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 33
History repeated itself this week at Burger Shoes in Cloquet. After closing on the sale of the longtime local shoe store Tuesday evening, Carmen LaPlant celebrated her first day as the new owner on Wednesday, exactly 54 years after Ludwig Burger held his grand opening at 1609 Carlton Avenue. Ludwig's daughter, Maria Leyrer, took down the bell that hung over the front door of the store on Tuesday - as a new family heirloom - and enjoyed her first day of retirement. "It's home," she said. "I grew... Full story
They're closing down the streets in Cloquet's West End business district Saturday, and everyone is invited for a trip into an idealistic version of the future. It will be a place where children play, people enjoy yoga and dance, musicians jam, artists do their thing, businesses thrive and vendors sell their wares: think block party mixed with art fair, farmers market and business district. Welcome to West End Flourish, a free community gathering. Avenues C and B and Vine Street will be closed... Full story
Minnesota regulators have ordered Enbridge to pay up to $3.32 million for allegedly violating state environmental law by piercing a groundwater aquifer during construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline. Last Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued a restoration order and administrative penalty order against the Canadian-based company over the breach, which the agency says occurred in late January near the Clearbrook Terminal in Clearwater County. The breach resulted in millions of gallons of groundwater flowing out of the...
Cloquet Public Library staff literally kicked off Saturday's community celebration by demonstrating how they have survived construction, Covid and Covid, Part 2: by dancing in their chairs to "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in front of a roomful of people. On a more serious note, library director Beth Sorenson praised the community for its support, and for creating a building that is not only better for us, "but for our children and our grandchildren." Although the more than $2 million...
A man was in grave condition after being hit by a vehicle while crossing Doddridge Avenue near Eighth Street in Cloquet on Thursday, Sept. 16. Cloquet Police responded to the accident just after 8 p.m. Thursday along with staff from the Cloquet Area Fire District. The man was transported to an area hospital. CPD commander Dave O’Connor said they didn’t have an update on the condition of the pedestrian, whose name has not been released. Police interviewed witnesses at the scene and have not pursued any charges against the driver, O’Connor said...
At a short regular meeting Monday, the Cloquet city council officially adopted a 2022 budget and a proposed levy increase of $109,400, or 3.49 percent. The levy can’t go up from that percentage when the levy is set in December. A public hearing on the budget and levy will be held at the Dec. 7 regular meeting. Running the numbers in the future will be new finance director Katie Bloom. She was approved by the board this week after the city’s first choice, Joshua Bailey, decided to keep his auditing job with the city of Duluth. Longtime finance...
A Cloquet man faces manslaughter charges following a fight in his apartment. Joel Jay Ammesmaki, 58, was charged with first-degree manslaughter Thursday in Sixth District Carlton County Court for “causing the death of another while committing assault in the fifth degree with such force and violence” that death or great harm was “reasonably foreseeable.” Officers from the Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments responded to a 9-1-1 call at around 2 a.m. Sept. 14 reporting an unwanted person...
A district judge on Monday denied a change of venue and dismissal of counts against a Cloquet man accused in the murder of a pregnant woman and her child. Sheldon James Thompson, who is accused of killing Jackie Defoe, her unborn child and her 20-month-old son, faces two charges of murder in the first degree each for the deaths of Jackie Ann Defoe and her son Kevin Lee Shabaiash Jr., and one charge of murder in the first degree of an unborn child, premeditated. In the order filed Monday, Judge Jill Eichenwald, denied his attorney’s request t...
Following the approval of a revised snowmobile trail through the township at its last meeting - and subsequent complaints - the Thomson Township board invited people to discuss the action at the regular board meeting Sept. 16. Although the board already granted permission for a preliminary trail, residents were invited to give their input so that the board and the snowmobile club could answer questions and address concerns. Wood City Riders president Chris Rokke gave a presentation to the more t...
A.J. Miller from Drone Grown Photography went out to the RuRidge Corn Maze last week. The maze, in its fifth year off Carlton County Road 1 between Carlton and Wrenshall, opened Sept. 10 and features an eight-acre acre corn maze, corn pits, hay rides, play area, straw bale maze, ninja course, petting zoo, horse and pony rides, pumpkin sales and painting, seasonal produce and a scavenger hunt. It is open Thursday through Sunday through Halloween night.... Full story
Students and community members turned out for Monday’s Carlton School Board meeting, and most of them had the future of the high school on their mind. Out of nearly 20 people there, seven spoke, all of them against the idea of a tuition agreement with the Cloquet school district. Such an agreement would guarantee that Carlton students in grades 9-12 could enroll in the larger district — at a cost to the Carlton district — if and when Carlton closes its high school. The current long-range plan fo...
The latest data for Carlton County show the number of Covid cases is still going up, but at a lower rate, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases in Carlton County increased by 84 from Sept. 15 to 22, but the CDC showed a decline in the rise of case numbers of nearly 7.6 percent on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The CDC also reported Carlton County’s rate of tests coming back positive at 4.4 percent (compared to an average of 6 percent statewide), one new hospital admission and zero deaths from Covid over the past seve... Full story
Youth from across the state joined a virtual town hall with medical professionals to engage with peers about Covid-19 Monday afternoon. The town hall was led by student leaders to give students an opportunity to discuss how the pandemic has impacted their school experience, how they can have a safe and meaningful school year and what actions youth can take to curb the spread. This town hall is part of the Minnesota Department of Health’s larger Community Conversation effort. The event was recorded and is available for viewing at: h... Full story
Driving around town, you’ll find remnants of long-forgotten commercial activity in many neighborhoods, such as corner groceries and other stores that have evolved into residential space, as most commercial activity moved downtown or to the Minnesota Highway 33 corridor over the years. The West End of Cloquet is one of those sites. Once the thriving center of Cloquet, it held the City Hall, police station, and many of the most important businesses in town. The original town square was in the West End. So was the train station, and the t...
When a new lawyer gets into town, they’re often inundated with requests from local organizations, asking us to get involved and volunteer with their group. It’s a great way to quickly become a part of the community and to show some dedication to the people who will, eventually, become your clients. At least, that’s how it happened to me. When I started working at the Newby law firm in 1999, it wasn’t weeks before I had been “volunteered” for all sorts of local groups, from the Relay for Life to...
For the past several months, I have had the privilege of interviewing and writing about a few of the farmers in Carlton County. Summer is an extremely busy time for them, but they graciously sat down, answered my questions and shared their stories. I regret that I could not include every farmer in the county, but I believe that by informing readers about the lives of a few of them, understanding and appreciation will spread to all of those who work the land in our county. My main goal was to...
Instead of a funeral, hundreds of coworkers and friends gathered with the family of Gordy Lundquist Sunday to remember the man they adored at the place that has become a Cloquet icon. It was a celebration of life, complete with ice cream and conversation, a rifle salute and many memories shared in the parking lot of Gordy's Hi-Hat, now closed for the season. Lundquist, who founded Gordy's Hi-Hat restaurant with his wife, Marilyn, passed away July 6 at the age of 93. He was at the couple's Florid...
Donald A. Anderson, 91, of Cloquet passed away from a stroke on Sept. 16, 2021, at St. Luke's Hospice. He was born to Alver and Lillian (Erickson) Anderson on June 2, 1930, in Cloquet. Don was a lifelong resident of Cloquet. He married Rosemary Bodie on May 1, 1954, and together they raised six children. Don was employed for many years at Bodie's Grocery. It was often joked that he hated to leave Carlton County, the exception being fishing trips with family and his fishing partner Ernie Vestin.... Full story
Joel T. Trevis, 71, of Crosslake, passed away peacefully at his home on Sept. 13, 2021. Arrangements have been entrusted to Brenny Family Funeral Chapel and there will be a small private service for the family held at a later date. Joel was born March 28, 1950, to Jerome and Ethel (Mueller) Trevis in West St. Paul. He married his love, JoAnn Hill, on Aug. 31, 1991. Joel loved the outdoors and northern Minnesota. He loved to hunt and share his many stories of hunting deer, elk and bear. Joel had... Full story
Kenneth E. "Kenny" Beck, 78, of Carlton passed away peacefully Sept. 15, 2021, at Solvay House in Duluth after a 2½ year battle with pancreatic cancer. Kenny was born Oct. 17, 1942, in Two Harbors to Frank and Elna Beck. After graduating from Clover Valley High School in 1960, he spent four years in the U.S. Navy with his brother Bob, of whom he was very proud. Upon his return, he worked for Reserve Mining, and later for USG Corporation. Kenny was married to Debby Beck, whom he called "th... Full story
John "Danny" Van McFatridge, 83, of Cloquet, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. He was born on Dec. 31, 1937, to Van Thomas McFatridge and Annabelle Dare. Danny married Elaine DeFoe on July 18, 1973. He enjoyed doing yard work and working on family vehicles. Danny and Elaine were avid bingo players. They enjoyed traveling, going out for dinner, and spending time with their great-grandchildren. He was a Green Bay Packer fan and he watched most of their... Full story
Friday, Sept. 17 Football Grand Rapids-20 Cloquet-13 Barnum-24 Braham-0 Esko-54 Proctor-0 South Ridge-38 Cook County-0 Hill City/Northland-32 Cromwell-Wright/ Floodwood-7 ML/WR-36 Greenway/Nashwauk- Keewatin-0 Saturday, Sept. 18 Volleyball (tournaments) Minnetonka • Minnetonka-2, Cloquet-0 • Rochester Mayo-2, Cloquet-0 • Cloquet-2, Cretin Derham Hall-0 • Benilde-SM-2, Cloquet-0 Crosby-Ironton • Ada-Borup-2, ML/WR-0 • Deer River-2, ML/WR-0 • ML/WR-2, East Central-0 • Barnum-2, Mille Lacs-0 • Pine River-Backus-2, Barnum-0 Girls Soccer Esko-3 Pro... Full story
The word "improvement" is the word of the day for Cloquet cross country coach Chandra Allen. "The boys team has been improving each week. They have been working on closing the gap between the top four and each week they are a little closer to one another," Allen said. "The girl's team has also been improving each week." On the boys side, the Lumberjacks have relied on Miles Fischer and a host of others to lead the way. "Miles Fischer has been running especially strong each week, leading the... Full story
Friday, Sept. 24 Football All games at 7 p.m. unless noted Carlton/Wrenshall vs Kelliher/Northome Cloquet vs Duluth East Cromwell-Wright/Floodwood at South Ridge Esko at Pine City Moose Lake/Willow River vs Crosby-Ironton Barnum at North Woods, 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25 Girls soccer Esko vs Benilde-St. Margaret's, 4 p.m. Boys soccer CEC at Princeton, 1 p.m. Girls swimming CEC at Lincoln Park Middle School, 1 p.m. Girls tennis CEC at Saint Francis, 9 a.m. Volleyball Cloquet, South Ridge and... Full story
With the turning of the leaves and calendar to September, many golf aficionados start planning where to store their clubs for the winter season. But a group of seniors maximize the remaining daylight and try to prolong the golf schedule with a condensed tournament that features six local course sites played over four days. The annual event, founded by the late Lee Samuelson of Lee’s Pro Shop in Pine City, has a maximum — and it is always full — of 18 foursomes playing in a four-... Full story
