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 4707
Downtown Carlton was bustling Saturday with a wild and wonderful array of monsters, witches, chickens, rock stars, critters, cartoon characters, superheroes and more than one girl named Wednesday. Businesses, organizations and a Care Bears friend group lined the sidewalks along Chestnut Street handing out candy to what felt like more than a thousand kids and their parents, there to trick or treat in broad daylight. Five-year-old Rowan (pictured below) and his mother AnnaMay Frazier spun up one...
Colleen Ann Basney, 73, of St. Paul and formerly of Cloquet, peacefully passed away with her daughters by her side on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. She was born March 26, 1951, in Newcastle, Wyoming and grew up in Cloquet. Colleen graduated from Cloquet High School in 1969, Abbott Northwestern School of Nursing in 1973, and Abbott Northwestern School of Anesthesia in 1979. She worked more than 40 years as a certified registered nurse anesthetist. Her career took her to a variety of settings, including...
Philip E. "Phil" Lundgren passed away peacefully on Oct. 18, 2024, in Cloquet. He was born April 4, 1948, in Plymouth, Indiana, the youngest of five boys. Phil grew up in Babbitt, where he attended elementary, junior high, and high school and played hockey. In his younger years, he would spend summers on the farm with his four older brothers, getting into all kinds of mischief. These summers sparked a lifelong enthusiasm and love for working on engines and, later, helping friends in local stock...
Ailie Marie Merrill, 95, of Cloquet passed away Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Moose Lake Village. She was born Jan. 2, 1929, to John and Lydia (Salmi) Laine in Automba, Minnesota. Ailie moved to Cloquet in 1946 and married James Merrill in 1948. They were blessed with three children and Ailie naturally settled into her role as homemaker, dedicating her life to her family. She also volunteered for Meals on Wheels for 27 years. Faith was a very important aspect of Ailie's life. She served as a Sund...
Brian Keith Solseth, 63, of Cloquet passed away Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth, surrounded by family. Brian was born March 1, 1961, in Cody, Wyoming to Doug and Connie (Jones) Solseth. He graduated in 1979 from Cloquet High School. Brian was raised in Marshall, Minnesota. The family moved to Littleton, Colorado in 1975, returning to Minnesota and settling in Cloquet just before the start of his senior year. He earned the nickname "Denver" from his classmates. Brian...
Dale Edwin Kneeland, 77, of Austin, Texas passed away Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at home, following a two-year battle with cancer. He was born Feb. 22, 1947 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Dale was the son of Delbert and Doris (Bunse) Kneeland. Dale graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1965. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, where he was an assistant to the chaplain. Following his return home, Dale worked for Fisher Controls, which changed to Emerson. While working...
Judy Ann Heikkila of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, passed away peacefully at Crestview Lutheran Nursing home Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, with family at her side. Judy was born May 5, 1952, in Cloquet to Jonas and Beatrice Heikkila. She married Donald L. Sandberg in 1971 and was married for 25 years. Judy worked as a medical receptionist for Eye Care Associates in St. Anthony, Minnesota. She was a devoted mother to her twin daughters Christine and Cynthia. She loved her family and friends. Judy...
Joe Donald Bahen, 76, of Barnum, passed away peacefully at his home Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, after a year-long battle with cancer. He was born Sept. 28, 1948, in Cloquet, the son of Joseph and Ellen Bahen. Joe was known for his quick wit and good sense of humor. He found great joy in cross-country skiing and exploring various trails. He was an accomplished guitarist and had a passion for collecting vintage guitars. He cherished his time coaching youth sports. Joe was preceded in death by his...
With all of Carlton County's precincts reported by 11:25 p.m. Tuesday, the 2024 local election brought some interesting results. The results won't be official until after they are canvassed, but changes are rare after reporting. Here are a few of the highlights: The mayor's race in Wrenshall is tied. Incumbent Gary Butala and challenger Jeff Bloom each have exactly 143 votes each. Two incumbent Carlton School Board members - Julianne Emerson and Eryn Szymczak - are out. Ryan Leonzal, an...
Three of Carlton County's rural school districts were rocked by unexpected developments Monday. Members of the Barnum and Carlton school boards learned their administrators were proposing consolidation talks, while Wrenshall officials were surprised to find their partner in ongoing consolidation talks - Carlton - seemed to be abandoning them for another district. The news sparked anger, dismay and curiosity, along with a healthy dose of skepticism. Carlton school board member Ryan Leonzal was...
Veterans, military members and descendants take note. The Pine Knot News will again publish a special section recognizing local veterans and military personnel on Friday, Nov. 8. But we need your help to do it with a deadline of noon Monday, Oct. 28. Please send or drop off photos of your veterans and military personnel along with their name, branch of service, rank, years and dates of service if available, and conflicts they participated in. Extra details, memories or stories from their years of service are encouraged.Mail to or drop by the...
Eight local news outlets across Minnesota are among 205 grant recipients in a historic funding round from Press Forward, a nationwide campaign to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. The Pine Knot News is one of two traditional newspapers among those grantees. Editor Jana Peterson said staff at the small local newspaper - which turned six years old this month - is ecstatic. Over the next two years, the Pine Knot will receive $50,000 a year in grant funds, along with access to...
Freiberg family members tie ribbons on a banner to be carried at the front of the annual Suicide Awareness Memorial Walk, which happened in a light rain Oct. 12 in Carlton. Pictured from left are Tom, Jaxon, age 8, Jamie, and Jace, age 9, along with niece Jordyn Belden. Jamie said she survived a past attempt and participated in her first walk last year. "I put it on the calendar for this year and we came," she said. "I wanted to bring my kids. It's a good thing." People walk in memory of loved...
With the surprise entry of Barnum into the Carlton School Board consolidation talks this week and the uproar that followed, it would seem that consolidation really is on the ballot in Carlton on Nov. 5. While there is no formal question for voters, there is a clear choice between the five candidates for Carlton School Board in terms of whether or not they support continuing consolidation talks with Wrenshall. Board members pretty much staked out their positions during Monday’s Carlton School Board meeting. Chairwoman and candidate Julianne E...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College welcomed runners and walkers back to the beautiful FDLTCC campus for the 19th annual Pumpkin Run & Walk 5K Saturday, Oct. 19. A total of 201 runners and walkers finished the Pumpkin Run and Walk 5K and 36 finishers completed the Ring Road Fun Run. Overall winner Scott Behling of Duluth finished with a time of 15:38.6. Joe Johnson finished second in 19:33.8 and Jackson Wichtendahl was third with a time of 19:38.0. The first finisher of the women's...
Although a notice about the public accuracy test of voting equipment is published in the legal notices of the paper, I doubt that most people notice it. As a former election judge, I have done the testing myself in our township and I have had to ask people to come because rarely does anyone show up. For those who doubt the validity of an election, they should attend this testing and see for themselves how hard it would be to rig an election. It may be too late for this election since some of...
Two years ago Pete Radosevich and Jeff Dotseth participated in a debate. Pete gave a quality response providing background information and then explaining his answer. Dotseth didn’t seem to match such quality. Now it appears that Rep. Dotseth has chosen to not debate in Moose Lake, the only Carlton County candidate forum where the candidates would have sat in the same room. I wonder why. Does he not want to defend his performance in the state legislature? This might suggest it’s time for a change. If you have read Pete Radosevich’s colum...
It’s section playoff time for local volleyball teams and things are about to get awfully interesting. What follows is a breakdown of local teams and who and when they will be playing. Look for more information on volleyball playoffs in next week’s Pine Knot News. Section 7A Four local teams will all be vying for a place in the Section 7A championship game, but all of those teams will have a tough road ahead. No. 8 seeded Fond du Lac Ojibwe gets the tough job of opening up against No. 1 see...
Fall is here and with it comes chill winds, scuttling leaves and so many things to do. It's not sugar plum fairies that dance through my head, but dreams of corn mazes, pumpkin carving, walks through the woods and creative ways to spend those chilly days together. Each year our family makes a trip out to the Ru-Ridge Corn Maze between Carlton and Wrenshall for an afternoon of delights. Though we have yet to brave the late-night activities such as the Flash Light Fridays, we make sure to take adv...
Archie Ray Maki, 68, of Floodwood, passed away Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. He was born April 2, 1956, to Edwin and Helen (Palmi) Maki in Cloquet. Archie spent his childhood in the Brookston area and attended Alborn schools, earning a diploma in 1974. He quickly found his career attending trade school for boilermaking and went on to work for the Boilermakers Local 647 Union for 36 years. Archie was married to Sharyl Heine for 14 years and together they were blessed...
Margaret "Peggy" Ann Moerke, 81, of Esko passed away Oct. 12, 2024, at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. Peggy was born in Duluth on July 7, 1943, to Lyell and Johanna Brand and graduated from the Denfeld High School class of 1961. She worked until 2020 as a recorder for Social Security disability hearings, providing the official records of the proceedings. She enjoyed knowing the people in the office and meeting the variety of traveling judges who presided over the hearings. Peggy was always...
Carol Jean Carlson, 80, of Cloquet passed into God's hands on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, at New Perspective Senior Living in Cloquet. She was born Aug. 3, 1944, in Duluth to Henry and Fannie (Neiminen) Freeman. Carol graduated from Denfeld High School in 1962 and continued her education in college in the home health aide/homemaker field, later working for St. Louis County. After numerous years with the county, Carol decided to retire and start her own assisted living facility in her home in...
Gail Patricia Beck, 84, of Carlton passed away Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Moose Lake Village in Moose Lake. She was born Nov. 23, 1939, in Duluth, the daughter of Wallace and Patricia (Lahti) Nickila. Gail was raised in Esko. After graduating from high school, she attended cosmetology school and became a licensed beautician. From 1971 to 1977 she was owner and operator of the Golden Gate Supper Club. Gail and Bruce left Cloquet and built their dream retirement home on a hobby farm in Carlton....
Catherine Ann Sollom, 74, passed away peacefully Oct. 16, 2024, surrounded by her family. Cathy grew up in Minnesota and graduated from Cloquet High School in 1968. She attended college at Bemidji State, where she double-majored in English and mass communications while finding the love of her life. In 1971, she and Bob married and embarked on a lifelong journey of love and adventure. Cathy passionately served our nation for more than 30 years as a civil servant, predominantly with her beloved...
Last week's Pine Knot News had an extensive rundown of local Halloween destinations for thrillseekers in late October. Previously unreported Halloween offerings include one local house, at right, where Briana DeBartolo creates a large Halloween display every year at 310 Johnson Ave., in Cloquet. This year she is taking donations for a Gofundme for a 14-year-old with cancer. Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College Nursing Club's Trunk or Treat will take place 1:30-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 in...
