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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Local school board members faced crowded board rooms this week as parents and others turned out in opposition to school districts requiring masks when kids return to school after Labor Day. Unlike last fall, there is no statewide state of emergency, which means decisions are local. Board members in Cloquet and Esko listened attentively to their constituents, but made no promises this week. Rather, they scheduled special meetings to discuss the issue in greater depth, and said they will wait to...
Elaine Osborne remembers walking along Highway 61 near her home between Scanlon and Esko on a balmy January day in 1984, when she realized the nearby Maki Swamp appeared to be steaming. "It was brown, frothy and smelled of sewage, and it was situated directly above the troubled sewage line," Osborne wrote in her new book, "If I Felt Alone." It wasn't the first time the line carrying sewage from Cloquet, Scanlon, Carlton and Wrenshall to Duluth had broken - releasing wastewater that included...
Cloquet school board members approved “continued discussions” with Carlton about a tuition agreement for Carlton’s high school students, but removed language that indicated approval of the “general framework” of discussions so far. Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary told the board they were not approving the agreement, just the general direction of discussions so far, when they voted on the resolution. Cary said discussion so far includes moving some, but not all, state money per student t...
Ma & Pa Kettle Days Folks in Kettle River will celebrate the 36th (almost annual) Ma & Pa Kettle Days Friday through Sunday. Friday’s activities include a beer garden and steak fry at Tower Tap starting at 5 p.m., followed by a street dance starting at 8 p.m. with music by Stranded. Events kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday, with food vendors and a beer garden, a barbecue cookoff (awards at 3 p.m.), food shelf drive, softball tournament, kids games and a medallion hunt. A cornhole tournament starts at 10 a.m. and music starts at noon. At 8 p.m., t...
Watch the County Seat children’s theater production of “When Silents Was Golden” on CAT-7. For the month of August, the cable access channel is showing videos of weeks 3 and 4 of the children’s theater production at 3 and 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Each show is roughly 30 minutes long. Also enjoy “Rise of the Podcas,” Cloquet’s show for all things nerdy by Jeremy and Kara Manthey. Thursdays at 1:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 7 p.m. Uncle Clutch’s Vide... Full story
Two people are dead after a vehicle went off an Interstate 35 bridge near Scanlon and ended up in the St. Louis River. The crash happened at 12:03 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the car was traveling southbound on I-35 when it left the highway near milepost 239 and "submerged into the St. Louis River." First responders donned water rescue gear to reach the vehicle, a 2004 Ford Explorer, which was mostly submerged but partly visible in the water underneath the... Full story
After a pandemic delay of more than a year, the final public meeting for Thomson Township's 2040 comprehensive plan was held Monday night. More than 30 residents attended the public hearing, with many voicing concerns about proposed changes on the future land use map portion of the comprehensive plan, changes that could bring more business development to their area. The plan initially proposed a change to the land use south of Interstate-35, from single-family residential and agricultural, to...
Honor the Earth and its production partners, First Avenue and The Current, are holding their first “Water Is Life: Stop Line 3” music, art and cultural festival Aug. 18, at Bayfront Park in Duluth. For many artists like Bon Iver and Hippo Campus, the festival marks their first post-covid concert performances before they resume regular touring next month. Advance tickets are $65 and the music starts at noon. Find out more on Page 24 of this week’s Pine Knot or visit www.honorearth.org. for a complete schedule of artists and other resou...
Brian Bakst MPR News Demand is high in Minnesota for $100 vaccine incentives, prompting the state to set aside even more money for the program. As of early Tuesday, more than 30,000 people had already applied for the bonus for getting an initial COVID-19 shot between the end of July and the middle of this month. That exhausted the $2.5 million that Gov. Tim Walz had put toward the incentive. As a result, the Walz administration moved another $13.8 million into the account. It relies on federal American Rescue Plan money. A legislative panel... 
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Carlton's South Terrace Elementary hosted the popular Summer Learning Camp in the first week of August. The 36 elementary school-aged students displayed "great curiosity and enthusiasm while learning about this year's theme: Flight and Outer Space," said camp director Sam Kavanaugh, a Carlton graduate, Twin Cities area teacher, and recent Jeopardy! Game show champion. Among a variety of activities, campers designed flying machines, made models of the solar system and earth's atmosphere, and...
The prosecution and defense each made opening arguments Wednesday, Aug. 11, in the trial of Timothy Scott Young Jr., after two days of jury selection. Scott has been accused of both first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from an incident in April 2020 involving a person under 16 years old. He could serve up to 30 years if convicted. Carlton County attorney Lauri Ketola addressed the jury first, after Sixth District Court Judge Robert Macauley read preliminary instructions to... Full story
What health and safety guidelines should schools be following? Minnesota schools are no longer under a mandate to require masking in their buildings. That’s because Gov. Tim Walz’s authority to issue this mandate expired now that Minnesota is no longer under a state of emergency. Instead, health officials recommend schools require masks in their buildings, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. Experts also recommend maintaining 3 feet of distance in buildings, staying home if sick and getting the Covid-19 vaccine if eligible. Schoo... Website
Retired Cloquet schools superintendent Russell Smith, 80, passed away on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Russ was born in Des Moines on July 14, 1941, to Russell Owen Smith and Margaret Hansen Smith. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Iowa Wesleyan College and a master's and specialist degree from Drake University in Des Moines. He was the principal of Cloquet junior high/middle school for nine years and district superintendent for 20 years. Russ... Full story
Darrell G. Anderson, 94, of Saginaw passed away Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021 at his son Craig and daughter-in-law Karen’s home in Saginaw, where he had lived the past four months. Due to the resurgence of Covid, private family services will be held. Inurnment will be in St. John’s Cemetery, Industrial Township. Letters and cards of condolence may be sent to the family care of Atkins Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th St., Cloquet MN 55720. Ilene Bromberg, 88, of Northfield, formerly of Cloquet, died Nov. 22, 2020 at Benedictine Living Community in Nor... Full story
American history is littered with ginned up, so-called “problems” designed to alienate, punish and divide people based, mostly, on the drive to score political points. Bogeymen. The question, of course, is to what end? Is it just fear? A loss of control of the narrative that is the messy history of the United States? Is it power grabbing? Ego? Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old, something upper level university students sometimes debate, but not theory taught at the high school level. High schools tea... Full story
Those loud train whistles that blare all night long are not really necessary and should be stopped. There's simply no reason why the trains have to wake up half the town in the middle of the night to tell us they are coming through. I'm sleeping. I don't need to know. Hardly anyone is on the road. They have better ways to know they should stop when a train is coming. Train whistles are a relic of the old days when cars routinely crashed into moving trains. It's no secret that trains, once... Full story
We would like to thank everyone and all the businesses and organizations that donated to Jake’s benefit on July 17 at the Cloquet VFW. With the support of our family and friends, the benefit was a success. There aren’t enough words to adequately thank you. To those who have generously donated and offered prayers, thank you. Your kindness and prayers are very appreciated. Dave, Karen and Jake Schwinn, Cloquet... Full story
I frequently see at the Kwik Trip entrance and exit closest to the stop sign on Washington Avenue in Cloquet drivers who are making left turns in and left turns out. This entrance and exit as indicated by signs, is designed for right turns only in and out. I believe it was designed and constructed this way for safety purposes and maybe to avoid congestion. Perhaps the city council or administration and law enforcement should provide an official reminder and reason for the traffic rules. Dan Unulock, Cloquet... Full story
Doris Lorane Naslund, 94, died peacefully at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton on Aug. 10, 2021. She was born April 8, 1927, in Barron County, Wisconsin to Herb and Grace Ellefson, and lived her early years on a farm in central Wisconsin. After graduating high school, she moved to Moose Lake. She met and married Allan Naslund and in 1951 they settled in Esko to build their home and family. Doris was an active, lifelong member of St. Matthews Church, where she always enjoyed worshipping and serv... Full story
Tammy Ann Morrissette, 61, of Coon Rapids passed away June 29, 2021. Tammy was born in Cloquet. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Jacqueline Morrissette. She is survived by siblings Michelle Parks of Andover, Minnesota, Jon (Mary) Morrissette of Coon Rapids, Mary (Charlie) Fox of Coon Rapids, and Todd Morrissette of Anoka. Tammy is also survived by many nieces, nephews and friends. A memorial service will be held for family and friends at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 280 Reservation Road, Cloquet.... Full story
Patricia "Pat" (Wedl) Bailey passed away peacefully Feb. 15, 2020 at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. Due to Covid-19, the family was unable to gather and celebrate Pat. Visitation will be held 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at her daughter's home at 11 Ridge Road, Esko. If you are unable to attend the service, please stop by between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. to share a story or two about Pat, visit with the family, and grab a bite to eat. The second of three children, Pat was born May 5, 1930 to... Full story
JoAnn G. (Johnson) Oswell, 73, of Carlton died peacefully Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was born Feb. 28, 1948 in Cloquet to Carl Elon Johnson and Fern B. (Mullen) Johnson. JoAnn grew up in Cloquet and graduated from Cloquet High School in 1966. She married the love of her life, Curt Oswell, on May 20, 1967. They resided in San Diego and Newport News, Virginia before settling in Carlton in 1972. Curt and JoAnn lovingly made the same house a home for her family, friends,... Full story
Rodney H. Peterson, 87, of Cloquet went home to be with the Lord Jesus on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. Rod was raised in Mahtowa on the family farm and attended Park Lake School. He graduated in 1952 from Barnum High School, where he met the love of his life, Esther. Rod worked at Wood Conversion (later Conwed, then USG) for 46 years. Rod was a member of Salem Lutheran Church his entire life and served as caretaker of Mount Salem Cemetery for many years. Rod will be best remembered as a man of faith... Full story
Betty Louise Lidberg, 87, of Esko, passed away peacefully from natural causes Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, surrounded by family. She was born Jan. 18, 1934, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Jantzen) in Superior. Betty graduated from Superior Central High School in 1952. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin Superior and Concordia College, attaining a bachelor of science degree and then a master's degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1987. Betty taught elementary... Full story
Hot-rodders and other car enthusiasts had a good run last week, with two car shows in two days within a 15-minute drive of Cloquet. First up was the Smalley-Moen Memorial car show at Buffalo House on Wednesday. Cars were parked on the softball field and around the expansive grounds of the popular destination restaurant and activity center. On Thursday, Gordy's Hi-Hat held its Curbside Classic despite foreboding clouds and eventually rain. The weather didn't seem to bother most of the car owners... Full story
