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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After two days of heavy rains brought more than 6 inches of water to southern Carlton County, the Carlton County board of commissioners met and declared a state of emergency Tuesday. Heaviest hit was southeastern Carlton County in the Nemadji watershed, with parts of Highway 23 damaged. Road repair costs are estimated at $115,000. Some townships lost roadbed gravel after culvert washouts closed roads temporarily, and water was running over sections of road in several areas. Even with the...
Kwik Trip is expanding its footprint off Interstate 35 in Scanlon after its corporate owners bought the defunct motel near the convenience store. There will be a shuffle of properties as the Golden Gate motel is expected to be demolished this fall and the lot used for a liquor store and parking expansion. Kwik Trip bought the Gramma Polo's liquor store earlier this year and has run its Kwik Spirits operation out of it. It now plans to demolish the five-year-old building to make way for a car... Full story
This past September, we had some tornado trouble in a month that turned out to be warmer than normal when averaged out. September’s departure from normal mean temperature was 4 degrees. Using that data and the numbers from the rest of the year, 2019 so far has a departure from normal of 0.25 degree. How will we fare in October? This month should have its ups and downs but there may enough warm weather to turn October’s departure from normal on the positive. We started off chilly and ove...
Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this coming week. Oct. 7 1910 Forest fires destroy Baudette and Spooner, killing 29 people and burning over 220,000 acres of land. During this dry year over 900 fires had burned in twenty-nine counties, causing 42 deaths. Graceton, Pitt, Cedar Spur, and Williams also burned. 1935 Amelia Earhart speaks to the Women's City Club in St. Paul as the final part of a tour of Minnesota, including the Iron Range. Formed in 1921, the club valued social,...
The Dusty Boots Tour of Cloquet's newest affordable apartments was as much a walk down memory lane as it was an apartment showing. Carlie and Jim Nynas recalled their courtship in high school, when Jim would drive over from Esko on his lunch hour to visit Carlie, whose dad owned Andrew's Grocery store across the street. A proud 1964 grad, Carlie said she has lots of fond memories of the school building and the building that now houses the health food store across the street. "I'm so glad... Full story
The full school boards for Carlton and Wrenshall schools will meet jointly Monday for the first time since committees from each district reviewed costs for facilities in a consolidated school district. The cost of remodeling and building new parts of the schools in Wrenshall and South Terrace remains about $47 million. The committees met Monday to fine-tune construction details and also consider an idea presented by superintendents from both districts. Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro said she and Gwen Carman wanted to provide the boards...
1. Current Kwik Trip store. 2. Current Kwik Spirits liquor store, formerly Gramma Polo’s, to be demolished and replaced with car wash. 3. Trapper Pete’s is staying put. 4. Golden Gate motel will be razed and the area cleared for more parking and extension off the store for a liquor store. 5. Kwik Trip’s purchase of the motel will allow frontage road access to Minnesota Highway 61. 6. Entrances at County Road 45 have been congested....
Cloquet's Dunlap Island was Pet Central Saturday, when the Cloquet police department and Carlton County sheriff's office teamed up with Northern Lakes Rescue to offer a free microchipping clinic for area residents. It was so busy that police had to monitor traffic coming in and out of the park, allowing vehicles in one at a time as others departed. Northern Lakes Rescue founder Shannon Steele said they microchipped 260 animals: 259 dogs and cats, plus one pig. "That's 260 animals that weren't...
How does a friend, a loved one, a co-worker or a classmate cope in the aftermath of a completed suicide? Jo Angell says that going on a walk — specifically, the annual Suicide Awareness Memorial Walk — has helped her and many other people who have been left behind. Her son, Doug Angell, died by suicide. Carlton County health educator Meghann Leavitt helps organize the annual event which serves as a time to remember, but also offers resources to survivors and, maybe most importantly, a chance to connect. Leavitt said Carlton County and many oth... Full story
We’re pleased to see the Cloquet library expansion moving forward, and have some suggestions. First, we note that the library is a regional treasure: no one checks your ID when you come in and when you check out; your Arrowhead library card is all you need. Except for some support from the Arrowhead Library System, the library is run and financed by the taxpayers in Cloquet. The city has reached out to neighboring communities whose citizens frequent the library, to help financially, but most already contribute to the Arrowhead Library System an...
It’s been 20 years, and Cloquet has changed a bit since I first moved to town on Oct. 1, 1999. There were two weekly newspapers then, too, the old Pine Knot and the upstart Cloquet Journal. But those papers eventually merged into the Pine Journal, and we had one paper until the new Pine Knot News started up last year. Cloquet had video rental stores all over: McDonald Rental, Spotlight Video and a few others. Some gas stations rented videos too — big, clunky VHS tapes. DVDs were just gai...
I have just read the comments from the Sept. 23 Cloquet School Board meeting, when board members were confronted by a taxpayer, asking why we in the Cloquet School District are paying 2 ½ times more than surrounding Carlton County school districts. The school board’s response was: “We are getting a bargain.” As a 71-year-old retired, lifelong resident of Cloquet and a graduate of its school system, I can’t recall being taught that paying 2 ½ times more for a product or service is a “bargain.” I’m terribly confused. Are there Adult Education...
Republican Jeff Dotseth has declared his 2020 candidacy for Minnesota House District 11A, the seat currently held by Rep. Mike Sundin. “As a fellow resident, I share in the love for this community,” Dotseth said. “Motivated by my concern for the future of Minnesota, I have become a candidate for the House District 11A legislative seat. My goal is to serve the people in this district by using my unique experiences to make Minnesota a better place to live, raise families, conduct business.” Dotseth and his wife live on the family farm in Kettle...
Enjoy The Third Generation members and friends on Saturday, Oct. 19 for a concert, “Midwest Accordion Princess: Memories of Finland and Viola Turpeinen.” The concert will highlight the rich baritone voice of Gregg Santa, evocative violin melodies as played by Jeanne Santa Doty and Johanna Santa Lorbach, Wesley Santa’s nostalgic mandolin and accordion tunes, and Ted Eastman’s virtuosic and spirited accordion playing. The concert will be at the Cloquet Senior Center, 1100 Olympic Dr. in Cloquet, beginning at 4 p.m. It is sponsored by the Sons of... Full story
The Minnesota Department of Commerce offered good news about MNsure Tuesday: premiums for the final 2020 health insurance rates are remaining stable and every county in Minnesota will have at least two insurers offering coverage in the individual market. Minnesotans looking for coverage should enroll during MNsure’s open enrollment period, which begins Nov. 1. While premiums remain stable, MNsure reminds Minnesotans that tax credits can help lower their monthly premiums. Minnesotans can view available 2020 plans through MNsure starting Oct. 1...
A lot of things have changed since 1999, the last time Thomson Township approved a comprehensive plan, and technology and the internet is at the top of the list. There were no iPhones — they wouldn’t come out for another eight years. Heck, the first flip phone had hit the market only three years before that. Google was available ... as a beta site. The number of internet users worldwide had reached 150 million; today it’s approximately 4.4 billion. Users accessed the internet through phone...
Cloquet and Esko homecoming information....
Starting with the next Cloquet city council meeting on Oct. 15, residents will be heard before the council conducts its business, rather than at the end of the meeting after all the votes have been cast. Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb moved for adoption of new council procedures — as she was the one who originally proposed the change — but the rest of the council voted unanimously in favor and had previously expressed their approval. “We should hear from people before we make our votes,” Lamb pr...
Helen Joyce (Hayes) Clark On Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, Helen Joyce (Hayes) Clark of Auburn, Georgia, loving wife and mother of four children, graduated this life and ascended into the arms of her Divine Father. Helen was 85 years old. She was born at home on Nov. 7, 1933, in Cloquet. She was the youngest daughter of Clarence and Eva (Pigman) Hayes. She received her diploma in nursing from St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Duluth in the spring of 1954. In the fall of 1954, she married Phillip S. C... Full story
Kenneth Lloyd Port, 58, passed away peacefully from cancer on Sept. 27, 2019, surrounded by his family. He was born Oct. 18, 1960. Ken was a law professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul for 18 years. He served as a co-director of the Intellectual Property Institute, and was a faculty advisor to the Student Intellectual Property Law Association and the Cybaris Intellectual Property Law Review. Ken had a lifelong passion for Japan, spoke Japanese fluently, and lived in Japan... Full story
Earl Erkkila, 83, of Cloquet died Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at the Chris Jensen Health & Rehabilitation Center. A gathering of family and friends was held Oct. 2 at Atkins-Northland Funeral Home in Cloquet.... Full story
On a cool Friday night in Willow River, Esko pulled off a 20-18 upset to end the Rebels' four-game winning streak. Despite four turnovers on the night, the Eskomos took advantage of an interception and an 87-yard return for a touchdown by Preston Lowe which broke a 12-12 tie. With a two-point conversion - also by Lowe - the Eskomos were able to hold off a late push by the Rebels in picking up the road victory. "We hung in there," head coach Scott Arntson said. "Offensively we didn't execute like...
Football Cloquet-26 North Branch-12 The Lumberjacks were deadlocked with the Vikings 6-6 at halftime and slowly pulled away over the second half to secure the win on the road. Markus Pokornowski ran back a punt early in the first quarter for a 35-yard touchdown, but Cloquet missed the extra point kick and led 6-0 after the opening quarter. The Vikings tied the score in the second quarter when Johnny Snaza picked up a fumble and ran in from three yards out, but the two-point conversion run was stuffed by the ’Jacks. Just after halftime the L...
After a wild finish to the regular season, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls tennis team opened the Section 7AA team tournament Tuesday in Grand Rapids. The 'Jacks came into the tournament as the No. 12 seed and had the unenviable task of taking on the No. 5 seeded Thunderhawks. Grand Rapids proved to be a tough foe and downed the Lumberjacks 6-1 in the first round to eliminate CEC from the team competition. CEC's lone win in the playoff match came at No. 4 singles, when Lydia Stone defeated...
The Carlton volleyball team continued its roll through the regular season with a 3-0 win over Wrenshall last week. The Bulldogs won 25-5, 25-18, 25-12 and their record is now 21-2 after winning a tournament in Mora this past weekend. "We played well against Wrenshall," said Carlton coach Barb Soukkala. "We were able to get everyone some playing time." The Bulldogs have been impressive all season with a roster loaded with experience and talent as they build toward the section tournament. On the...
