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 28
Graffiti with white supremacist messaging appeared on and along paved pedestrian trails in Cloquet and Carlton earlier this week. "White Man Zone" was painted on the walls of the underpass on the north side of the pedestrian bridge over the St. Louis River in Cloquet. Farther down the wall was the Nazi SS Lightning Bolts symbol, commonly used in the white supremacy movement. Repeatedly, in both Cloquet and along the Willard Munger State Trail in Carlton, someone scrawled the website address for...
A 21-year-old driver, who struck and killed a pedestrian in Moose Lake in March, is now facing additional charges after blood tests revealed the presence of four drugs in his system. Brent James Keranen, of Pengilly, Minnesota, waived his right to an omnibus hearing Monday morning in a remote hearing held with Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekka Stumme. Keranen’s attorney, David Keegan, requested a settlement conference versus a jury trial, an indication they’re looking for a plea deal. According to the criminal complaint, Keranen adm...
Take a trip to our agricultural past this weekend at the Lakehead Harvest Show. Located just off the intersection of Canosia and St. Louis River roads, this old-school working farm puts on a show every August. There's lots to see and do from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Aug. 23-25. Volunteers demonstrate all kinds of farm activities using old-school equipment to thresh, plow, crush rocks, plane wood and even make shingles. There's also food, blacksmithing and sawmilling...
The annual Cloquet Labor Day parade is fast approaching. Look for plenty of political candidates in this year’s parade, which starts at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, and travels down Cloquet Avenue from 18th Street to Eighth Street. Once again, there will be food trucks in the city parking lot. Labor day celebration president Chad Tuura is excited about this year’s celebration for two reasons: He’s got more help, and he’s hoping to see a large turnout, since it’s a presidential election year. “I got an interesting call from a Democratic office that...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will have a public grand opening celebration today, Friday, for its new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba’iganing, at 3276 Moorhead Road in Sawyer. The event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will include tours, a ribbon cutting, and remarks from drumkeepers, leaders from the Fond du Lac Band’s Reservation Business Committee and community members. The Fond du Lac Band said the new hall marks a “significant milestone” with dedicated space for the ceremonial big drum and a sanctuary for wellnes...
Thomson Township is the latest Carlton County area to learn it is now home to the emerald ash borer, an invasive forest pest known for its devastating impact on ash trees. Jonathan Osthus, technical assistance coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, informed the township that the MDA had located an infested ash tree at 16 E. Highway 61 in Esko. The area already falls within what is considered a “generally infested” area, which means any ash tree not currently being treated has a high likelihood of already being impacted by EAB...
Carlton County has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for its Women, Infants and Children breastfeeding program. Carlton County WIC is one of three WIC agencies in the state to receive the high-level award. The Breastfeeding Award of Excellence recognizes local WIC agencies that support breastfeeding goals through “exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities and serve as models for other local agencies to strengthen breastfeeding among WIC participants,” a press release from the cou...
Ian Erickson addressed the Carlton school board during Monday's regular meeting, informing the board he was taking two of his children out of the Carlton school district. Erickson emphasized that he liked the school district, teachers, and principals, "but we feel like the four-day week has forced our hand," he said. Child care was not an issue. Instead, Erickson thought his two younger children should be in school more than four days in a week to provide the kind of educational continuity they...
A summer’s worth of cooling off between sides in the proposed consolidation between the Carlton and Wrenshall school districts is coming to a close without any sense of how the districts expect to proceed. Both sides say they’re waiting to hear from the other. Neither side appears prepared to nudge talks forward. A clearer picture of the division began to appear following recent Pine Knot interviews, data requests and school board meetings. In short, Carlton wants consolidation to run through superintendents and Wrenshall does not, pre...
Ten months ago, the Pine Knot News reported on concerns Carlton County officials expressed about the potential for runaway health care costs for county employees starting in 2025. A high number of claims had forced the county to use 5- and 10.5-percent caps on premiums in 2023 and 2024, with the county facing an uncapped future. At risk was a higher tax levy and the hard decisions that could have resulted from trying to contain other costs. But based on what transpired Aug. 13 during the county board meeting in Cloquet, it’s safe to say, ...
Cloquet city officials and Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) celebrated the CTC Woods to Waters Broadband Initiative and its arrival in rural Cloquet. The $4.9 million local grant will fund what are considered last-mile projects connecting some of the most rural and/or underserved residential areas of central and northeastern Minnesota. In Cloquet specifically, the project will improve service in the northern part of the city. Crews burying fiber optic cable have been visible along Minnesota...
What is normally a five-minute rubber-stamp meeting of Thomson Township residents turned into a near-revolt Tuesday, when citizens pushed back hard on actions by the township's elected officials. First up on the agenda for the reconvened annual meeting? An error in the township's proposed levy for 2025 after township officials failed to include payments to cover a $400,000 certificate of indebtedness to purchase equipment executed March 29, just over two weeks after the annual meeting when...
Work on the Interstate 35 Atkinson Bridge (pictured) continues, and so do detours on Carlton County Road 61, which passes under the bridge about 3 miles south of Highway 210. Traffic on County Road 61 is being detoured to County Road 4 to County Road 5. This traffic configuration was expected to last through late August. Costs for the project were estimated at $4.15 million and will improve the load carrying capacity of the bridge and life of the highway. Carlton County also announced the...
TThumbs up to another great Carlton County Fair. The 4-H projects and other exhibits were well done, the grandstand events were highly entertaining, the music was wonderful. As usual, it was wonderful to see so many people of all ages just out enjoying themselves and exploring everything the Barnum fairgrounds has to offer. Of special note: kudos to the fair board and director for the attention paid to the new additions at the fair. In addition to regular live music we have the Little Italy promenade and its snazzy neon signs, plus the...
I magine teenagers in Esko classrooms staring blithely, wantonly, perhaps a bit of drool forming at the corner of the mouth. But it’s not a window daydream accompanied by mesmerizing clouds forming into creatures or a squirrel running up a tree limb. They are fixed on those pouches. Filled with those tiny devices we all are so tethered to. This summer, the Esko school district decided to do something about phones in school, part of a movement across the country to reduce distractions during the school day. Now, when an Esko teen enters a c...
We cherish the natural beauty of our community, and were disgusted this week to see the desecration of the public bridges and walkways along the Willard Munger State Trail and in Jay Cooke State Park. Painting ugly political messages, including crosshairs that are meant to intimidate, harms us all. If you know anything about these crimes, please report it to the local authorities so they can investigate and prosecute those who are spreading hate. Barbara A. Frey, Carlton...
Former Cloquet-Esko-Carlton soccer players and a sprinkling of current Lumberjacks varsity players squared off Saturday in the first alumni boys soccer game. The game was the brainchild of CEC Coach John Sundquist, who plans to make it an annual event. Alumni from nearly every era back to the Class of 2012 turned out to play on the new turf field at Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium. Sundquist officiated in a game that saw a lot of shots taken, some impressive goaltending and several...
Friday, Aug. 23 Volleyball Esko vs Hibbing, 7 p.m. Boys Soccer CEC vs Two Rivers, 2 p.m. Girls Soccer Cloquet vs Two Rivers, 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 Girls Soccer Esko vs Proctor 2 p.m. Boys Soccer CEC vs Columbia Heights, 12 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26 Tennis CEC at Longview, Duluth East quad Tuesday, Aug. 27 Girls Soccer Esko at Cloquet, 7 p.m. Tennis CEC at Hibbing, 4 p.m. Swimming CEC vs Grand Rapids, 5 p.m. Volleyball Esko at Hermantown, 7 p.m. Barnum at Ogilvie, 7 p.m. Carlton-Wrenshall at Deer River, 7 p.m. Cromwell-Wright at Crosby-Ironton, 7...
Sports history and lessons learned can be very valuable and enjoyable. College or professional, amateurs or on a playground, it doesn’t matter. All can bring us a sense of joy and eternal fond memories. We tell of legendary games and encounters to all who will listen. I have two golf stories worth repeating. Pine Knot subscriber Bob Bromme lives in Arizona now, but he grew up in Cloquet in the 1940s and 1950s. His dad enlisted in the Navy in 1942, shortly after Pearl Harbor. He didn’t see him ag...
Folks thinking that all the Carlton County fair judges are local folks sharing their expertise are only partially right. A lot of judges - every livestock judge, in fact - come from outside the county, said Ora Mord. Mord drove nearly 200 miles from Clearwater County (west of Bemidji) to judge dairy goats for Carlton County 4-H last week. "You cannot judge in your own county," Mord said. "That's because you know the animals, you know the kids and you know the people. We want to make it as...
Car racing has been a part of the Carlton County Fair in Barnum for as long as most people can remember. This past week, the tradition continued as nearly 6,000 fans watched local drivers compete for $40,000 in prize money. "I've been either involved with the fair or coming to the fair for a long time and these events draw many people who might otherwise not attend the fair," said Steve Loucks, president of the Carlton County Fair Association. According to Loucks, more than 150 drivers...
Edith "Edie" Kumm, 91, of Wright passed away Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, at Open Arms Senior Living in Duluth. Edie was born Feb. 28, 1933, in Wright to Joseph and Agnes Kirzy. She married Glenn Jesse Kumm on Jan. 12, 1952. They made their home in Wright, where they started their own dairy farm, logged the land and began their family. Edie retired after 30 years working at Diamond Match in Cloquet. Edie enjoyed socializing, playing cards, snowmobiling, motorcycling and golfing. She and Glenn were...
Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Program served more youth from 2021 to 2023 than in previous years and found high levels of satisfaction with the program, according to a new evaluation report. The Safe Harbor program is a multi-agency, statewide initiative designed to meet the needs of sex-trafficked and exploited young people through age 24. Under Minnesota’s Safe Harbor law, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking victims and survivors are protected from criminal prosecution and can access Safe Harbor services, including housing. A substantial maj...
Congratulations to Kettle River Days raffle winners: first prize, Sandra Merritt; second, Dennis Kaminski; third, Carol Forse; fourth, Lawrence Lundin; and fifth prize, Jeff Glaser. A special thank-you to all those who donated money and food for the steak fry, and all the volunteers who worked many hours to make this event happen. Thank you, too, to all the vendors who made it a fun day. This event would not be possible without all those people. We need more volunteers to help us plan the next event, so watch for meeting notices, and come to a...
It's great to have my internet back. I haven't been able to send this news column to the papers or my internet friends for the past three weeks. The last couple of weeks were busy and I hope you didn't miss any events due to not getting the news from me. Aug. 11 was a very special day for our family. My brother and sister-in-law Mark and Linda Dahlman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright. We had relatives and friends from all over the country,...
