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
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 35
With local health care leaders asking for help and a Mayo Clinic data scientist predicting a peak in Omicron Covid cases in the next two weeks, Mayor Roger Maki declared a local emergency due to the pandemic effective Wednesday. As part of that declaration, he mandated that face coverings be worn in all indoor public gathering spaces in the city of Cloquet. "We can reduce exposure of people and I believe that to be in the public interest and safety," Maki said. Fond du Lac medical director Dr. C... Full story
Test your short-term memory with this last installment of the 2021 year in review, covering September through December. It includes the continuing waves of Covid-19 spread and some wins in the “back to normal” department, including the return of free holiday meals in Cloquet. September The Thomson Township board of supervisors’ approval on Sept. 2 of a snowmobile trail alongside township roads, to be built and maintained by the Wood City Riders Snowmobile Club, got some attention from residents who felt blindsided by the decision. It would... Full story
Saturday dawned cold and clear with just a light wind puffing some fresh snow out of the trees at Pine Valley in Cloquet. Mid-January turned out to be a perfect time for ski jumping. By the time the youngest ski jumpers slid down the inrun on the 5-meter hill just after noon, the sun was relatively blazing, it was a balmy 12 degrees and the annual Cloquet Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Invitational was on. With more than 40 young competitors putting on their bibs to jump - and another 60 or so... Full story
Reader Mike Farmer recently captured this black wolf, a rarity in the wild. While technically simply a "black-colored" gray wolf, it is estimated the percentage of them found in wolf populations is in the single digits. Appropriately, the first full moon of the year rose Monday, and it is called the wolf moon. The Pine Knot News is always interested in photo captures from readers, whether it be in the wilds or just from everyday life. People and animals and the beauty of nature are welcome.... Full story
Protests and social media posts alleging abuse of up to 10 Native American children at two local foster care homes have been seen and heard. Fond du Lac Band attorney Scott Buchanan filed a petition for an emergency protective care hearing for two of the children last week. More than 60 people attended the Zoom hearing for that case on Tuesday, with Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekka Stumme presiding over a virtual courtroom. In the end, Stumme ordered that a total of nine children be...
Hot on the heels of the Cloquet City Council decision to go to remote meetings due to the high number of Covid cases, the Cloquet Area Fire District Board is also going remote. Residents can still attend meetings online or via telephone. To join from a computer, tablet or smartphone, get the meeting link and passcode from the CAFD website at cloquetareafiredistrict.com. Otherwise call the district office at 218-499-4258 or 218-499-4274 to get the call-in number and passcode....
Carlton County Public Health and Human Services will hold a free Moderna booster clinic 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21 in the second-floor conference room at the Carlton County Community Services Building, 14 N. 11th St., Cloquet. Registration is required due to limited doses, so visit https://prepmod.health.state.mn.us/appointment/en/reg/8569570121 to make an appointment.... Full story
Households in the U.S. can order one set of four free at-home tests from USPS.com, courtesy of the federal government. Go to https://special.usps.com/testkits to order. Here’s what you need to know about your order: • Limit one order per residential address; • One order includes four individual rapid antigen Covid-19 tests; • Orders will ship free starting in late January... Full story
Candidate filings for the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee positions of secretary/treasurer and Committeeperson District II (Sawyer) opened Jan. 14 and will close at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 24. Band members may file with the secretary/treasurer’s office. Primary elections will be April 5, with the general election on June 14....
A house and garage in Thomson Township were destroyed in a fire Sunday morning. According to a Carlton County Sheriff's Office press release, fire crews were called to 21 Ridge Road north of Esko at about 2 a.m. Esko Fire Department members were first on the scene and found a garage fully engulfed in flames. Wind spread the fire to the home. Both were deemed a complete loss. Occupants and pets were out of the residence and the family is receiving aid from the American Red Cross. A relative of... Full story
Cloquet police issued a press release Tuesday that a "dispute over parking issues" led to "road rage," leaving a Cloquet man in critical condition Saturday. Cloquet police responded to a 911 call of a man lying on the side of Highway 45 near Carlton Avenue around 5:40 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. The police statement said the man left the SUV after it went off the road, and stepped into the roadway. The driver of the other car, a 38-year-old Cloquet woman, turned around after the initial incident... Full story
After nearly seven hours of deliberation and close to five days of testimony, a Carlton County jury returned guilty verdicts on all but one kidnapping charge for a Scanlon man accused of rape, kidnapping and domestic abuse. The jury found Dennis Michael St. John, 55, guilty of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct "with heinous elements," plus one count of kidnapping and domestic assault with the intent of bodily harm. They found him innocent of a second kidnapping charge. By...
November may seem a long time away, but the first steps toward the next election are already happening with political candidates announcing their decisions to run or not, and precinct caucuses next month. The 2022 precinct caucuses will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to the Secretary of State's website. Precinct caucuses are meetings run by Minnesota's political parties. They are the first in a series of meetings where parties may endorse candidates, select delegates, and set...
The heavy lifting on cutting away the Carlton school district’s million-dollar budget hole will begin in meetings in February, but the school board on Tuesday showed signs that those cuts will sting — especially for those seeking activities outside the classroom. The board balked on accepting contracts for advisors to the school play and pep band. None of the four members present brought forth a motion on music teacher Sharrie Janovick and potential theater director Alyssa Olsen. It means there will be no school play and no pep band, which als...
It’s been a while since John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address inspired children and adults to see the importance of civic action and public service. “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,” he said, challenging every American to contribute in some way to the public good. That doesn’t mean a person needs to run for political office, or give up their high-paying job to join AmeriCorps: it simply means we all should do our part. Volunteer to plant flowers in the spring, chaperone school trips, help with t...
I wonder what would happen if hundreds of strangers suddenly got stranded in Cloquet. Maybe a huge blizzard hits while we’re hosting a big hockey tournament? Or tragedy strikes on a summer Sunday afternoon, when seemingly a million people are passing through town on their way home from the weekend. I guess it’s pretty unlikely, but it could happen. There was indeed such a scene after 9/11, when 38 planes were suddenly grounded in Gander, Newfoundland, leaving almost 7,000 passengers str... Full story
Leo James Sell, 57, of Edmond, Oklahoma passed away Jan. 15, 2022. He was born on July 12, 1964 in Cloquet to Robert and Virginia (Bryant) Sell. Leo spent his childhood in Carlton, where he met and married the love of his life, Becki Wilmarth. They moved around before settling in Edmond. He worked for Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma for nearly 20 years. For Leo, nothing was more important than family, and he had a habit of making family wherever he went, from his church to the Riverwind poker... Full story
Carolyn Marjorie (Huisinger) Lehikoinen, 89, passed away in her home Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. She was born Sept. 17, 1932, in Ivanhoe, Minnesota to Richard "Dick" and Kate (Woltjer) Huisinger. She grew up in the Porter and Canby area and graduated from Canby High School in 1954. Carolyn married Robert Lehikoinen on June 19, 1954, and they built a home on Twin Lakes Drive in Cloquet. She worked at the Northwest Paper Company in Cloquet. Carolyn was junior director for the Modern Woodmen Club 5020... Full story
Thomas "Tommy" Richard Rosen, 58, of Cloquet passed away Jan. 12, 2022, at his home. He was born March 25, 1963, in Duluth, the son of Robert G. and Aletha E. (Schmidt) Rosen. Tommy graduated from Cloquet High School in 1981 and participated on the high school golf team and ski jumping team. He was married to Taina Bottila on Aug. 3, 2007, in Cloquet. Tommy worked for more than 40 years at the Cloquet Country Club in numerous capacities, including grounds maintenance and kitchen crew. He also... Full story
Bernice "Da Da" Ostoff, 84, of Cloquet, passed away with peace on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, at Augustana Care Health and Rehabilitation in Moose Lake.She was the youngest of 18 siblings, the daughter of George and Sophie Ostoff. Bernice was one of the former owners of Burger Family Shoe Store. She was highly involved in the community, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Fourth of July parade. She was funny, loving, a respected individual, and was a spontaneous, boisterous spitfire! Bernice... Full story
Russell C. Johnson, 88, of Moose Lake died Jan. 18, 2022, at Augustana Moose Lake Village after a short illness. Russell was born Dec. 21, 1933, to Selma (Anderson) and John E. Johnson at home, east of Moose Lake. The family moved to a small farm west of Moose Lake in 1941, where Russ lived until he died. He graduated from Moose Lake High School in 1951. After his father died suddenly in March of 1953, Russell remained at home to take care of his mother and younger sister, Rosalie. His older bro... Full story
Thursday, Jan. 13 Girls Basketball Cloquet-57 Hermantown-49 South Ridge-53 Floodwood-25 Cromwell-Wright-66 Two Harbors-45 Mesabi East-70 MLWR-62 Boys Basketball Hermantown-96 Cloquet-78 Lakeview Christian Ac.-78 Wrenshall-58 Esko-88 Superior-77 Girls Hockey CEC-3 Duluth-1 Friday, Jan. 14 Girls Basketball Esko-70 Hibbing-32 Boys Basketball Two Harbors-56 Cromwell-Wright-51 Barnum-96 McGregor-33 Saturday, Jan. 15 Girls Hockey CEC-3 Northern Tier-0 Boys Hockey Elk River/Zimm-8 CEC-1 Monday, Jan. 17 Girls Basketball Proctor-63 Cromwell-Wright-58... Full story
The Lumberjacks boys and girls alpine ski team has been busy this season, and the pace didn't slow down Monday when the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton competed in an eight-team meet at Mont du Lac Resort. "Training has been good lately," said head coach Ryan Zimny. "It was a bit of a tough start with the warm weather in November and December, but Mont du Lac did a great job filling in the hill once it got cold enough." On Monday, the girls team had three girls finish, with Emily Regas taking second,... Full story
Former Lumberjacks and University of Minnesota Duluth star Karson Kuhlman faced a bad news, good news scenario this week. On Sunday, Kuhlman found out he was being put on waivers by the Boston Bruins. On Monday, he found out he was picked up by the Seattle Kraken. "I loved Boston, the fans and my teammates," Kuhlman said. "I am excited about the chance to play in Seattle and to try and build something special there." Kuhlman is in the second year of a two-year contract and will then become a... Full story
This past week the Cloquet girls basketball team has notched wins over Esko, Crosby-Ironton, Hermantown and Barnum. The 'Jacks are an impressive 12-3 on the season and have not lost since losing the opening game of the Wood City Classic on Dec. 28, and have won six in a row. While all the wins have been good, last Thursday's 57-49 road win at Hermantown may have been the most impressive. "Quinn Danielson had just a fantastic game for us. We would not have pulled that win off without her on the... Full story
