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 26 - 50 of 253
The boys of the Carlton-based Busted Bots Lego robotics team stared at the TV in anticipation. Would the group of nine- to 12-year-olds be one of the six teams from their region to join 70 other Minnesota teams at the state competition? When "The Busted Bots" name was announced, the boys screamed, leapt on the couch in a huddle, and jumped up and down with unbridled joy. The FIRST Lego League robotics program began in 1998 to encourage STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - education...
The Minnesota Wilderness dropped into fourth place in the eight-team Midwest Division last weekend, after losing a pair of home games to the Janesville Jets, 3-1 on Feb. 23 and 7-5 on Sunday. Five players scored for the Wilderness in the second game, including Alessandro Lurati, Nate Murray, Aiden Shrey, Peyton Nelson and Nash Jacobsma. Minnesota erased two Janesville leads during the high-scoring contest, but Janesville kept tacking on go-ahead goals, leading 6-4 after two periods. Not even a goalie change could alter Minnesota’s outcome as s... Full story
A split with Springfield Jr. Blues in Illinois last weekend left the Minnesota Wilderness clinging to a tie for third place in its division. The Wilderness got a hat trick from forward Peyton Nelson on Saturday, leading to a 6-2 win. The Centennial, Colorado native scored once in the second, on a breakaway in the third and again on an empty netter late as the Wilderness scored four times in the final 7 minutes, 29 seconds to break open the game. On Feb. 16, the Wilderness (25-17-4) fell, 4-2, to Springfield (15-22-6). Goalie Nick Erickson... Full story
Finally legal Marlys Kilen of Cloquet will celebrate her 21st birthday on Feb. 29. "I'll be at an age when I can start to drink," chortled Kilen, who will be 84 years old. Growing up in Lakefield, in southern Minnesota - where she had one classmate, her future husband's cousin, born on the same day - her parents couldn't agree when to celebrate her birthday in non-leap years. Mom said Feb. 28. Dad suggested March 1, because she would be officially another year older then. "So we celebrated both... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness got a much-needed home sweep of the Kenai River Brown Bears last weekend, ending a five-game losing streak. The Wilderness got wins of 3-0 on Feb. 9, and 3-2 on Saturday, allowing them to keep pace in a tightly packed Midwest Division. The Wilderness (24-16-4) are in third place with 52 points, trailing the first-place Wisconsin Windigo (63 points) and second-place Janesville Jets (55). Winners of nine straight, the Windigo are among the top teams in the North American Hockey League. Fourth-place Anchorage Wolverines... Full story
Wilderness captain Gustavs Ozolins has decided to take his talents to RPI. The veteran defenseman announced this week he had committed to play NCAA Division 1 hockey at the institution based in Troy, New York. Ozolins, from Riga, Latvia, began his junior career in 2019 in his home country. He is now in his second season with the Wilderness and third playing in North America. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound 20-year-old has skated in 34 games this season, generating two goals and 15 assists for 17 points. Wilderness head coach Colten St. Clair says he c... Full story
Losers of five straight, the Minnesota Wilderness got a much needed two-week break after being swept last weekend. The Wilderness lost both ends of a home-and-home series against the Chippewa Steel, falling 2-1 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on Friday and 3-1 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena on Saturday. Minnesota went 1-for-5 on the power play over the weekend. On Saturday, the Wilderness outshot the Steel, 40-37, but Ajay White made 39 saves to buoy the road team. Nick Erickson, of Apple Valley, took the loss in both games in goal for... Full story
Losers of three straight games last week, the Minnesota Wilderness (22-14-4) lost its grip atop the division standings, tumbling into third behind red-hot teams from Wisconsin in the Janesville Jets and Eagle River’s Windigo. The Wilderness lost on the road in Chippewa Falls, a 3-2 shootout on Jan. 17, then dropped both games of a home-and-home series with St. Cloud, 5-2 and 2-1, last weekend. The St. Cloud Norsemen won the season series over Minnesota, winning all four meetings. Minnesota is 4-5-1 in its last 10 games. Meanwhile, Janesville i... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness eclipsed a hurdle last weekend, when it won a regular season game in Eagle River, Wisconsin for the first time in franchise history. But it needed a thrashing first, losing 7-1 to the Wisconsin Windigo on Jan. 12 before winning a 4-3 shootout on Saturday. The split allowed Minnesota to remain in sole possession of first place in the Midwest Division, as the Wilderness (22-12-3) now sits two points ahead of Janesville (21-10-3), which is now tied for second with Wisconsin (20-10-5). Minnesota owns 47 points compared to... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness came out hot both nights last weekend to beat the Anchorage Wolverines. The weekend also included the home debut of Cloquet native Patrick Dunaiski. Peteris Purmalis, of Liepaja, Latvia, led the way with five assists combined over the two games, while goaltender Nick Erickson earned victories in both contests, stopping 84 of 89 shots. On Friday, the Wilderness scored early in the first and second periods, and after an Anchorage rally tied the match, Aiden Shirey notched the game winner with 12 minutes, 27 seconds... Full story
A sweep at the hands of the Janesville Jets last weekend left the Minnesota Wilderness sharing the top of their division. The Jets won 5-1 and 5-2, Saturday and Sunday nights, dominating play, including scoring three goals within 6 minutes, 24 seconds in the opening period to start the weekend series. The sweep moved Janesville (19-10-2) into a tie for first place with Minnesota (19-11-2) in the Midwest Division with 41 points each. The Wilderness outshot the Jets, 41-27, on Sunday, including a 12-4 advantage in the third period. Adam Prokop... Full story
After missing 13 games due to injury, Minnesota Wilderness forward Adam Johnson returned to the lineup in style Friday in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Johnson, of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, scored the game-winning goal 47 seconds into overtime to defeat the Chippewa Steel, 4-3. The goal marked the end of a back-and-forth battle, which saw the Steel score twice in the opening period for the contest’s first lead, only to see the Wilderness score three consecutive goals to go in front, a team news release said. Chippewa (15-12-3) then notched a tying g... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness maintained their first-place pace last weekend, winning twice before dropping the finale to visiting Fairbanks, 2-0, on Sunday. The Wilderness won in dominant fashion, 5-0, on Friday, and stole a 1-0 shootout win Saturday, when Gustavs Ozolins scored in the fourth round of the shootout. It marked the second time this season the Wilderness and Ice Dogs finished in a shootout. As he did the first time on Oct. 7 in Fairbanks, it was Ozolins who ended the game with a goal against Esko native Kyle Abrahamson. Ozolins said... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness returned from Eagle River, Wisconsin last weekend, stinging from a sweep at the hands of the Wisconsin Windigo. The losses, 3-0 Friday and 4-3 Saturday, left the first-place Wilderness with a three-point lead atop the Midwest Division of the North American Hockey League, with 35 points to Wisconsin’s 32. The Wilderness built a 3-0 lead midway through Saturday’s game, only to see the Windigo chip away to eventually tie the score in the final seconds and win the game in a shootout. Max Martin’s goal with 5 seconds left an... Full story
Two goals scored in the final moments of regulation sent the Minnesota Wilderness to a 5-4 victory over the Janesville Jets Saturday in Wisconsin, capping a successful 2-1 week which kept the team atop the league standings. With goaltender Loris Uberti pulled for an extra attacker, Gustavs Ozolins tied the game on a shot through traffic with 1 minute, 28 seconds left. That was followed by Ashton Dahms notching the game-winner on a breakaway with 12.4 seconds left. That capped off a back-and-forth game in which the Wilderness gave up a lead... Full story
Victories in hockey sometimes can be Rembrandt-like pieces of artwork. Other times, they can remind you of a pig sty. Saturday night's game in Cloquet between the Minnesota Wilderness and Wisconsin Windigo was definitely more like the latter. But the great thing about hockey is that winning either way counts the same, a team news release said. And the Wilderness got a weekend sweep. The Wilderness pried out a 2-1 shootout victory that was driven by stout goaltending from Adam Prokop. Through... Full story
An Ashton Dahms goal and solid goaltending from Adam Prokop were the key ingredients for the Minnesota Wilderness in a 1-0 victory Saturday night. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and split the weekend series following a 5-4 loss Friday night to the Janesville Jets (9-9-2). Owners of a 10-game winning streak earlier this season, Minnesota (12-6-2) remains in first place in the Midwest Division. Dahms, of Lakeville, Minnesota, scored the game’s only goal late in the first period. While on power play, Dahms received a pass from D... Full story
The St. Cloud Norsemen swept the Wilderness last weekend in Cloquet, snapping a 10-game winning streak for the home team. St. Cloud scored early and offered the Wilderness only limited chances Friday in a 4-0 victory. The loss snapped Minnesota’s 10-game winning streak and run of 11 consecutive with a point — both of which tied franchise records. St. Cloud notched another shutout on Saturday, 3-0. The Wilderness (11-4-2) applied more offensive zone pressure and generated more chances than Friday, but were stymied by a stingy St. Cloud (7-... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness completed a second consecutive weekend sweep of a home-and-home series, extending their winning streak to 10 games in the process last weekend. In the first North American Hockey League game played on Minnesota’s Iron Range, Nick Erickson, of Apple Valley, Minnesota, made 33 saves and posted his second shutout in as many starts this season for a 2-0 win over the Chippewa Steel on Saturday at Iron Trails Motor Event Center. The winning streak tied a franchise record, set in 2013-14, and set a new mark with 11 straight c...
For the first time in 11 years, the Carlton County office responsible for zoning permits, sewer treatment compliance, shoreland alterations, waste and recycling, and well-water analysis has a new face atop its leadership. Chris Berg replaced Heather Cunningham on Monday, when he was introduced as the new zoning and environmental services coordinator at the county board meeting in Carlton. "It's a good, natural progression," Berg said of his ascension into the role. "I'm confident I can do the...
The Minnesota Wilderness swept a home-and-home series with the Chippewa Steel last weekend, extending the team's win streak to eight games. A 4-3 win in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin on Saturday, and Friday's 4-0 win in Cloquet also meant the Wilderness (9-3-2) own a nine-game point scoring streak after starting the season winless through five games. It's the longest winning streak for the franchise since it won 10 straight in 2013-14. Nash Jacobsma scored twice while Peteris Purmalis and Ashton... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness extended its winning streak to six games last weekend as it knocked off Kenai River and Anchorage, part of an Alaska sweep for the team. A 3-1 victory Friday over Kenai was followed by a 4-1 win against Anchorage Saturday. The weekend before, the Wilderness survived one of the most ferocious environments in the NAHL last weekend by sweeping the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. On Oct. 6, the Wilderness overcame a two-goal deficit in the final moments of the third period by scoring goals with an extra attacker before winning the... Full story
With all repairs completed and the cooling tower in proper working condition, Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet is again ready to host Minnesota Wilderness hockey. The Wilderness returned Monday for practice before leaving on a road trip Wednesday. It was the team’s first time skating in Cloquet since last season, before a cooling tower leak in the arena shut down the ability to make ice. After shipping delays kept replacement parts from arriving promptly, the Wilderness were forced to find a new home for the season’s first pra... Full story
The Minnesota Wilderness scored in dramatic fashion to tie the game Saturday, but still fell to the Chippewa Steel in overtime, 4-3. Peteris Purmalis’ second goal of the game as time expired allowed the Wilderness to even the score at 3-3 and force extra time in Chippewa Falls. Purmalis took advantage of some net-front chaos that was initiated by a shot from Beau Janzig on the left point, as the Wilderness attacked with six skaters and its goaltender on the bench. After a drive from Harper Searles was blocked by Steel netminder Carter W... Full story
It was one of those picture-perfect fall days. Cerulean blue sky, the slight, wet waft of decaying organic matter, the hillsides seemingly turning orange and red and yellow in the moment. On Dunlap Island last Thursday, there was also the chattering of teenagers and outdoors experts as more than 200 ninth-graders from Cloquet High School spent the day exploring the natural world. They were in canoes on the St. Louis River. They were under the Minnesota Highway 35 bridge collecting aquatic... Full story
