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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With all of Carlton County's 39 precincts reporting, the unofficial tallies from the 2024 general election brought some interesting results, including a win in the county for President-elect Donald Trump, who did not win Minnesota. The Republican was the top vote-getter - 50.1 percent to Vice President Kamala Harris' 47.6 percent - in a county that had nearly 90-percent voter turnout with more than 20,000 people submitting ballots. Voter turnout nearly matched the 92-percent mark made in 2020...
When Cromwell-Wright took the field on Halloween night it seemed like all odds were stacked against them. The Cardinals were facing an undefeated team, last year's state champions, and the top-ranked team in nine-player football this season. Nevis had beaten them by 40 points a little over a month before hte Section 5 title game on Halloween night in Brainerd. Add to the odds the fact that Cromwell-Wright's starting quarterback was dealing with an injury. All that, and none of it mattered as the...
When Moose Lake/Willow River and Mesabi East stepped onto the field in Esko for the Section 7AA championship game last Thursday, they had to deal with cold and wet and a field covered in snow. In the end the Rebels overcame the elements and the Giants, earning another trip to state - the 18th time in school history - by winning 24-14. The Rebels got two big runs from Levi Mikrot in the first quarter to gain the early lead. Mikrot rumbled 41 yards for the first score of the game, giving ML/WR an...
Cloquet police responded to a pair of explosions in October that shook a south Cloquet neighborhood and left one resident to wonder whether he’d been the subject of political violence. “My concern was they didn’t kill somebody,” said John Badger, 55, whose home is located at 1341 Valley View Drive. “It was more powerful than a firework. I had aluminum cans disintegrated into pieces of shrapnel and bottles turned to dust.” Badger sprang from his couch to a “loud bang” sometime after 10 p.m. Oct. 16, he said, and he witnessed a neighbor also come...
While some places in the country received bomb threats on Election Day, Carlton County was relatively incident free — with one major exception. “A suspicious envelope was left at a polling booth in Thomson Township,” said Carlton County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Doug Rotta, noting that the call came at 5:28 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, while voting was still underway. The discovery did not disrupt voting at Thomson Township, Rotta said. The building was not cleared and people continued voting as usual. “It didn’t turn out to be anything hazardous o...
Winter parking is in effect now through March, so don’t leave your cars parked on the streets of Cloquet overnight. According to city code, cars cannot be parked on the streets or in alleys between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. from Nov. 1 through March 31, to allow snowplow drivers and others to clear the streets. The only exception is a vehicle parked at an open business establishment between midnight and 2 a.m. “unless ordered to be moved at the direction of a peace officer.” In Esko, parking on the street is prohibited 4-7 a.m. In Carlt...
All City of Cloquet and Carlton County offices will be closed on Monday, Nov. 11 in observance of the Veterans Day Holiday. This includes County Courthouse offices, County Government Services Building, County Transportation Department, Human Services, Public Health, Motor Vehicle License Bureau, Veterans Service Office and the University of Minnesota Extension Service Office. The Hwy. 210 Transfer Station will be open....
There was a line of people outside Cloquet City Hall at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, waiting for the polls to open. "There was a line again at 10 a.m. that kind of surprised us, and now there's another one," said head judge John Cavanaugh at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. "We've been busy all day." By 4:30 p.m. they'd seen 675 voters come through, and Cavanaugh was expecting between 800-850 by the end of the day. The city hall was also busier than usual with people registering to vote, Cavanaugh said,...
Forty percent of the Carlton County board of commissioners turned over on Tuesday, with voters electing two newcomers to go along with the familiar face of an incumbent. "I appreciate the support from the district, it's been great," said 59-year-old Tom Proulx, the District 3 commissioner representing northeast Cloquet, from Scanlon to beyond Sunnyside. Proulx ran unopposed, and earned 97 percent of the general election vote (2,667 votes out of 2,725 cast), winning his seat for a fifth straight...
MNsure, Minnesota’s official health insurance marketplace, is now open for Minnesotans to enroll in quality, comprehensive coverage for 2025. MNsure’s open enrollment period is the annual opportunity for Minnesotans who need health insurance to shop, compare options and sign up for coverage. Open enrollment runs Nov. 1 through Jan. 15, 2025, but there’s an important deadline in December. Consumers must enroll in a plan by Dec. 18, 2024, for coverage that starts New Year’s Day. “Quality health coverage continues to be more affordable for Minne...
The Carlton County Disabled American Veterans and Auxiliary are again organizing a free Cloquet Community Thanksgiving meal at Zion Lutheran Church 12-3 p.m. Nov. 28. All Carlton County residents are invited to sit down and enjoy a nice turkey meal with all the fixings and in good company. Although folks don’t have to call ahead to dine in, they must call 218-451-0966 for delivery as soon as possible so DAV organizers can plan the many delivery routes. If no one answers, leave a message with name, phone number, address and how many meals for d...
Pine Knot News deadlines will be moved up one day for the Thanksgiving holiday later this month. That means all news announcements, obituaries and legal notices must be received by 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25. Call 218-878-9332 with any questions. The Pine Knot offices will be closed Nov. 28. Friday home delivery should not be affected....
Two more pro-consolidation candidates were elected to the Carlton school board Tuesday. Challengers Ben Nilsen and Dan Solarz will join the board in January: both have indicated they strongly favor pairing with neighboring Wrenshall. Another advocate for a union with Wrenshall was Ryan Leonzal, who was re-elected Tuesday after winning a special election a year ago. Each of the winning candidates received over 20 percent of the vote, a strong showing in a race where voters could vote for up to three candidates. Leaving in January will be...
Nathan Barta is just 20, but he won in a landslide Tuesday, taking more than 50 percent of the vote for Thomson Township Supervisor Seat C while his opponents – Jaryn Edblad and John Bergman – garnered 27 and 22.6 percent. While the incoming Thomson supervisor is definitely the youngest person in Carlton County – or maybe even the state – to win election Tuesday, the University of Minnesota Duluth junior knows a thing or two about local politics. Two years ago he penned a guest column in the Pin...
It was another close race for Minnesota House District 11A Tuesday, with the incumbent Rep. Jeff Dotseth (R-Kettle River) edging repeat DFL challenger Pete Radosevich by 664 votes, 51.1 percent to 48.4 percent of 23,840 votes cast in all of Carlton County and parts of Pine and St. Louis counties. In 2022, Dotseth won by 454. “I am a firm believer in the power of prayer,” Dotseth wrote in a statement to the Pine Knot Wednesday. “I’d like to thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ, my wife and my family, as well as all the members of team Dotseth...
Be forewarned ... attending next week's Cloquet High School production of "Mamma Mia!" will have Abba songs running through your head day and night. Having Abba in your head is a happy way to start the day though, just like the CHS musical is a happy way to spend a couple hours Thursday through Sunday next week, with performances starting at 7 p.m. Nov. 14-16 and 2 p.m. Nov. 17 in the CHS auditorium. Director Corey Hunt said choir teacher (and music director) Rhonda Card pitched the musical last...
It’s one of our favorite annual traditions, the Veterans Day Roll Call you’ll find starting on Page 9. We are honored to highlight our veterans each year, and especially love hearing new details about the extraordinary experiences they hold so dear. We hope you enjoy the section as much as we do. And if you’d like to honor vets in person, attend one of the events listed for Monday. A huge THUMBS UP to those who contribute to this section each year, and thanks to all veterans for your service. THUMBS UP to voter turnout in Carlton County. We re...
Museums are not just repositories of objects, they are living spaces that tell stories, bring people together, and create understanding." – Unknown We like to hold on to our history as evidenced by the local museums in Carlton County. Cloquet, Moose Lake, and Esko museums retain artifacts of our past to help us remember people who worked, played and formed the society and culture we enjoy today. The stories and insights we garner from a visit to the museum can improve our perspective on life a...
Please recognize, support and utilize an important and valued city asset: the Cloquet Public Library. The library has been acknowledged by the Minnesota Department of Education as providing well above the minimum level of support for 2025. Should a library fall below the state-certified level, Minnesota law requires removal of the city from State Library Services funding formulas. This would greatly reduce the breadth and depth of library services available to Cloquet city and area residents. It has been a few years since the Cloquet Public...
A card arrived at the Cloquet post office as war loomed in the early 1940s. It was asking postmasters from across the country to consider signing up for military service. Clarence Scheibe was 40 years old. "He said, 'Oh well,' and signed it," his daughter Maggie Scheibe said this fall. It was just a few weeks after the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center in Superior announced its latest exhibit, "Post Office in the Pacific," featuring Scheibe and his work in the Army in keeping the flow...
I don't remember meeting him. His name was Marvin Gleason. He was my first cousin who died in 1958, at age 31, when I was only 3 years old. Marvin was a decorated Korean War pilot who served in the U.S. Air Force. He's buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Cloquet and I visit his gravesite often. I always wish I could have heard his stories in person, especially when I'm reminded of his service each Veterans Day. Gleason grew up on Fourth Street and Selmser Avenue in Cloquet. He'd be 98 years...
Four days after graduating from high school in 1970, Gerald "Jerry" Manthey went on active duty in the Air Force. A crew chief/flight engineer, Manthey trained with B-52 bombers. His first assignment was at the K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base, a strategic air command. Once there, Manthey started working on KC-135 planes, which were in-flight refueling tankers. He learned quickly how lucky he was to be working on the KCs. "Four engines instead of eight on a KC, eight on a B-52. Half the problems," he...
Bethlehem and Bethany Lutheran churches observed All Saints Day with a candle lighting ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 3. Remembered were Donald Hutar, Kim Peters Creager, Dagny Quarnstrom, Harriet Reno, Jon Swenson, Duane Schafer, Judy Rosicky and Joann Beck. May they rest in peace. Halloween is over, and I was surprised to get 37 trick-or-treaters at my new home in Cromwell. I was prepared for about 25, so had to improvise on the last few kids, but they all went away happy. Anyway, it was fun to see...
Longtime Carlton County resident Russ Plaisted was saluted by family, friends and neighbors at a birthday gathering Sunday, Nov. 2, at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Esko. Russ was born Nov. 5, 1924 in Duluth. His parents were Elder and Genevieve Plaisted. He and his wife Dorothy lived in Esko 18 years, then on the Iron Range 18 years, then back to Esko, and are now settled in Cloquet. Dorothy was 93 on April 5. The couple has another milestone pending when they will celebrate their 72nd...
On a beautiful Saturday morning, hundreds of Minnesota's top high school cross country runners raced across the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad golf course as part of the Minnesota State High School Cross Country Meet. With the temperature in the 50s, it was the perfect day for running and spectators, said Carlton/Wrenshall coach Brenda Knudsen. But the rolling hills of the course created some challenges. "There were not a lot of PRs (personal records) with all those hills. It's not a fast f...
