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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Spring has arrived, and the snow drifts are going down slowly. I am looking forward to rescuing the Christmas decorations and lights, and checking out my drooping lilac bushes. Let’s all look forward to purchasing flowers (I like geraniums) and vegetables to plant in our gardens and special flower pots. Happy spring, everyone. There are many upcoming events in the Carlton area: April Glow in the Dark Rollerblading is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 15 at the Four Seasons Complex. Freewill d...
Lillian F. Davis, age 91, of Carlton, passed away Friday, April 14, 2023 at her home with family by her side. She was born March 27, 1932, in Crosby, Minnesota, the daughter of Melvin and Gladys (Wolford) Bayliss. Lillian graduated from Aitkin High School. She was a long-time member of Bethesda Lutheran Church in Carlton having joined in 1958. Lillian was the first woman to chair the Bethesda Church Council and remained active there through the years with women’s groups, quilters, church s... Full story
Cloquet city councilors took care of business in only five minutes Tuesday, setting an unofficial record for the shortest meeting of the year with only three members and mayor Roger Maki present on a windy wintry evening. Aside from approving bills, payroll and some end-of-year account transfers, there was only one current business item on the agenda: approval of a minor subdivision plat, to create three lots on a 17-acre property at the corner of Laine and Stark roads. Landowners Andy and Sandy Elias were in the audience. They plan to build a...
With the dismissal of a state lawsuit March 13, the door shut on a fired Cloquet police officer’s attempts to sue those he blamed for his dismissal. Scott Holman, a detective and K-9 officer who had worked for the Cloquet police department for 22 years, was fired by the city council in June 2019. Although the city administrator would say only that the dismissal was a “personnel matter,” the action came after the Carlton County attorney’s office identified past misconduct issues for Holman that could affect his ability to be a credible witness...
The Cloquet City Council and Mayor Roger Maki did the right thing last week when they voted to eliminate the project labor agreement mandate for private businesses. We elect the mayor and the councilors to look after the city of Cloquet, and that should be their top priority. If the private PLA mandate is discouraging investment in businesses or housing here, that’s not good for Cloquet. The fact that zero developers have signed a private PLA since it was mandated in 2017 is proof that the requirement was, indeed, limiting development here. Z...
It’s difficult to explain why, exactly, there’s a disagreement over the revised project labor agreement (PLA) requirement for city-funded economic development projects. Just asking the question is confusing enough. But like most political issues of the day, the solutions are both nuanced and obvious. It all stems from Cloquet’s requirement that private construction projects that receive city aid valued at over $175,000 (usually in the form of loans and tax-increment financing; the city rarel...
While the parking lot outside Cloquet City Hall filled with union members rallying in support of project labor agreements Tuesday, councilors inside the building steeled themselves for a contentious discussion on the subject. Ultimately the Cloquet City Council voted 5-2 - with Lyz Jaakola and Sheila Lamb the two "no" votes - to remove the PLA mandate for private businesses from city code. At issue was a request by the city's Economic Development Authority that the council remove the private man...
With a potential project labor agreement vote on the Cloquet city council agenda, union members from Duluth, Superior and beyond packed City Hall Tuesday. Well over 100 people, mostly men, filled the council chambers and the atrium, the hum of their voices outside the meeting room making it difficult to hear Mayor Roger Maki as he opened the meeting. In the end, councilors voted 5-2 to table the issue, with Maki and Ward 4 Councilor Kerry Kolodge dissenting. That vote to delay a decision came...
When Barnum residents elected Dale Riihiluoma as mayor, running unopposed, in November, it was the culmination of decades of public service. It was also something his wife of 47 years, the late Diane Riihiluoma, didn't want to see happen. Diane passed away in November 2021 after three decades of battling cancer. She tended to favor blending in over standing out. "When Diane was still living she never wanted me to be mayor - it was too far out there," Dale said. "'You're not doing that,' she'd...
Here I am again, watching the snow come down. As I talk to people about the weather, we are all wondering if it will end soon, and spring will finally come. Later this afternoon my snowblower will have to come out to clear the driveway, hopefully for the last time. Think spring. There’s plenty going on around Carlton these days, including: Lions Burger Night, 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 17, Carlton VFW. Book Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 16 and 17 at Community Memorial Hospital, 5...
Nearly 100 people appeared Tuesday at a public hearing in Wrenshall related to proposed RV park regulations. About 15 percent of attendees spoke at the hearing, doing so resoundingly and to repeated applause. Their message to the city's planning commission, which is also its town council: leave business owner Jeff Bloom alone. "For you to pick this man out and single him out and try to create ordinances to cause him to spend more money that could possibly cause him to go out of business is compl...
Iris Keller, the newly appointed Ward 3 Cloquet city councilor, peppered city officials with questions Tuesday as she played catchup on the complicated issue of project labor agreements in the city of Cloquet. "You've been busy with the ins and outs of this for six years," Keller said to the other councilors. Largely informational and fairly short, there was no vote at the meeting Tuesday. Instead, there was a first reading of a proposal to eliminate the requirement for private businesses to...
As I write my column, the sun is shining and the temperature is not below zero. My outdoor Christmas decorations are still buried in the snow and ice, waiting to be rescued and put away until the next holiday season. I am hopeful for the spring that is soon to come. As the days stay light longer, I look forward to seeing the green grass, trees budding and flowers begin to bloom. On that subject, make a note: Daylight Saving Time begins March 12. Here’s a list of upcoming meetings and events i...
A note of urgency dominated the Cloquet City Council work session Feb. 7, when members of the city’s Economic Development Agency asked, for the third time in five years, that the council remove the requirement for private businesses to sign a project labor agreement. While the private business requirement for a PLA is union-friendly, it’s not business-friendly, they said. According to EDA director Holly Hansen, that’s impacting the EDA’s core mission of attracting, retaining, assisting expansion and enabling redevelopment for business, housing...
When I seek feedback on Minnesota Twins or Vikings news and transactions, I turn to two reliable sources in Cloquet. The first is smiling Dave Haapanen, usually found stocking shelves in the cereal or salad dressing aisles at Super One. The second is Justin Dinger, who works with kids in the teen section of the Cloquet Public Library. This is Justin's story. Justin grew up in the Twin Cities - Brooklyn Center, to be exact - with his mom and dad, and two younger brothers, and attended Park... Full story
After close to five months without representation, Cloquet's Ward 3 voters have a new city councilor. Iris Keller was selected Tuesday by unanimous council vote, following interviews with her and fellow candidate Pete Erickson. Both candidates ran write-in campaigns this fall, after previous Ward 3 councilor Chris Swanson moved outside of his ward last summer. The move came after the election filing period, however, so Swanson's name could not be removed from the ballot. Despite news stories,... Full story
With nearly 50 inches of snow recorded so far this winter, it's no surprise Cloquet residents feel like the streets are not up to their usual standards. Waits have been longer, and the piles of snow at corners and in parking lots (and everywhere else) are much higher. While people know there's been a lot of snow, many are still frustrated. Jeremy Johnson, who lives on the 300 block of 21st Street in Cloquet, told the Cloquet City Council Tuesday that he and his neighbors feel like second-class...
After receiving a single proposal to redevelop the 103-year-old Hotel Solem in downtown Cloquet, the city’s economic development authority is pumping the brakes on the future of the condemned property. “We’re putting it on hold for now,” said Holly Hansen, community development director. Requests to redevelop the three-story building that was formerly Mexico Lindo were due late last year. One developer offered a proposal and another toured the site while offering to wait and see, Hansen said. Hansen declined to get into specifics about the sea...
Once again, the Pine Knot News reached out to elected officials and other area leaders to solicit their New Year’s wishes and/or predictions, with the request that they share their thoughts on things within their own sphere of influence in 75 words or fewer. To find out what they said, read on. Carlton County District 1 Commissioner and chairman Dick Brenner I’m really hopeful for 2023 and I hope our economy turns around. In the county, the big thing moving forward is getting closer to the completion of the new Justice Center. And we’re going...
Cloquet Community Education and Recreation director Erin Bates told city councilors Tuesday that the city’s Beach at Pinehurst hit its largest deficit this summer, with revenues at $50,619 and expenses at $84,957, a difference of more than $34,000. Her presentation was informational only, intended to let the councilors know what’s happening. Graphs and charts going back more than 10 years showed the city swimming pond making money or close to breaking even from 2009 through 2018. In recent years, the gap between revenue and spending has grown....
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... Full story
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,...
Ann Gustafson - a local farmer and teacher and all-around engaged citizen - is one of eight statewide finalists in the 2022 Outstanding Conservationist Award Program, along with her family and the business they operate northeast of Carlton, Leaning Barn Farm. The Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts will announce one of the eight as Outstanding Conservationist of the Year at its convention on Dec. 14. The awards program recognizes farm families, individuals,... Full story
After watching the rental property next door deteriorate for 20 years, Cloquet resident Mark Vandervort turned to the Cloquet city council on Tuesday. At his wits' end, Vandervort asked the council to create a better path for holding landlords accountable for hazardous conditions or nuisance issues at their properties. He talked about garbage piling up outside the rental home on Prospect Avenue until he paid to have it removed himself, and plenty of police visits over the years. A renter told...
