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 34
Expect lots of shoppers in downtown Cloquet Saturday, as a growing number of businesses are actively participating in Small Business Saturday. In part, that's because the number of businesses across Cloquet is growing, shifting, or under new ownership. But it's also due to a change in attitude among shoppers and business owners, said Holly Hansen, community development director for the city of Cloquet. "People want to support their town," Hansen said. "The last couple of years, people have been...
The group of 16 Wrenshall students quickly separated into small groups outside the Carlton VFW last week, as they hammered and cut the final pieces of the walk-in cooler they'd been building since September. Carter Woodall climbed a ladder to hammer nails into the fascia above, while Tyler Scott held the ladder to make sure his classmate didn't fall. Another group added trim - a job they had to start over - while others took turns drilling, sawing and hammering elsewhere on the tan and sage...
It’s not too late to get your flu vaccine this season to help boost your immunity to influenza before the December holidays. Carlton County Public Health will have one additional flu vaccine clinic 1-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28 at the Carlton County Community Services Building, 14 North 11th St., Cloquet. The county is currently out of Covid-19 vaccines. Registration at https://bit.ly/40MHQWp....
Conservation Officer Tony Elwell is investigating a report about beaver carcasses dumped on county land near Sawyer, said a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources weekly report. Upon visiting the location, Elwell observed beaver, otter, muskrat and pine marten carcasses that had all been pelted out. Several waterfowl, a ruffed grouse and a loon were found as well. “None of the game birds had been utilized,” the report said. The investigation is ongoing. Also last week, Elwell provided assistance to the Pine County Sheriff’s Office with...
State legislators and staff from the Minnesota Department of Transportation will hold a community forum Nov. 27 on the status of the Northern Lights Express rail project. The NLX will provide commuter train service between Minneapolis and Duluth. The meeting begins at 3 p.m. at the following Zoom link: tinyurl.com/NovNLXTownHall...
A small pocket of Cloquet homeowners and Diamond Willow Assisted Living residents can rest easier now, knowing the Cloquet City council voted against rezoning nearby property from residential to highway/commercial. Councilors voted 5-1 Tuesday to deny a request by local business owner Ken Maki to change the city’s comprehensive plan as well as rezone residential property in order to allow him to construct a large building — to hold two dump trucks and a shop for his business — on land next to his home. Maki had been running his trucks from his...
Cloquet schools superintendent Dr. Michael Cary had an interesting observation he wanted to share with the school board during last week’s meeting. As the board prepared to hear about the annual audit of its finances at the Nov. 13 meeting, Cary offered a warning about the cyclical nature of school enrollment that can make budgeting a tricky business. Right now, the district is enjoying very large class sizes at the high school. Older students garner more money per pupil in state funding, so the district is realizing some fatter times than o...
Carlton teachers will receive a pay increase of 4.25 percent for the 2023-24 school year and an additional 2 percent for the 2024-25 school year, according to a new contract approved by the Carlton school board at its meeting Monday, Nov. 20. Other than that, there were few changes in the new contract with the Carlton Education Association, the union which represents teachers in the district, according to board chair Julianne Emerson. “The things that we really wanted to do is to raise salaries and raise the entry level salary,” Emerson sai...
Spread the warmth by donating new coats or other winter clothing items at the Community Memorial Hospital gift shop or information desk in the clinic lobby, or the CMH Raiter Family Clinic lobby between now and Dec. 1. All sizes from youth to adult are needed. Items will be given away to community members Saturday, Dec. 2 at CMH Raiter Family Clinic....
Prospective cross country skiers and ski jumpers ages 3-18 are invited to join the Cloquet Ski Club, which is based out of the Pine Valley park in Cloquet. Ski jumpers practice Tuesday and Thursday evenings, while cross country skiers meet every Sunday afternoon, weather permitting. Register online at https://tinyurl.com/cnsc2024 asap, then pick up equipment next week. Returning club members pickup is 6-9 p.m. Monday, Nov. 27. Pickup for new (or returning members who missed Monday) is 6-8 p.m. Nov. 28, 29 or Dec. 12. Find out more on Facebook...
Kids ages 5-14 can sign up for cross country ski lessons at the Spirit Mountain Nordic Center. Lessons run on Sundays Jan. 7-Feb. 11. Lessons for grades K-3 are 1:30-2:30 p.m. and 1-2:30 p.m. for grades 4-8. Cost: $30 for the first child, $20 for each additional child; use of ski equipment is included. Find registration forms at www.duluthxc.com. Registration and equipment fitting is 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2 and 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. Questions? Call 218-626-2532 or email Mary Jane Sorenson at [email protected] or...
Residents within the Cloquet Area Fire District boundaries will see increased ambulance rates and potentially a new community risk reduction officer since the CAFD board unanimously approved both at its Nov. 15 meeting. The CAFD board voted to increase ambulance rates by about 3 percent to align with inflation and Medicare reimbursement increases. Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the rate hike will add between $50 and $100 to an ambulance bill, depending on the level of care needed. CAFD chief Jesse Buhs said the increase will place CAFD in the median...
Churchill Elementary fourth-graders in Jessica Gagne's class learned beading this month. Here, the kids are making bracelets they designed themselves. Pictured from left are Franny Langer, Tucker Smedshammer and Andrew Albertson. Contributed photo...
Wolves and winters. Those are the theories being tossed around related to a Minnesota firearms deer season that data show, and most hunters say, lacked the robust deer populations of yesteryear. "I've got more wolves on my cameras than deer," said Trish King, 68, who hunts on 60 acres along Spring Lake Road in Cloquet. "That's a pretty good indication. They've all got collars on, all got tags on. And there's not a darn thing you can do." On Nov. 14, King harvested a 3-point buck - the only deer...
With close to a billion ash trees in the state, the non-native emerald ash borer (EAB) insect threatens trees across Minnesota, but especially the northern part of the state. A wood borer that feeds in the phloem and disrupts the movement of nutrients, EAB infestation results in eventual mortality of a tree. The first discovery of EAB in Minnesota was in 2009 in St. Paul. It has now spread to 45 counties throughout Minnesota, including Duluth in St. Louis County in late 2015 and Carlton County in April 2022. Recently, EAB was found in Cass...
Two Cloquet children were removed from their home Nov. 9 during an investigation into abuse by the mother’s husband. Travis Dean Thrun, 22, is faced with a felony charge related to the suspected abuse of a 2-year-old. A 5-year-old also removed from the home has been listed as a witness in the case. A criminal complaint filed by the Cloquet Police Department alleges Thrun had repeatedly blamed the 5-year-old for injuries inflicted on the younger child. Thrun faces additional misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and c...
There seems to be a cultural crisis facing Barnum that threatens the very existence of the city and its high school. The crisis? Kids at the school this fall elected two boys as the top homecoming royalty. There’s been no such thing as a homecoming “king and queen” in Barnum since 2019, when the annual tradition morphed into “royalty,” rather than kings and queens. Now, the students vote for a slate of popular kids and the top two vote-getters are the royalty of the homecoming court. No kings....
Shut your eyes, picture it's the Fourth of July or Labor Day in Cloquet. It's parade time. The veterans have passed by, now here comes the music. You recognize the familiar trailer, with its red, white and blue decorations. It's the Cloquet Community Band. Cloquet has a decorated city band history dating back to at least the early 1900s. Even before World War I, according to "A Hometown Album: Cloquet's Centennial Story," Cloquet boasted "a first class city band and the local Finnish population...
A rebranded and expanded regional program hopes to help Northeastern Minnesota entrepreneurs who are Black, Indigenous, military veterans, or women. The Driving Access to Wealth & Networks (DAWN) program at Northspan Group, Inc., a Duluth-based nonprofit, is set to receive $2 million over the next four years from the U.S. Department of Commerce. That money is meant to help budding business leaders who hail from historically underserved communities - or, as more than one speaker at a kickoff...
Last year, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boy's hockey team finished with an impressive 16-9-1 record, but fell well short of the state hockey tournament. This season, the Lumberjacks come in with a roster loaded with talent. On top of that, for the first time in school history, the 'Jacks will be playing in Class A instead of playing up into Class AA. "We have high expectations," said head coach Shea Walters. "We know Section 7A has always gone through Hermantown, and we know that they are going to...
After a 5-19 season last year, the Moose Lake Area Rebels boys hockey team is looking to turn those numbers around this season as they feel they have a squad capable of double-digit victories. “We are expecting to be over .500 with our record this season,” said second-year coach Chris Gamst. While the Rebels graduated their top two scorers from last season, Gavin Mlaskoch and Everett Gamst, they feel they have some strong players this year that will help to pick up the scoring slack. “Th...
Victories in hockey sometimes can be Rembrandt-like pieces of artwork. Other times, they can remind you of a pig sty. Saturday night's game in Cloquet between the Minnesota Wilderness and Wisconsin Windigo was definitely more like the latter. But the great thing about hockey is that winning either way counts the same, a team news release said. And the Wilderness got a weekend sweep. The Wilderness pried out a 2-1 shootout victory that was driven by stout goaltending from Adam Prokop. Through...
With a lineup replete with youngsters, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team is busy trying to figure out roles and combinations as they gear up for the winter season. "We are still pretty young with regards to varsity playing experience," said head coach Kennedy Houge. "We only have four or five girls who had extensive varsity experience returning from last year's team." Thus Houge and her coaching staff are in the process of trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle that will hopefully come...
The first Lumberjacks diver to go to State since 2005, Esko junior Rilee Durovec took 20th place at the Minnesota State High School League Class A Swimming and Diving meet last week. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls diving coach Nannette "Newt" Snyder said Durovec kept her cool and did well. "But the caliber of diving really escalates when you get to State," said the longtime diving coach, a member of the first girls swim team in 1972. "A lot of metro area kids are diving all year long." According to...
The Humble Quilters Guild made four scrappy rainbow quilts for donation this fall, using fabric donated by the family of Barb Little. Barb was a charter member of the guild and was well-known for her quilt-making. Barb and her husband, Fred, were very active in the Cloquet area, a Humble Quilters news release said. Barb died in 2020, and Fred in 2022. Barb created many quilts for local charities. Some of her quilts were used for local fundraising projects such as the Cloquet Community Memorial...
