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Robert Kenneth Calhoun, 67, of Carlton passed away on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 at home with his wife by his side. Robert was born Jan. 30, 1956 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Robert and Dorothy Calhoun. Robert graduated from Grand Rapids High School in 1974. Robert married Colleen on August 18, 2002 in Duluth, Minnesota. He worked for Figgins Trucking and Koch Trucking. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Kathy Nelson; brother, Rodger Calhoun. Robert is survived by his wife, Colleen; so...
The Wrenshall school board approved a 2024 levy nearly identical to its previous figure, $1,513,112 — some $4,557 less than the current levy. Superintendent Jeff Pesta called it a “negligible reduction,” during Monday’s Truth in Taxation hearing conducted at the school. “It’s very small when you are considering it on a half-a-million dollars,” Pesta said. The district’s budget for 2024 is $6.5 million, made up of mostly per-pupil state aid funding, along with levy and federal dollars. No community members spoke during the hearing. A thir...
More people phoned Carlton County to complain about tax increases than attended the Dec. 12 Truth in Taxation hearing. More than 30 people called the county to deliver messages about “unsustainable” increases, or to say, “you’re taxing us out of our home,” said auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt. Only about a half-dozen people spoke briefly during the hearing, and only one rose to the dais to plead his case. “This is the kind of increase that’s not treating our elderly population with respect or dignity,” said Jim Kuklis, who owns Trails Edg...
Thursday, Dec. 14 Girls Hockey MLA 3 Duluth 2 Boys Hockey International Falls 5 MLA 4 (OT) Girls Basketball South Ridge 69 McGregor 30 Hinckley-Finlayson 72 Carlton/Wrenshall 31 North Woods 60 ML/WR 58 Boys Basketball Carlton/Wrenshall 79 Hinckley-Finlayson 59 Barnum 85 South Ridge 43 ML/WR 92 North Woods 85 Cromwell-Wright 78 Braham 64 Denfeld 82 Cloquet 65 Friday, Dec. 15 Boys Basketball Cromwell-Wright 66 Cook County 63 McGregor 64 South Ridge 56 Girls Basketball MIB 68 South Ridge 37 Pierz 68 ML/WR 43 Cromwell-Wright 61 Ely 51 Esko 73...
Entering Tuesday night’s girls basketball game, both Barnum and Moose Lake/Willow River sported the same record: one win and four losses. With the schools just 8 miles up the road from each other, fans did their best to root their team on to victory against their No. 1 rival. The Bombers persevered in the end, winning 50-44 after leading 27-19 at halftime. The start of the game turned into the “Alizondra Collelo Show” as the Barnum sophomore poured in 14 first-half points. Barnum gained a quick...
With the holidays on the near horizon, so too is the long-standing tradition of holiday sports tournaments between Christmas and New Years. Hockey and basketball take center stage over the break, but there are also scattered wrestling meets and a few ski meets — weather permitting — during the break. Following are some of the holiday highlights: Hockey The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team will open play in the Heritage Holiday Classic in Duluth against Apple Valley at 11:30 a.m. Wed...
Thursday, Dec. 7 Girls Hockey CEC 2 Hibbing/Chisholm 1 Boys Hockey Denfeld 5 CEC 4 MLA 3 WSFG 2 Girls Basketball Crosby-Ironton 72 Esko 58 Cromwell-Wright 77 McGregor 26 North Woods 62 Carlton/Wrenshall 25 Boys Basketball Cherry 93 Barnum 60 Carlton/Wrenshall 56 East Central 40 Hermantown 78 Cloquet 60 Friday, Dec. 8 Boys Basketball Esko 78 Cloquet 61 Cromwell-Wright 83 McGregor 48 Girls Basketball South Ridge 83 Littlefork-Bigfalls 26 Saturday, Dec. 9 Boys Hockey CEC 3 East Grand Forks 2 Ely 7 MLA 1 Girls Basketball MIB 76 Cromwell-Wright 63...
James Alan Ziehl passed away peacefully at St. Luke's hospital on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, at the age of 66, with his wife, Lori, by his side. The eldest son of Ronald and Barbara Ziehl of Cloquet, Jim was an avid Boy Scout in his younger years, earning Eagle rank in 1972. He was awarded many merits as part of the swim team, alongside twin sister Robbin (Fish). Jim joined the U.S. Navy in 1976, and 1976-1980 was an electrician aboard the USS Coral Sea CV-43, where he met best friend, Jeff Ridley....
Thursday, Nov. 30 Girls hockey Moose Lake Area 6 North Shore 2 Girls basketball Cromwell-Wright 47 Floodwood 31 Cloquet 72 Hermantown 27 Rock Ridge 67 Esko 44 Barnum East Central Boys basketball Cloquet 76 Hibbing 70 Moose Lake/WR 76 Proctor 37 Friday, Dec. 1 Barnum 58 Nashwauk-Keewatin 17 South Ridge 57 Cook County 56 Cromwell-Wright 95 Floodwood 38 Saturday, Dec. 2 Boys Hockey CEC 4 Bloomington Jefferson 2 Girls basketball Esko 78 Annandale 53 Monday, Dec. 4 Boys basketball Carlton/Wrenshall 95 Cook County 41 South Ridge North Woods Girls...
When Barnum and Cromwell-Wright boys basketball teams tipped off Tuesday, the crowd was large and raucous as fans anticipated an intense matchup of two perennial Polar League powers. But the Cardinals rode a quick flurry of points in both halves to gain a 64-58 victory at home. "I liked how we came out and played fast against them early," said Cards coach Bill Pocernich. "Dylan Nyberg got hot for us and we just kind of took off." Early in the first half, Cromwell-Wright rode the outside...
Girls Hockey Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Two Harbors, 7 Thursday, Dec. 7 vs Hibbing, 7 Tuesday, Dec. 12 vs Duluth Northern Stars at Duluth Heritage, 7 Friday, Dec. 15 at Sartell, 7:15 Tuesday, Dec. 19 vs Proctor/ Hermantown, 7 Thursday, Dec. 21 vs Pine City, 7 Friday, Jan. 5 at Osseo, 7 Saturday, Jan. 6 at South Saint Paul, 1 Tuesday, Jan. 9 at Superior, 7 Thursday, Jan. 11 vs Duluth Northern Stars, 7 Saturday, Jan. 13 at Isanti, 8:15 Tuesday, Jan. 16 at Hibbing, 7 Thursday, Jan. 18 vs Northern Lakes Coop, 7 Tuesday, Jan. 23 at...
The Cloquet and Esko girls basketball teams battled for the first time Tuesday with more than just bragging rights on the line. The Lumberjacks prevailed to win the first "Battle for the Paddle." Esko head coach Sue Northey came up with the idea. "We were looking to come up with a trophy game, as we have met each other 30 times dating back to 1987," Northey said, pointing out that since Carlton and Wrenshall have merged sports programs, that left no local girls teams playing for jugs or other...
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....
Barnum High School Quarter 1 A Honor Roll Grade 7 Owen Bailey Macy Berg Jacob Bernhardson Andrae Davis Morgan DeCaigny Rachel Dinger Avery Graftaas Amos Grover Winter Hennager Landon Hosmer Hailey Ikola Caitlin Johnson Braxton Laveau Lindy LeDoux Clover Moerke Tanner Moore Ella Nyquist Kamryn Pearsall Tyler Schatz Carli Stevens Addison Webb LeeRoy Wyatt Grade 8 Daymian Beckstrand Olivia Bigelow James Budge Julia Campbell Logan Charboneau Braylon Collelo Jack Collins Brady Ferguson Piper Genereau Jaxson Halverson Ethan Heaslip Mia Hurst Kohltan...
A Carlton County board meeting flared hot Tuesday, when commissioner Tom Proulx and county staff squared off over the use of contracted social work. Despite a 4-1 vote affirming the use of contracted social workers to address a surge in disability services and long-term elder care cases, the preceding debate stirred tensions at a time of union contract negotiations. Proulx first squared off with public health and human services director David Lee over the issue. “What would happen if we said no?” asked Proulx. “I would have to come back and a...
The Moose Lake/Willow River boys football team entered last week's Class AA quarterfinals confident after a section victory over Barnum and how well the defense had played all season long, but Eden Valley-Watkins brought weapons the Rebels had not faced much this season. The game ended with a 60-0 shutout victory for the Eagles in Forest Lake Thursday night. The Eagles' high-octane offense started on the second play from scrimmage when EVW's quarterback Nolan Geislinger took the snap from the...
Although Election Day saw many highly competitive and issues-based elections around the country, along with a change of mayor in Duluth, Carlton County had just two school board races on the ballot. Both races — one in Carlton, one in Barnum — were to fill a vacant seat. In Barnum, Patrick Poirier won by a 61-percent margin, with 102 votes to Tony Newman’s 64. Poirier will fill the one year remaining in the term, until the 2024 election. It isn’t new ground for Poirier, who once served on the Barnum school board for 12 years. He was appoint...
All season long, the Moose Lake/Willow River defense has played like a unit possessed by protecting the endzone. The Rebels entered the playoffs allowing an average of a little over 8 points per game defensively with most opponents scoring late in games when the Rebels' second or third units were on the field. The Rebels defense played a starring role in the 13-0 win over Barnum Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Section 7AA championship game at Esko. "All season long the defense played so well, this is...
Football Saturday, Oct. 28 Nine-man semifinals Ogilvie 44, Cromwell-Wright 14 7AA semifinals Barnum 41, Aitkin 0 Moose Lake/WR 28, Mesabi East 14 7AAA semifinals Esko 56, Pierz 8 Pequot Lakes 21, Two Harbors 15 Thursday 7AAA championship game Esko vs. Pequot Lakes, UMD’s Malosky Stadium, 7 p.m. 7AA championship game Barnum vs. ML/WR at Esko, 6 p.m. Volleyball Wednesday 7AA tournament Esko 3 Mesabi East 1 Thursday 7AAA championship game Cloquet vs. Grand Rapids at Hermantown, 6 p.m. SATURDAY 7AA championship game Esko vs. Rush City at H...
When they met for the season opener, Barnum's first victory over Moose Lake/Willow River came only after two overtimes. This week, the neighboring football teams will play again, with the Section 7AA title and a trip to State on the line. The Bombers remain undefeated after overwhelming the Aitkin Gobblers, 41-0, in one section semifinal at Barnum Saturday, while the Rebels topped Mesabi East, 28-14, in Willow River Saturday to advance to the section championship contest Thursday night in Esko....
Section 7AA volleyball action tipped off Oct. 25 with three Carlton County teams in action. All three of our local teams played in the south side of the bracket with only one of those teams - Esko - advancing after the first two rounds. Esko, the No. 2 seed in the south, opened the first round with an easy 3-0 win over Hinckley-Finlayson. "That match went about how we thought it would," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. Esko added another win to its resume Friday, Oct. 27 by knocking off Pine City,...
Jack Riley had the moment he'd been waiting for last week, winning the Section 7A cross country meet Thursday, Oct. 26, and setting a personal record in the process. "It felt pretty good," the Wrenshall senior said in a phone interview Monday. "I've kind of been looking forward to that kind of thing since pretty early in my career, hoping to get there. It was pretty special." It was also redemption after a rough season last year. He made it to State then - this year makes three in a row - but...
Alas, there was snow on the ground before Halloween this year. We sure have had a great fall and the color has been spectacular. Now, the bright gold on the tamaracks and the white of the snow are making our landscapes and drives even more beautiful. The Hunters Supper is 4-7 p.m. today, Friday, Nov. 3, at the Cromwell Park Pavilion. The Red Bird Bazaar is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the school in Cromwell. The Beehive Community Club will have an all-you-can-eat mojakka dinner 11 a.m. to 7 p.m....
For the first time in 11 years, the Carlton County office responsible for zoning permits, sewer treatment compliance, shoreland alterations, waste and recycling, and well-water analysis has a new face atop its leadership. Chris Berg replaced Heather Cunningham on Monday, when he was introduced as the new zoning and environmental services coordinator at the county board meeting in Carlton. "It's a good, natural progression," Berg said of his ascension into the role. "I'm confident I can do the...
A vacancy on the Carlton school board is one of just two county-based elections on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Last week, the Pine Knot previewed the two-person race for a vacancy in Barnum. The Carlton race is much the same, featuring two people seeking to fill out the remainder of a term vacated by a previously elected official. What follows are the candidates responses to the questions in the Carlton race: Ryan Leonzal Briefly summarize your personal background, qualifications and any prior election...