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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DONATE TO COVID-19 LOCAL RELIEF FUND The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic everyday survival items by sending grocery cards through the mail to local families who request help. The COVID-19 Local Relief Fund is open and accepting donations. To donate, text UWCARLTON to 41444 or visit the website. Send grocery cards to United Way of Carlton County, PO Box 250, Cloquet MN 55720. DONATE... Full story
In the early 1970s, a bunch of us guys finishing up our high school days wanted to continue to play competitive basketball. We played nearly every evening after school at the Cloquet Civic Center. Once in college, I talked to Kate Vestin, who was the center's manager, and told her I was interested in forming a team to play in a men's basketball league. I thought we could - although "undersized" - hold our own. Kate gave me league details and explained the need to find a sponsor. The sponsor's... Full story
Increrased testing across the state is sending the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases higher while it gives health officials a better idea of where the spread is occuring. On Wednesday, the Minnesota Department of Health reported that the total number of positive tests in the state had reached 8,579. The total number of deaths in the state was at 485, with 391 of those residing in long term care or assisted living facilities. In Carlton County, the number of confirmed cases reached 61 on Wednesday as reported by MDH, which reports numbers from... Full story
Two-term Carlton County board commissioner Gary Peterson announced this week that he will seek re-election this fall. He made the announcement at the board’s committee of the whole meeting on Monday. Filing opens on May 19 with the Carlton County Auditor. Peterson is the commissioner for District 5, which includes Moose Lake, Kettle River, Cromwell and Wright. Peterson admitted it is a hard time to campaign for political office. Parades, festivals, prominent holidays, and door-to-door talks with the public are almost impossible with social d...
We’re expecting a different campaign season this year, with social distancing both a barrier to traditional campaigning and an issue in itself: How much social distancing and other restrictions does the government have over its citizens? So we were interested to see the endorsements made by the two major parties for Minnesota State Senate District 11, which includes Carlton County. Both incumbents received their parties’ endorsement: Sen. Jason Rarick, the Republican from Pine City has represented Carlton County in the Senate since he won a spe...
The more you look, the more you find. In a little over a week since the Minnesota Department of Corrections began testing more prisoners at its facilities in Moose Lake and Willow River, the numbers of confirmed cases climbed from a total of 29 on April 22 to 78 a week later. At Moose Lake, where COVID-19 infections first appeared, confirmed cases went from 14 on April 22 to 33 a week later, on Wednesday, April 29. Over the same timeframe in Willow River confirmed cases went from 15 to 45. An...
While Gov. Tim Walz says his stay-at-home order has worked to buy the state more time to prepare for increasing cases of COVID-19 and better testing, that extra time also means that the state's expected peak of infections will likely occur mid-summer. Which is exactly when small and large communities across the state are busy celebrating July Fourth. Or maybe not. In Carlton County, Moose Lake city councilors elected to postpone their July Fourth festivities, and Agate Days event organizers... Full story
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... Full story
Quite a few are suffering because of the order to stay at home and quarantine in place. So many, in fact, that it's hard to keep up with all the sympathy we have for those suffering. But right about now our hearts go out to high school seniors, who are being denied prom, spring sports, senior banquets and a normal graduation ceremony with all your classmates. High school seniors are a rare breed. By the time a student reaches 12th grade, they are no longer children, yet not quite adults either....
Patricia M. Oist, 93, of Cloquet passed away April 23, 2020 at Community Memorial Hospital. She was born April 22, 1927 in Cloquet to Leonard and Helen (Unzen) Young. Patricia graduated from Cloquet High School. She worked at the Northwest Paper and Potlatch companies and was a member of the Potlatch Quarter Century Club. Patricia was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1274, Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 1163, Hebert Kennedy VFW Post 3979, and was a charter... Full story
The Moose Lake Area Fire Department collected 725 homemade face masks from people in the area at the statewide mask drive April 25. In the photo at left are Joyce Hibke,Corey Hibke, Steve Trenhaile,Paul Belanger, Amber Lenz and Mike Chambers. The fire department distributed the donated masks to Augustana-Cassia Health Care, Augustana-Cassia Assisted Living, Gateway Family Health Clinic, two senior apartment complexes and the Mercy Hospital Foundation. The Kettle River Fire Department collected...
Anticipation was running high in mid-March for the Cloquet girls softball players. The Lumberjacks had returned to the gym and were preparing to defend their Section 7AAA title and make a run at a state title after finishing third last spring. Then, five days into practice, everything was shut down as the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "The practice vibe was one of excitement and a ton of energy," said first-year coach Andrew Miller. "As coaches, we really put a premium on focused effort and constant hu... Full story
It’s now the sixth week of the “stay at home” order by our Minnesota governor and we are trying to do our best to follow this directive. And now we hear that the schools will not resume this year at all. All I can say is I feel for the students, staff and especially the parents as they go through these trying times. Our senior class will miss their spring sports events, awards banquet, the prom, their class trip and even a graduation ceremony unless some alternative plans can be made soon....
On a day that saw Minnesota deaths due to COVID-19 jump to 179 - the largest increase yet - and confirmed numbers of infected rise to a total of 2,721 statewide, the state prisons in Moose Lake and Willow River also saw a startling increase as more inmates are being tested in both Minnesota Department of Corrections facilities. The number of patients tested at Moose Lake almost doubled, jumping from 24 to 45, with 14 confirmed positive, 12 confirmed negative and 19 test results pending. At Willo... Full story
Northwoods Credit Union's board of directors recently appointed Jeff Kletscher as its new board chairperson. Kletscher has served on the Northwoods Credit Union board since the 2018 merger with Floodwood Area Credit Union. Prior to that, he served on the Floodwood Area Credit Union supervisory committee for many years. Kletscher is a licensed real estate broker and owner of Northland Woods-n-Water Realty in Floodwood. He also works for Hope Lutheran Church as the church administrator. In the...
A Moose Lake man shot by a Carlton County deputy last summer is suing the deputy, the county and other participating agencies for $35 million, claiming that the deputy used unnecessary force by shooting him twice, that the deputy was poorly trained, and that he had been drinking prior to the incident. Shawn Michael Olthoff, 35, was paralyzed from the chest down after being shot twice by Carlton County deputy Sgt. Jason Warnygora during a Consolidated Emergency Response Team (CERT) operation on...
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed a petition against the state Department of Corrections April 15 to keep prisoners and staff at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake safe from the rapidly spreading COVID-19. Filed on behalf of three inmates — Roger Foster, Kristopher Mehle and Adam Dennis Sanborn — and “all other similarly situated,” the petition asks for the release of the three prisoners and others in a similar situation to a safe location during COVID-19 pandemic because the state has failed to take reasona...
There’s been an outbreak of COVID-19 at the Moose Lake Correctional Facility, and that’s raised a few eyebrows around here. Not just prisoners are affected, staff also have been infected. We know from the Department of Corrections spokesperson that employees at the prison have contracted the coronavirus, and two were hospitalized, with one still there. We know that prison employees go home after their shifts, potentially spreading the virus into the community. We also know that fear of contracting the virus has caused anxiety, fear, and neg...
It takes some chutzpah to commit a crime, get sentenced to prison, then complain about the poor conditions and ask to be let out. After all, prison is not supposed to be fun. Or pleasant. That's why they are called "prisons." So, many of us were not too sympathetic when some prisoners at the Moose Lake Correctional Facility filed a lawsuit to get released from prison due to the pandemic. But America is a nation of laws. It is our respect for those laws, and the process of creating, enforcing,...
After the first positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at the Moose Lake prison on March 30, inmates at the Willow River correctional facility, just 8 miles down the road, started getting nervous. By then, no visitors had been allowed into either facility for more than two weeks. But the Moose Lake and Willow River programs share a warden and some staff. And until last week, nobody on either campus was required to wear masks. Prisons, jails and other correctional facilities, where inmates live... Full story
Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan launched a week-long statewide homemade mask drive to encourage Minnesotans to create homemade masks for donation and highlight the importance of workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Minnesotans can deliver homemade masks to their local fire department. Fire departments will then deliver the masks to local congregate living facilities for their employees and residents to wear. Find... Full story
Patricia M. Oist, 93, of Cloquet passed away April 23, 2020 at Community Memorial Hospital. She was born April 22, 1927 in Cloquet to Leonard and Helen (Unzen) Young. Patricia graduated from Cloquet High School. She worked at the Northwest Paper and Potlatch companies and was a member of the Potlatch Quarter Century Club. Patricia was a member of Queen of Peace Catholic Church, Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 1274, Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 1163, Hebert Kennedy VFW Post 3979, and was a charter... Full story
Just before Easter, a single chick-in-an-egg toy was left at the end of the day after a customer brought in a birchbark basket of 30 of them. The toys were free. Another woman brought in homemade facemasks on Friday that anyone could take for free. "They went like crazy," said Renee Gaffney, one of the owners of TJ's Country Store. Those are just two examples of how people in the tiny community of Mahtowa have pulled together during the statewide stay-at-home order in response to the...
A Moose Lake corrections officer is in intensive care with COVID-19 complications, while a second staff member has been hospitalized for the disease, but is not in ICU, according to Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson Nicholas Kimball. A total of 12 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Moose Lake. Meanwhile, the number of cases continues to grow steadily among the incarcerated people there. As of Wednesday afternoon, 12 inmates had... Full story
It can be tempting to fixate on numbers as the coronavirus makes its way through the population near and far. Each day, government agencies faithfully report the number of confirmed cases, the number of dead, the number of those who have recovered and more. But those numbers don’t always add up, and they don’t tell the full story. So far, in Carlton County, the majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases is related to the Moose Lake prison, either people incarcerated there or prison employees who wor... Full story
