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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There's a new club in town that's rolling right along. "We're a local mountain bike club and our goal is advocacy for singletrack and multi-use trails in Cloquet and the surrounding area," said Brendon Menze, president of the Cloquet Singletrackers. "It's a way to bring the local bike community together." So why the emphasis on singletrack trails? Menze summed it up in two words: "They're fun." "Singletrack trails are basically a path for bikes through the woods," described Menze. "They are... Full story
Cloquet City councilors voted Tuesday to repeal the city’s ordinance requiring face coverings, and reconsider their vote on the repeal of the Cloquet project labor agreement passed two weeks ago. The repeal of the requirement to wear a mask indoors in public spaces came as no surprise, as Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order May 14 to undo the state’s mask mandate. The order came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own announcement, stating that people who are ful... Full story
As the state rolls back pandemic restrictions, the Cloquet Fourth of July celebration in Cloquet is also is opening up. In addition to the previously announced fireworks, the Fourth of July committee got approval from the city council Tuesday to also hold a parade down the usual route in downtown Cloquet. Other events planned for the day include the Sawdust 5K, the annual car show at the NorthEastern Saloon and Hotel on Dunlap Island and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Pinehurst Park. Not... Full story
After repeated requests from bars and restaurants that were hammered financially by closures and restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cloquet City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce liquor license fees by 50 percent for the next license year starting July 1. The reduction applies across the board to all liquor license fees, including the more expensive bar and restaurant licenses as well as liquor store licenses. The city normally takes in around $30,000 in liquor license fees, finance director Nancy Klassen said. City...
By the narrowest of margins, the Cloquet City Council voted to overturn the city's Project Labor Agreement, as recommended by staff last month. The 4-3 vote came after extensive public comment during Tuesday's meeting, which set a record for participation since the council started meeting virtually because of the pandemic. Including councilors and city staff, more than 50 people logged on or called into the meeting. Seventeen addressed the council directly Tuesday, and three had submitted... Full story
As a longtime resident of Cloquet, I would like to encourage the city council to retain the project labor agreements. I wonder if the men who think union dues are such a burden know how many of the things they take for granted — overtime pay, the 40-hour week, paid vacations and so on — were the result of union action in the past and that, at one time, men died for the opportunity to unionize. Ronald Reagan tapped into the same pool of ill-informed Americans that Trump did. Celebrity, to this group, is the only qualification that counts. Rea...
My name is David Hallback, and I previously held the position of Mayor of Cloquet. It was an honor to represent the citizens of Cloquet. I was proud of many things that moved Cloquet forward during my tenure. However, I am troubled by the recent discussion to remove the project labor agreement (PLA) ordinance. The PLA does not restrict any contractors, union or nonunion; they are all allowed to bid and work on these projects. These are public and private projects in the city of Cloquet where taxpayers’ money is used to either pay for a city p... Full story
Cloquet City Councilors took a step toward getting rid of the city requirement for project labor agreements Tuesday, as recommended by staff in response to a lawsuit targeting PLAs in Cloquet, Duluth and Two Harbors. A number of people — mostly union representatives — asked the council to continue with its PLA during the online meeting; only one person spoke against it. None of the councilors addressed the issue during the meeting, nor did they vote on the recommendation. Tuesday simply marked the first reading of the proposal to repeal the... Full story
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is May 21. That's when the grand Pine Knot News "tree giveaway" is launching, a day when local businesses and organizations will be giving away a grand total of 10,000 pine seedlings to anyone who promises to give them a good home. Sponsored by the Pine Knot News and Sappi, it's a way of giving back. It's a celebration of Sappi's multiple awards for being one of the most sustainable paper mills in the world, and of the Pine... Full story
The Carlton County Board of Commissioners selected a firm to do the preliminary work on architectural and engineering concepts for the new Carlton county jail during Tuesday’s meeting. Adolfson & Peterson Construction has its main office in the Twin Cities but also has a branch office in Duluth. Several firms were interviewed before a final choice was made. Adolfson & Peterson worked on the Minnesota Sex Offender Program facility in Moose Lake and the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth. Their contract as a Construction Manager at Risk will carry a...
CAT-7 has been a part of local cable television since the late 1970s. In recent years, the channel became stagnant and irrelevant, serving little purpose except to broadcast some City of Cloquet meetings and a few half-hearted public service announcements. Operating a TV channel became a burden to the city, rather than a benefit to its residents. So, the city contracted out the operations to an entity that knows how to gather and present local news and information: this newspaper, the Pine Knot News. After several months of assembling...
Cloquet City Hall and the Cloquet Police Department will reopen to the public on May 1, after limited access because of the pandemic since mid-November. City administrator Tim Peterson told council members Tuesday that he'd like to bring all of the staff back into the building effective next month. "Our goal for the last couple months here was to attempt to wait until vaccines were available to everybody," Peterson said in response to a question from Ward 3 councilor Chris Swanson. "Now that...
It’s time for Cloquet to reopen City Hall and resume in-person council meetings. City Hall is set up well for social distancing. The lobby area is spacious, and could easily accommodate crowd-control lines and ropes to keep citizens safely spaced. And the staff is generally secure behind the partitions and service windows. With proper safety protocol, we feel City Hall can open safely. Residents need to pay their utilities, get permits, and conduct other business with the city in person. Reopening will reduce the burden of dealing with city i...
Political flags flying in Scanlon underneath an American flag have caused a lot of consternation in the community. At the corner of 22nd Street and Doddridge Avenue, which runs along the border between Scanlon and Cloquet, is a tall flagpole next to a home. It has three flags. At top is the American flag, second is a "Trump 2024" flag stating "F*ck your feelings," and third is a flag that says "F*ck Biden" and "F*ck you for voting for him." The Pine Knot News chose to not explicitly spell out...
The Cloquet City Council closed its meeting Tuesday to discuss legal strategies for pending litigation, shortly after amending the city’s project labor agreement, which is targeted by the civil lawsuit. Although no legal documents were shared through the city, the Pine Knot News was able to find the lawsuit by searching federal court records. The city’s project labor agreement, or PLA — adopted in May 2017 by then-mayor Dave Hallback and the city council — is the issue, along with other PLAs in... Full story
The $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last week by Congress and President Biden isn’t only sending $1,400 checks to many middle- to lower-income Americans, it also includes $360 billion for state and local governments that have had to cut services due to budget shortfalls during the pandemic. Minnesota is expected to receive $4.72 billion, with $2.6 billion going directly to the state and $2.1 billion going to local governments statewide. Another $20 billion will be sent to tribal governments across the country. Cloquet city a... Full story
The former Avenue C restaurant space in West End Cloquet could soon be home to a tobacco and vape store, albeit not a new business. Rather, Lakeshore Tobacco Vapor owner Aysar Sadi said he needs to move his store from its current location at 902 Cloquet Avenue to the large First National Bank building at 207 Avenue C because his current landlord is selling and gave him notice to move by the end of March. Cloquet City Council members and staff held off on approving the tobacco license Tuesday...
Things are looking positive for some kind of July Fourth celebration in Cloquet this summer, if discussions during Tuesday's City Council meeting hold true. City administrator Tim Peterson asked councilors for guidance on the annual celebration, which normally features a 5K race, a parade downtown, and activities in Veterans Park all day and into the night, finishing with an outdoor movie and fireworks over the St. Louis River. "Do we want the large normal celebration, a variation where we do...
Cloquet city councilors approved a plan Tuesday to continue the city's transition toward being compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, particularly where sidewalks, pedestrian ramps and traffic signals are concerned. The 63-page ADA Transition Plan is federally mandated and must be developed in order to qualify for certain funding streams. Were every suggestion to be implemented, the work would cost the city an estimated $1.2 million. Of that, reconstructed 550 pedestrian ramps would...
I have sent notes to the Cloquet City Council and park board about the safety concerns at the park and playground on Dunlap Island. There is no fence to protect kids from accidentally falling into the river. We have lost people in the river either by snowmobile or just falling in. It would be a terrible situation to have a child fall into the river and nobody be able to get to them fast enough. Are we going to wait until this happens, like so many times, or are we going to get the city to put a fence along the river’s edge to protect the c...
Woodsmoke curled through the trees on a quiet winter afternoon at Camp Miigizi, just off Magney Drive on the Fond du Lac Reservation. An event called "Frybread Friday'' was scheduled here for Jan. 22, but it appeared no one was around the encampment of lightweight tents scattered randomly around a low-burning fire. A single, larger canvas tent stood out as a possible hub of activity, but all was silent inside. Farther on, a half-dozen women and men were found quietly assembling a wooden hut....
With assistance from several law enforcement agencies, Cloquet police department detectives seized 2.2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of nearly $30,000 last week. Misty Anne Baum, 40, of Duluth, was charged with first degree possession of drugs for the cocaine possession, along with fifth- degree drug possession and introducing contraband into jail. According to the criminal complaint, the Drug Enforcement Agency contacted Cloquet detectives on Jan. 12, after local agents located a package containing nearly 1 kilogram of cocaine...
What seemed like a routine retail tobacco license suspension turned into lengthy discussion during Tuesday's Cloquet City Council meeting, but the end result was the same. Lakeshore Tobacco Vapor was fined $200 and its retail tobacco license suspended for 10 days, after the local smoke shop sold a tobacco product to a minor - who had been engaged by police for its twice-a-year compliance checks - for the second time in two years. The fine and suspension are detailed in the city code, but the...
At the start, it was as if no one really knew how or whether to panic. So they cleared shelves of toilet paper and anything that could be used to kill germs on surfaces. As the state ordered places to shut down in order to quell the spread of Covid-19, it continued to only slowly seep in just how radically things might change in a pandemic world. Adam Bailey, owner of Cloquet bar The Jack, was like anyone else trying to navigate just what was happening. "Uneasy," he told the Pine Knot News in...
Cloquet's newest city councilor, Elizabeth "Lyz" Jaakola, was sworn in Tuesday in a most unusual format, with city administrator Tim Peterson asking councilors and anyone watching the virtual meeting "to imagine" a more conventional ceremony. In reality, Jaakola was not visible as she held her hand up and repeated the oath of office as "caller 02" on the GoToMeeting screen. Jaakola garnered the most votes for the Ward 5 council seat in November's election, beating fellow challenger Dennis...
