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 incumbents swept this year's elections for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Kevin Dupuis Sr. will serve a second term as chairman of the Reservation Business Committee, defeating challenger Bryan (Bear) Bosto with 575 votes (69 percent) to Bosto's 255 (31 percent). Wally Dupuis was re-elected as RBC District I Committeeperson, with 345 votes (60 percent) to Jeroam Defoe's 232 (40 percent). RBC District III Representative Roger Smith Sr. was already sworn in for another term...
The filing period for the most local of political offices — school board, cities and township positions — ended on primary election day last week with one exception. In Carlton County, Cloquet city candidates filed by June 2 and there was a primary election for the Ward 5 City Council spot last week. Staff at the Carlton County Auditor’s office said residents may request absentee ballots by calling the auditor’s office at 218-384-9127 (leave your name and address if you get voicemail) or register online at mnvotes.org. It’s not urgent th...
A long chapter in the history of the Cloquet school district ended Friday when Bonnie Monfeldt retired. Monfeldt served as executive assistant to the superintendent the past two decades and was part of almost every major decision over that time. One can only wonder at the volumes of meeting minutes and notes she has typed up over the years. Only the fifth executive assistant in the school district's 95 years of existence, Monfeldt worked for four superintendents - one of them twice. Russell Smit...
A sloppy kiss between a moist, unstable air mass and a veering cold front led to a stormy afternoon and evening last Friday, Aug. 14, across Carlton County. Strong downdraft winds snapped trees and unrooted others. Power lines went down, causing outages, particularly in the Carlton area and south although there were also lines down in Thomson Township. In the western part of the county, near Wright and Cromwell, low-level tornadoes were suspected but unconfirmed by the National Weather Service....
The nation marked 100 years this week since women finally won the suffrage battle. A key player in getting women the right to vote hailed from Cloquet, Anna Dickie Olesen. She was the first female nominee of a major party for the U.S. Senate and was a celebrated orator and passionate social reformer who became one of the most prominent Democratic women of the early 20th century. Anna Dickie was born on July 3, 1885, to Peter and Margaret Dickie and grew up in rural Waterville in southern...
A Cloquet police officer is facing charges for driving under the influence of alcohol after crashing a car and fleeing the scene earlier this month. Andrew Michael Murray, 34, was cited for fourth-degree driving while impared as well as DWI-operating a motor vehicle under influence of alcohol, both misdemeanors, by the Minnesota State Patrol on Aug. 6. There was no blood alcohol content level available, but a blood sample has been sent to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for analysis. According to the Minnesota State Patrol incident report:...
The Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition is conducting a test of broadband services in rural Minnesota. To take the test, go to this site: mnruralbroadband coalition.com/speedtest. The speed test can be taken with any device that has an internet or cellular connection and takes less than one minute to complete. No personal information will be collected. Testing data will be statistically valid and provide a map of what service levels are for any given area in the state. This information will be an important tool for communities that are...
Law enforcement students are invited to apply for scholarships offered by the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association (MSA) Law Enforcement Scholarship Program for 2020. The scholarships are the result of coordinated efforts of the 87 sheriffs of the state of Minnesota. The fifteen $600 scholarships will be awarded in recognition of the financial needs of students attending the peace officer skills course or one of the two- or four-year law enforcement degree colleges. The application form and policy-procedure statement are available at w...
The Carlton County board of commissioners is deep in the throes of budget talks again, as they prepare to adopt a preliminary 2021 budget sometime in September and a final budget in December. Two budget sessions on July 27 and Aug. 4 spanned six hours and included presentations from county departments and budget support for publicly used groups such as the Bookmobile and the Carlton County fair. Many focused on the COVID-19 impact and the annual issue of needed revenues and increased costs. Following is a taste of the ongoing budget...
A crowd of more than 300 people turned out for a rally at the Moose Lake Hockey Arena grounds Friday, Aug. 14 to support keeping the Willow River Challenge Incarceration Program in operation. The event came 11 days after the announcement of the closure of the Willow River and the Togo camps, which were prompted by a Department of Corrections budget deficit of $14 to $17 million and growing due to Covid-19-related expenses. Since the announcement on Aug. 3, the DOC planned to relocate the two...
A Wisconsin man was charged with assault for allegedly attacking two men with his fists and a roofing jack in Kettle River late last month. Jeffrey Allen Louks, 35, of Washburn, Wisconsin was charged with first-degree assault, great bodily harm, as well as second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in Sixth District Carlton County Court. A warrant was issued for his arrest on July 31 and quashed on Aug. 13 after he was apprehended. According to the criminal complaint: On July 25, Carlton County deputies received a phone call regarding an...
Cloquet resident Emily Tracy warned the Cloquet city council before addressing them in their Zoom meeting Tuesday: "I am the crazy chicken lady that they warned you about," she said, then asked the council to amend the city's current zoning ordinance to allow more people to raise chickens here. Currently there is no specific ordinance for chickens. Rather they are defined as "livestock" in the city code, which prohibits farm animals on residential lots under 10 acres in size, and only in the "fa...
Cloquet finance director Nancy Klassen walked the Cloquet city council through the audit of last year’s finances — which got a “clean” opinion with no errors — then city staff talked about the tentative budget for 2021. It was only a discussion, one that will continue, at least until the council passes its preliminary budget and levy later in September. “The audit shows you where you’re at, and budget shows you where you are going,” Klassen told the councilors who were meeting via Zoom and telep...
Tribal elections, municipal elections, and the big ones — for congress and president — are dominating the news this late summer and will intensify as we get closer to Nov. 3. There will be rallies, mailings, conventions, debates, and more mailings. You’ll be inundated with television ads and radio announcements. The Pine Knot News will publish all kinds of election information, from articles informing people how and where to vote, to published candidate responses to our questions. Although it was starting to look like it wasn’t going to happ...
Maybe I’m exaggerating, but the local cable access channel, CAT-7, may become great again. The city council just approved a contract with Pine Knot News to take over the daily operations of CAT-7, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve been advocating for such a plan for years. A decade ago, I suggested to Jeff Korpi, the long-time cable coordinator, that he should hire Jana Peterson part-time to update the community calendar that was displayed on CAT-7 much of the day. At the time, Jana was t...
Richard O. Brander, 71, died March 13, 2020, at Centennial Gardens in Crystal. He was born July 21, 1948, in Duluth. Richard served in Vietnam as a cook. He was a U.S. Army Specialist 4 for at least three years. He returned from Vietnam and lived in Esko throughout the 1970s. A big Elvis fan, Richard liked reading and watching Westerns, especially shows such as “Gunsmoke” and “The High Chaparral.” He loved wildlife and being outdoors, and was an avid fisherman. He enjoyed taking trips but lived modestly. If he could afford something, he woul...
Todd John Hennemuth, 63, of Cloquet passed away Aug. 13, 2020. He was born July 27, 1957 in Duluth to John and Marilyn (Pellerin) Hennemuth. Todd was a 1975 graduate of Cloquet High School and a 1979 graduate of the College of St. Scholastica. During his college years, he played hockey and was inducted into the St. Scholastica Hall of Fame. He enjoyed playing and watching sports, and he always wore the No. 13 on his jersey. Todd loved spending time with his sister, Heidi, on the farm and at Big...
Delores K. Sturgeleski, 85, of Cloquet passed away Aug. 15, 2020, at Golden Horizons in Sandstone. She was born Oct. 24, 1934, in Cloquet to Edwin and Catherine Mattson. Delores was a homemaker and worked at Cloquet Transit for many years. She was a member of Grace Church in Cloquet. Delores enjoyed gardening in her spare time. Delores was preceded in death by her parents and husband, Adrian. She is survived by her sons, Craig, Randy, Tim, and Rick (Nitka) Vafias; her sisters, Ellen Lane,...
Lavina E. Doddridge, 82, of Osceola, Wisconsin passed away Aug. 10, 2020, at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. She was born to Albert and Eva Pearl New on May 17, 1938, in Detroit. Lavina married Norval Doddridge on Nov. 10, 1956, and they enjoyed 64 years together. She loved going on trips and cruises with Norval, Richard and Donna, Bud and Janet, and other friends and family. She enjoyed her time around the water, and she also loved the desert. They spent a lot of time at lake cabins in Cloquet...
Rose Marie (Meyers) Johannsen, 84, of Cloquet and formerly of Grand Rapids, passed away August 9, 2020, at Memorial Community Hospital in Cloquet with her daughter, Rita Randall, at her side. Visitation: 10 a.m. until the Mass of Christian Burial Saturday, Aug. 22 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. Burial will be at Harris Cemetery, Grand Rapids. Memorials preferred to the St. Joseph Catholic Church Mission Group or funeral ministry. Arrangements are with Rowe Funeral Home and Cremation Services, (218) 326-6505. To sign the online...
It's not only K-12 schools that are struggling with decisions about how to return to school - colleges everywhere are constructing plans and integrating new ideas and technology to make education available to students in all situations as the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Locally, Fond du lac Tribal and Community College will start school Monday with a mix of learning styles: with students attending a "Zoom classroom" online, and in-person for clinicals and other classes that require skills...
There was a passionate debate during a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game at Veterans Park Tuesday, not to be mistaken as part of the nearby picnic for Carlton County Republicans. Nicholas Devriendt-Ledous, at left, in hat, is a mentor for Cloquet's REACH program. He and William Heyer, standing at right, gestured to each other as Edward Schulstrom, seated at left, and Shane Lavanki listened. REACH has been sponsoring weekly ventures in the park for outdoor activities....
While the statewide rate of positive Covid-19 cases appears to be slowing in the wake of the mask mandate, Carlton County reported its first resident death from the disease earlier this week. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the person was in their 80s and had underlying health conditions. Age and other health conditions are both risk factors. “This information was very difficult to hear, as effects of the pandemic are starting to hit closer to home,” said Dave Lee, director of Carlton County Public Health and Human Services, of...
For decades, Cloquet kids played hockey outside in the elements, until volunteers and local businesses came together to build the Pine Valley Ice Arena aka the Barn, in the late 1960s and gave the city its first indoor rink. Now a growing group of volunteers and donors is bringing a quality outdoor rink to the Barn grounds, to give kids more space to play and practice the sport they love. Members of the Cloquet Area Hockey Association - many of them parent volunteers - tore down the old boards...
For many years the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District has recognized outstanding conservation efforts by county property owners, contractors, developers, conservation groups, legislators, and agency partners. This year, for the first time since its inception in 1961, the Carlton SWCD will not have a formal program for public recognition. Due to ongoing restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the board voted recently to suspend its annual recognition event in the fall....
