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
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 399
The Fond du Lac human services department announced Tuesday that the Min No Aya Win Clinic was going to stop offering the Abbott ID NOW point-of-care tests for COVID-19, which provided results within 20 minutes, because of concerns about the accuracy of the tests. The tests may return false negative results, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration press release from May 14. The clinic will continue to offer the second test, which goes through the Mayo Clinic and provides results within 1-5 days. According to the official Fond du Lac...
Mobile testing for COVID-19 has arrived in Cloquet in true Northland style: a fish house. "Technically it's a fish house with no holes," said phlebotomist Alicia Rock with a chuckle Tuesday morning. A nearby walker cracked: "They're not catching much there." That's the goal. Detect, but don't catch. Rock and nurse Kasie Sundeen work in full personal protective equipment - gloves, isolation gowns, goggles plus full face shields and half-face respirators - as they travel between vehicles and their...
For the first time in recent county board action, commissioner Mark Thell voted “no” to approve a road construction project funded through the half-percent sales tax after a presentation by county highway engineer JinYeene Neumann at the Carlton county commissioners meeting Monday, April 27. The project under discussion was the upgrade of the St. Louis River Road between Highway 33 and CSAH 1, awarded to Ulland Bros for $1,054,622, which came in 17.2 percent under the engineering estimate. It is one of two roads left from the original list fro...
The primary elections for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation Business Committee (RBC) District I and District III seats originally scheduled for March 31 were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The primary election will now be held June 9, 2020, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The general election will be held August 18, 2020. Candidates for RBC District I (Cloquet) representative include: Wally Dupuis (incumbent), Eugene (Eny) Reynolds, Todd J. Tidaback, Jeroam Defoe and Jarvis “Chubbs” Paro. District I residents vot...
Cloquet Area Fire District board members interviewed two finalists Tuesday for the fire chief position that will open up when Kevin Schroeder retires in June. It won't be easy, as evidenced by board member Bob DeCaigney's comment during the board's post-interview discussion that, according to the job description and duties, what they are really looking for is "Superman." A CAFD press release detailed the process so far: The search for a replacement began in late 2019, and the board hired Baker...
Spring schools activities on hold through May 4 The Minnesota State High School League sent out a press release following the order that schools remain closed and transition to distance learning through May 4 by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, noting that “effective immediately” and until the governor has lifted his school closure declaration: All participation in MSHSL spring activities at all member schools is suspended. Participation includes, but is not limited to, competitions, training, practices, scrimmages, and contests. The MSHSL said it is b...
Ralph Charles Fairbanks, 71, of Sawyer District Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, died Monday, March 23, 2020, in his home.] Ralph was born August 24, 1948, in Cass Lake, the son of William John and Alvina (Robinson) Fairbanks. Ralph was raised in Bena and Duluth and graduated from Hermantown High School in 1967. He earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from University of Minnesota Duluth in 1978. Ralph worked as a founding instructor of the Ojibwe language program at the University...
Local closures or cancellations due to coronavirus/COVID-19 concerns are listed below and updated on a continual basis, with listings starting with the most recent cancellations, plus recommendations to slow the spread of the virus. Please email [email protected] to share information about your event or organization. Find a broader collection of listings on other regional television, radio and newspaper websites: Community Memorial Hospital During the COVID-19 pandemic, CMH patients will be restricted to one visitor at a time unless the...
Ralph Charles Fairbanks, 71, of Sawyer District Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, died Monday, March 23, 2020 in his home. Ralph was born August 24, 1948 in Cass Lake the son of William John and Alvina (Robinson) Fairbanks. Ralph was raised in Bena and Duluth and graduated from Hermantown High School in 1967. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from University of Minnesota-Duluth in 1978. Ralph worked as a founding instructor of the Ojibwe language program at the University o...
Two days after Jackie DeFoe and her 20-month-old child were found dead, a crowd of more than 75 friends, family and fellow Fond du Lac band members gathered and marched in her memory. Before starting the trek along Big Lake Road they made a giant circle, prayed, listened to drums and song, and smudged - wafting the smoke from a bowl of burning sage over their bodies to purify the body and soul, and cleanse any negative energy. The walk started only a block or two away from the house where DeFoe,...
It had been decades since Becky Dooley of Cloquet had played a clarinet, but she brushed off her rusty skills and joined the Cloquet Community Band after she retired a couple of years ago. "I hadn't played the clarinet for 35 years," she said. "I used to play in middle and high school. I got a book and relearned, and then I joined the community band." Dooley became more involved when Carol Risdon and Gene Risdon, who had managed and played in the band for 21 years, retired at the end of last...
Wrenshall had a strong showing this past weekend at the country's largest organic farming conference held in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Rick Dalen and Clara Salveson of Northern Harvest Farm, Jason Amundson of Farm LoLa, and practically the whole family from our Food Farm attended the conference. My husband and I both felt it was the power of being part of a group of folks who are dealing with similar challenges and successes. It's energizing hearing what other people are growing and how they are...
Ronald Alan Johnson of Cloquet, passed away Wednesday, February 26, 2020 in St. Luke’s Hospital Hospice. He was born May 31, 1958 in Cloquet to James and Dorothy (Juola) Johnson. Ron married Kristen Konietzko on August 29, 1987. He graduated from Cloquet High School in 1976 and UMD with a teaching degree. Ron began teaching at the Fond du Lac College, Duluth Business University and ended his career with 26 years for the ISD #94 Cloquet Middle School. Music was a big part of Ron’s life, pla...
The first sign that the former Applebee’s building may have new owners came when a crew of workers were crawling all over the extensive roof earlier this month, shoveling off snow. Carlton County assessor Kyle Holmes confirmed that the building at 1405 Highway 33 was purchased by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa for $600,000. The seller was Koller Family Trust and the filing date was Dec. 30. In response to the Pine Knot News, spokesperson Rita Aspinwall said the Band has no formal plans for the longtime restaurant site at this p...
It's one of the only events in the Northland where the number of judges often rivals the number of student projects on display. This year's 68th annual Northeastern Minnesota Regional Science Fair welcomed 119 students from 16 different schools, displaying and explaining 106 different projects. A total of 115 different judges listened and questioned the student presenters, then scored, ranked and awarded whatever categories they were judging. The student projects run the gamut from everyday to...
Some might say that communities are more divided than ever. But if you joined us last Saturday night at the Otter Creek Ballroom at Black Bear Casino & Resort, you would agree that we are completely united in one area: quality education for kids in Cloquet. To look around the room at the 19th annual Cloquet Educational Foundation's Blue Jean Ball, you would see a very casual vibe - friends talking to friends, family members sitting together, people making new friends. It was really hard for me...
Candidate filings closed Jan. 24 for three spots on the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation Business Committee. Only two people filed for RBC chairperson: Kevin Dupuis, Sr. (incumbent) and Bryan “Bear” Bosto. There will be no primary in that race because only two candidates filed, with the general election set for June 9. Both open RBC representative seats will go to a primary election, set for March 31. Five candidates filed for RBC District I (Cloquet) representative: Wal...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has decided to charge an annual fee to access thousands of acres of reservation land for non-band members. It’s $25 a month or an annual fee of $100. I have enjoyed hunting and fishing on tribal lands the past 40 years. I can say paying no fees and taxes has been a real bargain. Have I taken over $100 annually in fish and game? Probably not. Have I collectively done $100 in damage to the land? Not to my knowledge. I’ve respected the land as if it...
After the yearly review by the state corrections inspector earlier this month, the Carlton County jail is looking at a forced retirement. The final report following the Jan. 9 inspection of the jail and its daily operations included plans to recommend to the commissioner of corrections that a future "sunset authorization" be made for the facility. Senior detention facility inspector Sarah Johnson noted in her findings that "it is the intent of the Department of Corrections to continue to work...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa announced a new policy Monday that limits access to nearly all Band-owned lands on the reservation. Over the upcoming months, the band will post lands with signs that read “No Trespassing, Fond du Lac Band permit required” along with additional information on how to obtain a permit. Band-owned lands are defined in the tribal policy as “all lands owned in fee or held in trust on the Fond du Lac Reservation for the Band, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, or any allotment land where the Fond du Lac Band...
New Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College president Stephanie Hammitt had her day in the spotlight as local and statewide dignitaries, college staff and students, friends and family filled the college amphitheater Tuesday to see her honored as the fourth and first woman president of the 33-year-old institution. More than one person - including Minnesota Commissioner of Higher Education Dennis Olson and former FDLTCC president Larry Anderson - declared Hammitt the "perfect" person to lead the...
Kwe Pack has been up and running, literally, for nearly a decade. The group of indigenous women based out of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation run for wellness, socializing and share volunteer activities. They have been featured in national magazines and on television. The exposure caught the attention of Oprah Winfrey. So when she was planning to be in Minneapolis last weekend for her 2020 Vision tour, Kwe Pack members were asked to be a part of the event that focuses...
The Minnesota Court of Appeals dealt a blow to the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine Monday, overturning three key state permits that had been issued to the project - and requiring the state to conduct a hearing before it works to reissue those permits. In one of several legal challenges to the proposed northern Minnesota mine, eight different groups had asked the court to overturn a permit to mine and two dam safety permits that were among several the state Department of Natural Resources...
The year 2019 was a busy one for the Cloquet Area Fire District and 2020 is unlikely to get any slower. Crews surpassed the now 10-year-old district’s historic high run total of 2,985 incidents in 2016 on Dec. 9 … with almost three weeks left to go in the year. “We’re not getting slower, but we are getting busier,” said CAFD Chief Kevin Schroeder, explaining that about 85.5 percent of its calls are ambulance, while 17.5 are fire calls. Schroeder said the pace is so great that the fire district...
Heating the Midwest, a biomass advocacy group, honored a Carlton County project and three others across the state in October at its annual conference celebrating Bioenergy Day in the Midwest. Bruno Zagar, environmental specialist with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, accepted a "Outstanding Biomass Thermal Heating Projects" award on behalf of the band for its Sawyer Community Center project that heats the building using scrap wood chips in an efficient boiler system, replacing...
