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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Cloquet city councilors took a step toward purchasing body-worn cameras and new stun guns by voting to accept a $38,000 grant Tuesday night, but acknowledged if they go through with the purchase, it will mean significant expense to the city and its taxpayers. If approved, the estimated cost of a package deal for body-worn cameras — which the department doesn’t have — and new stun guns to replace the almost obsolete equipment used now, is more than $205,000 over five years, with the grant money included. At the end of the five years, the depar...
Considering a run for political office? The filing period for state and local offices — only those that could require primary elections in August — will be open May 17-31. The city of Cloquet has four positions up for election in November, including the mayor and council seats for Wards 1, 2 and 3. All are four-year positions. Carlton County also has a number of positions up for election this year, including county commissioners for District 2 (Thomson Township area) and District 4 (including the Wrenshall, Carlton and Mahtowa area and parts of...
Cloquet city councilors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the condemnation of the building that once housed Mexico Lindo, a three-story building at 915 Cloquet Ave. originally constructed as the Hotel Solem in 1921. The vote came after two years of attempts by the city to get the property owners to make repairs, after building official Matt Munter found numerous issues including a leaky roof and bulging brick walls. The city got no response from the owners to multiple orders to repair until...
In a work session with Cloquet city council members Tuesday, members of the Cloquet broadband committee shared their personal and professional experiences with internet access in Cloquet, with a common conclusion: It’s not good enough. Their recommendation? Take the $300,000 the city has committed from America Rescue Plan Act funds and use that for an engineering study to identify a fiber system and costs for roughly $20,000, and use additional funds to secure and match larger grants that target broadband access. All four committee members s...
As we all know, March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day. It is the Irish celebration of the day St. Patrick is said to have cast out the snakes from Ireland. But there is also another celebration the day before, St. Urho’s Day, on March 16. The Urho legend includes the story of St. Urho casting out the frogs by the power of his voice, which he got by drinking feelia sour (sour whole milk) and eating kala mojakka (fish soup). Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Happy St. Urho’s Day to all! Kindergarten roundup...
When the 2020 Census showed an increase of 444 residents in Cloquet, city officials took a look at their own version of redistricting and decided to keep things the way they were. City administrator Tim Peterson explained to the council members during Tuesday’s meeting that unlike U.S. House District 8 — which is expanding west to include the White Earth and Red Lake nations — Cloquet saw only small changes to the population numbers in the city’s five council wards. Current population numbers and percentage of average population are listed...
The Minit Mart convenience stores in Carlton County were expected to come under new ownership by the end of the month. There are seven Minit Mart stores in the county that will fall under KornerStores Inc. of Duluth, Caywood Country Store in Saginaw or Edwards Oil Company Inc., a family-run business in Virginia, Minnesota. Most of the current Minit Mart stores were, until 2015, under the ownership of Cloquet-based Best Oil Co. It sold 18 Little Store convenience stores to TravelCenters of...
The mask mandate implemented by Cloquet elected officials a month ago will be allowed to automatically expire on its planned end date of Friday, Feb. 18. The expiration was ensured when Tuesday’s Cloquet city council meeting was canceled “because there was nothing that required council action,” said Cloquet mayor Roger Maki. Maki said he implemented the original mandate — with the support of a majority of council members — because researchers at Mayo were predicting a surge in the Covid Omicron variant around Feb. 1 followed by a swift dec...
Cloquet city councilors and mayor Roger Maki voted unanimously to fire Cloquet police officer Laci Silgjord Wednesday night, Feb. 2, after closing the virtual council meeting for more than 45 minutes as they discussed the recommendation. Silgjord, who had been on paid administrative leave since May 12, 2021, was also the department's K-9 officer. No details were available on the reason for terminating Silgjord's position during the vote. City officials said copies of the complaint or...
I’ve taught my kids that cops are the “good guys.” That cops can be trusted. If my kids find themselves in trouble, I’ve told them that the police will help them. Of course, most cops look a bit intimidating to little kids. They’re in uniform, wear belts full of tools, including guns, handcuffs and stun guns, and sport shiny badges. They have the ability to arrest you and put you in jail. I’ve taught my kids they have to show respect to the police. If an officer asks you to step aside, you...
There are many clichés, quotes, and rhetoric to last us a lifetime. Of the multitude, some can provide us inspiration and others can leave a sour taste in the mouth; yet I find one that is laced with such potency. This, brought about by the taboo created at our dinner tables, or just in the company of friends, family or acquaintances: “All politics are local.” Deny a conversation on the subject all you want, but eventually you will meet a neighbor who has participated — in some capacity — in a decision that had an effect on how much in prope...
Kudos to Mayor Maki and the City Council for implementing and supporting a mask mandate in indoor public gathering places. I appreciate the courage this took. Thank you for helping us help ourselves. John Boland, Cloquet...
With local health care leaders asking for help and a Mayo Clinic data scientist predicting a peak in Omicron Covid cases in the next two weeks, Mayor Roger Maki declared a local emergency due to the pandemic effective Wednesday. As part of that declaration, he mandated that face coverings be worn in all indoor public gathering spaces in the city of Cloquet. "We can reduce exposure of people and I believe that to be in the public interest and safety," Maki said. Fond du Lac medical director Dr. C...
Hot on the heels of the Cloquet City Council decision to go to remote meetings due to the high number of Covid cases, the Cloquet Area Fire District Board is also going remote. Residents can still attend meetings online or via telephone. To join from a computer, tablet or smartphone, get the meeting link and passcode from the CAFD website at cloquetareafiredistrict.com. Otherwise call the district office at 218-499-4258 or 218-499-4274 to get the call-in number and passcode....
Our monthlong march through 2021 looking back at past issues of the Pine Knot News continues today with the next four months of the year, May through August. It was a summer that saw a return of many regular activities after another Covid-19 pandemic lull in the region. It wouldn't last, as we'll find out in the final installment of the year in review next week. May In mid-May, 600 finalists from around the world will gather for the Regeneron International Science and Engineer Fair to dazzle...
David M. Johnson, 81, of Cloquet, passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 8, 2022. He was born on May 22, 1940 in Cloquet. He was the son of Carl R. and Agnes J. (Blomberg) Johnson of Cloquet. He was a Cloquet graduate in the class of 1958 and then attended Harvard University and the University of Minnesota. David loved Europe, having begun his adventures there beginning in 1957 at the Jubilee Jamboree for World Scouts in Birmingham, England. David was an Eagle Scout and Scout Master. He returned to Eu...
Cloquet lost one of its most charismatic and dedicated residents Saturday, when 81-year-old Dave Johnson died unexpectedly at home. Although Johnson was born and raised here, he was very much a citizen of the world. With his beloved Rosa at his side, Johnson had one foot in Minnesota and the other in Italy. Italy was Rosa's birthplace, the place the couple met when Johnson was stationed at Aviano Air Base there. Theirs was a grand romance, with obstacles to overcome and great joys as well. Rosa...
After a rough, Covid-19- pandemic-ridden 2020, the year 2021 was destined to be better, right? Well, the jury hasn’t reached a decision yet. There were highs and lows, as the pandemic continued to alter life as we knew it before 2020. There’s a vaccine, which has helped ease the naked fear of contracting the virus. There has been mostly in-person learning this school year and many of the events around schools are back to normal. Cities held modified annual celebrations. But Covid spikes continue, with infections breaking records even now, so...
The city of Cloquet is looking for a few good men and women to step up and serve on several local boards and commissions that help oversee various governmental departments or entities. Currently, there are openings on the Planning Commission, Parks Commission, Cloquet Public Library Board, Cloquet Area Fire District Board and the Citizens Advisory Board, which helps police department hiring, firing and disciplinary actions, among other things. Council members approved the reappointment of seven...
The goal of declaring the former Mexico Lindo restaurant building a "vacant and hazardous substandard building" is not to demolish the historic structure, community development director Holly Hansen told the Cloquet city council. Rather, it is to attract responsible ownership to repair and revitalize the building in the heart of downtown. When Cloquet city councilors voted unanimously to declare the building hazardous last week, they also set a public hearing for Feb. 1, as the next step toward...
The fact that Cloquet Area Fire District taxpayers have been paying more than their share of ambulance expenses for over a decade didn't pacify Thomson Township residents Thursday during the CAFD truth-in-taxation hearing. Close to two dozen people attended the CAFD hearing, nearly all of them township residents, most of them shocked and angry that their proposed ambulance district taxes showed a more than threefold increase from the previous year. "I look at my proposed tax statement and I see...
Cloquet City Councilors approved a 3.49-percent levy increase taxes payable in 2022, but with a market value increase of 4.49 percent, some Cloquet property owners could see a decrease in their city taxes next year. Rural Cloquet resident Eric Witeli would like to see his taxes decrease even more. Witeli was the only resident to address the council during Tuesday's Truth and Taxation hearing. The Brookston Road resident said he'd like to pay fewer taxes because he uses very few city services....
A booming drum ceremony filled the meeting room at Cloquet city hall Tuesday as the city council and mayor acknowledged National Native American Heritage Month. Council member Lyz Jaakola, who represents Ward 5, which overlaps part of the Fond du Lac reservation, said it's constructive to have a month to encourage reflection on indigenous people, although the community thinks about its culture and issues every day of the year. She said she's encouraged by "hopeful discussions" across the...
After six months of talking about the city's project labor agreement, the Cloquet City Council voted Tuesday to change absolutely nothing. The decision was not unanimous by any means. The council voted on two resolutions related to the PLA: the first, a motion to increase the city funding level that triggers the PLA from $175,000 to $250,000, which failed to get the required supermajority of five when councilors Bun Carlson and Lyz Jaakola voted no. The second failed motion was to add language...
Cloquet City Council chambers were packed Tuesday, not with irate citizens, but with proud parents, spouses and children. In a followup to the oath of office for officers hired during the pandemic given during the Oct. 5 meeting, officers who were promoted over the past 18 months had their moment in the sun on Tuesday. The administration at the department has seen a large amount of turnover over the past two years, from the chief at the top to at least two of the sergeants. Judge Robert...
