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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As many of the football teams in the state played section quarterfinal games Tuesday, some members of the Esko football team wore pajama pants to go with their pads as they filed onto their home turf in practice garb. Accompanied by hip-hop tracks piped through the public address system, the team ran through a practice that was vocal and high-tempo, with position groups hustling between drills every seven minutes like clockwork. "That's a big part of our culture," said senior Bryce Hipp, an...
The County Seat Theater Company's Halloween Spooktacular is on again this weekend. Born of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the theater went outdoors with a Halloween drive-through and show. It was a lot of fun, those who were at that first one said, so the theater has kept it going. The fun starts at 6 p.m. tonight and Saturday in the back parking lot at the Encore Performing Arts Center and Gallery, home of County Seat at 2035 Highway 33 South (on the frontage road) in Cloquet. Visitors can...
For the first time in 11 years, the Carlton County office responsible for zoning permits, sewer treatment compliance, shoreland alterations, waste and recycling, and well-water analysis has a new face atop its leadership. Chris Berg replaced Heather Cunningham on Monday, when he was introduced as the new zoning and environmental services coordinator at the county board meeting in Carlton. "It's a good, natural progression," Berg said of his ascension into the role. "I'm confident I can do the...
Esko High School students will present the musical “Alice In Wonderland” in November. Tickets are on sale at esko.ludus.com for 7 p.m. shows Nov. 8, 9, 15 and 16; 6 p.m. shows on Nov. 10 and 17; and a 2 p.m.show on Nov. 19. Tickets are $12 for adults, $5 for students, and free for those age 3 and under....
More than 400,000 deer hunters are preparing for the firearms deer season that opens Saturday, Nov. 4, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has released its outlooks on bagging a buck or doe across the state. DNR wildlife managers report that there should be good opportunities to harvest deer in most areas. Deer populations in many northern areas of Minnesota are still struggling to recover following back-to-back winters with heavy snowpack. During severe winters, thermal cover and forage availability become more important. In...
Way out west, there’s an air mass controlled by the El Niño cycle that will play a part in this winter’s weather. The National Weather Service office in Duluth released its winter weather forecast this past week, and it leaned toward the warmer Pacific Ocean air currents bringing the region a winter with above-normal temperatures and below-normal snow amounts. But beware, the El Niño effect is never quite predictable, said meteorologist Ketzel Levens on Oct. 19, and “we are still going to experience winter.” No two El Niños are the same, the...
After discussing its strategies to bring state money into the district, the Cloquet Area Fire District board approved new legislative priorities, which include lobbying for regular funding and bonds. The strategies discussed at the CAFD board’s Oct. 18 meeting include highlighting the impact of inflation and the effects of climate change on the district. The efforts are aimed at minimizing the burden on taxpayers in the CAFD service area. “A win for me would be that there’s an impact to the local [property tax] levy in such that we were able...
We can't recommend a pumpkin as a proper flotation device - too slippery, and a bit tricky to handle when wet, as some found out Saturday at the Cloquet Middle School pool as Cloquet Community Education hosted a "pumpkin plunge" to commemorate the fall season. A few dozen swimmers participated, taking home a gourd to carve in time for Halloween Tuesday, which is expected to be cold one, with a high of just 32 degrees that day....
Will Stenberg captured this grouse with his camera on Boy Scout Road near the Whiteface River in the Sax-Zim Bog last week. According to the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog group, grouse are best seen at dawn and dusk when they actively feed on birch and aspen buds. This is when they are active because their main predator, the goshawk, is hunting mainly in the daylight hours....
A vacancy on the Carlton school board is one of just two county-based elections on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Last week, the Pine Knot previewed the two-person race for a vacancy in Barnum. The Carlton race is much the same, featuring two people seeking to fill out the remainder of a term vacated by a previously elected official. What follows are the candidates responses to the questions in the Carlton race: Ryan Leonzal Briefly summarize your personal background, qualifications and any prior election...
A meat smoker caught fire in the upper portion of the Carlton Meat & Grocery store Monday, causing little damage but a quite a stir as emergency crews responded. The owner posted on the business Facebook page: "We had an incident with our smoker yesterday but we are open for business." The Carlton County Sheriff's Office said owner Mike Erickson called 911 at around 5:30 p.m. Crews arrived at the business in Carlton and quickly put out the fire. Sheriff's deputies responded, along with the...
Minnesota Reformer In Clinton, the small city in western Minnesota where Autumn Morrissette lives, child care is hard to find. When Morrissette got pregnant with her first child in 2020, not even the daycare where she worked could make room for the baby. “Nobody had infant spots — it’s the hardest thing to come by,” Morrissette said. She worked at the child care center up until two weeks before she gave birth. She couldn’t afford to stay home indefinitely after the baby arrived because her husband owns a small construction business and his i...
Paving the way for the development of Esko’s Northridge Park, the Thomson Township Board of Supervisors made a series of votes aimed at improving the town’s only park last week. At the township’s Oct. 19 board meeting, in addition to voting to demolish the park stage and buy new tables and chairs for the pavilion, board members voted unanimously to sign a contract which will employ the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission to hire a design team, conduct surveys for community input and find potential funding sources for the devel...
Cloquet American Legion Auxiliary Post 262 donated $500 to the Cloquet Combined Honor Guard. American Legion Auxiliary Post 262 president Penny Buran presented a check to honor guard member Scott Sutherland....
Students who are not current on their vaccinations could be asked to stay home soon, Cloquet school superintendent Michael Cary said. State law requires that students be immunized, or that families who conscientiously object do that formally, he explained to school board members during Monday's meeting. "We're getting really close. [We're] at the point where principals are going to be contacting the last remaining families," Cary said, noting that there was a "sizable list" of students who are...
Mary Lukkarila caught some stunning and fading fall light on the north bank of the St. Louis River last Sunday from under the Minnesota Highway 33 bridge in Cloquet....
We worked at the same place for six years, but in different areas, so hadn’t met. Plus, I lived in Cloquet and he lived in Superior. Then I decided to take up archery hunting and a co-worker said to me, “You should talk to Rick Brill, he is a big bow hunter.” That moment forever changed my life. It was 2006, and I sent Rick an email, not really expecting a whole lot. Before I knew it, he was at my office door wanting to help me get prepared to take up bow hunting. That was the beginning of the most treasured friendship I have ever had. Rick...
It won’t be long before I can relax during the last few weeks of October, maybe get some yardwork done before the snow flies, clean the car, take a leisurely walk in the woods in our neighborhood. But for now, with a fourth-grader at home, fall means Halloween. It’s all-consuming in our house. Some of you may know Alexa, the internet-based voice-activated tool that’s become very popular in recent years. It’s like having the entire wealth of human knowledge at your disposal by simply asking....
The Lumberjacks boys soccer season ended in a shootout Wednesday, in a Class AA quarterfinal game against St. Cloud Tech High School that remained tied 1-1 through two overtime periods and ended 2-1 as the Tigers missed only one penalty shot to win. It was a hard-fought game and one Cloquet-Esko-Carlton led for 75 minutes, 1-0, after senior Joe Bailey scored on a penalty kick in the 24th minute. The goalkeeper dove left and Bailey went right to score, after refs called a handball on a St. Cloud...
Football playoffs Tuesday, Oct. 25 Section 7A Braham 54, South Ridge 22 Section 7AA Barnum 56, Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin 7 Moose Lake-Willow River 40, Hinckley- Finlayson 19 Section 7AAAA Grand Rapids 48, Cloquet 22 Nine-man Cromwell-Wright 44, Bertha-Hewitt 14 Ogilvie 95, Carlton/Wrenshall 0 Football schedule Saturday Nine-man semifinals Cromwell-Wright at Ogilvie, 2 p.m. Verndale at Nevis, 2 p.m. Championship game: Semifinal winners, Nov. 2, Brainerd, 6 p.m. 7AA semifinals Aitkin at Barnum, 2 p.m. Mesabi East at Moose Lake-Willow River, 2...
Section 5 nine-man football playoff action started with a bang Tuesday night as Carlton County featured two of its teams in action. Cromwell-Wright came in as the No. 3 seed and opened at home against No. 6 Bertha-Hewitt, while the Carlton/Wrenshall Raptors were the No. 7 seed and opened on the road at No. 2 Ogilvie. The Cardinals upheld their end of the bargain by downing Bertha-Hewitt in a game Cromwell-Wright led 29-2 at halftime and ended up winning 44-14. Throughout the game the Cards were...
A promising start did not carry into the rest of the game Wednesday as the Cloquet-Carlton girls soccer team lost 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the Class AA state tournament to Winona. In the third minute, senior Kiley Issendorf was fouled in the box and granted a penalty shot that she drilled home to put the Lumberjacks up 1-0. The Lumberjacks continued to outhustle the Winhawks for the next 10 minutes until Winona tilted the field and peppered the Lumberjack goal for the rest of the first half,...
Two local teams entered the Section 7AA football playoffs as the top two seeds Tuesday night. Barnum entered the tournament with an undefeated record and as the top seed, while next-door-neighbor Moose Lake/Willow River is the No. 2 seed with only one blemish on their record, and that was to Barnum in the season opener. Barnum (9-0) played at home against No. 8 seed Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin and the Bombers proved worthy of the top seed by beating the Titans handily, 56-7. Moose Lake/Willow...
The Cloquet Lumberjacks opened play in the Section 7AAAA football playoffs on Tuesday night at the No. 5 seed, hitting the road to play No. 4 Grand Rapids. Cloquet upended the Thunderhawks a season ago in the playoffs, but not this time. Grand Rapids reversed its fortunes by eliminating the Lumberjacks 48-22. Cloquet drove the ball to midfield to open the game, but the drive stalled and eventually the ’Jacks punted the ball, pinning Grand Rapids back on their own 12-yard line. Seven plays later, the Thunderhawks scored as they took a 7-0 l...
Sectional volleyball action kicked off this week with local teams in action Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Things will heat up even more with semifinals and finals in the coming days. Find scores and matchups below. Section 7A Monday No. 8 Cherry 3, No. 9 Fond du Lac 0 Wednesday No. 5 Silver Bay 3, No. 4 Carlton/Wrenshall 1 No. 3 Cromwell-Wright 3, No. 6 Cook County 0 No. 2 South Ridge 3, No. 7 Lakeview Christian Academy 0 No. 1 Floodwood 3, No. 8 Cherry 0 Friday, Oct. 27 Cromwell-Wright at South Ridge, 6 p.m. No. 5 Silver Bay at No. 1...
