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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It was a "build it and they will come" moment ... Minnesota style. The Hockey Day Cloquet headlining Lumberjacks varsity boys and girls hockey games took place Saturday in front of roughly 2,000 people. They packed the metal bleachers (with seating for 1,300) and stood three and four deep at each end of the outdoor hockey arena built especially for the event. Clusters of mostly young men and boys stood on the hillside, respectfully placing hands on hearts as a giant American flag waved in the...
Cloquet city councilor and local funny guy Warren "Bun" Carlson passed away Sunday, Jan. 12, from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart disease. In his second term on the council, Carlson was first elected to the Ward 1 seat in November 2018. Well known for his involvement in local hockey programs - as player, coach and radio personality - Carlson easily won reelection in 2022. Carlson grew up playing hockey in Cloquet, graduating from Cloquet Senior High in 1974. He served as senior clas...
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team was hungry for a win as they took the ice for Hockey Day Cloquet Saturday. The Lumberjacks had not had a win since Dec. 5 against Hibbing/Chisholm. Saturday night the young CEC squad snapped a 10-game losing streak with an impressive 2-0 win over the Northern Tier Stars, a Class AA cooperative of St. Francis, North Branch and Cambridge-Isanti. "That was a huge win for us," said CEC coach Kennedy Weets. "The girls were smiling all day long in anticipatio...
Organizers for Hockey Day Cloquet couldn't have asked for a more picturesque setting than what everyone saw Saturday. A fluffy white snow fell all day long, the smell of cookies, popcorn and burgers emanated from food vendor stands, and an energetic crowd surrounded the hockey rink at Veterans Park. Unfortunately, the CEC boys hockey team struggled to put pucks past the Sartell goalie as the Lumberjacks fell in overtime 2-1 in the second game of a varsity and junior varsity quadrupleheader,...
Now in her second year volunteering for her alma mater Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Nordic ski program, Jazlyn Gunderson reported for practice Jan. 3 to a unique location. Roughly three dozen team members and supporters appeared in frigid temperatures on a 400-yard field at the Cloquet Forestry Center. First-year head coach Phil Rogers had groomed the field and even set a circuitous classic track around the edges, where grassy spots lurked nearby. Nobody can remember the team ever practicing in that...
Things are starting to ramp up for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton wrestling team. The Lumberjacks have already wrestled in three tournaments this season, including Lakeville North, Brainerd and the Jack Hammer Tournament in Pequot Lakes. "We've also wrestled in a triangular against both Crosby-Ironton and Ogilvie," said longtime CEC coach Al Denman. "We beat C-I and lost to Ogilvie by just a few points, and a year ago Ogilvie throttled us. We've come a long way, and our numbers are up." The 'Jacks...
For the first half of last Thursday's boys basketball game, the game between Cloquet and the home team Barnum was close. The Lumberjacks held a slim five-point lead, but the game was still up in the air. That all changed when Cloquet came out in a three-quarter-court trap that proved too much for Barnum to handle. Cloquet went on to win 90-61. "That first half we couldn't get the pace we wanted and Barnum controlled the tempo," said Cloquet coach Steve Battaglia. "We came out in a trap to start...
Come next week, Veterans Park in Cloquet will be transformed into an elite hockey facility - outdoors, the way the hockey gods intended it - with seating for 1,300. Hockey Day Cloquet promises to be unlike anything seen before in the Wood City. The homegrown hockey extravaganza will span eight days, from Jan. 8-15, peaking with the Lumberjacks varsity boys and girls hockey games on Saturday, Jan. 11. The timing couldn't be better: the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team is currently ranked...
The Moose Lake Area girls hockey team held a one-goal lead over Cloquet-Esko-Carlton entering the third period on Dec. 20. The Rebels were able to fight through penalties and CEC's push to tie the game by scoring two late empty-net goals for a 3-0 victory over the Lumberjacks. MLA grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 8:07 mark of the first period on a goal by Hallie Klavu with assists going to Sandra Ribich and Lily Ludwig. "The last time we played CEC, they got three goals in the first seven minutes of...
The 2024 version of the Wood City Classic boys basketball tournament was held last Friday and Saturday at Cloquet Middle School, and the venerable tournament did not disappoint local basketball fans. "It is always a good tournament and we love coming to play here," said Cromwell-Wright coach Bill Pocernich. "There's always good competition against good teams." The host Lumberjacks took on Pocernich's Cardinals in the opening game for both teams. Cloquet came out on top 82-48. "We started well...
The Wood City Classic girls basketball tournament is in the books, and both local teams went 1-1 in the tournament. Cloquet opened with a win over Mesabi East and then lost to Pine City, while Cromwell-Wright started with an easy win over Pine City, but then fell to Mesabi East in their second game. A year ago, Cloquet entered the tournament with an 8-0 record and looked to be the favorite in Section 7AAA, but Mesabi East put a stop to the win streak. That loss kickstarted a downward spiral for...
Tension and emotions ran high when the Cloquet-Esko- Carlton boys hockey team hosted East Grand Forks at Northwoods Credit Union Arena Saturday. Eventually, the No. 3 ranked Lumberjacks were able to secure a wild and thrilling 4-3 win over the No. 7 ranked Green Wave. "We got the great start we were looking for, and then we started going to the penalty box and the flow of the game changed," said CEC coach Shea Walters. CEC took a 1-0 lead just 1:40 into the game when Neil Elsmore slammed home a...
A quick start for the Esko boys basketball team was the perfect recipe for an 86-69 win over the Cloquet Lumberjacks last Friday night in Esko. "We were ready to go from the start," said Esko coach Derek Anderson. "We talk to the guys about the fact that the outside perception of our team is that we will be down this year, but our expectations are the same as they've always been, and that's to win a section championship and get to State." Esko scored quickly and often on their way to grabbing a...
Despite outshooting the Duluth Northern Stars by more than a 2-1 margin, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team fell in overtime Tuesday night at Northwoods Credit Union Arena. Gracyn Schipper scored 11 seconds into the 8-minute overtime to give the Northern Stars a 2-1 victory over the Lumberjacks, her second goal of the game with both assists coming from Bailey Theis. The 'Jacks outshot Duluth by a margin of 33-16 for the night. Stars goaltender Aailli Anttila stopped 32 of the 33 shots...
Gerald "Buck" Bloomquist recently turned 100 years old. Born Oct. 10, 1924, he was part of The Greatest Generation, graduating from Cloquet High School in 1942. He currently lives at a Veterans Home in Rifle, Colorado. He is a proud veteran of World War II. The Nov. 8 Pine Knot Veterans Day tribute spurred the Bloomquist relatives and me to revive - and retrieve - Buck's military and life stories. Buck's son, Bill, was a Cloquet school and athletic chum of mine. Buck Bloomquist was an...
A strong second half helped propel the Cloquet boys basketball team to a 95-88 home win over Chisago Lakes last Saturday afternoon in Cloquet. Entering the second half, the Lumberjacks and the Wildcats were tied at 51-51, but then Cloquet clamped down defensively. "At times the game was sloppy, but we did a lot of good things," Cloquet coach Steve Battaglia said of the season opener. "Despite giving up a ton of size, we out-rebounded them by a significant margin. To open the season against the...
A five-goal burst in the third period helped push the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team to an impressive 7-1 opening game win over Bloomington Jefferson at Northwoods Credit Union Arena on Saturday afternoon. "Every year we play them, they give us a good game and I thought this is one of the better teams they've had as of late," said CEC coach Shea Walters. "They came out hard in the second period, but we weathered the storm and then we really got things going in the third period." The...
Heading into Tuesday's girls basketball Battle for the Paddle, neither Cloquet nor Esko had put a mark in the win column this season. The Lumberjacks entered the game 0-2, with losses to Proctor and Hermantown, and Esko came in 0-1 with a loss to Rock Ridge. On Tuesday night the 'Jacks were able to overcome a challenging game to come away with a 71-43 victory. They also won the paddle, which goes to the victors. "We got the paddle back," said Cloquet coach Heather Young. "We will take the win,...
After more than 20 years with the Cloquet football program, head coach Jeff Ojanen has resigned. He told his team Nov. 20 about his decision. He said he wants to spend more time with his family. "It really comes down to how priorities change in your life," Ojanen said. "When I took the head coach job three years ago I thought I'd be able to handle missing some stuff for my girls, but it got harder and harder. Right now, I want to see my girls play and help them and their teammates in any way I...
Preparations are heating up for Hockey Day Cloquet, an outdoor hockey extravaganza that will take place in Veterans Park on and around Jan. 11, 2025. Expect a state-of-the-art outdoor rink, shipping containers for locker rooms and Zamboni storage, plus fan-friendly seating and food trucks. Organizer Nate Knutson told the Cloquet City Council Tuesday that the idea was a “blind shot” in the beginning but the event is now in a good spot financially. “We’ve had unbelievable backing from our local sponsors, which is super cool. It’s Carlton,...
The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls hockey team came out fast and determined Tuesday night at Northwoods Credit Union Arena as the Lumberjacks scored three times in the first seven minutes. Although the Moose Lake Area team threatened, they couldn't overcome the CEC lead. The win moved the 'Jacks to 2-1 on the season. CEC defeated Anoka 3-0 Saturday in Anoka, but dropped the season opener last Thursday by a score of 4-1 to Grand Rapids-Greenway. On Tuesday, the Lumberjacks' first goal came just 51...
Accolades continue to pour in for area soccer players as All-State and All-Tournament teams were announced after the Minnesota State High School Soccer Tournament ended last week. Lauren Hughes of Cloquet/Carlton was named to first team All-State in Class AA and Reese Kuklinski of Esko was named first team All-State in Class A. “Reese is a true leader of our program,” said Esko coach Sharon Lahtii. “Academically, she is a 4.0 student, she mentors our younger players and is positive under pressure. Reese has a bright future ahead of her at Mi...
The Esko girls made their mark in the Minnesota State Class A Soccer Tournament this past week. After winning on penalty kicks Oct. 24 over St. Cloud Cathedral in the opening round, Esko fell to top seed Southwest Christian, 2-1, in a tense semifinal game Tuesday at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The first half of play was tightly played with the Esko defensive corps doing a stellar job of not allowing one of the state's best forwards, Maya Johnson, to get free as the teams went to halftime...
Despite finishing in the middle of the pack in last year's Section 7AA cross country meet, Cloquet boys team coach Chandra Allen had an inkling that things could only get better for the Lumberjacks. They were losing just one senior to graduation. "We knew after last season," she said of the 2024 prospects. The hunch was indeed correct, as this year's team won the section meet in Hibbing on Oct. 24. The team will now travel to St. Paul Saturday for the Minnesota State High School Class AA Cross...
Section volleyball entered the semifinal round Wednesday night with Esko and South Ridge the only two remaining local teams in action. Section 7AA Esko was set to play Crosby-Ironton in the 7AA semifinals Wednesday night after picking up a pair of wins in the past week. On Oct. 23, No. 2 Esko opened with a 3-0 win over Pine City. "It was nice to get that first match win out of the way," said Esko coach Pete Stasiuk. "We played well, we didn't make a whole lot of errors and we generally played a...
