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 Florian Chmielewski carries his accordion into the VFW in Cloquet, he can't help but smile. "I told someone that I have been doing that for 76 years, bringing my accordion into a place and setting the case down," he said. "I have to do it. I am there to make people happy. I bring joy to their lives." Chmielewski celebrated his 94th birthday Wednesday in true Florian style: by playing at the VFW's senior dance. "Someone asked me who was going to play for me on my birthday," Florian said. "I...
By working with as many sources as possible, the Cloquet school district is making good progress getting staff members vaccinated for Covid-19. Superintendent Michael Cary told Cloquet school board members that they started the process with the state efforts, but found that when 42 people traveled to the regional vaccine center in Mt. Iron there wasn't enough vaccine to go around. More recently, Carlton County has been an incredibly important partner in the process, he said. "The last couple of weeks the county has gotten doses that they're...
Martha Westlund, age 105, was three years old when the last pandemic hit the world. But she doesn't remember much about the 1918 influenza pandemic, because no one got sick on their isolated farm in the Twig area. She is very much aware of Covid-19, however, and was thrilled to get her first vaccination at Community Memorial Hospital on Friday. Her son, Tim Westlund, said he'd been calling around and searching websites in the area to get her an appointment, and finally called the Raiter Clinic,...
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 37 cases over the past week, and there have been no new deaths in at least two weeks. As of Feb. 10, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,946 Covid-19 cases with 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 196 positive tests so far — unchanged in two weeks — with 92 of those on the reservation, also the same as the previous two weeks. The state’s Feb. 4 rep...
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 53 cases over the past week, and there were no new deaths. As of Wednesday, Feb. 3, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,909 Covid-19 cases with 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 196 positive tests so far — the same as last week — with 92 of those on the reservation, also the same as the week bef...
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....
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 47 cases over the past week, and there were no new deaths from Jan. 20-27. As of Wednesday, Jan. 27, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,856 Covid-19 cases with 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 196 positive tests so far — an increase of one since last week — with 92 of those on the reservation, the same as the week before. The state’s Jan. 21 repo...
It's not quite business as usual at the Black Bear Casino Resort, but general manager Dan LaPrairie said staff are working hard to stay open and keep people healthy during the pandemic. So far, so good, LaPrairie said. "We are doing a balancing act here, compared to what we normally do," LaPrairie told the Pine Knot News last week. "We normally have 2,000-seat concerts, and we do drawings and we try to fill this place with 6,000 people. So it's been a balancing act with what we do as far as...
The motto of the Cloquet Area Fire District when it concerns the state legislature could be phrased this way: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again." For at least the fifth time since the district was formed by legislative action in 2009, the fire district is making a request of the state legislature. This time it's for a new building as it has outgrown its current home. In the past, requests have ranged from fixing mistakes made by the legislature when it formed the fire...
Carlton County Covid-19 case numbers increased by 46 cases over the past week, while only one death due to Covid was reported in the county. As of Wednesday, Jan. 13, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,809 Covid-19 cases and 43 deaths, according to the most recent numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health. Also Wednesday, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reported a total of 195 positive tests so far — an increase of six since last week — with 92 of those on the reservation, also an increase of one. Jan...
Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet is now the owner of a rapid testing device which can produce Covid-19 results in approximately an hour. Once a sample is gathered from a patient using a nasopharyngeal swab, the BioFire diagnostic tool identifies and replicates genetic material to produce a positive or negative Covid result. This instrument can also be used to test for 20 other respiratory diseases, including influenza and strep. The purchase of this equipment was made possible with funds...
Public health staff from 11 county and tribal public health departments have partnered on an intiative called Project Blue Light to honor frontline workers who have been working to keep the community safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the week of Jan. 24-31, public health staff from Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties — along with Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe — are asking businesses and individuals to light up the exterior of their home or business with a blu...
It was a cold morning at the edge of the Old Holy Family Cemetery. This is where LeRoy DeFoe was put to rest on Dec. 28. It's important to note that fact, since DeFoe spent many years discovering long-forgotten gravesites and cemeteries on the Fond du Lac Reservation. DeFoe died Dec. 20, a day after his 72nd birthday and just a few months after a cancer diagnosis. "It was an honor knowing him," said Christine Carlson, who regarded him as a historical "cohort" when it came to preserving the...
The Carlton County Board of Commissioners had its annual organizational meeting Tuesday with expected leadership changes. As has been the tradition, each of the five commissioners takes a turn as board chair over a five-year period. District 3 commissioner Tom Proulx, representing Cloquet, was elected Tuesday and takes charge of running the board meetings. District 5 commissioner Gary Peterson was elected vice chairman and is taking his turn as chair of the Committee of the Whole. District 4...
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...
The state will allow bars and restaurants to offer indoor dining again next week — with limits — and also allow for movie theaters, museums and other entertainment venues to reopen after being closed since mid-November. The new order, announced Wednesday by Gov. Tim Walz, is set to take effect Monday. It will allow bars and restaurants to operate at 50-percent capacity, with no more than six people to a table or parties of two at the bar. Reservations are required and dine-in service must end by 10 p.m. “Business owners are pretty innov...
Leroy DeFoe of Cloquet died Dec. 20 at age 72. He played a vital role in preserving the legacy of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa by being a keeper of its history. Here, we are printing DeFoe's own words, from the FDL website, on the creation of the tribal logo in 1981. We will profile DeFoe in a story next week. If you have something to share about him, contact Mike Creger at news@Pine KnotNews.com or call 218-216-6292. It's been many years since I drew the Fond du Lac...
There will be a free Covid-19 saliva testing event 1-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5 at Moose Lake School. This is open to all families and community members in the area. You don’t have to have symptoms to test. Results will help public health better understand the spread in the community along with identifying any asymptomatic individuals who may unknowingly be spreading the virus. Questions? Email [email protected] The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is holding another free three-day Covid-19 saliva testing event Jan. 6-7 at the F...
Carlton County Covid-19 numbers declined for a fifth week, with an increase of 65 cases between last Tuesday and this Tuesday, and three new deaths from Covid from Dec. 22-29. That's down from a week-to-week high of 407 new cases from Nov. 18-25. Since then, the new case numbers have been dropping steadily, although they are still high compared to the surge this spring. As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,572 Covid-19 cases and 36 deaths, according to the...
When I was growing up in Cloquet and Carlton county in the 1960’s, basketball was, in popularity, definitely the king of winter high school boys sports. Most of who were considered each school‘s “best athletes” played hoops (OK, I might get a few arguments here and slightly I’m looking through rose colored glasses as I played basketball). However, for the majority of county players, and for sure all females, there wasn’t a sports option. Basketball was the only winter sport offered at many of...
A suggestion to move the only Cloquet polling location on the Fond du Lac Reservation got shut down quickly during Tuesday night’s Cloquet City Council meeting. Reservation Business Committee (RBC) Chairman Kevin Dupuis, Jr. spoke out against the possible closure during the public comments portion of the meeting, and again when the council began discussing staff proposals for polling places in 2021. On the table was a change of polling place for Ward 2 from the Garfield School gymnasium to the Cloquet Public Library addition — which passed — an...
Valerie Ross Zhaawendaagozikwe, a student at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, was awarded the 2020 Spirit of Sovereignty Scholarship, which is given to students attending tribal colleges across the country. Scholarship recipients are selected by their college, and funds can be used for any education- related expense, including but not limited to tuition, books, housing, travel and childcare. Spirit of Sovereignty is a National Indian Gaming Association-advised fund at the Indian Land Te...
While many polling places in Carlton County were busy Tuesday, Thomson Township voters took it to a whole new level, with many waiting in line for more than an hour in a line that morphed throughout the day. By 4:30 p.m., the line snaked from the side of the parking lot up to the top of the hill behind the building, then back down the side of the grassy field next to the building and around the parking lot before going inside. The fact that most people were trying to stay 6 feet apart was...
The Carlton and Wrenshall school districts made a joint effort to obtain funding from the State of Minnesota but it didn’t make the cut in this year’s bonding bill. This funding — called enhanced debt equalization aid — would have covered approximately 46 percent of the proposed consolidation improvements between the two districts. Depending upon what consolidation scenario was sought, the total cost was estimated at around $38 million, so about half of that would have been paid by our local C...
I support Michelle Lee for Senate District 11 and will be casting my vote for her. I encourage everyone to do the same. My fundamental reasoning concerns who she is, and who her opponent is. Michelle Lee is endorsed by the vast majority of unions, over her opponent. In northern Minnesota, union endorsements aren’t handed out without a lot of scrutiny regarding which candidate most strongly supports them. Lee also supports Minnesota Care for all Minnesotans. As a relatively young person who was hospitalized this year for about a week due to C...
