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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The latest Cloquet High School spring play is literally magical ... and will look familiar if you're a Harry Potter fan. But don't expect that name to come up. Sure, there is a person referred to as "Harry," or "Potter," but he's not the star of the show. Rather, this play is about a certain famous fictional school of magic, but the focus is on the Hufflepuffs, who just happened to be there too. "Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic" is a 2015... Full story
When Carlton school board members decided in January to cut funding for a spring play director, Amanda Radtke decided she would volunteer to direct, even though she had no experience and "very little theater" in her background. But, as the academic, social and emotional learning advisor in the district, she knows her students. "The play is something the kids look forward to every year," she said this week. And so it is that high school students will present "Check Please," a humorous and very... Full story
In pure Minnesotan parlance, it could be worse. This month, a tree infested with emerald ash borer larvae was spotted in Cloquet, marking the first confirmed sighting of the tree-killing pest in the county. Ash borers have also recently been found in Lake County, especially in Two Harbors, and have been in Duluth for several years. "The good news is that it's not as rampant in Cloquet," said Kimberly Thielen Cremers, a plant protection expert at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. In Two... Full story
Dorlene Kenney, 80, passed away the morning of April 18, 2022, at Barnes Care Assisted Living in Esko after a lengthy illness with Alzheimer's. She was surrounded by her family. Dorlene was born Sept. 19, 1941 in Duluth to Chester and Gunhild Carlstrom. She attended business school at Duluth Business University and learned shorthand and many other skills, which propelled her into the opportunities that led to her work at Family Services, Inc. in Duluth, which became what we know today as... Full story
The latest team to win a state championship at Cloquet High School is the economics team. Cloquet made it to the championship quiz bowl - held virtually - and beat Cambridge Wednesday afternoon. The happy state champs here are Sam Buytaert, Amelia Allen, Cale Prosen and Jake Mertz. Find out more about the competition in next week's Pine Knot News....
Michael “Mike” P. Osterman, 76, of Esko passed away April 22, 2022, at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. He was born July 5, 1945, the son of Byron and Arlene (Knaack) Osterman. Mike graduated from Esko High School and worked as a driver for the U.S. Postal Service. He enjoyed fishing, collecting — especially old cars — and delivered food for neighbors, family, and friends during the Covid pandemic. Mike was preceded in death by his parents and one nephew, Matthew Osterman. He is survived by... Full story
Storytime at Cloquet's Public Library has been an integral part of Katie Beck's schedule ever since Stella, her 5-year-old daughter, was born. So, when children's librarian Keiko Satomi suggested Katie and her husband, Jon, share the story of their second daughter, Lilly, they agreed. Lillian ("Lilly") was born Aug. 1, 2019. When she was given her newborn screening, the doctor determined that she was deaf. "Lilly was our first deaf person that we ever met in our life," Katie said. "At first for...
Lincoln Peter Hansen, 94, of Cromwell passed away Friday, April 15, 2022 at Villa Vista in Cromwell. He was born on March 15, 1928 in Cloquet to Hans Peter and Ruth Hansen. He grew up in Cromwell and graduated from Cromwell High School in 1946. He served in the U.S. Army from October 1954 to October 1956. On January 5, 1955, he married Marilyn Jean Maki at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cromwell. Lincoln and Jeanne lived in Texas while he was in the service, then moved back to Cromwell where they... Full story
Delores Hilda (Selen) Wolner, 96, of Cloquet went to be with the Lord on Dec. 28, 2021, from natural causes, living her later years at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. Visitation: 2 p.m. until the 3 p.m. memorial service Saturday, April 30 at Inter-Faith Care Center’s community room, with a reception to follow. Arrangements by Whispering Pines Funeral & Cremation Service, serving Northern Minnesota. Dorothy Sivia (Aho) Alanen Green, 90, of Cloquet, passed away Dec. 27, 2021, at Plainview Estates in Cloquet. Visitation: 1 p.m. until the 2 p... Full story
JoAnn G. (Johnson) Oswell, 73, of Carlton died peacefully Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, surrounded by her family. She was born Feb. 28, 1948 in Cloquet to Carl Elon Johnson and Fern B. (Mullen) Johnson. JoAnn grew up in Cloquet and graduated from Cloquet High School in 1966. She married the love of her life, Curt Oswell, on May 20, 1967. They resided in San Diego, California and Newport News, Virginia before settling in Carlton in 1972. Curt and JoAnn lovingly made the same house a home for her family,... Full story
Last year Pine Knot News staff celebrated being recognized as the most outstanding weekly newspaper in the Land of 10,000 Lakes by giving away 10,000 tree seedlings. In January, the Minnesota Newspaper Association again presented its top prize to the Pine Knot. This year, newspaper staff decided to repeat last year's 10,000 tree giveaway this Memorial Day weekend with Trees 2.0. This year's "tree giveaway 2.0" is launching on May 27, a day when local businesses and organizations will be giving... Full story
City administrator Tim Peterson announced Cloquet has earned Tree City status once again, recognition that the city makes the planting and care of trees a priority. It had been more than a decade since Cloquet was officially declared a Tree City. City staff worked with the Arbor Day Foundation to meet requirements the past year. “It quite honestly takes a whole lot of work to get it set up initially, and Caleb and his staff took that on,” he said, referring to public works director Caleb Pet...
The censure hearings against Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa chairman Kevin Dupuis ended Monday with a meeting of the Reservation Business Committee. In a meeting open to band members in person and online, the RBC voted 3-2 that the accused chairman answered the questions to the council’s satisfaction. There will be no further proceedings, stated the band’s chief judge, Henry Buffalo, who was the presiding official for the hearing. Fond du Lac secretary/treasurer Ferdinand Martineau originally made the motion to censure Dupuis at...
Attorneys and Sixth District judge Jill Eichenwald hammered out the rules of engagement for the murder trial of Sheldon Thompson, on the Carlton County Court calendar from mid-May through June 3. More than two years have passed since Thompson was arrested in March 2020 on suspicion of murdering his pregnant girlfriend and her toddler son. Thompson, 34, is accused of killing Jackie Defoe, her unborn child, and her 20-month-old son in March 2020. Thompson faces two charges of murder in the first degree each for the deaths of Jackie Ann Defoe and...
The spring season has Thomson Township board members and township engineer Joe Jurewicz busy planning improvement projects. The Riverside Road project, which has been discussed by the town board and community members since early 2021, was approved by the board at its April 21 meeting. It involves paving the unpaved section of the road in 2023. This year, preparatory work will be started by the township’s utility and maintenance crew. Jurewicz said the preparation will consist of minor dirt work, adjusting grades, and adding gravel to p...
Following a hearing and a presentation of a redistricting proposal by a high school student, the Carlton County board of commissioners voted 4-1 to make no changes to the boundaries of the five commissioner districts. Commissioner Mark Thell voted no. The agenda item, from motions, discussion, to voting took no more than three minutes at the April 25 adjourned session. Esko senior Nick Barta had presented a redistricting plan at the April 12 hearing that changed the commissioner district boundaries to reflect the changes in population noted in...
Carlton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Gary Peterson addressed the nationwide effort to encourage a stable pollinator population for gardens and crops in a meeting this week. He said his wife is a beekeeper and the stress on the pollinator population is very evident. There is a movement to have a “No Mow May” in which the local lawns are not cut in May to protect the dandelions. Peterson said harsh winters put a strain on native pollinators and the dandelions on our spring lawns provide some of the first chances for food. Peterson mad... Full story
The City of Cloquet and the Boldt Company are organizing the second annual Cloquet Earth Day cleanup from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 30. Arrive between 9:30 and 10 a.m. for pre-registration at the Dunlap Island Park warming house. After the cleanup ends at noon, stay for the free picnic.... Full story
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College will offer a new drone flying class this summer. The hands-on experience of flying a drone and training for the FAA Remote Pilot Certification exam takes place in an eight-week course starting June 1. It will prepare students for the exam; the certificate is required to legally fly drones professionally or within 5 miles of an airport. It will also allow graduates to pursue opportunities in a variety of industries, including construction, utilities, law enforcement, media production and natural...
It's a task that's loomed large since Erin Bates took over as Cloquet Community Education director almost 18 months ago: find a new home for Li'l Lumberjacks Learning Center. Mission accomplished. In September, Li'l Lumberjacks and the entire Kids Corner program will move into a new facility at Pine Tree Plaza - most recently a furniture store - after extensive renovations inside. "We needed to relocate Li'l Lumberjacks, it was either that or potentially close the program," Cloquet... Full story
Thumbs up Bravo to Nathan Barta. He’s the Esko High School senior who took the time to come up with a plan for more equal county commissioner districts and then presented it to commissioners earlier this month. Wow. How many teenagers even bother to grasp the fact that county commissioners have districts, let alone come up with a plan to equalize them? We heard Barta also spoke up at a redistricting hearing in Duluth regarding state legislative districts. Well done. Thumbs up Kudos to Cloquet grad Luke Heine for bringing a free hackathon to t... Full story
I probably did not adequately express to Jana the trauma I felt when we discovered a boxelder bug in the front window of the Pine Knot News office this week. I had just spent most of the morning talking to people about ash borers, and their official arrival in Cloquet. The emerald ash borer is a real problem. Its infestation kills ash trees, threatening a large chunk of the hardwood tree canopy across southern and eastern Minnesota as of this week. Boxelder bugs? Well, they say they are harmless. They munch on boxelder tree leaves all summer... Full story
If the Minnesota Wilderness are going to move on in their league playoffs, they will need to string together three straight wins pronto. In Alaska last Friday and Saturday, the Wilderness dropped the first two games of their five-game series with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs by scores of 3-2 and 7-1. They will now try to dig out of that hole with wins at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet Friday and Saturday. If they manage to tie the series, there would be a third game on Sunday. In Friday's ov... Full story
It's been quite a week for Courtney Olin and her father, Dave Esse. After seven years as head coach for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team, Olin went public with a decision to leave the coaching ranks to pursue a doctorate of education degree the very same week her father was inducted into a hall of fame. Dave Esse was surprised to learn he was named to the Minnesota Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame last Thursday. Esse was the CEC boys hockey coach for 18 years, and coached as an... Full story
Mother Nature has not been kind to local high school baseball teams this spring. Cold, snowy and rainy weather has caused more than normal cancellations and postponements in the northern half of the state. The Pine Knot News this week caught up with coaches for a preview of local teams this season. Cloquet Cloquet head coach Tyler Olin is looking for improvement on a team that struggled to a below .500 record last season. "We were 7-15 last year," Olin said. "We had six seniors who graduated... Full story
