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 26 - 50 of 3296
On a beautiful Saturday morning, hundreds of Minnesota's top high school cross country runners raced across the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad golf course as part of the Minnesota State High School Cross Country Meet. With the temperature in the 50s, it was the perfect day for running and spectators, said Carlton/Wrenshall coach Brenda Knudsen. But the rolling hills of the course created some challenges. "There were not a lot of PRs (personal records) with all those hills. It's not a fast f...
There's plenty going on across Carlton County to honor our veterans on Monday, Nov. 11, including a presentation at the Cloquet Public Library that has not been publicized enough. Find out more below: Women in World War II: Virginia Wright Peterson will give a presentation about her book, “A Women’s War Too,” at 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, at the Cloquet Public Library. The library is closed but doors will be opened for this event only. The Villa Vista in Cromwell invites all veterans and families to their Veterans Day program at 9:30 a.m. on No...
The candidate forum organized by the Cloquet Area Chamber of Commerce got a makeover for 2024. Instead of candidates sitting side by side in the Cloquet City Council chambers in front of a live audience, individual interviews were recorded without an audience. Those interviews can be found on the city’s website at https://cloquetmn.new.swagit.com/videos/317878, or on the city’s CAT-7 channel (for Mediacom customers). The Cloquet forum features candidates for MN House District 11A and Carlton County Commissioner District 1 onl...
A bicyclist was struck on Highway 45 early Tuesday morning. According to a Minnesota State Patrol report, the driver of a Ford Focus was traveling southbound on Highway 45 and struck the cyclist in the roadway about one mile south of Interstate 35 at approximately 4:44 a.m. Tuesday. The cyclist, 34-year-old Michael Lawrence Benson of Wrenshall, was transported with non-life threatening injuries to Essentia Health in Duluth, according to the MSP incident report. He was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the Focus, Wrenshall’s 60-year-old D...
The thought of objection to a marijuana smoking prohibition in public places evaporated like a puff of smoke at the Carlton County board this week. Unlike when restaurants and businesses went smoke-free in 2007, and bars followed in 2015, there was no great debate or consternation when the topic of public vaping and marijuana smoking cessation surfaced during a public hearing of the county board on Monday. The public hearing to change Carlton County’s smoke-free ordinance to reflect legalized adult marijuana use came and went without public c...
A detached garage in Skelton Township caught fire and was a total loss Saturday, Oct. 26. According to the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call came in at 1:27 p.m. reporting the fire at 3234 County Road 157 in Skelton Township. The caller indicated that no people or animals were in the garage and it was not close to the home. Fire departments from Mahtowa, Barnum and Moose Lake responded, along with Essentia Health Moose Lake ambulance and Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputies. The first deputy on scene reported the detached gar...
A Kettle River city council member pleaded guilty earlier this month to violating government data practices rules but is already appealing her guilty plea, according to court documents. It’s a case that has unfolded in court hearings and various petitions over roughly a year, with a long background of personality conflicts and previous actions by people named in the case. Many are currently involved in the governance of Kettle River: with witnesses including a city staff member and the mayor, the defendant a current councilwoman up for r...
Have you read media headlines lately? There apparently has been a renaissance across Minnesota and the nation on the joy of sauna. It’s now “cool” to cleanse your body and spirit in a hot, Finnish-inspired sauna. Of course, many locals know that, for it has been tradition in Carlton County and northeastern Minnesota for more than 100 years. The Finns, when they immigrated to this region of the state, often started homesteads by building a sauna. I grew up in a house with no bathtub, just a sau...
The School Nurse Organization of Minnesota has named Sarah Ellena, Cloquet school district nurse, as its 2024 "School Nurse of the Year." The award annually recognizes one licensed school nurse in the state for "excellence in nursing practice and leadership." Ellena's career after graduating from the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth includes experience in long-term care, pediatric and pediatric intensive care, public health and volunteer services, as well as nursing services in Carlton and...
It can be difficult to know just what might inspire a teenager these days, but Brenda Knudsen may have found something in October. The trails on Pincushion Mountain offer spectacular views of the harbor at Grand Marais and the expanse of Lake Superior. As Knudsen prepared her Carlton/Wrenshall girls cross country teams for the Oct. 10 Polar League Conference meet on those trails, she told them she'd jump into the lake if they won. "It was freezing," the coach said this week, looking back on a...
More than 400,000 deer hunters are preparing for the firearms deer season that opens Saturday, Nov. 9, offering opportunities to spend time outdoors with friends and family, find adventure and put venison in the freezer. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wildlife staff are reporting that there should be good opportunities to harvest deer in most areas, although numbers are still down in the northeastern part of the state. Despite a mild 2023-24 winter, deer populations in the northeast region are still low and will take multiple years...
Section volleyball entered the semifinal round Wednesday night with Esko and South Ridge the only two remaining local teams in action. Section 7AA Esko was set to play Crosby-Ironton in the 7AA semifinals Wednesday night after picking up a pair of wins in the past week. On Oct. 23, No. 2 Esko opened with a 3-0 win over Pine City. "It was nice to get that first match win out of the way," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. "We played well, we didn't make a whole lot of errors and we generally played a...
Ailie Marie Merrill, 95, of Cloquet passed away Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Moose Lake Village. She was born Jan. 2, 1929, to John and Lydia (Salmi) Laine in Automba, Minnesota. Ailie moved to Cloquet in 1946 and married James Merrill in 1948. They were blessed with three children and Ailie naturally settled into her role as homemaker, dedicating her life to her family. She also volunteered for Meals on Wheels for 27 years. Faith was a very important aspect of Ailie's life. She served as a Sund...
With all of Carlton County's precincts reported by 11:25 p.m. Tuesday, the 2024 local election brought some interesting results. The results won't be official until after they are canvassed, but changes are rare after reporting. Here are a few of the highlights: The mayor's race in Wrenshall is tied. Incumbent Gary Butala and challenger Jeff Bloom each have exactly 143 votes each. Two incumbent Carlton School Board members - Julianne Emerson and Eryn Szymczak - are out. Ryan Leonzal, an...
While some places in the country received bomb threats on Election Day, Carlton County was relatively incident free - with one major exception. "A suspicious envelope was left at a polling booth in Thomson Township," said Carlton County Sheriff's Office Lt. Doug Rotta, noting that the call came at 5:28 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, while voting was still underway. The discovery did not disrupt voting at Thomson Township, Rotta said. People just continued voting as usual. "It didn't turn out to be...
Three of Carlton County's rural school districts were rocked by unexpected developments Monday. Members of the Barnum and Carlton school boards learned their administrators were proposing consolidation talks, while Wrenshall officials were surprised to find their partner in ongoing consolidation talks - Carlton - seemed to be abandoning them for another district. The news sparked anger, dismay and curiosity, along with a healthy dose of skepticism. Carlton school board member Ryan Leonzal was...
The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office is once again part of the Law Enforcement Scholarship Program. Sheriff Kelly Lake said the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association has established a scholarship fund for up to 18 $2,000 scholarships. The MSA gives special recognition to the financial needs of students attending the peace officer skills course, or one of the two- or four-year law enforcement degree programs around the state.Application forms are available at the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office or www.mnsheriffs.org and are due by Nov. 25....
Carlton County will hold its National Prescription Drug Take Back event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 in the Cloquet Walmart parking lot at 1308 Minnesota Highway 33. This is a one-day event offering residents free disposal of unwanted medications in a safe, convenient and environmentally sound manner. A day earlier, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District will host a free collection event for unwanted or expired medications at its regional household hazardous waste facility (at 2626 Courtland St., Duluth) from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m....
Sign up for a free community suicide gatekeeper training session 4-5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4 online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QPR11424 or by calling Carlton County Public Health at 218-878-2846. During the training, community members will learn myths and facts about suicide, learn warning signs for a suicide crisis, as well as the QPR method: How to Question a person about suicide; Persuade them to get help; and Refer them to the appropriate resources. All community members over age 16 are invited to attend as we are all in a position...
This is a list of candidates that area voters can expect on their ballot now until Election Day, Nov. 5. State Representative District 11A (elect 1) Jeff A. Dotseth, Republican Pete Radosevich, DFL Judge Sixth District (elect 1) Gunnar B. Johnson Shawn Reed County Commissioner District 1 (elect 1) Sarah Buhs Caleb Dunlap District 3 (elect 1) Tom Proulx District 5 (elect 1) Alex French Dan Reed Soil and Water Superivisor District 1 (elect 1) Michelle Boyechko Barbara Dahl District 4 (elect 1) Gary Peterson District 5 (elect 1) Bruce Heikes...
Although a notice about the public accuracy test of voting equipment is published in the legal notices of the paper, I doubt that most people notice it. As a former election judge, I have done the testing myself in our township and I have had to ask people to come because rarely does anyone show up. For those who doubt the validity of an election, they should attend this testing and see for themselves how hard it would be to rig an election. It may be too late for this election since some of...
Two years ago Pete Radosevich and Jeff Dotseth participated in a debate. Pete gave a quality response providing background information and then explaining his answer. Dotseth didn’t seem to match such quality. Now it appears that Rep. Dotseth has chosen to not debate in Moose Lake, the only Carlton County candidate forum where the candidates would have sat in the same room. I wonder why. Does he not want to defend his performance in the state legislature? This might suggest it’s time for a change. If you have read Pete Radosevich’s colum...
“Use your words” is what my daughter would say to her infant son when he would act out. Good advice for politicians. We know them by their words and their deeds, private and public. Generally we don’t know the skinny on their deeds — the details of their votes or of their personal lives. They give us words about those. Or not. If the words are few or vague, they’re not leveling with us. I think it’s a mistake to consider politics a team sport, where you vote for your team, whether it’s right or wrong on the issues. But to vote on the issues, t...
In my opinion, Jeff Dotseth has been a poor representative for Minnesota House District 11A. In the midst of the recent flurry of news and debate around his domestic abuse history, I feel that his failures as a legislator are getting lost. As we head to vote, remember that Rep. Dotseth dropped the ball on legislation that was critical to funding for the Carlton County Justice Center. It is only the quick actions of county commissioners with help from Sen. Jason Rarick that salvaged that funding. I want a representative who understands how to...
endorse Sarah Plante Buhs for Carlton County commissioner. As the current president of the board for United Way of Carlton and Pine County Areas, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Sarah as executive director. Her dedication, commitment, and leadership in our community have continually impressed me. During her tenure at the United Way, Sarah has brought new programs to our area, such as the homeless youth program, addressing a critical need in our community. She has also worked tirelessly to enhance and improve existing programs,...
