents who receive mystery seed packets in the mail to not open them. Instead, drop them off at Bernu’s office in the County Highway Building at 1630 County Road 61 in Carlton, and he will send them to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for inspection/destruction. The MDA continues to receive reports of citizens getting unsolicited seed packages in the mail. To date, over 700 Minnesotans have made reports to the department. The packages have contained a variety of seeds. S...
Minnesota’s COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to head the wrong way, with counts of people currently hospitalized and needing intensive care rising to levels not seen in six weeks. The Health Department Tuesday reported 328 people still hospitalized with 159 of those need ICU beds. Officials have been bracing Minnesotans to expect hospitalizations and ICU cases to grow in response to the case surge the past few weeks as Minnesota began allowing customers to return to indoor gathering spaces, including bars, stores and restaurants. While curren... Full story
The Minnesota Department of Corrections reports it will close its two smallest prisons - in Willow River and Togo - because of a budgetary crisis, the DOC announced Monday. The move comes after the legislature adjourned from the recent special session without action on the agency's supplemental budget request. The Department of Corrections faces a budget shortfall of approximately $14 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. The combined annual budget for Togo and Willow River is...
Lake Superior Community Health Center is bringing its focus on affordable dentistry to a new location in Carlton. The facility, located at 210 Third Street in downtown Carlton, has been a dental practice for years, but under the direction of LSCHC, access will be expanded for those with Medicaid and those without insurance in surrounding communities. “In the Carlton and Cloquet area, nearly 45 percent of residents have not accessed dental care in the last year,” said CEO Dayle Patterson. “We hope this is the first of many expansions for this...
The B&B Market food train is still rolling, and closing in on nearly $110,000 total monetary donations since the train left the station in March. Pictured here is B&B owner John Lind (left) and Rotary Club of Cloquet president Dave Kauma, holding a representation of a $1,331 check from the club recently at the local gas and grocery store. B&B Market was the spark for an outpouring of community support for those in need of food, particularly during the initial months of the Covid-19 pandemic...
Now that individual school districts are making the decisions on opening this fall, we encourage parents to communicate with school officials across the county to make sure their voices are heard. One easy way to do that is by filling out the school surveys that each school has asked district families to complete. Cloquet schools set up a survey that parents should take, either by phone or on the school’s website, to let their preferences for their children be known. Parents should complete the survey for each child of school age. Today (...
I have an idea to keep the postal service operating for years to come. But I almost guarantee nobody will completely like it. That’s why I think the idea must be brilliant: if it works, and it equally annoys everyone, it’s probably a good idea. There is really no need to have mail delivered every day anymore. Back when Elvis was a star, he had a great song, “Return to Sender,” about sending his love interest a letter, but she sent it back the next day. Imagine! Mailing a letter today and getting...
Concerning the Eskomo controversy, I believe it is a total misconception that the term “Eskimo” is in any way a racial slur. Even the group you quote does not say that. My Alaskan cousin is married to a lovely Eskimo woman who identifies as such, much like my Native American friends refer to themselves as “Indian,” even though we all know they aren’t from India, which is the original meaning of that name. He refers to his children as “Norskimos” for obvious reasons. “Eskimo” is a form of a French term, which I am told means “those who string...
On Monday I was shocked to learn that the state Commissioner of Corrections, Paul Schnell, whose decisions I generally agree with, had decided to relocate the two Challenge Incarceration Programs for men to other metro area locations. Currently, one CIP is located in Togo (west of Cook) and the other is in our backyard, Willow River. These two facilities are expected to be shut down by the end of the year and will result in a loss of about 50 good-paying jobs in Carlton and Pine counties. These... Full story
The recent discussion about the “Eskomos” nickname brings a related topic to mind: numerous past proposals to officially rename Thomson Township to Esko Township. The last time was a few years ago and by one of the town’s stalwarts — the late Davis Helberg — in order to honor the town’s heritage. The town board was very supportive, but state statute requires 50 percent (plus one) of the registered voters total number to sign a petition requesting the action. It was suggested at a board meeting that petitions be made available at the town ha...
Wendy Cricket Nelson Axhelm, 74, lost her battle with Stage 4 ovarian cancer and passed away July 26, 2020, with her family by her side. Wendy was a gal with much strength and determination with high goals to make a difference in this world. She followed her dream of education all her life, as you can see from her credentials: 1964 graduate of Cloquet High School, Cloquet; 1964-1965 University of Minnesota Duluth; 1965-1966 Beirut College for Women, Beirut; 1990 Solano Community College,... Full story
Ardeth “Ardy” Ann (Malluege) Pykkonen, 83, of Esko passed away July 31, 2020, in her home after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Ardy was born March 16, 1937, in St. Paul to Ervin and Florence (Witzel) Malluege. Ardy attended first through sixth grades at the one-room Carver School, which did not have modern facilities. She graduated in 1955 from Harding High School in St. Paul. She worked at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (later to become 3M) in St. Paul until December 1958, when she married Donald Andrew Pykkonen and moved to Esk... Full story
David Everett Goad, 63, of Barnum, formerly of Wrenshall, died July 30, 2020, in Duluth. He was born in Duluth on Sept. 22, 1956, to Harold Goad and Doris McCuskey. David married Marjorie Johnson on Aug. 16, 1986. He was employed as an over-the-road truck driver for more than 23 years with Halvor Lines. He had a love for sports and was a softball referee in his younger years. He always had a vegetable and flower garden at his home. David looked forward to spending time with his family and... Full story
When it's your pet that's missing, having a place to go for advice and support can make all the difference. During the nearly two years since the county's only humane society folded, that support system has been mostly online and filled largely by one small group. Missing Pets In the Northland is a Facebook page run by four friends. It posts lost and found pet photos and descriptions, offers advice and often a helping hand or supplies, as well as fundraisers for stray animals that would... Full story
New, for those voting by mail: you no longer need a witness to sign your ballot. Ballots need to be returned to the courthouse by Aug.11, or at least postmarked by then to be counted. Also, remember that you must choose a political party and vote only that party. You can’t cross over in a primary election. There are three 4-year Cromwell-Wright school board positions to be filled beginning January 20, 2021. The terms of Angela Anderson, Tim Homstad and Brian Granholm are up. If you are i...
