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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Playing safety, Esko's Koi Perich earned the most valuable player award in Saturday's high school football All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Perich created havoc on defense and special teams, intercepting a pass and breaking up two others, blocking a punt and making another tackle for loss, according to NBC Sports, which organizes and broadcasts the game. Playing both offense and defense, Perich led Esko to three straight unbeaten regular seasons in his varsity career. He committed last month...
Although the Esko school board voted to eliminate the Eskomos nickname and associated iconography as of June 30, it will take time to eliminate the word and associated igloo image from various locations and uniforms. For now, the school district is simply using a block-style letter “E” or the word “Esko” where it can, said superintendent Aaron Fischer. Board members considered and agreed with the block letter style following Monday’s school board meeting. Board members voted on the change in June, after the state passed legislation that prohibi...
When AJ Kazel applied the tag on the runner for the final out of the state championship game last week, the Esko senior first baseman knew exactly what his next steps would be. "I put that ball in my back pocket," said Kazel. "And all I wanted to do was go celebrate." Rushing to the mound with his Esko teammates, celebrate they did as the Eskomos earned the school's first ever baseball state title June 16 with a 9-0 shutout over Perham in last Friday's Class AA state championship game at St....
By unanimous vote of the school board Monday night, the Esko school nickname will no longer be "the Eskomos" as of June 30. The change, which has been urged for at least three years by some in the community, comes as a new state law goes into effect that prohibits school districts from using names, symbols, or images that refer to American Indian tribes. The board told parents and the community that they were still researching options about the nickname at its meeting on May 8 and planned to...
Esko is the Section 7A boys track champion this year after beating runner-up Crosby-Ironton by 10 points. Two Harbors took the girls title with International Falls taking second and also qualifying for the team state track meet. Cromwell-Wright had a solid meet for the boys with a seventh-place finish as a team and a number of top finishes by individuals. Boys state qualifiers Noah Foster of Cromwell- Wright was the winner of the 3,200-meter run. He also ran in two relay teams that finished...
Since the days of T-ball, Ben Haugen has been coaching his son, Cale, how to throw, catch, hit and run. Tuesday was evidence of just that. Cale, now an Esko senior and do-it-all pitcher, hurled a complete-game two-hitter and struck out 10 batters in leading his Eskomos to a 7-1 victory over Rock Ridge during a Section 7AA baseball game Tuesday afternoon at Wade Stadium in Duluth. Esko was propelled into Thursday's championship against Mora. Not only did the flame throwing righthander deal on...
The Section 7AA softball tournament opened May 23 with Esko pulling out a convincing 12-1 victory over Two Harbors. That was the first of many games for Esko over the next week as they tried to get a berth back to the state tournament. But a spirited assault through the losers bracket wasn't enough, as Esko fell to Rock Ridge after reaching the championship with a state berth on the line. Still, a 12-10 comeback win for the ages against Rush City left Esko with something to remember. "I've...
Both legislative bodies approved a capital investment package to fund infrastructure projects around the state Monday, just hours before the session adjourned. It included funding for three District 11A projects: $17.5 million for the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (Cloquet, Thomson Township, city of Carlton), $10 million for the Carlton County female offender program and the jail and courts facility, and $5 million for Cloquet water infrastructure improvements on lines serving the...
The writing is on the wall, as plain as the nickname Eskomos and accompanying igloo are on the school walls, floors and uniforms of Esko sports teams. The state has spoken, and nicknames appropriating terms regarding Native peoples are no longer allowed under statute signed into law this past legislative session. The Esko school board and administration, after continued queries about the use of the Eskomos nickname, has correctly responded that it will take up the nickname question after this school year. The district doesn’t really have a choi...
The Esko boys and the Two Harbors girls are this year's Polar League Conference champions after last Wednesday's conference meet in McGregor. Esko won the boys event with a total of 168 points. Moose Lake/Willow River finished second with 120 points, followed by Two Harbors, Cromwell-Wright, Barnum, Carlton/Wrenshall, Cook County, South Ridge, McGregor and Silver Bay. "Our boys had a solid day," said Esko boys coach Gary Beaudot. "It's been an odd season for training, but we had a gritty...
Esko athletes Megan Chopskie (Macalester College, swimming), Ben Meysembourg (St. Scholastica, cross country, track), AJ Kazel (Northwestern, baseball), Raegan Olson (UW-Superior, softball) and Gabby Martenson (St. Catherine, volleyball) all signed letters to participate at their respective Division III colleges and universities on Tuesday afternoon....
A big first two innings helped propel the Esko baseball team to another impressive win on Monday night as the Eskomos downed Moose Lake/Willow River, 14-2, in Esko. The win was the 14th of the season for Esko. "Basically in the first two innings, we hit the ball and they didn't," said Esko coach Ben Haugen. "They also made some errors that we took advantage of and that helped us to build a big lead." Esko scored three in the first inning and five more in the second as they pulled ahead 8-1....
Esko parents are continuing to show up and show their support for changing the school district’s Eskomos nickname. At the Esko school board’s meeting Monday, two parents and a representative from the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports spoke in support of changing the mascot during the open forum portion of the meeting. Two letters of support were sent to the board as well. Parent Rachel Gilbertson said many more support the cause. “Within the last two months, I’ve received an outpouring of support from people throughout this communi...
Local softball rivals kept it interesting on a rainy afternoon Saturday. After trailing Carlton/Wrenshall 7-2 through three innings, Esko scratched and clawed its way back to take an 8-7 win. Esko wasted little time in gaining an advantage and went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning with both Avery Kuklinski and Bailey Plante scoring runs. "Esko got the jump on us in the first inning, but we were able to bounce back in the second," said Raptors assistant coach Anna George. Kennedy Siiter...
Esko sweeps round robin The weather broke long enough on April 25 for the Esko, South Ridge and Barnum baseball teams to play a three-game round robin at Wade Stadium in Duluth. Barnum came in at 1-0 after a 6-2 win over ML/WR a week earlier, but fell hard, 27-0, to an impressive Esko team. One of the top-ranked teams statewide in Class AA, Esko belted out 17 hits in the shutout. Sam Haugen, AJ Kazel and Isaak Sertich all had two hits for Esko. Kazel led the Eskomos with four RBIs while Bryce Hipp added three RBIs. Cale Haugen, Jamis...
Junior Koi Perich is latest Eskomo to commit Avid area football fans by now have probably heard that Esko junior star running back and defensive back Koi Perich has committed to play for the Minnesota Gophers after graduating from Esko. The casual fan may not realize that as many as seven Eskomos will be playing college football two years from now when Perich plies his wares for Minnesota. Another player is undecided, which could mean as many as eight players in the college ranks. "If anything,...
The Esko school board is once again being asked to consider changing the school mascot's "Eskomos" nickname. The call for change from some community members comes as the Minnesota State Legislature is considering a bill that would prohibit the use of American Indian mascots and logos for all schools in the state. As the bill is currently written, school districts may not "have or adopt a name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian Tribe, individual, custom, or tradition t...
Following a 17-7 season last year, the Esko softball team will need to overcome the loss of five starters, including two pitchers, if they are to contend for a section title. Coach Jeff "Huff" Emanuel is optimistic - he just has to puzzle out where players fit best. "We did lose a lot, but I think we have some very athletic and talented players who can take those positions," Emanuel said. There is an old baseball adage that a team needs to be strong up the middle, which means the catcher,...
Last season ended abruptly for the Esko baseball team. The Eskomos had an incredible regular season, but were stunned with back-to-back losses at the hands of Marshall and Proctor in the Section 7AA playoff semifinals. With all nine starters back, and a deep pitching staff, the Eskomos come in as one of the favorites this season. To help jump-start the season the Eskomos spent last week in Orlando, Florida, where they were able to get time on the field as well as get in some scrimmaging outside...
Cuinn Berger has sunk plenty of hoops as part of his impressive prep basketball career, but the Esko senior shotmaker said Pequot Lakes' percentages last week were hard to think about even for him. Defending their Section 7AA throne, the Patriots made it back-to-back titles after netting an impressive 58-percent of their shot attempts against the Eskomos Friday en route to a 77-59 victory before a standing room only crowd at Hermantown High School. If that weren't enough, Pequot Lakes didn't...
The Esko School Board approved its 2022-2023 revised (and largely unchanged) budget of $16.14 million at its monthly meeting Monday, March 13, along with final funding and construction plans for the highly anticipated fitness center. Final construction plans for the fitness center detail a nearly 4,750-square-foot fitness center, two rooms for physical therapy, two bathrooms, and a front entryway with a welcome desk for use by the public. The building is being constructed using the existing...
The Eskomos are the lone local team remaining in the Section 7AA boys basketball tournament after Saturday's quarterfinal round of play. Esko picked up an impressive and easy win over Aitkin, while Moose Lake/Willow River dropped a hard-fought tight decision to Rock Ridge. Esko opened the quarterfinal round by easily dispatching the Gobblers 78-33 in a game they led 49-15 at halftime. "I thought we did a good job on defense," said Esko coach Derek Anderson. "We executed our game plan very well....
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Esko girls basketball team dropped an 11-point decision to Duluth Marshall. On Saturday, the Eskomos played the Hilltoppers again, this time in the quarterfinal round of the Section 7AA tournament. Unfortunately, Marshall rode the hot hand of seventh-grader Chloe Johnson as the Hilltoppers eliminated Esko 62-52. "When we played them at the end of the regular season it was Regan Juenemann who killed us," said Esko coach Sue Northey. "This time it was Johnson, and...
For the second time this season, rivals Esko and Cloquet met in boys basketball and for the second time it was the Eskomos prevailing over the Lumberjacks, this time by a much closer score of 75-69 on Tuesday night in Cloquet. Back on Dec. 9, the teams met in Esko with the Eskomos winning by 17 points. This time the game was much tighter as the Lumberjacks led 34-31 at halftime, only to have the Eskomos bounce back to win. Esko had four scorers in double digits and were led by the 23-point effor...
While it's evident how hard the Esko girls basketball team plays on the court against its opponents, head coach Sue Northey is quick to note her Eskomos don't hold back when it's blue versus gold. "Sometimes we play harder against one another at practice," admitted Northey. "We're all super-competitive," added junior Hannah Swanson. "We all hate losing and just love to win." That winning spirit was on full display earlier this week when Esko earned a 51-43 comeback victory over Cromwell-Wright...
