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 1 - 25 of 1404
Decorated with major state awards and beloved for his leadership both in-house and across the public health sector, Dave Lee conducted his final all-staff meeting on Jan. 9. The roughly 150 employees in Carlton County Public Health and Human Services left him with a standing ovation. The 66-year-old director is retiring at the end of the month after 25 years with the county, with the last 20 in the department's top spot. "I have been director for 20 years," he said. "I feel like I have had my...
A sort of musical chairs has come to the region’s schools this year as several open superintendent positions are scheduled to be filled in the coming days and months. Barnum, Moose Lake and Wrenshall, along with nearby McGregor and Proctor, are all in the market for new leaders atop their district administrations. Wrenshall appears closest to filling its superintendent post, scheduling a round of community-led interviews next week after the school board narrowed its candidate list to two on Monday. “We’re currently out ahead of those other sear...
It took nearly two weeks, but Essentia Health-Moose Lake hospital welcomed its first baby of 2025 last weekend. Eloise Arae Fogt was born at 5:15 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 11. Her parents are Brianna Childers and Gunner Fogt. Eloise was born weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces. The Moose Lake hospital is the only hospital in Carlton County offering birthing services, since Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet "paused" its obstetrics services in the summer of 2023 due to staffing issues and a decreasing...
Thursday, Jan. 9 Boys Basketball Moose Lake/WR 72 Hinckley-Finlayson 36 Cloquet 83 Hermantown 62 Girls Basketball South Ridge 65 Fond du Lac Ojibwe 34 Esko 67 Hibbing 33 Cromwell-Wright 63 Barnum 27 Mesabi East 58 Carlton/Wrenshall 24 Floodwood 61 Moose Lake/WR 35 Boys Hockey CEC 3 Duluth Marshall 2 (OT) WSFLG 6 Moose Lake Area 3 Girls Hockey Duluth 2 CEC 0 Friday, Jan. 10 Boys Basketball Carlton/Wrenshall 78 Floodwood 57 Deer River 74 Moose Lake/WR 59 Cherry 82 Esko 70 Two Harbors 71 South Ridge 52 Girls Basketball Crosby-Ironton 92 Cloquet 47...
FRIDAY, JAN. 17 The Cloquet Public Library closes at 12:30 p.m. for staff training. SATURDAY, JAN. 18 Junior Rangers Frosty Adventures 1-2 p.m., Jay Cooke Park. Discover the secrets of winter, and make and take a snowflake craft. Sign up by Jan. 17 to ensure supplies: 218-673-7005, [email protected]. Carlton County Animal Rescue cats and dogs adoption event 1-4 p.m. at PetSmart in Duluth. Application process and approval required; applying prior to the event is encouraged. (218) 900-7066, [email protected],...
Carlton County residents are encouraged to recycle Christmas trees during Treecycling, a free program with dropoff locations throughout the region, through Friday, Jan. 31at these locations: • Sappi Fine Paper (gatehouse entrance), Avenue B in Cloquet. • Moose Lake Compost and Recycling Site (across from city garage). • Visit WLSSD.com for other Treecycling locations....
The Carlton County board met Tuesday for its annual organizational meeting. Sixth District judge Amy Lukasavitz administered the swearing in of newly elected commissioners Sarah Plante Buhs and Dan Reed, along with reelected District 3 commissioner Tom Proulx, representing most of Cloquet. Plante Buhs represents District 1, including large parts of rural Cloquet and Sawyer, while Reed is the District 5 commissioner, representing the western half of Carlton County, including Cromwell, Wright,...
David Harold Bennefeld, 78, of Cloquet passed away Jan. 5, 2025, at Aspirus St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. He was born Oct. 7, 1946, to Harold and Louise (Sweet) Bennefeld. David grew up in Red Wing, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota and was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity. He had a long career as an electrical engineer and was granted multiple U.S. patents. Dave met Laurie while they both worked at General Mills. They married in 1972 and raised their family in Ramsey....
A Sturgeon Lake man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries on Dec. 26 after he lost control of the 2005 International garbage truck he was driving. Nathan Randel Bichler, 48, was driving westbound on Minnesota Highway 73, near the intersection with Jon Brown Drive in Moose Lake, around 2:28 p.m. Dec. 26 under wet conditions. He lost control of the truck, and it flipped on its side. Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene, along with the Minnesota State Patrol. According to the Minnesota State Patrol report, a...
Nearly eight babies were born per day at Essentia Health’s Minnesota hospitals in 2024. Entering the final week of the year, 76 babies had entered the world at Essentia Health-Moose Lake. Here are the most popular names at Essentia Health-Moose Lake. Each name was chosen two times. Top boy names were Henry, Mason, and Waylon. Top girl names were Riley and Sophia, or Sophie....
Jamie Lund Moose Lake Star Gazette Joyce Hibke made history when she became the first female fire chief at the Moose Lake Area Fire District on Wednesday, Jan. 1. The 60-year-old has been inundated with congratulations on her achievement everywhere she goes and online. Former fire chief Jim Michalski, who is her brother, said he has faith in her abilities to run the department after working with her since she began 21 years ago. Hibke decided to put in the paperwork for the position when...
The Carlton County board approved a 2025 budget of $84.9 million on Dec. 23, but not before lengthy discussions on pay increases for the elected county sheriff and attorney. Sheriff Kelly Lake, in her 19th year in elected office, was approved for a nearly $20,000 pay increase, from $142,937 in 2024 to $161,387 in 2025. Twice-elected county attorney Lauri Ketola was increased from $152,734 to $163,800. “I do think it matters that you have people in positions who really care about what they do and commit themselves to doing really good w...
I was saddened to hear the news that Mary Murphy had died on Christmas Day. She was, for many years when I lived in Scanlon, my legislator in the Minnesota House of Representatives, from 1976 to 2022. She was the longest-serving woman in the House, and second-longest serving legislator ever. She lost her reelection bid in 2022 by 33 votes. She was a trailblazer and effective in what was - especially when she began - a man's world. Murphy's full-time job was as a social studies and history...
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...
Carlton County residents are encouraged to recycle Christmas trees during Treecycling, a free program with dropoff runs through Friday, Jan. 31. Christmas trees, like yard waste, are banned from landfills in Minnesota. Trees contain valuable resources that can be reclaimed through recycling. Collected trees will be ground up and composted by the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, saving landfill space while safely managing invasive species that may have been brought in on trees from outside of our region. Remove all ornaments, tinsel,...
When Tony Bender took over coaching the Moose Lake Area boys hockey team this winter, he had a long list of things he wanted to accomplish. Among the top things on the list was increasing the number of athletes in the program and helping each player to learn the game. After seven games, the Rebels have responded with a 4-3 record and stronger play on the ice. The team's latest win came Monday in a 4-1 home victory over Spooner, Wisconsin. "We compete in every game, but there are times where we...
Thursday, Dec. 12 Boys Basketball Moose Lake/Willow River 0, North Woods 48 Cloquet 71, Denfeld 68 Girls Basketball Barnum 55, Moose Lake/ Willow River 22 Esko 59, Carlton/ Wrenshall 25 Boys Hockey International Falls 11, Moose Lake Area 1 Girls Hockey Rock Ridge 3, CEC 2 (OT) MLA 0, Hopkins/Park 0 Friday, Dec. 13 Boys Basketball Cromwell-Wright 67, Cook County 42 Esko 70, Superior 49 Willow River 71, Two Harbors 42 Mille Lacs 58, Carlton/ Wrenshall 51 Barnum 102, Ogilvie 31 Girls Basketball MIB 84, South Ridge 21 Esko 40 Pierz 37 Rock Ridge...
The Barnum girls basketball team steamrolled to a huge first-half lead in a Dec. 12 matchup against Moose Lake/Willow River and ended up taking a 55-22 road win in Moose Lake. "We have some great athletes, and they really got after it in that first half," said Mariah Minkkinen, head coach of the Bombers. "Getting after it" was almost an understatement, as the Bombers sprinted ahead to a 28-4 lead by halftime. "We knew Barnum was good, but we didn't expect that," said ML/WR coach Andrew Miller. A...
Only three members of the public spoke at Wednesday’s Truth in Taxation hearing conducted by the Carlton County board and administration. While small in number, the three speakers seemed to carry the concerns of a broad swath of citizens. Namely, why do taxes keep going up? “If I don’t have enough money, I don’t go to my employer with a levy,” said Cody Gilbert, 43, of Moose Lake, who reported his property taxes have doubled in the seven years since he’s owned his home. Gilbert was comparing how the levy on property owners is used to balance ju...
Thursday, Dec. 5 Boys Basketball Barnum 68 Hinckley-Finlayson 32 Bayfield 104 Fond du Lac 90 Cherry 96 South Ridge 45 Girls Basketball Northwoods 32 Carlton/Wrenshall 30 ML/WR 58 Hinckley-Finlayson 44 Cromwell-Wright 79 McGregor 17 Boys Hockey Moose Lake Area 6 WSFLG (Wisconsin) 5 Girls Hockey CEC 5 Hibbing/Chisholm 1 Superior 4 Moose Lake Area 2 Friday, Dec. 6 Boys Basketball Esko 86 Cloquet 69 Northwoods 80 Carlton/Wrenshall 48 Cromwell-Wright 73 McGregor 45 Girls Basketball Moose Lake Area 4 St. Paul Highland Park 1 Saturday, Dec. 7 Boys...
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...
Friday, Dec. 13 Wrestling Cloquet-Esko at Brainerd Invitational, 4:30 p.m. Boys basketball Ogilvie at Barnum, 7:15 p.m. Mille Lacs at Carlton/Wrenshall, 7:15 p.m. Cromwell-Wright at Cook County, 6:15 p.m. Esko at Superior, 7:15 p.m. Moose Lake/Willow River at Two Harbors, 7:15 p.m. Girls basketball Cloquet at Rock Ridge, 7:15 p.m. Cromwell-Wright at Cook County, 4:45 p.m. Pierz at Esko, 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 Boys hockey Cloquet-Esko-Carlton at Blaine, 2 p.m. Girls hockey Sartell at CEC, 3 p.m. Hayward at Moose Lake Area, 1 p.m. Alpine ski...
When the state afforded an additional $10 million to Carlton County in 2023 to help fund the new $75 million Justice Center, the money came with a stipulation. The project would include a justice-involved female program to serve as a demonstration project that might one day be replicated in other parts of the state. More women were being jailed and incarcerated, and lawmakers were sold on the idea of a creative solution to the problem. The 16-bed justice-involved female portion of the jail -...
Sixth District Court judge Rebekka Stumme called it the most “remarkable” victim impact statement she’d ever heard, after Brandon Westby asked the judge to be lenient. Westby’s father, Justin David McNeil, died after being hit by 21-year-old driver Brent James Keranen on March 21. “As a Christian, I reflect on the many examples of forgiveness found in the Bible,” said Brandon Westby. “My father was a devoted Christian. With that in mind, I forgive the young man [sitting] here.” Stumme listened to Westby — and also spent weeks pondering her deci...
