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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On Saturday, the Fires of 1918 Museum and Depot in Moose Lake will commemorate the 105th anniversary of the fires that devastated the region on Oct. 12, 1918. A documentary will be shown at 2 p.m. in the Soo Line Event Center and memory candles will be available. There will be coffee and conversation afterward. On this date, Oct. 13, in 1918, the world was catching wind of the fires that consumed northeastern Minnesota the day before. Fires wiped out the cities of Moose Lake, Cloquet and other t...
Five dogs and nine house cats roam through Taylor and Shannon Hansberry's Barnum home, napping in sunbeams, nuzzling the couple or their son Ruxin for attention, and gently but firmly approaching newcomers to see if they'll offer the same. Nearby, a pair of camera-shy feral cats live in a small enclosure the family maintains in their garage. The Hansberrys are one of a handful of families in the recently formed Carlton County Animal Rescue, members of which began fostering lost and stray...
Editor's note: Both soccer games Tuesday and the football games Wednesday will be played at the new turf field in Cloquet, superintendent Michael Cary said Monday in an update. Hints of frustration showed Monday as Cloquet school board members discussed a still uncertain finishing date for the Members Cooperative Credit Union Stadium complex, with final football and soccer games approaching quickly. "The field's been sitting there almost a month," said board member Dave Battaglia, referring to t...
To say the Cloquet volleyball team has been on a tear would be putting things mildly. The Lumberjacks are 22-2 on the season. They won 15 straight matches in September and, after a narrow loss to Hermantown, have won three matches in a row with two matches left in the regular season. On Thursday, Oct. 5, Cloquet marked its senior night by defeating Superior, 25-14, 25-23, 25-21. With 17 assists in the match, senior setter Carly Johnson surpassed 1,000 career set assists the same night....
At the committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, Carlton school board members again took up the issue of consolidation with Wrenshall. Consensus formed around having superintendent Donita Stepan contact Wrenshall and arrange for both boards to tour the buildings of both districts, in response to a letter sent a month ago by the Wrenshall school board. In August, Carlton agreed to discuss a merger, but only on the basis of having one campus which would have to be at South Terrace, the current site of the Carlton Elementary School. In their...
An annular solar eclipse — which shows a “ring of fire” around the moon — will cross North America in a downward diagonal “path of annularity” from Oregon to central Utah, southwest Colorado, to central New Mexico and southern Texas. Within that path, 118 to 137 miles wide according to space.com, viewers will see the smaller moon mostly block the sun, with a ring of fire showing around the edges. Most of the rest of North America will see a partial solar eclipse, including Minnesota, where the moon will block between 40- and 50 percent of...
As archery deer hunters enjoy the current hunting season and 400,000 hunters prepare for firearms deer hunting seasons, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds hunters to plan ahead for a safe and enjoyable hunt. The Minnesota DNR’s online make-a-plan tool (mndnr.gov/deerhunt) provides a comprehensive step-by-step list of information hunters need to consider before heading to deer camp. Hunters can walk through the steps to consider, including knowing the hunting regulations, planning for deer processing, getting their deer s...
Esko Schools superintendent Aaron Fischer told school board members Monday the construction of the new fitness center was progressing, but with unexpected costs. Previous work when the school was expanded in 1998 uncovered drain pipes that were no longer needed, but instead of being removed, were left in the ground. "It's a $10,000 cost to remove that because it was underneath our new fitness center," Fischer said. He also reminded the board of another issue, an extra door that a state reviewer...
Starting Nov. 1, Minnesotans who need health insurance can sign up for 2024 coverage through MNsure at www.mnsure.org, where they can easily find, choose and purchase health insurance. MNsure’s open enrollment period runs from Nov. 1 through Jan. 15. Open enrollment is the annual opportunity to enroll in health coverage, change plans, and renew coverage. MNsure estimates that Minnesotans who are eligible for tax credits will save $6,750 in 2024 and spend 5 percent less on private health plan premiums than they did this year, on a...
The University of Minnesota Extension Timber Management and Taxation School will hold a workshop to provide tax professionals, foresters, logging contractors, landowners, agricultural lenders, and farm management instructors up-to-date information on federal tax treatment of income and expenses associated with the sale of timber. The workshop will run 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the golf course restaurant at Black Bear Casino Resort. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. Cost: $50 on or before Nov. 7 and $60 on Nov. 8-9. For further information...
When you can’t come to the library, your library on wheels will come to you. The Arrowhead Library System’s Bookmobile stops every three weeks at these locations: Esko at Northwood United Methodist Church: 10:30-11 a.m. Oct. 16, Nov. 6 & 27, Dec. 18; Wrenshall, Silver Brook Town Hall: 11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Oct. 16, Nov. 6 & 27, Dec. 18; Kettle River, Main Street: 1:30-2:15 p.m. Oct. 16, Nov. 6 & 27, Dec. 18; Mahtowa, TJ’s Country Corner: 2:45-3:45 p.m. Oct. 31, Nov. 21 and Dec. 12 Cromwell, City Park on Highway 210: 1-2 p.m. Oct. 31, Nov. 21 an...
A rural Carlton County man faces both state and federal child pornography charges after an FBI covert operation revealed “sexually explicit contact” with a minor, including an explicit photograph. Cord Cameron Schipman, 33, was charged in U.S. District Court Sept. 29 with a single count of production and attempted production of child pornography. As in the Stephan Hansen case reported in the Oct. 6 issue of the Pine Knot, if Schipman is found guilty, the minimum sentence is 180 months (15 years) in federal prison; the maximum is 360 months (30...
A Cloquet man admitted in Carlton County Court last week that he sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl in 2016. Kim James Connors Jr., 32, who goes by “KC,” pleaded guilty to one charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, penetration or contact with a person under 13, Friday, Oct. 6, in Sixth District Carlton County Court. According to the criminal complaint, the girl reported to staff at the Carlton County youth shelter in 2021 that Connors touched her “all the way” when she lived at his mother’s house as a foster child. She later told ano...
After a sold out performance last year, the Tom Cawcutt Trio is back at the Encore Performing Arts Center for two shows Saturday, Oct. 14. Tom Cawcutt, pianist and lead vocalist, lives in Wrenshall with his wife, Robin. He started playing piano at the age of 3. Cawcutt has a natural ear for music. He enjoys writing, arranging, and playing as well as performing. He also has won several talent contests and awards playing piano and singing and is well known in the Cloquet area and beyond. Tom has...
In a letter last month to the neighboring city of Carlton, the city of Wrenshall declined to support the Carlton ambulance service as it moves toward adding two full-time positions to a historically volunteer staff. “After much thought and deliberation, we have come to the conclusion that it would not be fiscally responsible for us to burden our residents with a levy increase of 10 percent to cover your requested contribution of $9,537.13,” said the letter, signed by Wrenshall Mayor Gary Butala. To date, Wrenshall is the only jurisdiction in...
The 15th Suicide Awareness Memorial Walk takes place 9:30 -11:30 a.m. Saturday at Carlton High School. An average of 150 community members gather at the event in memory of loved ones lost to, or touched by, suicide and to bring awareness toward prevention. There will be a short walk of about 20 minutes followed by refreshments and a short message of hope from Jake Kachinski and Brittany Steeg, who lost their sister to suicide in 2010. Meghann Levitt, an educator for Carlton County Health and...
Eight 4-Hers from Carlton County participated in the Minnesota 4-H state horse show Sept. 15-18 on the grounds of the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights. There were 608 participants from across the state demonstrating skills and knowledge in hippology (showing knowledge and understanding of equine science and husbandry), horse judging (study of an animal, measuring it against an accepted ideal), horse training and achievement, speech and demonstrations about interest in horses or the horse...
A longtime Cloquet business has a new owner with a familiar face. Scott Nelson purchased Stock Tire from his boss, Steve Stavang, in August. Nelson had worked as a mechanic there for four years and is still doing plenty of hands-on work - he just added lots of other tasks to his list of duties. Nelson hadn't planned to buy the business. He actually gave two weeks' notice thinking he should do more paint and body work - his side gig in Carlton - when Stavang asked him if he'd thought about...
LOC Auto and Weld owner and main mechanic Luke Carlson was welding a truck bed Friday morning, but took a few minutes to report that business is going well at the new automotive repair shop. Carlson opened the business in the former Pete & Sons station at Cloquet Avenue and 15th Street in August. Carlson said he'll do everything except air conditioning or alignments, including oil changes, front end work, engine, transmission, custom welding and more. "It's going great so far, I've been swamped...
Thursday, Oct. 5 Girls Soccer Cloquet/Carlton 1 Esko 0 Boys Soccer CEC 7 Proctor 0 Volleyball Carlton/Wrenshall 3 Cook County 1 ML/WR 3 Silver Bay 1 Floodwood 3 South Ridge 2 Cromwell-Wright 3 Barnum 1 Cloquet 3 Superior 0 Friday, Oct. 6 Football Duluth Denfeld 40 Cloquet 16 Cromwell-Wright 61 LaPorte 0 ML/WR 46 International Falls 20 Esko 63 Hibbing 0 Braham 50 South Ridge 8 Barnum 34 Mille Lacs 6 Hill City 62 CVarlton/Wrenshall 20 Saturday, Oct. 7 Volleyball Esko 2 Crosby Ironton 0 Esko 2 Warroad 0 Esko 2 Cambridge 0 Esko 2 Duluth East 1...
I am not sure about you, but the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel this past weekend woke me up. For a long time after Sept. 11, 2001, I was concerned about terrorist attacks. But more recently that concern has dissipated. First of all, because there haven’t been any large-scale terrorist attacks on American soil since then. Second, there are many other concerns to attend to in our own country, including economic, cultural, and other issues. But with these latest attacks, we see that there are still people who desire and have the means to c...
Given everything that’s been taking place on Capitol Hill, I’d guess you missed the announcement a few months back that the House Civility Caucus has been revived. It would be hard to call this earth-shattering news, but it’s a notable measure of hope. The caucus first came into being in 2018, when two members of Congress from Columbus, Ohio — Democrat Joyce Beatty and Republican Steve Stivers — launched the group with the idea that disagreement is inevitable in politics, but being disagreea...
I learned about monks during my time at Saint John’s University, a college near St. Cloud run by a Benedictine monastery. Being a monk is fascinating. They live a communal life, a true socialist society that actually works. One popular monk, Brother Willie, spent his evenings as the night watchman, with a toy “Sheriff” badge hanging off his overalls, checking doors and keeping an eye on things. Father Jerome was the abbott then, overseeing the university, prep school, liturgical press busin...
On Sept. 4, Labor Day, my 160-acre Nemadji Creek tree farm was in the direct path of the Carlton County Road 11 wildfire. Because of the quick and effective response, the damage to my woodlands was minimal and none of my pine and spruce plantations were burned. Over the subsequent days, I was in close contact with county law enforcement, and volunteer and professional firefighters from the local to the state level. At times there were up to 67 pairs of boots on the ground or in the air. I want to express my sincere thanks to those on the scene...
Larry "Jake" Demenge was born on April 12, 1953, to Gottlieb "Ole" and Bernice (Lee) Demenge in Cloquet. He graduated from AlBrook High School in 1971. Jake was married to Elizabeth Maki on Oct. 27, 1979, and the two shared nine years of marriage. Jake began his career in the oil fields and also worked for Brenny-Dahl. He was employed with the Hallett Dock Co. for 41 years. Jake began his own business in 1990, Jake's Grading. The company later combined with Dust Doctor and Kivi Trucking to form...
