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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Outside Barnum, where horses populate handsome stables and open fields, and scores of round bales tell of a robust hay harvest, the sale of 20 acres of land has sent Blackhoof Township residents into prolonged shock and disbelief. "We've been caught off guard," said Eric Braun on Wednesday, Oct. 19, during the latest in a series of township meetings on the topic. The property is located east of the firehall along Pioneer Road. It features a new wooden fence entry inviting visitors to walk in fro...
It's been a spectacular Halloween season in 2022, with bright fall colors and pockets of warm weather. If you haven't explored the fall and fright-themed events and places yet, this weekend will be your final chance to get out before trick-or-treating Monday night. And looming winter. The weather should cooperate, with temperatures in the mid-50s through Halloween. Here is a list to get you going of events here and in the region: • Haunted Hawthorne in Cloquet is a free display with donations a...
Mike Tusken grows into leadership role at college There were days as Duluth police chief when Mike Tusken was exhausted, yet still found himself driving to Cloquet to teach a three-hour night class on community policing. "You're going 150 miles per hour in that job and I was coming here dreading it, because I was out of gas," Tusken said. "But when you're doing education, you've got people who are anxious and excited about getting into this field. I got energy from that. I left here invigorated....
The Cloquet city council chambers was a revolving door Tuesday, as candidates for six races answered questions in the Cloquet Area Chamber of Commerce candidate forum, an election year tradition. All of the forums ran smoothly, with a quiet and polite Minnesota audience made up mostly of other candidates, their supporters and a handful of interested citizens. It was a far cry from most national or even statewide televised debates, with no rudeness or verbal fireworks, and zero rebuttals until th...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College will soon be offering a four-year degree targeting those in pursuit of a career in elementary education. Announced this month, the move makes it the first two-year college in Minnesota approved to offer a bachelor's degree. Classes will officially begin for the first round of future educators in January. The new program is also the first in the state accredited by education boards to incorporate Indigenous cultural values and learning approaches into the...
The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors approved terms of a new law enforcement contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, extending services provided to the township for another three years. The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office assigns a deputy to work exclusively in the township. According to Chief Deputy Dan Danielson, who attended the board’s meeting Oct. 20 to answer questions about the new contract, the assignment allows the deputy to form a relationship with the community, get to know businesses, and work alongside the schoo...
In a rundown of the annual audit, the Cloquet school board got mixed news on the budget and the best rating from the auditing firm BerganKDV. Revenues for the last fiscal year were slightly higher than expected, at $36,935,439 versus $36,762,596, a difference of $172,843. However, the general fund account showed expenditures of $1.3 million, $1 million more than the predicted budget deficit of $284,000. But that doesn’t mean the district was in the red by roughly $1.3 million. BerganKDV manager Dustin Opatz explained the bulk of the extra e...
NEW BRIGHTON - Entering Thursday's Class AA girls soccer state quarterfinal against Cloquet-Carlton, Mankato East sported a pitch-perfect record. The opposing Lumberjacks leaned exactly why. Ella Huettl had the game's only goal and the Cougars' defense did what they usually do – give up nothing – in keeping Cloquet off the scoreboard in Mankato East's 1-0 victory on a brisk night at Irondale High School. The Lumberjacks were victim No. 20 in the Cougars' unblemished season, as third-seeded Manka...
In their second trip to State in as many years, the No. 3 ranked Lumberjacks boys soccer team beat a tough St. Cloud Tech 3-1 to earn a trip to the Bank, and they're excited. Elijah Aultman scored the first goal in the eighth minute at Thursday's quarterfinal game, hosted by Irondale High School in New Brighton. St. Cloud tied it in the second half and it was gridlock for a time, before two headed goals in the final eight minutes sealed the deal for Cloquet-Esko-Carlton. Sophomore midfielder...
The Section 7A champion Eskomos struggled against No. 4 seed St. Anthony in a state quarterfinal game late Thursday afternoon. St. Anthony erupted for four goals in the first half to race to a 4-2 victory over No. 5 Esko at Kuhlman Stadium in Edina. Senior forward Anna Isaacson and senior midfielder Eileen Cardona had two goals each in the first half when the Huskies (12-3-1) built a 4-1 advantage. Look for the full story in next week's Pine Knot News....
A call from a concerned citizen last month led to the arrest of a 19-year-old Cloquet man, after police officers allegedly found more than 1,200 fentanyl pills in the BMW car he was driving. James Daniel Randa was charged with aggravated first-degree controlled substance crime with a firearm and first-degree drug possession, both felonies, in Carlton County Court earlier this month. Randa was also charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor. Carlton County attorney Lauri Ketola said field testing showed the presence of...
A 16-year-old Superior boy pleaded guilty Tuesday, Oct. 25, to second-degree felony assault, after firing shots at a carful of people during a July incident in Pinehurst Park in Cloquet. Appearing before Judge Amy Lukasavitz in District Court in Carlton, the boy admitted to firing a 9-millimeter handgun 12 times at the car. The incident was preceded by an argument and foot chase involving two other juvenile males in the park late in the evening July 2. The males fled after the assailant brandished the gun. Two women driving by picked up the...
There’s a familiar phrase you hear often this time of year, right along with “Winter? Already?” and “What are you going to be for Halloween?” The one we are talking about is “I can’t wait until it’s all over.” Elections can be trying like that. There are the endless commercials and mailers, often negative, and the constant thrum of wondering just how the results will change things. Here at the Pine Knot, we’ve been proud to offer a voting guide that can help you make an informed choice. We are also thankful to readers who took the time to wr...
It’s when you vaguely realize that you’re dreaming that it gets the worst — when you recognize it’s your fault, that you gave birth to it/are presently birthing it, that somewhere in there, the horror show has your tattoo — the Sign of the Beast. Rosemary’s Baby. When enveloped in a typical nightmare, there’s a certain opaqueness to the reality, no lucidity at all — it’s So Real that the option of some alternative reality, sans horror, is simply not a piece of the puzzle. The horror simply tic...
An omnibus hearing for homicide suspect Raymond Arthur Julian was delayed until December on Tuesday, because there are a number of “computer-type devices” still out for analysis with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. “Given the number of devices and general timeline, it’s still going to take some time,” said assistant county attorney Jeffrey Boucher. “We have asked that it be expedited given the serious nature of this case, but it’s not yet complete.” Julian has been in the Carlton County jail since he was arrested in December 202...
Skutevik's Floral owners Matt and Nicole (Skutevik) Wheale are settled into their new building at 1429 Cloquet Ave. The longtime local business moved from its most recent location on Broadway Avenue over Labor Day weekend into the standalone building that was formerly home to Skare Law Office. Nicole said they are enjoying the additional space to work in the new building, and additional parking out front....
Being best of friends, quarterback Hayden Charboneau and wide receiver Caden Sheff didn't need long to respond when asked what the pair of Barnum football standouts do together outside of the sport. "More football," said Sheff, with a smile. That was evidenced early Tuesday night, as the two needed just 79 seconds to connect when Charboneau slung the ball to Sheff in the end zone to card the first of nine touchdowns the Bombers scored in their 65-6 win over East Central in a Section 7A...
Trailing early, Cloquet stormed to the lead Tuesday and opened the Section 7AAAA football playoffs with a 42-12 victory over Denfeld at home. The game was a rematch of a game that was played in early September. Much like the first game the Lumberjacks struggled a bit in the first half, but then exploded and now have a spot in the sectional semifinals. The win came after a loss to North Branch Oct. 19 in the final game of the regular season. After giving up an early 50-yard touchdown run in the...
Sectional volleyball action began Monday with No. 7 Barnum sweeping No. 10 Wrenshall in Section 7A south. It was a repeat of the matchup between the teams on Oct. 4, a 3-0 win for Barnum. Barnum came in with a record of 8-15 while the Wrens were 2-21. On Monday, the Bombers won by scores of 25-15, 25-13 and 25-9. Barnum moved on to the second round of the tournament and Wednesday night against No. 2 South Ridge. (The match wasn't complete by the time the Pine Knot went to press.) "All the girls...
When it is time for us to exercise our civic duty and vote each Election Day, we all need to take time to decide which candidates will receive our precious votes. It is our duty to gather accurate information, weigh that with our beliefs, and cast our votes. Sometimes we focus on a particular issue, because we want to vote only for someone who believes exactly as we believe. But when we send someone to the legislature, we need to remember that person has to work with all of the other legislators, and that every single issue is bound by difficul...
I am writing to urge voters to bring fresh energy to the Cloquet school board. A review of candidate profiles as published in the Pine Knot News reveals the three incumbents are many years beyond having their own children in our schools. The two challengers, on the other hand, have children in our schools and are also presidents of their respective schools’ parent organizations. They know the issues facing our children, teachers and parents because they are deeply immersed in the day-to-day life of our schools, and therefore are uniquely q...
The latest issue of The Electrical Worker, the official publication of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is titled “The Year of the Union Worker — Extraordinary Legislative Victories to Create Union Jobs for Decades.” Within the main article are statements including the following: “Over the past 15 months, four of the IBEW’s highest political priorities became law, some after decades of fighting.” “Together, they are a blueprint to rebuild the nation and the middle class.” “Taken together, the Batch Lewis Act, The Inflation R...
I believe Roger Maki has given our city good leadership as mayor during his term. Roger came into the mayor’s office during a challenging time in our city government. He brought stability to our city council. He then had to be the leader during the very difficult time of the Covid pandemic. As leader, he had to make some unpopular choices in some people’s eyes, but he made them and we got through those many difficult months. I have known Roger Maki for many years. I know him to be fair, honest, and concerned for our city and our well-being. I a...
There seems to be a cancer consuming the taxpaying residents within the Wrenshall school district. In this writer’s opinion, it’s been caused by the current superintendent: with three failed referendums at more than $10,000 apiece, $35,800 and counting in attorney fees and debt estimated at close to $300,000. On a yearly budget of $6 million, 82.5 percent goes to payroll and benefits, according to school board members. We seem to be top heavy on employees in a school of 352 students? I attended an Education Minnesota candidate forum in the sch...
Last week, I read the Local Election Guide for 2022 from the Pine Knot News and was struck by a sense of flashback. I was amazed that Jeff Dotseth’s profile and approach to the questions posed were pretty much the same as the last two times that he lost his elections. Jeff’s main points are that he is not a Democrat and that all Democrats are the same and he is a Republican, and so he has a lock on what is best. Again, Jeff has offered no actual solutions, just the same whining about how he wants to be in charge. After all the things we hav...
