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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When I think about how the Ojibwe have helped shape this great state, I tend to separate the ways we have influenced the land from the ways we have influenced its people. Maybe I do this because the Ojibwe worldview could not conceive of influencing the land, or aki (earth). So any notion of who influences what must be turned upside down and inside out by asking: “In what ways has aki shaped us? In what ways has everything about this land and sky, this place called Minnesota—all things animate, inanimate, and spiritual—shaped the Ojibw...
Fond du Lac Lake Superior Chippewa Band member and doula Tammy Dixon has been named the recipient of the prestigious Tribal Trailblazer award at the National Breastfeeding Conference and Convening, which is taking place this week online. “When a woman is in labor, she is at her most powerful state, it can help having a doula there to reassure them that their body is doing what it needs to do,” Dixon said. “Being a part of this special time in their lives is magical and an honor.” After Dixon h...
It was a decision no grandparent should have to make. Phyllis Rousseau thought she was going to have to choose between attending the Carlton and Wrenshall graduation ceremonies — originally scheduled at the same time Friday — and how’s a grandmother supposed to choose between two grandsons who are both valedictorians of their classes? That’s right. Grandson Zeke Rousseau-Sheff is valedictorian for the Class of 2021 in Wrenshall, while grandson Spencer Rousseau is valedictorian for the Class o...
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Social Services employees gather for a photo with the Pinwheels for Prevention Award from FamilyWise Services, a Minnesota nonprofit that works to create safe, healthy, and supportive environments for children and families. The award specifically highlighted the band's providing Circles of Security and Positive Parenting classes to parents virtually throughout the pandemic to accommodate caregivers. Adjustments to the pandemic were made in the past...
University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced earlier this month that Karen Diver will be the institution’s inaugural Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs. Diver will assume this newly created position — an uncommon role in higher ed with only a few comparables nationwide — May 28. Diver was Reservation Business Committee Chairwoman for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from 2007 through 2015. As Chair, she expanded the land base of the Fond du Lac Band, grew the employment base from 1,600 to 2,200 a...
Free community meals will be offered Thursday May 20 and 27 at the Carlton VFW, Cloquet VFW and Fond du Lac Head Start. There will be approximately 100 meals per location. Distribution starts at 3 p.m. and lasts until the meals are gone. Recipients are asked to arrive no earlier than 15 minutes prior. The meals, provided by Loaves & Fishes, will be prepared by Jim Vnuk of Jim ’n’ Jo’s Katering and Paul Sapyta and Kevin Peterson of Room at the Table Catering and Bakery, with volunteer support from the area United Way, Lions Club, Fond du Lac B...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College will offer a new sustainable food systems class this summer. This summer's class, SUST 2090 Field Experience, is the first course of several that will form a new track in FDLTCC's Environmental Science program. The course is rooted in Indigenous values and food sovereignty, aiming to translate reciprocal relationships into sustainable harvest and cultivation techniques. The course's seven modules are holistic in nature with topics in treaty rights,...
It’s that time again when we need to meet to decide what events we are having at this year’s Wrong Days in Wright celebration. Here’s a summary of last Wednesday’s meeting minutes: Planning: Linda Kalli contacted several vendors to see if they are interested in attending Wrong Days. Linda sent a donation request to Fond du Lac for a stay at Black Bear. Linda asked Rick Gresczyk to follow up with them. Linda contacted George Burton regarding fireworks. They are available to do the show. We chos...
Sometimes you just have to ask. But it never hurts to do a little homework first. That's pretty much what happened with Cloquet High School senior Maya Fairbanks this spring, when she decided to ask that her school allow students to honor their American Indian culture during graduation ceremonies. Fairbanks, a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and her mother, Sheila Lamb, wanted to do more with decorated mortar boards or sashes. They initially found from talking to...
Richard J. Smith “Makade-Miigwan” started his journey into the Spirit World on April 10, 2021. Richie was born on June 27, 1965 in Cloquet, the son of Raymond Smith Sr. and Judith Northrup. He enjoyed following the Pow Wow Trail, visiting with his friends, and cherished the time spent with his family. Richie enjoyed beading, sewing, cooking, and traveling. He was meticulous with his crafts. Among many other enjoyments, he especially liked helping his family and friends with many tasks. Ric...
Carlton County seniors are winning the war on Covid, one shot at a time. As of Tuesday, 94 percent of Carlton County residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to Public Health and Human Services director Dave Lee. Among all residents over the age of 16 — who are all now eligible to be vaccinated — 56 percent have received at least one dose. “From a state percentage standpoint, I think we’re the seventh-highest [in vaccination rate] out out of 87 c...
People streamed in and out of the convention center at Black Bear Casino Resort last Thursday, eager to take another step toward a post-pandemic life. By the end of the day, another 455 residents of Carlton County and members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa had received their first doses of the Covid-19 Moderna vaccine. The event came in a partnership between the band and Carlton County and was staffed by workers in the health departments from each. The Fond du Lac band...
Last week’s joint effort between Carlton County and the Fond du Lac Band shows how two communities, working together, can have a significant impact on members of both. Kudos to the Fond du Lac Band for reaching out to the county to share 500 coronavirus vaccines sent to Fond du Lac by the state. They didn’t have to do that, and could have reserved the doses solely for their own members. Instead, they recognized that we truly are one community, and what benefits county residents often affects Band members. “Having the opportunity to vacci...
Patricia Ann Dickison, 86, passed away April 4, 2021, at Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet. Pat was born on Oct. 8, 1934, to Peter and Josephine (Jesse) Shotley in Cloquet. She graduated in 1952 from Cloquet High School and received an associate's degree from St. Cloud Teachers College in 1955. She continued her studies in elementary education at the University of Minnesota Duluth, earning her master's degree in 1969 while working full-time. Pat taught elementary school in Barnum,...
Vaccinations went into high gear in Carlton County this week thanks to a joint vaccination clinic held by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Carlton County on Thursday, April 1, after this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. Fond du Lac made 500 doses available for wider community use at the event, which was staffed by both health departments. The vaccinations were available to residents ages 18 and older. “Having the opportunity to vaccinate our neighbors will increase the overall health and well-being of our c...
In late February, Taysha Martineau walked out of the protest camp she built in a small patch of woods near her home on the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and knelt in the middle of the road. Elders from her community surrounded her, scolding, telling her to leave. "Go," they shouted. "We want you out of here. Don't do this to us." For several weeks, Martineau had been welcoming activists to the plot of land she had dubbed Camp Miigizi - which means "eagle" in the Ojibwe language - to take part... 
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Patricia Ann Dickison, 86, passed away April 4, 2021 at Sunnyside Health Care Center in Cloquet. Pat was born on Oct. 8, 1934 to Peter and Josephine (Jesse) Shotley in Cloquet. She graduated in 1952 from Cloquet High School and received her associate’s degree from St. Cloud Teachers College in 1955. She continued her studies in elementary education at the University of Minnesota Duluth, earning her master’s degree in 1969 while working full-time. Pat taught elementary school in Barnum, Mah...
Fond du Lac medical director Dr. Charity Reynolds had trained for public health emergencies as an undergraduate, during medical school and in her residency. "We trained for public health disasters and pandemics and you're thinking, 'This isn't really going to happen - I won't be in that situation,'" she said. "Then part of my job description when I was hired as medical director was 'if there's ever a pandemic or a health crisis, you'll be called upon.' I didn't expect that within a year of...
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency wants to change the rules on water quality. The agency has been working on these rules for a few years and hopes to put them into effect this summer. The plan looks like a sort of Rubik’s cube, eliminating subcategories, moving limits from one category to another, and doing away with many numeric pollution limits in favor of a narrative description requiring a “translator.” Structured like a flowchart, the translator asks a series of questions designed to determine whether a particular effluent is likel...
Cloquet High School ninth-grader Quinn Danielson will be a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders March 20-21. The congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physicians or to go into medical research fields. The purpose of the event is to honor, inspire, motivate and direct the top students in the country interested in these careers, to stay true to their dreams and, after the event, to provide a path, plan and resources to help them reach their...
A total of 40 residences near Ditchbank Road were evacuated Friday because of fears that one or more explosive devices had been placed in the Line 3 pipeline currently under construction in Carlton County. According to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, Fond du Lac police responded to protest activity blocking Ditchbank Road just before noon Friday. As people were dispersing from the area at 12:40 p.m., witnesses on the construction site saw three people who had walked...
Following the declaration of a "pause" in consolidation talks between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts, Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary said Carlton had reached out to Cloquet again to discuss a range of future possibilities. It isn't the first time Carlton and Cloquet have talked, but Cary said he wanted approval from the school board - which he got during Monday's board meeting - because Carlton has a superintendent he hasn't talked to about consolidation along with new board...
The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency was justified in arguing that pollution seeping into groundwater from the Minntac mine tailing basin in Mountain Iron has harmed federally protected waters. The court sided with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which appealed a 2019 court of appeals decision that said the MPCA failed in interpreting water rules in a 2018 permit for the U.S. Steel iron ore mine and pellet plant. The...
As the vaccination process for Covid-19 ramps up in Minnesota, getting a vaccine has almost become a sport for some - as they bounce between various drugstore chain websites, local health care clinics and hospitals and a state waiting list that closes and opens as supplies ebb and flow. If you're registered on three different lists and end up getting vaccinated earlier somewhere else, that's OK, says Community Memorial Hospital CEO Rick Breuer. Just make sure you share that information with CMH...
In June of 2020, we turned off County Road 6, just east of Barnum, and onto the gravel driveway at the Johnson family farm. It may be our new home, but it will always be the Johnson farm. We had just come from Moose Lake, where we had signed the closing papers. Ed Johnson had handed us several large sets of keys. We still aren't sure what some of those keys open. We parked, got out of the car and started to walk. Nothing needed to be said. My fiancé, Heather-Marie Bloom, and I knew where we...
