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 4773
Welcome to the final Pine Knot News issue of 2024. The paper will be closed next week, so staff can spend more time with friends and family. That means there will be a two-week gap until the publishing of the Jan. 3 editionbut we will be updating the website more frequently. Creating a newspaper every week is a labor of love for all of us at the Pine Knot News, but it’s labor all the same. We could use the breather, but not before we tell you how much we appreciate your readership and support. In the six years since we printed our first e...
The Minnesota Wilderness closed out the first half of the season playing its best hockey of the campaign, completing a two-game sweep of the Kenai River Brown Bears and stretching its winning streak to a season-high five games. The Wilderness (14-13-3) also moved back above .500 after their 7-4 and 6-1 victories Dec. 13 and Saturday over Kenai River (11-15-3) in Cloquet. Minnesota is now idle until Jan. 3-4 at home against Anchorage. A balanced offensive attack led the Wilderness to victory Dec. 13. Seven players scored goals for Minnesota....
After nine seasons as the head coach of the Esko football team, Scott Arntson has decided to step down and focus on family, freeing up time in what is a very busy life. "I just felt this was the right time and situation for me to step aside," Arntson said. 'I have a granddaughter and another grandchild on the way. My granddaughter lives in Duluth, and I hardly saw her during the season, and the new one will be living in Wausau, so I know if I was the head coach I wouldn't be able to spend the...
It’s not the greatest Christmas hymn, but it sure resonates when I think of Christmas Eve services at my old church back home: “I Am So Glad Each Christmas Eve.” With each passing year, I rue more and more about not being able to attend a service at St. John’s Lutheran in Montgomery. But it’s three hours away, and there is no longer a farm 8 miles away for the opening of presents afterwards. I recall constantly thinking on those nights, especially on the dark ride home, rounding the curves at Lake Dora, about the comfort in knowing where eve...
Christmas is almost here. I'm wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It's this time of year that we take the time to reminisce about the past and our favorite Christmas memories. We celebrated Christmas as I was growing up on Christmas Eve. My dad would take us to town in Cromwell or Wright to get us out of the house while my mother made all the last-minute preparations for the evening. Dad would take us to the Co-op store in Wright, and we would look around at all the...
Special Bulletin — We are hopefully having a white Christmas this year, and it certainly won’t be blue for area children. The North Pole News is pleased to announce that it has once again teamed with the staff at the Pine Knot News to deliver letters to Santa at the North Pole — on time, with room to spare. Santa has released statistics from his lists and it was reported that 99.99 percent of the children and pets in Carlton County made it on the nice list, making them eligible for speci...
Two familiar faces are among the six candidates set to interview for a spot on Cloquet's school board later this month. Cloquet public schools leaders on Monday, Dec. 9, agreed to interview Brendon McKeon, Robert Peacock, Nate Sandman, Jason Loons, Shaun Williams and Ted Lammi next week. Each hopes to replace Sarah Buhs, a board member who resigned effective in January after she was elected to the Carlton County board of commissioners in November. The current board members agreed to meet...
Greg White describes himself as a father, husband, firefighter, outdoorsman and mental health advocate. Now the Cloquet Area Fire District firefighter can add the title of "champ" to the list, after being crowned winner of the 'Stache Salt moustache competition and title of "2024 Saltiest 'Stache of the Year" last week. Sponsored by 'Stache Salt, the monthlong online competition included a number of judges challenges to get to the Top 10. From that point, it was a popularity contest, with the to...
A man was rescued and later charged with driving while intoxicated Monday after his vehicle was submerged in the St. Louis River in Scanlon. A 35-year-old man from Ironwood, Michigan was arrested by the Cloquet Police after being medically cleared from the local hospital. At 10:30 p.m. Monday, first responders were dispatched to a vehicle that went into the river off River Gate Avenue, past the River Inn and Minnesota Whitewater Rafting businesses, CAFD battalion chief Jason Maki said in a...
I swear I didn’t run for state representative just to get out of writing for the Pine Knot News this past year. In fact, I’m pleased Jana, the editor, asked me to start writing “Harry’s Gang” again. It’s nice to be back. It’s also nice to know that I was right. Just after the election, we heard the state is facing a possible budget deficit in two years of nearly $6 billion. That’s precisely the amount I had been advocating that we save from the $18 billion budget surplus of a couple years ago. A...
Cloquet's sneak peek of old St. Nick and all things Christmas is finally here. The annual Santa's Home for the Holidays festivities kicked off Thursday with "Letters to Santa" at Members Cooperative Credit Union and storytime with Santa at the library, followed by a free chili feed at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, courtesy of the Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments. Today, Friday, Dec. 6, activities move to Queen of Peace Catholic Church, with a $10 spaghetti dinner, crafts and bake...
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 -...
Here is our annual reminder on the importance of public notices in your local newspaper. As a hyper-local newspaper, the Pine Knot News is a lean and keen newspaper. There are no unnecessary additives or sweeteners in the product you enjoy each week. And that includes the back of the paper, often filled with public notices. These notices are the key to open government and an informed public. Yes, publishing them at a cost helps keep the lights on here at the office, but they also serve a...
Gerald "Buck" Bloomquist recently turned 100 years old. Born Oct. 10, 1924, he was part of The Greatest Generation, graduating from Cloquet High School in 1942. He currently lives at a Veterans Home in Rifle, Colorado. He is a proud veteran of World War II. The Nov. 8 Pine Knot Veterans Day tribute spurred the Bloomquist relatives and me to revive - and retrieve - Buck's military and life stories. Buck's son, Bill, was a Cloquet school and athletic chum of mine. Buck Bloomquist was an...
Bruce Alan Walker, 72, died Friday, Nov. 29 at Solvay Hospice House in Duluth. He was born July 11, 1952, in International Falls to Cyril and Elnor (Wagner) Walker. On Oct. 11, 1969, he married Linda Kockelman, and they were blessed with two daughters, Toni and Mindy. Bruce graduated from Hamline University with a chemistry degree and worked in the paper industry at Potlatch in Cloquet and Brainerd, retiring from Sappi in 2012. He was not afraid of work. He worked hard and played hard. He truly...
Esko’s Koi Perich, a defensive back for the University of Minnesota football team, was named to the Big Ten all-conference team this week. He is the first Gopher first-year player to be named to the first team since running back Darrell Thompson in 1986. Perich was named among coaches and media representatives. Perich was also on a second team and honorable mention for his kick returns on special teams. Perich was also one of five players named a finalist for the national Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of Year on Wednesday. — Pine Knot New...
Two close games led to a split between the Minnesota Wilderness and Springfield Jr. Blues this weekend at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois. Springfield captured Friday’s contest, 4-2, while the Wilderness skated away with a 2-1 shootout victory Saturday. Minnesota erased one-goal deficits twice Friday before the Jr. Blues sealed the win with two third-period goals. Zach Homer scored in the first period to even the game at one. The Wilderness needed only two rounds in the shootout Saturday. Ferry Netusil and Nate Murray scored in t...
Alex Mari Gross (formerly named "Jill") of Cloquet was called home by her Heavenly Father on Nov. 26, 2024. She was born on Aug. 20, 1965. Alex is survived by her sister, Berta Swoverland of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; stepsister, Michelle Schubitzke of Duluth; nephew, Paul Campbell of Las Vegas; nieces, Jennifer Campbell and Stephanie Hurst, both of Sheboygan Falls; uncle, Gary Anton of Carlton; and many cousins. Alex was preceded in death by her parents, Catherine McDonald and Bert Gross;...
Every election season, candidates for county office talk about their desire to expand the tax base so that county expenses can be spread across a wider swath of property owners. Growth outpacing expenses would lower individual taxes, which have only risen in recent years. But those are campaign promises. Reality offers a more difficult picture. To learn more about how well Carlton County is positioned for growth, the Pine Knot met this week with one of the primary people responsible for it,...
A Covid-19 vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months and older, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The 2024-2025 updated Covid-19 vaccine provides the best protection against the strains of the virus that are currently circulating. Talk to your child’s doctor about getting them vaccinated. It is safe for children to get the Covid-19 vaccine and other vaccines, like their flu shot, at the same visit. Now is a great time to make sure everyone in the family — from babies to grandparents — are vaccinated so they have maxim...
Households across the country can order four additional over-the-counter COVID-19 tests for free again. The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has reopened COVIDtests.gov, in collaboration with the U.S. Postal Service. These tests are intended for use throughout the 2024 holiday season to detect currently circulating COVID-19 variants. As the fall and holiday seasons will create increased close proximity gatherings of people, the government remains...
A planned lottery to give some would-be cannabis business owners a licensing head start won’t go forward early this week after a judge halted the process Monday. Ramsey County District Court Judge Stephen Smith sided with a group of applicants who had been denied access to the social equity pre-approval lottery. They sued over a process they argued had lacked clear criteria and that left no room for appeals. “There’s no lottery tomorrow,” Smith ruled toward the end of an hour-long online hearing. He said the state was free to file an appeal....
While the Cloquet Area Fire District board didn’t discuss whether to move forward on design development for a new building Nov. 20, it did approve an eight-month contract with a marketing firm to promote the district’s legislative priorities, including its desire to build a new station on 22nd Street in Cloquet. The district will pay Cloquet-based marketing firm Promoting Me up to $65,000 to develop a communication strategy, coordinate public meetings such as open houses, and conduct community surveys, among other tasks. “I’m seeing more an...
They’ve been doing it all along, and now they want to take an extra step and bring some vibrancy to Carlton and its environs. Emily and Glenn Swanson from the city’s historic Oldenburg House have hosted numerous arts events at the bed and breakfast — concerts featuring national and international artists, poets, and delightful events with a host of local artists like the Honey Bee Festival a few years ago. They’ve also worked on the West End Flourish, taking art to Cloquet’s historic district in an effort to bring some revitalization. Oldenburg...
When I arrived at the Cloquet public library for chess club on a Friday afternoon this month, Seth Stevens was the only one there. He bested me at two rounds, and after nearly an hour, with no one else in sight, we decided Round 3 would be our last. Stevens put me in a quagmire when 10-year-old Orion Pierson entered the scene. For his benefit, I explained my ultimatum: move my checked king and allow Stevens to infiltrate my weak left flank with one knight or capture his other knight but lose my...
