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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Carlton County set another record for a one-day jump in Covid-19 cases this week, with an increase of 81 positive tests on Sunday, Nov. 22, continuing the local “exponential growth” of the virus that Public Health and Human Services director Dave Lee described earlier this month. Although statewide numbers are showing some sign of leveling off, state health officials say it’s too soon to hope the latest pandemic wave has reached its peak. The county appears to be bucking that trend. “Right now we are seeing widespread community transmi...
With two days to go until Thanksgiving, DAV members Denny Johnson (left) and Raffy Johnson unload boxes and cans of food items needed for holiday meals the group delivers each year. In the background, Gary Dahl brings goods into VFW in Cloquet's West End. This year's event will be delivery and pickup only because of the pandemic. Volunteers expected to deliver more than 500 meals on Thursday....
When the Covid-19 pandemic started, lots of people thought it might be over in a few months, but it's still going strong. So is the B&B Market's "food train." Started in late March by a single donation from Cloquet's Lenny Conklin - who bought 100 pounds of ground beef to "pay it forward" - what grew into the food train is still chugging along, eight months later. During that time, individuals and businesses from all over Carlton County and even further away have donated money, products,...
Wilma Heikkila of Cromwell found this History Mystery photo in a collection of her mother's things recently. As a girl, Wilma and her family, the Wicklunds, lived in Sawyer and it is suspected that this could be a reunion gathering of Carlton High School graduates. If you have details on this photo, please let us know. Wilma's parents were Victor and Lempi (Mannila) Wicklund. We are still working on the gondola pic, waiting for a call back from the U.S. Geological Survey. - Mike Creger Send...
Minnesotans who have lost their jobs and watched their incomes drop during the Covid-19 pandemic have less to spend on necessities, including food. As the struggle to put healthy food on the table has increased, there is more help available from state and local sources. Since the pandemic began, the state and its community partners have issued food benefits to more than 400,000 Minnesotans per month. In most cases, the aid has been funded through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic...
Carlton ambulance director Erik Bergstedt sure is happy he was working at the Carlton fire hall on Sept. 29. That's the day a woman walked in carrying an infant in a blanket. She told Bergstedt the baby was three days old, that he was born at home and she delivered him on her own. She did not want Bergstedt to call the police or any other EMTs, she just wanted to leave the baby with him. After she left, he called for assistance. Although unusual, the situation worked exactly as it was supposed...
The Enbridge Energy Line 3 dominoes are falling, as various agencies sign off on the project to replace the existing pipeline. Last week the Line 3 project received approval of a water quality certification from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and several needed permits from the Minnesota Department of Natural resources, including a license to cross state land and public water. Twelve of 17 members of an MPCA advisory group on environmental justice issues resigned after the agency approved the permit on Nov. 12. On Monday, the U.S. Army...
It took close to a year to find him, but the Cloquet Area Fire District has hired a new chief. Matthew Ashmore will start his new job full-time on Monday, Nov. 30. He comes to Cloquet from the Hibbing Fire Department, where he worked as a battalion chief and as emergency medical services (EMS) director. It was a long search process - actually two searches - but CAFD board member and succession planning committee chair, Linda Wey, said it was worth the extra time and effort. She explained that...
A Wisconsin man accused of attacking two men with his fists and a roofing jack pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced Friday, Nov. 13. Jeffrey Allen Louks, 35, of Washburn, Wisconsin was originally charged with first-degree assault, great bodily harm, as well as second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony third-degree assault. According to the criminal complaint: On July 25, Carlton County deputies received a phone call regarding an alleged assault that took...
Cloquet High School is one step closer to a 21st-century Career and Technical Education space. Project planners from Architectural Resources Inc. presented Cloquet school board members with an updated plan for a remodeled space that will include updated wood and metal shops, a computer lab, a new art room with a kiln space and a new fabrication lab to be shared between all the classrooms. The fab lab would contain a 3D printer, a large plotter and lots of counter space where small groups of...
The Esko school board was given an update on the bus garage and athletic field parking lot projects at its Monday, Nov. 23 meeting. Project manager ICS reported the two projects are essentially complete, with the new bus garage ready to open at its new location next to the Esko Business Park. The old garage was demolished to make room for the Esko athletic field parking lot project, which included stabilizing the ground and paving a large lot. The projects came in $60,000 under the $2.23...
Kirsti Marohn MPR News A nonprofit organization has purchased more than 70,000 acres of northern and central Minnesota forest formerly owned by the paper and lumber giant Potlatch. Potlatch once owned 330,000 acres across Minnesota, on which it managed and harvested trees for its paper mills. Now called PotlatchDeltic and based in Spokane, Washington, the company sold off most of that land over the past few decades. This month, The Conservation Fund finalized a deal to purchase the remaining...
We encourage residents to clear the sidewalks in front of your houses and businesses as soon as possible after a snowfall this winter. Sure, it’s a chore, but when you consider all those who rely on the sidewalks to move throughout your neighborhood, it’s almost essential that we keep the sidewalks cleared. Plus, it’s good exercise. Shoveling snow is a good workout, even for those of us who are a bit out of shape. In that case, just remember to take it easy to avoid injury. There’s no need to shovel snow fast if you can get it done slow an...
Nothing seems to make a child happier than waking up to a snowfall and hearing their parents say, “School’s been canceled today.” But those days are numbered. Soon, snow days may be a thing of the past. You can thank — or blame — electronics. I don’t think many people are paying attention to this new development, because the schools are mostly closed now due to the pandemic, and likely will remain in distance learning for most of the winter. Still, this pandemic can’t last forever, and...
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on family history. Covid affords us, regrettably, more time to do so. To pore over old photo albums, view what our parents and grandparents and great-uncles looked like in their youth and parenting stages. Last week I wrote about the cousins who have stood in as sisters for me. This week, I'm thinking about all the men I came to love and adventure with through my father's family's relations. My father grew up in Cromwell, the son of a Danish immigrant - a...
To Gov. Walz: Your attempts to control the lives of the citizens of Minnesota are deplorable. In an effort to “protect” people from a virus which presents little threat to the majority of the healthy population, you’ve trampled on the rights of the people to pursue life, liberty, and happiness as laid out in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by our Constitution. In my opinion, you’ve destroyed the economy in the name of fearmongering and retaliation. You are not God. You have no right to take away people’s livelihoods and socia...
The reason history is so important to us is that it allows people to remember, learn, and understand from what has already happened. You can look throughout our history and see when lessons were not learned and things were unfortunately repeated. So when we look toward moving forward with the Line 3 project, we all hope that there are no protests. It would be great if there were not any violent or disruptive interactions started by people opposed to this project. If we look at recent history, we unfortunately have reason to be concerned that...
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone involved in a successful fall season of extracurricular activities at Cloquet High School. Thank you to Dr. Cary, Steve Battaglia, Tim Prosen, other district administrators, and the Cloquet School Board for supporting all our students and extracurricular activities. Thank you to all the workers and officials who helped make events possible. Each of these individuals put their health at risk to make sure students could enjoy these opportunities. Thank you to Matt Carlson, Nicole Sandman, Steve...
This year’s election ballot had four choices for three positions on it for the Wrenshall school board. Upon responses by these applicants to questions published in the Oct. 2 issue of this newspaper, this taxpaying citizen abstained from voting for any of the four. Here’s why: After three failed referendums in Wrenshall, a survey on consolidation between Carlton and Wrenshall deemed that the communities were in favor of a merger, although the majority of folks I’ve spoken with find it to be obliquely skewed. All four running seemed to be in fav...
Winnifred "Winnie" Jacquelyn Gustafson, 88, of Esko passed away Nov. 17, 2020, in her home. Winnie was born Sept. 14, 1932 in Duluth to Carl and Laura Sundquist. She was raised in Hermantown and graduated from Hermantown High School in 1950. She then attended St. Luke's School of Nursing, becoming a registered nurse in 1953. She married Donald Gustafson on Aug. 31, 1953, at Gethsemane Covenant Church in Hermantown. They were married for almost 57 years before his passing in 2010. Winnie's career...
With great sadness, Curtis Lyytinen, 66, of Cloquet passed away Nov. 22, 2020, at St. Luke's Hospice in Duluth with his loving wife by his side. After a long, painful battle with colon cancer he is no longer suffering, and is in the loving arms of his Savior Jesus Christ. He was born on Aug. 20, 1954, in Duluth, the son of Carl and Helen (Maki) Lyytinen. Curt was raised in Esko Township, where he spent most of his childhood exploring the outdoors. He loved nature and fishing the Midway River....
Ilene Bromberg, 88, of Northfield, formerly of Cloquet, died Nov. 22, 2020, at Benedictine Living Community in Northfield. Ilene L. Johnson was born on May 5, 1932, in Alexandria to Arthur and Rose (Engebretson) Johnson. She grew up in Alexandria and graduated from Alexandria High School. Ilene worked for a year at a local café before moving to Bemidji to attend Bemidji State University. While there, she met Roland Bromberg. They both graduated with degrees in education and were married. They...
Lorraine Carter, 97, of Cloquet, passed away Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, at Sunnyside Health Care. She was born May 19, 1923, to Leonard and Alice (LaBreche) Proulx in Cloquet. Lorraine was a devout Catholic, a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church and a member of the church choir. She worked as the head protein cook for the Cloquet Public Schools for many years. Lorraine was mom and grandma to her family and many neighborhood kids over the years. She enjoyed gardening, embroidery and cooking for...
The Rev. Henry A.E. “Elgin” Johansen, 90, of Carlton died Nov. 17, 2020, at Augustana Care Center in Moose Lake. Private family services will be held. Burial will be in Sandy Lake Cemetery, Carlton. A videorecording of the service can be found at www.atkinsnorthlandfuneralhome.com. Cards of condolence may be sent to the family care of Atkins Northland Funeral Home, 801 14th St., Cloquet MN 55720. Grace Marie Bader of Cloquet died Nov. 18, 2020, at Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet. Graveside services will be held in the spring in Map...
The cult horror film "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was Bela Lugosi's last film, and was shot without a script because director Ed Wood didn't really know what it was going to be about. This is the kind of important trivia that a puppet named Rentfield shares on a new horror movie TV show shot partially in a pole building in Wrenshall. Local resident Mike Sholtz is the puppeteer for Rentfield as well as the co-creator of "Uncle Clutch's Video Horror Shop." The show takes its inspiration from the...
