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 26
Woodsmoke curled through the trees on a quiet winter afternoon at Camp Miigizi, just off Magney Drive on the Fond du Lac Reservation. An event called "Frybread Friday'' was scheduled here for Jan. 22, but it appeared no one was around the encampment of lightweight tents scattered randomly around a low-burning fire. A single, larger canvas tent stood out as a possible hub of activity, but all was silent inside. Farther on, a half-dozen women and men were found quietly assembling a wooden hut....
Kris Nelson compiled a booklet about the history of Big Lake in 1997. She's hoping someone can help identify the angler in this photo. "I did research at the library and found many interesting articles about Big Lake and included them along with stories of the people from around the lake. Somewhere I found this photo and thought it would be a great cover for the book. I have never been able to identify the person or even if it is on Big Lake. Would love if you could discover more about him."...
First-grade teacher Ann Doesken was expecting Tuesday to feel like the first day of school in the fall. After all, it was the first day of in-person learning since schools went to distance learning in November when the Covid-19 rates started going through the roof. But it wasn't. It was better. "Everyone just jumped right in and didn't miss a beat," said the overjoyed teacher, adding that there was little of that first-day nervousness for kids. "It felt amazing to be with students in person. My...
Heather Wright, vice chair of the Carlton County fair board, has assured Carlton County commissioners that the fair board is committed to updating the 4-H building on the grounds and can make it available for the Minnesota Extension Office. “The 4-H building is already used for 4-H and Extension work in the summer,” Wright said during the board meeting Monday. “It is a large building and centered in the rural area of the county.” Wright said there are many buildings in the fairground complex that could be used more effectively for Extensi...
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea issued a statewide order effective Feb. 1 that limits in-person activity in courthouses for an additional 45 days and requires remote hearings to the extent possible for all case types. No new criminal or civil jury trials will begin before March 15. Exceptions may be granted for criminal jury trials that meet three criteria: the defendant has requested a speedy trial, the defendant is in custody, and the case involves a felony or nonfelony person crime....
The Barnum girls basketball coach was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 19, for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his players. Andrew John Palmer, 33, of Moose Lake was charged with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Carlton County Sixth District Court Thursday; each count is related to a different alleged sexual encounter. When the Pine Knot News wrote of Palmer’s arrest in last week’s newspaper, he had yet to be formally charged. There was little information available, other than the fact that he had been arrested with cha...
Q Who’s now eligible to get their vaccines? A While Minnesota continues to work through its highest-priority groups — like front-line health care workers; those directly caring for, and exposed to, Covid-19 patients; residents of long-term care facilities and long-term care workers — the state has also expanded the pool of people who are eligible to be vaccinated. In this new group: People who are 65 and older, as well as teachers and child care providers. But this is not a full-scale rollout. This expansion comes in response to new guida... Full story
Carlton County has been provided nearly $700,000 in Covid-19 relief grant funds from the state to distribute to eligible businesses and nonprofits hurt by the pandemic. Applications and guidelines will be available online (www.co.carlton.mn.us) and at Carlton County Courthouse on Feb. 1 and applications will be accepted through Feb. 15. The grant money comes from a second round of relief funding from the Minnesota Legislature. Small businesses and nonprofits with up to 50 employees will be eligible, particularly those affected by the most... Full story
A Minnesota tiger was confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, based on results from the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratories. The tiger lives at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Pine County. The sanctuary veterinarian reports the 21-year-old female Sumatran/Bengal tiger received supportive care and has recovered. Staff first noticed lions, tigers and cougars displaying symptoms in early January. Shortly after, the veterinarian consulted state animal health officials about testing for SARS-CoV-2 at a private laboratory... Full story
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 47 cases over the past week, and there were no new deaths from Jan. 20-27. As of Wednesday, Jan. 27, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,856 Covid-19 cases with 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 196 positive tests so far — an increase of one since last week — with 92 of those on the reservation, the same as the week before. The state’s Jan. 21 repo... Full story
We value our fire protection in Carlton County, and we particularly like the lower home insurance premiums we enjoy thanks to having a fully staffed, 24/7 fire department with an excellent response time here in Cloquet. But another public building built on public tax dollars may tax our community too much at a time when we’re just not sure what other public buildings may be coming. In the past few years, Carlton County has built a new public works garage in Barnum and a Human Services building in Cloquet. Cloquet schools built a beautiful n...
It comes with age, not wisdom necessarily as the Bible says, but rather an ability to recognize and fathom the depth of the divide facing our democracy. We have been here before, in the lifetimes of Americans identified as “Baby Boomers,” the generation that witnessed the Civil Rights Movement, peaceful marches, burning and bombings of African American churches, the deaths of four little girls, the intimidation and murders of advocates for civil rights, equality and freedom. We thought it was... Full story
Since March, trillions of dollars of pandemic-related aid has flowed from the federal government to the states. This aid took many forms, including direct add-ons to unemployment payments and grants and loans to businesses. How did they work? Which sectors and occupations took greatest advantage of these? Economists tracked the first round for our region and here’s what we learned from the first rounds of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and extended unemployment benefits. The PPP p... Full story
With Covid-19 and the political events in our nation's capital occupying our minds, gardening is perhaps not the central focus of one's thought process this month. Yet, gardening for many is a place to clear one's head and take in some life lessons such as patience, persistence, or the need to control the weeds. One also learns that advance planning saves a lot of work, and often money, on the back end. Even though January in northeastern Minnesota doesn't lend itself to much gardening, there...
Joyce Mathiason Iverson, 97, of Cloquet, passed away Jan. 23, 2021, at Evergreen Knoll in Cloquet with family by her side after enduring a battle with bullous pemphigoid. She was born Sept. 9, 1923, in Highwater Township in southwest Minnesota to Alfred and Elfie Mathiason. Joyce was baptized Oct. 7, 1923, at Old Westbrook Lutheran Church, where she still maintained membership. She attended rural school for eight years and graduated from Storden High School in 1941. Joyce went on to graduate... Full story
Robert “Bob” Charles Gerlach, 86, of Baxter, and formerly of Cloquet, passed away Jan. 23, 2021, at Northern Lakes Assisted Living in Baxter. Services are pending and will be held at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cloquet at a later date. Memorials are preferred to the Cloquet Educational Foundation, 302 14th St., Cloquet MN 55720. Arrangements are with Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet. Arthur Giles Buell, 94 of Mahtowa died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 in his home. A private family service will be held. Arrangements through Atkins-Northland Fun... Full story
Sunday was a nearly perfect day for ski jumping at Pine Valley, just in time for the biggest home meet of the year. The jumping hills were a pristine white, thanks to a fresh coat of snow the night before. They were perfectly groomed, thanks to many (mostly) parent volunteers. The sky was blue, and, every once in a while, more snow would blow out of the tree tops, sparkling in the sun as it floated down on an 18-degree day. Jumpers came to Cloquet to celebrate National Ski Jumping Day Saturday a... Full story
"Patience, patience, patience," is what Esko boys basketball coach Derek Anderson preached to his players this week prior to their 78-47 road win over Cloquet Tuesday night. "We were patient on offense early on in the game, which opened up a lot of shots," Anderson said. "We have been playing in too much of a hurry lately, so it was nice to get back on track and work the ball around." Working the ball around paid off and the Eskomos sprinted out to a 32-18 halftime lead. They were never... Full story
Thursday, Jan. 21 Boys Basketball Hermantown-59 Esko-57 Girls Basketball Esko-63 Moose Lake/ Willow River-42 Floodwood-44 Carlton-24 Duluth Marshall-80 Cloquet-64 Friday, Jan. 22 Boys Hockey Bagley/Fosston-5 (OT) Moose Lake Area-4 CEC-9 Hibbing/Chisholm-1 Boys Basketball Cromwell-Wright-46 Silver Bay-42 Barnum-59 Two Harbors-40 Cloquet-65 (2OT) Superior-64 McGregor-79 Wrenshall-64 Carlton-71 Floodwood-33 Girls Basketball Cromwell-Wright-73 Silver Bay-13 South Ridge-57 Cook County-24 Saturday, Jan. 23 Boys Basketball Moose Lake/ Willow River-87... Full story
A quick start which led to an 18-point halftime lead propelled the Esko girls basketball team to an impressive 63-42 road win over a fiesty Moose Lake/Willow River squad Thursday, Jan. 21. "They are a skilled athletic team and we anticipated they would shoot a lot of 3s," said Esko coach Scott Antonutti. "Because of that, we wanted to stay close enough on the perimeter to challenge 3-point shots, but also be able to play in a way that we wouldn't need a lot of help by stopping them when they... Full story
Finally, after a season full of delays, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team will hit the ice for the first time this season on Saturday. Initially, the Minnesota State High School League delayed the start of the season, but the Lumberjacks then had the start of their season delayed even further because of Covid-19. Now? They will open their season at 2 p.m. this Saturday at home against the Pine City Dragons. “We are really looking forward to getting back on the ice and competing,” said CEC head coach Courtney Olin. There is no gen... Full story
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants the public to review and comment on a set of recommendations intended to bring measured growth, increased and equitable access, and a higher quality of outdoor recreation opportunities to Minnesotans and visitors. The draft recommendations were developed by the Outdoor Recreation Task Force, a diverse 21-member group selected by the DNR and Explore Minnesota following an open application process, whose charge is to provide actionable recommendations to the DNR and Explore Minnesota on how to... Full story
As gradeschoolers in Wrenshall made their way back to the classroom this week, the learning theme that my mom came up with is “My Neighborhood.” Our kids created a map of their little slice of the county and searched for tracks from critter neighbors in the snow. Our map had the Brickyard restaurant on it and we were thrilled to see it open again after the state eased some pandemic safety measures. We eagerly ordered takeout there the last two Fridays and, after cooking all our family’s meals...
Our sympathy to the family of Ron Moen, 74, who died Jan. 17 after a six-year battle with cancer. He will be missed by partner LuAnn Freiermuth and his children and grandchildren. There will be no funeral service and his ashes will be interred at a later date with immediate family. I also heard that Cromwell High School graduate Lillian Koskinen passed away recently. The Barb and Tim Dahl family were finally able to meet for their annual Christmas gathering. Sounds like they had a great time. The Lawler Outlaw Vintage snowmobile run will take...
It's not quite business as usual at the Black Bear Casino Resort, but general manager Dan LaPrairie said staff are working hard to stay open and keep people healthy during the pandemic. So far, so good, LaPrairie said. "We are doing a balancing act here, compared to what we normally do," LaPrairie told the Pine Knot News last week. "We normally have 2,000-seat concerts, and we do drawings and we try to fill this place with 6,000 people. So it's been a balancing act with what we do as far as... Full story
