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
Thirty years ago, when Joanna Wiegert was entering the legal profession, having graduated from Valparaiso University, she found Duluth. An outdoors enthusiast, Wiegert found that Duluth was smaller than her suburban St. Louis upbringing and less urban than the greater Chicago area where she'd gone to law school. "I didn't want to go to a big city. I wanted something different," said Wiegert, 57. "But I wanted to do criminal law, so I had to go to a place that was big enough that they would have...
The University of Minnesota's Bell Museum is known for its dioramas and the massive wooly mammoth in its main exhibit hall. But it is also home to a giant herbarium - a collection of nearly a million plant specimens collected from all over the world. Amid the vast holdings are hundreds of specimens collected by the peripatetic, boot-clomping, chain-smoking librarian who grew up in Carlton and blazed a trail across the Arctic starting before World War II. Margaret Oldenburg "was an early pioneer... 
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A 58-year-old Grand Lake Township resident was rescued Tuesday morning after she lost control of her vehicle on a slippery roadway and crashed into a pond. Tammy Shelton was driving on the 5200 block of Munger Shaw Road in Grand Lake Township when the crash happened at 8:24 a.m., a St. Louis County news release said. The vehicle was partially submerged and Shelton was assisted out of her vehicle by first responders. She sustained non-lifethreatening injuries and was transported by ambulance to a local hospital. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s O...
Fire crews with the Cloquet Area Fire District had a busy 30-hour window last week, dealing with three fire calls starting at 5 p.m. Thursday and ending with a third at 11 p.m. Friday. The most serious fire call came in at about 3:30 on Friday, Dec. 2. Occupants of a home on the 100 block of Third Street reported there was a fire on the second floor. They heard smoke alarms and exited the house, but four cats remained inside. Fire crews rescued the cats, and all were deemed in good condition. A woman who was in the home went to the hospital to...
The Minnesota Nurses Association and more than a dozen hospitals in the Twin Cities area and Duluth reported tentative agreements on new three-year labor contracts Tuesday, averting a walkout by thousands of nurses that was scheduled to start Sunday. The union said it has reached tentative deals with Children’s Minnesota, North Memorial, Allina Health, M Health Fairview and HealthPartners — all in the Twin Cities — as well as Essentia Health and St. Luke’s in Duluth. It’s recommending that its members vote to ratify the agreements, and has c...
Cloquet Community Education has skates to loan for children and adults at no cost, either for the weekend or the season. To get skates, stop in the office located at the Cloquet Middle School, door No. 2, during business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no guarantee Community Ed will have all sizes. Community Ed said it is also looking for donations of used skates. The program is funded with “AGE to age” offerings by the Northland Foundation....
Cloquet Community Education is seeking input for the Beach at Pinehurst Park. There is a short four-question survey which can be filled out online, or in person at the office at Cloquet Middle School, door No. 2. Those who complete the survey and provide their email address by Jan. 31 will be entered into a drawing for $20 gift cards to Premiere Theatres. All responses will be kept confidential. To complete the survey online, visit https://bit.ly/3kset88...
The Thomson Township board of supervisors violated open meeting law in September when it used closed session to trim candidates for appointment to the board, the state Department of Administration ruled last week. “The board did not identify any other provision within the (open meeting law) or any other statute that would permit it to close a meeting in this situation,” wrote commissioner Alice Roberts-Davis in her advisory opinion. “Therefore, the board did not comply with (open meeting law) when it went into a closed session to review applica...
Editor's note: On Dec. 8, appointee David Sunnarborg resigned his new position so the board could rewind its selection process after the Minnesota Department of Administration ruled that they had violated open meeting law when they illegally closed a meeting to narrow the original list of six applicants to three. Read more about that decision in next week's Pine Knot News or here: https://www.pineknotnews.com/story/2022/12/09/news/thomson-town-board-rewinds-supervisor-selection-process/8447.html. Following months of an empty seat and controvers...
Sweetly Kismet Candy Store, of Carlton, and Top Hat Carriage Service, a tour operator in Canal Park, are working together to gather adult and teenage winter gear for local homeless shelters. New or gently used winter jackets, snow pants, or boots can be brought to the candy store in Carlton and parlayed into discounts for on-site sleigh rides. Donations will take 50 percent off admission cost for horse-drawn sleigh rides through the shop’s winter trail in the pines, a news release said this week. Boots are the top need at this time. Items w...
The Northland Foundation was recently awarded a federal grant of $500,000 over two years to support intergenerational programming in northeast Minnesota, leveraging the foundation’s “AGE to age” program which brings generations together in helping children’s programs. The program taps the skills and experience of older adult volunteers to support children in tutoring, out-of-school time, and enrichment activities like reading programs, homework help, art clubs, sewing projects, fitness activities, and holiday gatherings. Anyone age 55 or olde...
Winter parking is in effect now through March, so don’t leave your cars parked on the streets of Cloquet overnight. According to city code, cars cannot be parked on the streets or in alleys between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. from Nov. 1 through March 31, to allow snowplow drivers and others to clear the streets. The only exception is a vehicle parked at an open business establishment between midnight and 2 a.m. “unless ordered to be moved at the direction of a peace officer.” In Esko, parking on the street is prohibited 4-7 a.m. In Carlt...
Two property owners addressed the Cloquet City Council on Tuesday about substantial property tax increases. Marty Hill said he was still suffering from sticker shock after seeing his taxes climb by 25 percent from this year to next, without any renovations to his property. “You hear about how we have to tighten our belts. I hope the city is doing that too,” said Hill. “It would be nice to give us a little bit of relief.” Scott Brander shared his estimated 2023 tax statement — and the 36.2 percent tax increase it contained — with city admini...
The city of Cloquet is accepting applications to fill the Ward 3 Cloquet City Council seat for the next two years, with plans for interviews in mid-January. Applicants must reside within Ward 3 — which lies in the area between Highway 33 and 14th Street, and Doddridge Avenue and Avenue B — plus be at least 21 years old upon assuming office and an eligible Minnesota voter. The Ward 3 position has been vacant since mid-August, when incumbent Chris Swanson moved to a new home in Ward 1. Since then, Swanson won the November election for a seat he...
The many huddled paradegoers along Cloquet Avenue last Saturday evening came for the annual Santa’s Home for the Holidays finale of fireworks. But they also collectively told a story about Cloquet. It’s one of a community rich in its expressions of kindness and good cheer. Consider Bob and Julie Noffsinger, who years ago rescued a wooden sleigh from a junkheap, then used it to become fixtures in the parade as Santa and Mrs. Claus. When they couldn’t pull up the tail-end of the parade this year, fellow veteran John Prouty and his wife, LoraLee,...
On Nov. 16, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement claiming “the House Democratic Caucus will continue to explore a path toward welcoming a delegate from the Cherokee Nation into the People’s House,” which could finally address one of many broken promises made to the Cherokee people in the 1835 Treaty of New Echota. This treaty, which led to the horrific events known as the Trail of Tears, was one of hundreds of treaties made between Native American nations and the United States government that remain unfulfilled or broken nearly two c...
Dennis R. Mattinen passed away Nov. 29, 2022. He was born on May 13, 1945, in Cloquet to Carl Hjalmer and Hilma (Esala) Mattinen. Shortly after graduating from high school, Denny enlisted in the U.S. Army. His service took him to Germany, where he spent much of his active duty. He returned to Minnesota and began working as a mechanic, putting his skills learned in the Army to use. He married Judy Hughes on August 16, 1969, in Duluth. The couple made their home in Cloquet, and Denny began a...
Maria Mae Schroeder, 89, of Cloquet and formerly of McGregor, passed away on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. She was born in Durbin, North Dakota on Jan. 19, 1933, to Elmer and Nellie Gust. She grew up in North Dakota. Maria married James Frank Schroeder on Feb. 19, 1949. They farmed near Evansville, Minnesota until they moved to Esko, where they raised their family. Maria was a representative for the Stanley Home Products Company for 60 years, retiring as a branch...
Shirley Ann Kuberka, 86, of Chisholm died Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at Heritage Manor in Chisholm. She was born on Oct. 7, 1936, in Hayward, Wisconsin to Victor and Ruth (Livermore) Olker. She married Stanley J. Kuberka on June 21, 1958, in Hayward. They lived in Wittenberg, Wisconsin, for two years before making their home in Chisholm in 1960. Shirley worked as a registered nurse at St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth before devoting her time to raising her family. She was a member of St. Joseph's and...
Kevin L. Locke, 65, of Duluth died from cancer on Nov. 18, 2022. The son of Fred and Anna Marie (née Lemieux) Locke, Kevin was born Aug. 15, 1957, in Cass Lake. Kevin was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Denise. He graduated from Cloquet High School in 1975 and continued his education in Brainerd, where he earned an associate degree in auto parts and service management. Kevin was a lifelong learner and teacher of Ojibwe history and tradition. He earned degrees in Indigenous...
John Spencer "Tony" Rogentine, 89, passed away Nov. 29, 2022, in Duluth. He was born in Cloquet on Aug. 25, 1933, to John "Toge" and Eula Rogentine. After graduating from high school in 1951, Tony served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Upon his return, he worked alongside his father at the Cloquet Liquor Store. He eventually became the owner of Curly's Bar in Duluth and then the Ace Bar in Staples, Minnesota. Tony met Elisabeth "Betty" Koch and they were married in 1959....
Mary Helen (Eves) Waller, of Carlton and Cloquet, passed away peacefully on Monday, Nov. 28, 2022, at the age of 89. She was born on Nov. 14, 1933, to Arthur C. and Helen (McKay) Eves and grew up in Superior. Mary is survived by her daughters, Brenda (Biese) Waller and Peggy (Dan, her favorite son-in-law) Tierney; son, Eric Waller; grandchildren Sheila Tierney, Patrick (Alison) Tierney, Linda (Ben) Weiner and Wyatt Waller; four great-grandchildren; sister, Betty Ryan; and devoted friends Vicki...
It was cold, but Cloquet's Santa's Home For the Holidays celebration last week was a warm embrace of the season with a flurry of activity, including the Saturday night parade downtown with Santa and Mrs. Claus in a sleigh, delighting children along the route. Fireworks punctuated the end of the parade, capping off three days of events. As Old Man Winter brings lower temps and longer nights, Santa Claus and his helpers arrived with a special kind of magic during the annual Santa's Home for the...
Girls-only match is a Cloquet first The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton wrestling team hosted a triangular with Proctor/Hermantown and Mille Lacs Tuesday at Cloquet High School. The 'Jacks dropped the opener 60-14 against the Raiders of Mille Lacs before defeating Proctor/Hermantown 48-36 in the second match. Wrestling fans were also treated to a groundbreaking event in the opener as two CEC female wrestlers took the mat against two Raiders girls, marking the first time that girls faced off on a Cloquet...
Carlton and Wrenshall opened their respective high school girls basketball seasons last Thursday, Dec. 1 in Wrenshall with the Bulldogs coming away with a 58-30 win over the Wrens. "I was pretty happy with how we played," said Carlton coach Brian Hey. "I thought our defense played very well and we committed only eight total fouls in the game." The Bulldogs slowly pulled to a 30-17 halftime lead as Megan Matarelli led all scorers at the break with nine points. "We went into the game knowing we...
