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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What Sen. Jason Rarick failed to mention in his article last week is that the testing locations that the Driver and Vehicle Services department is proposing closing are open only one day a week, at most, for limited or inconsistent hours, and run by examiners who are stationed full-time elsewhere. He mentioned losing Moose Lake, a testing center that is open for road tests from 12:30 to 3:30 on Thursdays. At 20 minutes per appointment, the lone examiner who travels there from Duluth can usually give six Class D skills tests before they need to...
He gave it the old college try. But, they say, when you take on the bull, you get the horns. Or, in social media circles, and toned down for a family newspaper: Mess around and find out. There may be a new old saw: Take on the Iron Range and its taconite money, and you get the tailings. Alas, Sen. Jason Rarick, Carlton County’s representative in the Minnesota Senate, was awash in all of these sentiments last month when he dared to change the way of life on the Iron Range. If you recall, Rarick penned a bill this session that would expand the ...
It was a tale of two halves last Saturday when No. 4 seed Moose Lake/Willow River and neighboring No. 5 seed Barnum met in the Section 7AA boys basketball quarterfinals in Hermantown. The Bombers came out on fire and surged to a 15-point halftime lead, only to have the Rebels come storming back to sneak away with a 64-63 win. "The first half we executed everything, we took care of the ball and we played really good defense," said Bomber head coach Rich Newman. While Newman was ecstatic about...
Wednesday, March 6 boys basketball Section 7AAA quarterfinal North Branch 95 Cloquet 85 girls basketball Section 7A semifinal Cromwell-Wright 57 Ely 51 Thursday, March 7 Boys Basketball Section 7A second round Carlton/Wrenshall 85 South Ridge 55 Cromwell-Wright 69 Cook County 49 Fond du Lac 84 Northland 66 Girls basketball Section 7AAA championship Rock Ridge 58 Cloquet 41 Friday, March 8 Girls Basketball Section 7A championship MIB 77 Cromwell-Wright 35 Saturday, March 9 Boys Basketball Section 7A quarterfinal Carlton 81 Hill City 62 Fond du...
Happy St. Urho’s Day, March 16, to everyone of Finnish heritage. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, to everyone of Irish heritage. As the days get warmer and daylight lasts a little longer every day, many people begin to plan for summer activities. That also means the rummage and garage sale season is just around the corner. So, start cleaning out the attic, closets, basements and garages (I need to take my own advice, LOL) and donate to our local fundraisers held at the Four Seasons Com...
The No. 1 seeded Esko boys basketball team continues to cruise through the Section 7AA playoffs following an 84-47 victory over No. 8 seed Duluth Marshall Saturday at Hermantown High School. Esko struck fast and furiously and used a pressure defense to slow down and frustrate the Hilltoppers top scorer Brooks Johnson, as Esko ran out to a 41-22 lead at halftime of the quarterfinal. "I told the guys not to overlook anyone in the playoffs; we have done that before and it cost us," said Esko head...
It was nothing but good news coming from the Fond du Lac Resource Management Division last week, as the Band announced a stable moose population, as well as favorable results in a sampling of the local deer herd for chronic wasting disease. The CWD test results, announced on social media, showed the disease was not detected in any of 161 samples provided by the Fond du Lac band and state-licensed hunters or collected roadkill from Minnesota 1837- and 1854-ceded territories and the FDL...
The Department of Vehicle Services continues to be an issue throughout the state, specifically when it comes to accessing behind-the-wheel drivers tests. Families have grown frustrated with the current backlog that seems to be growing every year. To make matters worse, when families are lucky enough to find open appointments, it oftentimes means driving across the state. DVS representatives came to the Senate Transportation Committee a few weeks ago to offer an updated solution to this problem: closing half of all testing locations. In 2021,...
The 7AA girls basketball season came to an end for local teams last week as Esko, Barnum and Moose Lake / Willow River bowed out of the tournament. Trailing 53-52, Esko had a chance to advance to the semifinals but was unable to capitalize, then a late foul gave the Rails the 3-point win Saturday at Duluth Denfeld. "We had the ball trailing by one point as time was fading down," Esko head coach Sue Northey said. "We wanted the opportunity to come away with the victory, but it didn't happen."...
While the girls basketball playoffs are entering their final stages, the boys sectional tournaments finally kicked off this week. The Pine Knot News offers this overview of local boys basketball teams and the potential matchups over the next week. Section 7A South Ridge entered the tournament as the No. 8 south seed and had a play-in game on Monday against No. 9 seed Floodwood. The Panthers handled the Floodwood Polar Bears by a score of 71-30. The victory moves the Panthers into a second-round...
One of Carlton County's longest-serving employees received statewide recognition last week for her exemplary work in the recorder's office. Kristine Basilici, Carlton County recorder and registrar of titles, earned a member-of-the-year award last week during a conference in St. Louis Park of the Minnesota Association of County Recorders. Auditors, treasures and recorders from all 87 counties were on hand when Basilici received the honor. She received a brass and wooden plaque "in recognition of...
George Bernard Shaw was riffing on Thomas Jefferson when he once wrote: “Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” Are we deserving? There is one way you might answer that question this month. You can take part in an annual township meeting on March 12. Yes, national politics gets all the ire and fire these days, but don’t take your most-local government for granted. Townships are the epitome of democracy, the oldest form of representation in the country. At the annual meeting you can learn about the l...
On Feb. 14, after a previous public hearing and discussion, the city council of Moose Lake voted to contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Department to provide law enforcement protection for the residents of Moose Lake. It was not a decision made lightly. It was a vote to ensure that the residents of Moose Lake will be provided affordable, quality, consistent law enforcement protection. It will provide more coverage for less costs. Since that time I’ve noticed that some of the people quoted, who are in favor of keeping the Moose Lak...
CLASS A Floodwood vs Carlton/Wrenshall, 43-30 South Ridge vs Silver Bay, 87-61 - South Ridge will play Floodwood at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at Esko Cromwell-Wright 82, Fond du Lac 24 - Cromwell-Wright plays Hill City at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 2 at Esko CLASS AA Esko 92, International Falls 32 - Esko plays Proctor at 11 a.m. Saturday Moose Lake/Willow River 19, Mesabi East 58 CLASS AAA Cloquet vs Hibbing, 58-20 Cloquet (18 - 9) - Lelani Fonoti 6, Ava Carlson 10, Quinn Danielson 13, Carly Johnson 10, Riley Goranson 6, Kiley Issendorf 2....
In one school year in the 1940s, in rural Moose Lake, there were five sets of twins riding a bus to school. This is testament from Jim Eckman, who, with his twin brother Chuck, belonged to one of those sets. Remarkable, yes. Was there something in the water? Maybe, Jim says. Of all those sets of twins, the Eckman boys stood out for a simple fact. They were born on Feb. 29. Leap year babies. The boys were born on the Harry and Eva Eckman farm on Feb. 29, 1936. Eva went into labor two months...
THUMBS UP to the Moose Lake city council for its unpopular but fiscally responsible decision to contract with Carlton County for its law enforcement needs. The months-long saga ended last week, in what many considered disappointing fashion, with a 3-2 vote. Choosing the Sheriff's Office to provide four deputies and a part-time clerk to cover the city meant dissolving the city's long-standing police force. But the force had dwindled to one, a result of disgruntled officers resigning and early...
he Moose Lake City Council to disband the police department in the name of funding concerns. Many questions abound, foremost those of security to the populace of the surrounding citizens as well as conscientious use of the resulting “freed up” hundreds of thousands of dollars. I had the privilege, as a citizen of the Moose Lake area (I live in a township just outside), of attending the city council meeting in January at which the decision was debated. As an observer, I tallied the viewpoints of the citizens whom I saw: 10 of 13 in favor of kee...
Thursday, Feb. 15 Boys Basketball Hibbing 71 ML/WR 66 Esko 89 Bemidji 70 North Woods 97 Fond du Lac Ojibwe 81 Girls Basketball Esko 66 Hermantown 44 Two Harbors 51 Carlton/Wrenshall 25 South Ridge 55 Floodwood 35 Cromwell-Wright 75 Pine River-Backus 45 Friday, Feb. 16 Boys Basketball Carlton/Wrenshall 85 Two Harbors 76 Esko 64 Barnum 50 ML/WR 87 Cloquet 79 South Ridge 67 Floodwood 53 Girls Basketball Hinckley-Finlayson 60 ML/WR 32 Saturday, Feb. 17 Boys Hockey Section 7A play-in International Falls 8 Moose Lake Area 4 Girls Basketball Cloquet...
Moose Lake Area was knocked out of the Section 7A boys hockey tournament Saturday afternoon in International Falls. A wild first period, which saw both teams pounding shots on net, eventually spelled trouble for the Rebels, who fell behind early and were never able to rebound in an 8-4 loss. “We had a real good first half of the first period,” said Rebels head coach Chris Gamst. Unfortunately for MLA, they were unable to score in the first period despite putting 17 shots on net. Even more unfortunate was that the Broncos pounded 20 shots on...
Public finance advisers Ehlers told the Carlton school board on Monday that a consolidation with Wrenshall would be close to revenue-neutral with only a slight decrease in state aid for the new combined school district. Aaron Bushberger, Ehlers’ municipal advisor, forecasted revenues that could be expected from a consolidation between Carlton and Wrenshall. Because the new district would be larger, it loses certain state aid to the tune of $61,000, which is partially offset by an increase of over $23,000 in the total tax levy, resulting in a n...
The Feeling of Family By Merissa Witte When I was younger my dad would play bands on the radio like Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Guns N’ Roses. I’d sit there in the car with my siblings trying to figure out who the band was and what song of theirs it was. Truth is I never really knew the names of the bands; I just loved listening to music with my siblings and Dad. When I was about 10, I remember one Christmas where we were at my aunt and uncle’s house, playing “Apples to Apples.” It was my grandpa’s turn and the card was “something chewy.” Well,...
Less than two weeks ago, Moose Lake Area defeated Duluth Marshall 4-0 in girls hockey in Moose Lake. Last Saturday, MLA was looking to become the first Rebels girls hockey team to play in a section final if they could beat Hilltoppers again. It wasn't in the cards. The Rebels struggled to match the firepower of Marshall and were bounced from the Section 7A tournament 5-1. "I thought we had a good edge to start the game and we had some chances early," said Rebels head coach Reilly Fawcett. "We we...
THURSDAY, FEB. 8 BOYS HOCKEY CEC 3 Sartell 2 Northern Lakes 5 Moose Lake Area 0 BOYS BASKETBALL Denfeld 70 Cloquet 59 GIRLS BASKETBALL North Woods 72 Fond du Lac 21 Cloquet 82 Coon Rapids 69 South Ridge 30 Cromwell-Wright 29 Pequot Lakes 50 Esko 40 Moose Lake/WR 50 Two Harbors 48 FRIDAY, FEB. 9 BOYS BASKETBALL Carlton/Wrenshall 71 Barnum 58 Moose Lake/WR 77 Two Harbors 73 Cromwell-Wright 67 South Ridge 53 BOYS HOCKEY Northeast Range/Ely 5 Moose Lake Area 4 SATURDAY, FEB. 10 GIRLS HOCKEY Section 7A Semifinals Proctor/Hermantown 6 CEC 0 Duluth...
Friday, Feb. 16 Girls Basketball ML/WR vs Hinckley- Finlayson, 7:15 Boys Basketball Barnum at Esko, 7:15 Carlton/Wrenshall at Two Harbors, 7:15 ML/WR at Cloquet, 7:15 Saturday. Feb. 17 Boys Hockey Section 7A playoffs Moose Lake Area at Internationals Falls, 1 p.m. Girls Basketball Cloquet at Bemidji, 2 Wrestling CEC Sectional at Mora, TBD Monday, Feb. 19 Girls Basketball Fond du Lac at South Ridge, 6:30 Cromwell-Wright vs Cass Lake, 6:15 Carlton/Wrenshall vs Ogilvie, 7:15 ML/WR at Pilager, 7:15 Tuesday. Feb. 20 Boys Hockey Section 7A playoffs...
Esko completed a boys basketball home-and-home sweep against Cloquet on Tuesday night, coasting to an 83-66 nonconference victory in Esko. Adding to the celebration was senior guard Koi Perich becoming his school's career scoring leader following a contested layup with 13 minutes, 3 seconds remaining in the second half. Esko, ranked seventh in Class AA by Minnesota Basketball News, led 44-23 at the half and never looked back. Sam Haugen had 24 points, Perich added 18 and Braedyn Male had 16 for...
