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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Fair warning out there, with spring comes a spirit of optimism, and the Pine Knot News is not immune. Thus, we give only positive feedback this week. Enjoy. Thumbs up to news that the legislature adopted compromise language for school district public notices that will keep them in local newspapers and allow only certain school districts — which unexpectedly find themselves without a local newspaper — to publish notices on their own websites until Aug. 1. Like Swift County Monitor-News publisher Reed Anfinson said in last week’s guest editorial:...
The Cloquet City Council chambers were packed with family and friends Tuesday, present to support more than a dozen Cloquet police officers being honored by the city. Cloquet police chief Derek Randall recognized eight officers for meritorious service in response to the deadly Jan. 8 shooting, which left the shooter and two innocent people dead at a hotel in Cloquet. Investigators from the Cloquet Police Department and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation ultimately determined the shooter...
With a 1-0 overtime win April 5 in the finale of a two-game set with Springfield, the Minnesota Wilderness surged into a prospective playoff spot with two regular-season games to go. The Wilderness got a goal from Nate Murray two minutes into overtime to secure the win at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet. Goalie Adam Prokop, of Wausau, Wisconsin has been carrying the team of late, and completed his fourth shutout of the season. The Wilderness (29-24-5) face the Springfield Jr. Blues...
Pine Valley Recreation Area received an unexpected boost this week - and it wasn't from the late-season snowstorm. During the Cloquet city council meeting Tuesday, longtime city parks commissioner Tom Urbanski shared news of a $1 million commitment for construction of a new multipurpose chalet at the popular Cloquet park. The donation comes from a family with deep ties to Cloquet and neighboring communities. "I am happy to inform you of my intent to donate funds for the planning and...
The new owners of the Hotel Solem building in downtown Cloquet can begin pulling building permits now, after the Cloquet City Council unanimously passed a slew of resolutions that will help fund its transformation into modern apartments. They also got a blessing from David Guckenberg, the grandson of Hans and Lucy Solem, who built the new hotel at 915 Cloquet Ave. more than 100 years ago. "A lot of memories in that hotel," said Guckenberg, briefly addressing the council at the start of the...
The woodpiles weren't a problem until they moved behind her house last fall, said Deb Kamunen. The Cloquet resident has lived next to the former Diamond match mill for 37 years. When the mill was still operating at 1800 Cloquet Avenue - under various owners - the lot behind her home was used for parking. Now it's a woodyard, piled high with logs stored there for the Potlatch mill in Brainerd. That is an allowed use, according to Cloquet city code. Woodyard manager Jesse Fitzsimmons leases...
The final investigative report of the deadly Jan. 8 shooting at the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet revealed new information, including that the shooter had subcontracted with the city of Cloquet and recently relapsed into drug use. It also expanded information already released. Shooter Nicholas Elliot Lenius, 32, appeared to be having mental health problems and did not know his two victims: Cloquet resident and Super 8 employee Shelby Trettel, 22, and Patrick Jeffrey Roers, a 35-year-old Deer River...
The regular Cloquet City Council meeting scheduled for March 19 has been canceled, due to a lack of agenda items, said city administrator Tim Peterson. The next regularly scheduled council meeting is set for April 2 at 6 p.m....
It’s been nearly nine years, but two more blocks of Eighth Street — from Prospect to Sahlman Avenue — are getting a much-needed overhaul this summer. Cloquet city councilors unanimously approved the reconstruction of the pothole-ridden street, along with replacing water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer infrastructure at a total estimated cost of $1.5 million. Construction is expected to begin in May or June and be completed in September. The majority of the costs will be paid through state aid dollars, which come with requirements that set t...
Marc Allen Jacob Owen Raihala, 93, passed away Tuesday, February 27, 2024. He was born December 13, 1930 to M.W. "Bill" Raihala and Lillian (Isojoki) Raihala of Floodwood. He married Marion Delores Lahti on May 24, 1952 and together they ran a successful tax service business for more than 40 years. Marc served in the Korean War and remained active in Cloquet's VFW Post 3979 for five decades, serving in numerous positions including Honor Guard. He served on the Cloquet Parks Commission and...
After the Cloquet Area Fire District opened its February meeting with a moment of silence for fallen first responders in Burnsville, CAFD board members unanimously accepted a donation of 12 bulletproof vests from the Dead on Arms shooting range and firearms store. Assistant fire chief Corey Larson said acquiring the new Safe Life Defense vests fulfills a key objective of a crew safety system. The district has been working with the Cloquet Police Department over the past two years to maximize...
The Cloquet city council laid the groundwork for a number of new or ongoing initiatives Tuesday, including plans for future transportation and housing projects. Councilors and Mayor Roger Maki unanimously passed a resolution supporting the “multimodal” use of Highway 33 between Big Lake Road and Cloquet Avenue, with a letter outlining the city’s viewpoint shared with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. MnDOT is looking at rebuilding that stretch of the state highway in 2028 and held a public information meeting in Cloquet on Feb. 1. The...
THUMBS UP to the Moose Lake city council for its unpopular but fiscally responsible decision to contract with Carlton County for its law enforcement needs. The months-long saga ended last week, in what many considered disappointing fashion, with a 3-2 vote. Choosing the Sheriff's Office to provide four deputies and a part-time clerk to cover the city meant dissolving the city's long-standing police force. But the force had dwindled to one, a result of disgruntled officers resigning and early...
Close to 100 people gathered Tuesday to talk about the future of a place they all love, the Cloquet Forestry Center. Although University of Minnesota representatives presented the transfer of the Cloquet Forestry Center to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa as a mostly done deal - with only the details left to be negotiated - that didn't stop people from sharing their opinions on the proposal. And that was the intent, said Karen Diver, former Fond du Lac tribal chairwoman and now...
I hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day. As I recall, in Miss Otteson’s first-grade classroom we would get a brown paper lunch bag to decorate with hearts, construction paper and artwork to hang on our desks or in a special place in the classroom. On Valentine’s Day my classmates and I would put a card in each of the bags. Most of the cards were purchased at the local Ben Franklin Store in Cloquet, and addressed to each classmate. Toward the end of the day, each class in the Garfield Eleme...
Cloquet City Councilors know where the Wood City Riders stand on potential plans for Minnesota Highway 33, after an hour-long presentation by club president Chris Rokke. They appeared to agree with Rokke on at least one point: that any highway modifications need to include some kind of multi-use trail or trails for pedestrians, bicyclists, ATVs and snowmobiles on the west side of the highway, particularly between Perkins and Pinehurst Park, where a steep hill leaves little space for anyone...
Following the Cloquet City Council meeting Tuesday, a few of us were standing around talking about the Highway 33 public meeting last week. And one of the complaints — among many — was the lack of public notice about the meeting. How are we supposed to know, one person asked. “We had it in the newspaper,” I told her. She doesn’t get the paper. Granted, we didn’t run a giant story, but the notice was there on Page 3 of the Jan. 26 issue, with all the details a person would need to attend the...
While a statewide task force examines challenges facing emergency medical services in rural Minnesota, the Cloquet Area Fire District's status as a special taxing district - with its ability to levy taxes over a broad area - is being looked at as a model. But its reliance on property taxes and ambulance billing with the absence of local government aid affects necessities such as building maintenance and staffing. CAFD officials are hoping the state legislature will come through with a more balan...
City of Moose Lake staffers set out 100 chairs in city council chambers Wednesday for a public hearing on policing, and each one was needed to hold the crowd. On tap: deciding whether to keep the city's police department intact, or disband it and contract with the Carlton County Sheriff's Office to provide the city's law enforcement. "When you start taking anything away from the city, you're not going to get it back again," said Doug Probst, whose sentiment was shared throughout the hearing....
The currently condemned Hotel Solem building in downtown Cloquet could become 18 market-rate apartments, if plans by a pair of structural engineers click into place. The three-story building at 915 Cloquet Ave. was constructed after the 1918 Fires decimated Cloquet, with the first section going up in 1919 and an addition in 1923. The city gained possession of the former Mexico Lindo building in 2022, citing public safety issues to condemn the building and using eminent domain statutes to take...
At the final meeting of 2023, Cloquet City Council members prepared for 2024. They selected the Pine Knot News as the city’s official newspaper, approved standing rules and selected at-large councilor Lara Wilkinson as the acting mayor again, to take over when mayor Roger Maki is absent. The council also set updated fees and charges. Taking a look ahead at the time when the Cloquet police department gets its new body cameras, they set the fee for public data requests regarding camera footage as payment for actual expenses incurred. Public W...
Soon the rest of Minnesota can find out what Cloquet residents already know: Pine Valley is special. City officials learned last week that Cloquet's Pine Valley Recreation Area - home to ski jumps and woodland trails for skiing, walking and mountain biking - was designated a regionally significant park. That means the woodland park will be included on various statewide maps and online resources. More importantly, it makes the park eligible for Minnesota Legacy funds, statewide sales tax dollars...
As the days grow shorter, the Santa's Home for the Holidays celebration spread light and cheer last weekend. There were multiple Santa appearances, magic, meals, shopping, a parade, hot drinks, fireworks, s'mores and more fun spanning three days and multiple venues across the city of Cloquet. The new "Pet photos with Santa" saw a good turnout, with only one overexcited doggie accident, no cat fights and one well-behaved hedgehog. The annual Churchill Holiday Expo raised more than $10,000 for...
Cloquet city councilors and mayor Roger Maki approved a smaller budget Tuesday than they expected three months ago. That means the levy increase for property taxes will also be smaller than reflected in recent estimates, with a 2.85-percent levy increase versus 4.53 percent. One local business owner spoke during the Truth in Taxation hearing that preceded the vote. Jim Kuklis, who owns Trails Edge subdivision - consisting of two-family townhomes available for rent by residents over the age of 55...
The issue of using outside social workers received a second vote in a month at Monday's Carlton County board meeting, where one commissioner continued to vote "no." Commissioner Tom Proulx was the lone dissenting vote in the board's 4-1 approval to use case management services from TLC of Duluth to help address a surge in cases involving people on elderly and disability waivers. Unlike at the meeting Nov. 14, when Proulx conducted an in-depth inquiry of county staff and administration and told...
