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 42
Covid-19 couldn't happen to us. We were careful. We wore masks. We avoided crowds. We washed our hands incessantly. We carried hand sanitizer everywhere we went. We are homebodies. We only visited with people who we knew are also very careful. We were wrong. We got Covid. My wife Kim tested positive on Oct. 17. I tested positive four days later on Oct. 21. It's been an emotional and physical rollercoaster. On Oct. 13, Kim started feeling sick after dinner. We just thought maybe she ate...
When the state was ordered to shut down in March, the majority of Cloquet's roughly 30 restaurants adapted by offering curbside service. When the lockdown ended, new social distancing regulations went into effect, limiting indoor seating so customers would not be too close to each other. Like other businesses, Culbert's Cafe in downtown Cloquet reopened in mid-June. Unlike other restaurants, the small cafe closed about a week later. Owner Heather Culbert said she felt ill and closed the cafe...
We have a good lead on the gondola car found on the St. Louis River banks just south of the Interstate 35 bridge. We are fairly sure that the device is used to make hydrological measurements of the river. But we have yet to hear back from U.S. Geological Survey, which keeps tabs on the river. We'll let you know when we can confirm. Check the Pine Knot News Facebook page for History Mystery posts and feel free to comment. We appreciate direct contacts about items by email at n...
Longtime Carlton County attorney Thom Pertler died Monday after falling ill during a trip this fall. Pertler worked for the Carlton County Attorney’s office for more than 23 years, starting as an assistant county attorney under Marv Ketola, and was well-known for prosecuting Donald Blom in 2000 for the murder of Katie Poirier. He won a conviction, despite a recanted confession and conflicting evidence. He also helped prosecute the Paul Antonich murder case in 1996, a case in which five men were found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a D...
In spite of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the annual community Thanksgiving dinner will go on ... in a Covid-conscious way. All meals will be delivered or picked up from this year's home base at the Cloquet VFW at 210 Arch Street, said Raffy Johnson. Curbside pickup in the VFW parking lot will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26. Delivery will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Anyone who would like to order a meal is asked to call 218-590-4027 by Nov. 24. Leave a...
Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday rolled out a new COVID-19 order that prohibits all in-person social gatherings with people outside your household for four weeks. It restricts bar and restaurant service to takeout and delivery. Theaters and gyms must close, although retail stores can be open. Organized sports for youth and adults are on hold. Collegiate athletics and professional sports can continue but with new spectator limits. Places of worship and child care can stay open with the proper precautions in place. “We’re at a dangerous point in thi... 
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The Cloquet Public Library closed to the public until further notice on Thursday, Nov. 19 in response to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the region. The library will still offer curbside pickup of requested materials in the lobby as well as kids and adults take-and-make kits and their personal librarian service. Curbside pickup hours are Mondays 12:30-5:30 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursdays 1-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The library will be closed on Wednesdays and Fridays. To request materials, use the online catalog at...
The Carlton school board voted Monday night to hire a company to provide construction cost estimates on transforming South Terrace Elementary into a facility that could serve three more grades, up to grade 8, or serve all students through 12th grade. The move comes as the board has discussed its options the past month since state funding fell through this year for a consolidation with Wrenshall. The South Terrace studies won’t be new to Carlton taxpayers. The district did similar studies leading up to a failed referendum in 2017 to expand t...
On Tuesday, local law enforcement located a man who escaped from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center on Friday, Nov. 13. Keith Cochise Bellanger, 33, was being transferred to the secure wing of the facility when he took off on foot from the property at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, according to a press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. He has a history of burglary and domestic violence and was also facing an second-degree attempted murder charge. On Tuesday afternoon, in a coordinated effort, officers located Keith B...
This Saturday the lights at Bentleyville turn on for driving tours ($10 per car) but the grand Duluth lighting display isn’t the only place showing its Christmas spirit in the Northland. Voting for the Christmas Lighting Challenge also begins this weekend. It’s not too late to enter the contest, as registration continues through Dec. 10. Online voting by the community for both homes and businesses begins Saturday, Nov. 21 and ends Dec. 20. Sign up your home or business at christmaslightingchallenge.com, or view the online map of all par...
Two city recreational facilities could get some much-needed work in a few years if the city of Cloquet is successful at passing a new sales tax. During Tuesday's virtual meeting, Cloquet city councilors took the first concrete step toward a new sales tax bill that would likely start after the current sales tax sunsets in 2022. But there are a whole lot of steps that need to happen first, including creation of the bill, passage by the legislature and approval by Cloquet voters in a general...
Evergreen trees are white with snow at the Cloquet Forestry Center following two overnight snowfalls of 6 inches or more inside of a week. Some of that snow will be melting as the weather warms the next several days, according to the forecast from the National Weather Service. Jana Peterson / Pine Knot News...
An investigation sparked by allegations targeting past and present Cloquet school district staff on social media has been completed and will result in no disciplinary action by the district, superintendent Michael Cary told the Pine Knot News on Monday. It was late August when Facebook and Instagram accounts associated with Madeline Kiehn, a 2012 Cloquet grad, started lighting up with stories about teachers and staff in the school district after Kiehn asked people to share. The posts came from myriad sources and included claims regarding both p...
Rodney Drake Scandin Jr., 36, pleaded guilty late last month to five felony charges of criminal vehicular operation, after admitting he had been drinking when he caused a crash that injured five people on Midway Road in late June. According to the criminal complaint, St. Louis County deputies responded to a hit and run collision at 4:47 p.m. June 26. According to witnesses at the scene, a Subaru occupied by four family members was stopped on Midway road facing north, waiting to turn west onto Stark Road, when they were hit from behind by a...
The Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College's English department is calling for submissions to enter in the ninth edition of The Thunderbird Review, the college's annual anthology of creative writing and art. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 15. Submission eligibility includes current residents or individuals with a strong connection to the Cloquet and Duluth area and the surrounding counties and tribal nations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Michigan upper peninsula, plus current...
The City of Cloquet has accepted a $225 donation from Brent Smith to pay for the costs of renting a lift to replace the lights on the 2.5K ski trail at Pine Valley. City administrator Tim Peterson said the former ski coach and longtime community volunteer ran by when city workers were changing the lights and asked what it cost to rent the lift. “When Tim Johnson got back to the shop, there was a check from Brent on his desk to pay for us renting the lift,” Peterson said. “I think that’s awesome, a great way to contribute to the communi...
With blessings from Cloquet Planning Commission, the city council approved an addition to the Northwoods Credit Union building at 902 Stanley Avenue and a conditional use permit for development of the former Labor Temple at 1403 Avenue C. GCL Development LLC, owned by Clyde and Louise Sherman, plans to create office space on most of the ground floor, but needed the permit to put 11 apartments in the building. City planning and zoning administrator Al Cottingham said apartment building requests...
Rick Breuer is the CEO of Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet and wrote this for the Pine Knot News. This is a hard time for all of us. Last spring, many of us prepared for what we thought would be massive numbers of Covid patients. That never came to pass, and we have all begun to enjoy some of the “normal” activities of life as we used to know it. But we can see that we will be dealing with this virus for some time, and it can be difficult for us personally and professionally to keep up our spirits and not let our guard down. The pre...
While the latest election was pretty decisive (about 51 percent for Biden, 47.3 percent for Trump), the fact remains that nearly half the voters preferred the Republican candidate over the eventual winner. That’s not insignificant and can hardly be called a “mandate” by the winner. But of course, people do call it a mandate. “The people have spoken,” they say, forgetting that nearly half the other people spoke, too. Grandpa Newby used to say that more people vote against a candidate than vote...
I feel lucky to belong to a huge extended family on both my parents' sides. I'm an "only girl" with two brothers. Our first, second and third cousins have made up for that. I just spent part of a Sunday afternoon with my third cousin, Beth Wilson, the former music director at Cloquet High School. She's most recently completed a massive scanning of her father's photos, sending me a flash drive I am replicating for the dozens and dozens of cousins we have all over the U.S. (and even Guam!). I led...
As I wrapped my canna lily bulbs in newspaper to prepare them for winter storage, it dawned on me that I have taken the multi-purpose factor of already-read newspapers for granted. We have explored the importance of the newspaper to report local news and events, but as some commercials breathlessly exclaim: "Wait! There's more!" A quick Google search lists multiple websites describing anywhere from seven to 59 uses for newspapers - after they are read, of course. We know they are great for...
Cortland "Corky" James LeeJoice, 72, of Esko passed away on Nov. 15, 2020, in St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. He was born July 10, 1948, in Cloquet to William and Lillian (Pentila) LeeJoice. He graduated from Cloquet High School in 1966. Corky married Marcia Bergstedt on Jan. 4, 1969, in Esko. They made their home in Minneapolis for a short time before returning to Esko. While in Minneapolis, Corky worked at Control Data. After returning to Esko, he worked at A&W in Cloquet. In 1978 Corky went to...
Gail Louise Anderson was born in Cloquet on Jan. 16, 1951. She entered heaven's gates on Nov. 8, 2020, surrounded by her family. Gail was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She enjoyed knitting, shopping, watching "Days of Our Lives," and spending time visiting with her brother-in-law, Bill Anderson, and his wife, Lynn, and his sister-in-law, Clara Skelton. Gail loved decorating for the holidays and spending time cooking and baking for her family. Gail had an unwavering faith in God; she...
Arlene Mae Rodd, 89, of Cloquet passed away on Nov. 16, 2020 at Sunnyside Health Center in Cloquet. She was born to Theodore and Emma (Thorman) Orth in St. Cloud on Feb. 10, 1931. Arlene married George Rodd on Aug. 4, 1951 at the Presbyterian Church in Carlton. She was a homemaker, and her greatest joys included watching the accomplishments of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Some of her other passions were reading, cooking, gardening, and spending time with her family....
Eleanor (Charon) Johnson, 91, passed away Nov. 13, 2020. She was born Jan. 15, 1929, to Azim and Aurile Charon and lived her entire life in Cloquet. She graduated from Cloquet High School in 1947 and worked at the Wood Conversion company until her marriage to Harlan Johnson in 1952. While raising her five children, Eleanor worked at a variety of jobs, including as an aide at Leach School and managing Conwed's Forest Products Credit Union. She was a lifelong member of Our Lady of Sacred Heart...
