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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With the recently thawed lakes and rivers, and fishing season beginning, Cloquet Area Fire District Captain Mike Garbers and firefighter/paramedic Joe Pikul took some time to train with the new rigid-hull inflatable boat that is new to the district's arsenal of response vehicles. Carlton County Emergency Management Director Steve VanKekerix secured a grant that covered the purchase of the $17,000 13-foot AB Inflatables boat, 25-horsepower four-stroke Mercury motor and trailer. While the boat is...
The Cloquet school district made graduation ceremony plans before Minnesota Department of Health officials joined state education commissioners last week to announce guidelines for schools honoring senior classes. In short, schools, colleges and universities are being asked to host virtual graduation ceremonies people can watch from home. But many schools are attempting to do more than that by offering a more participatory approach for seniors. Cloquet's plans for a drive-in-style movie of...
DONATE TO COVID-19 LOCAL RELIEF FUND The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic everyday survival items by sending grocery cards through the mail to local families who request help. The COVID-19 Local Relief Fund is open and accepting donations. To donate, text UWCARLTON to 41444 or visit the website. Send grocery cards to United Way of Carlton County, PO Box 250, Cloquet MN 55720. DONATE...
Neighbors’ voices beat out public safety officials and educators in the debate on whether or not to include a sidewalk in the upcoming Prospect Avenue street reconstruction project, as Cloquet city councilors voted 5-2 Tuesday to reject the sidewalk bid. Councilors Bun Carlson, Sheila Lamb, Kerry Kolodge, Steve Langley and Mayor Roger Maki voted against the sidewalk while councilors Chris Swanson and Lara Wilkinson were the two “nay” votes. The vote in favor of the street project itself was u...
Following interviews with the two finalist candidates for the position of Cloquet Area Fire District chief, members of the CAFD board opted to not hire either candidate, citing the difficulty of finding someone with the skill set to lead the district as both CEO and fire chief. Board chair Jim Langenbrunner said the board’s succession committee is shifting its attention to coming up with an interim plan to cover the fire chief position, as current fire chief Kevin Schroeder is retiring at the end of June. “Kevin is a very difficult person to...
Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan launched a week-long statewide homemade mask drive to encourage Minnesotans to create homemade masks for donation and highlight the importance of workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Minnesotans can deliver homemade masks to their local fire department. Fire departments will then deliver the masks to local congregate living facilities for their employees and residents to wear. Find...
Cloquet Area Fire District board members interviewed two finalists Tuesday for the fire chief position that will open up when Kevin Schroeder retires in June. It won't be easy, as evidenced by board member Bob DeCaigney's comment during the board's post-interview discussion that, according to the job description and duties, what they are really looking for is "Superman." A CAFD press release detailed the process so far: The search for a replacement began in late 2019, and the board hired Baker...
The following historical account on the flu pandemic in 1918 comes from the Minnesota Historical Society and its MNopedia project that tracks Minnesota history online and includes the history feature the Pine Knot News publishes weekly. Reporter Mike Creger added information about how the flu hit fire-ravaged Carlton County. The 1918 influenza pandemic, often referred to as the "Spanish flu," caused an estimated 50 million deaths worldwide. In the United States, an estimated 675,000 deaths...
At approximately 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 21, Carlton County dispatch received a call from a resident in the 3100 block of Maple Drive in Sawyer, stating that their neighbor's seasonal cabin was on fire. First arriving law enforcement personnel noted visible flames and smoke coming from the structure. The property owner was notified of the fire and confirmed that nobody was at the cabin. There was extensive damage but the exact amount wasn't immediately known. The incident remains under...
Watching the number of statewide COVID-19 cases climb from two to 77 in a 10-day period, northern Minnesota residents could take cold comfort in the fact that there were zero confirmed cases in the region earlier this week. "As of this moment, there's still not a confirmed case in our seven-county region, or in any counties that touch those seven counties," Community Memorial Hospital CEO Rick Breuer said Tuesday morning, adding that the hospital had tested only one person so far, with negative...
Cloquet Area Fire District firefighters responded to a fire Wednesday, March 18, on the 1200 block of Carlton Avenue in Cloquet. CAFD battalion chief Gordy Meagher said the fire was confined to a small room on the third floor of the house, and everybody was out when they arrived. The firefighters used the ladder truck to reach the top of the home. "We got it extinguished quickly," Meagher said, adding that they vented the roof and checked ceilings inside to make sure the fire hadn't spread....
Local closures or cancellations due to coronavirus/COVID-19 concerns are listed below and updated on a continual basis, with listings starting with the most recent cancellations, plus recommendations to slow the spread of the virus. Please email [email protected] to share information about your event or organization. Find a broader collection of listings on other regional television, radio and newspaper websites: Community Memorial Hospital During the COVID-19 pandemic, CMH patients will be restricted to one visitor at a time unless the...
Councilors nearly tabled a project that would repair some of the city's worst streets after a public hearing Thursday, March 5 revealed the biggest pothole in the project: attitudes about the planned addition of a sidewalk to Prospect Avenue between 14th and 22nd streets. On one side were numerous residents, many who live in homes that came with small front yards that would likely get smaller. On the other side were people advocating for pedestrian safety: representatives from the Cloquet Area F...
Carlton County Public Health and Human Services reported last week that it is working with the Minnesota Department of Health and local partners on planning for a “unified response” to the COVID-19 virus that started in China and has spread across the globe and is now being blamed for several deaths in western U.S. states. “CCPHHS is aware and updated regularly of the changes associated with the COVID-19,” a press release from the county stated. “Carlton County has plans in place to respond t...
When firefighters responded to a fire on 13th Street in Cloquet earlier this month, it wasn’t their first visit. According to Cloquet Area Fire District captain and public education coordinator Sarah Buhs, CAFD had been proactively involved years before disaster struck the duplex at 115 13th Street on Feb. 1. In 2017, CAFD staff updated and installed smoke alarms in the home. They also discussed the importance of having an escape plan for the entire family. The day the fire occurred, the smoke alarms that were installed in 2017 alerted the o...
Mike Creger and Jana Peterson Fires this past week have displaced at least seven people in north Carlton County. A family of four in the lower unit of a duplex on the 100 block of 13th Street in Cloquet had to move to a hotel this week after a suspected electrical fire set a couch on fire early Saturday evening. The fire spread and there was heavy smoke damage. A woman who lived in the upper duplex was also forced to find housing and is living with family members. Everyone evacuated safely. Earl...
Cloquet citizen Tim Krohn was on hand again Tuesday to accept another donation for the extension of the Pine Valley mountain bike trail. The donor this time was Minnesota Power. Chris Rousseau, Carlton grad and Minnesota Power manager of renewable operations, was there with a giant check for $2,500 for the trail. Cloquet Public Works director Caleb Peterson explained to the council that the original budget for the trail extension was $125,000. Krohn and other Pine Valley volunteers first...
After a mercifully long run with no major fire calls, the Cloquet Area Fire District responded to two calls on Sunday, Jan. 12. CAFD Chief Kevin Schroeder said a house fire at 318 Avenue E started in the afternoon, then crews were called around midnight to the USG Interiors plant for a fire in a dust collection system that caused a lot of smoke, but no flames. Schroeder said the house fire Sunday was in the attic, and caused extensive damage to the roof structure and attic of the home near Pineh...
The year 2019 was a busy one for the Cloquet Area Fire District and 2020 is unlikely to get any slower. Crews surpassed the now 10-year-old district’s historic high run total of 2,985 incidents in 2016 on Dec. 9 … with almost three weeks left to go in the year. “We’re not getting slower, but we are getting busier,” said CAFD Chief Kevin Schroeder, explaining that about 85.5 percent of its calls are ambulance, while 17.5 are fire calls. Schroeder said the pace is so great that the fire district...
How does one rank the top stories from an entire year? Are calculations made in terms of long-term health, dollars spent, numbers of people affected? What about long-term historical effects, or maybe Facebook clicks? No matter what metric you choose, 2019 was an eventful year in Carlton County, with elected and appointed officials making changes, kids smoking again and building moves that will stand for generations to come. Rather than ranking our top stories of 2019, we chose to place them in...
The crime scene tape outside of Sara's Vac Shack is there because Mother Nature knocked down the large sign that is usually perched on top of the Cloquet Avenue business. Lloyd Nohl, sales and purchasing manager (and husband to owner Sara McAuliffe), said they got a call from the Cloquet Area Fire District on Sunday, telling them that the sign was hanging down from the building. With the help of the CAFD bucket truck, they got the sign back on top of the building. Making lemonade out of lemons,...
An Esko area woman and boy were injured when the car they were in was struck by a train Saturday. According to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, dispatch received a report of a car-train accident on East Stark Road in Thomson Township at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. According to the sheriff’s office, 41-year-old Brianna Johnson was driving, and a 10-year-old boy was a passenger in the vehicle. Both are from Thomson Township and both were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth by ambulance. The sheriff’s office...
These are busy days for Kris Kringle in Cloquet, but at least he should feel at home with all the snow turning Carlton County into a winter wonderland. Cloquet's Santa's Home for the Holidays festivities kicked off Wednesday with a little Elf Bingo and a free chili feed courtesy of the Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments. Thursday saw both stories with Santa at Dunlap Island and visits with Santa at the Pine Knot News office, as detailed in last week's Pine Knot News. Today, Friday, Dec....
The city of Cloquet will soon have a new leader at the top, and it’s someone who already knows a lot about the area and the unique challenges and advantages of living in Carlton County. Cloquet city councilors unanimously approved the hire of Tim Peterson as the new city administrator at Tuesday’s regular meeting. Peterson, the city administrator in Moose Lake and previously deputy clerk in Proctor, has been through floods, massive snowstorms and meetings with the state legislature reg...
An Esko area woman and boy were injured in a car/train collision today. According to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, at 1:30 PM Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, Carlton County Dispatch received a report of a Car/Train accident on E Stark Rd in Thomson Township. Emergency Medical Services from the Esko Fire Department and Cloquet Area Fire District responded to the scene. The patients are identified as a 41-year-old female and 10-year-old male from Thomson Township. They were transported to St Luke’s Hospital in Duluth by C...
