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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Barnum native and Pearl Harbor veteran Don Long passed away peacefully on August 16, 2021, in his home in Napa. He was born on June 22, 1921, the eldest son of Anna and Bert Long, in St. Cloud and was preceded in death by his brothers Jack, Ken and Dick, his sisters Joan and Gladys and his wife of 64 years, Madeline Long. Don was 100 years old, a member of the "greatest generation," and enjoyed many events celebrating WWII veterans during the last decade of his life, including being honored in t...
The Nordic Spirit Youth Ski League is offering cross country ski lessons this winter at Spirit Mountain Nordic Center for kids ages 5 to 14. The league offers affordable prices with seasoned volunteer coaches. It will supply ski equipment if needed. Lessons begin Jan. 9 and will go for six weeks, to Feb. 13. The weekly Sunday lessons for children in grades K-3 will be 1:30-2:30 p.m. Kids in grades 4-8 will be taught 1-2:30. The cost is $20 for the first child, $15 for a second child and a maximum of $45 per family. Price includes use of ski...
Kenneth E. "Kenny" Beck, 78, of Carlton passed away peacefully Sept. 15, 2021, at Solvay House in Duluth after a 2½ year battle with pancreatic cancer. Kenny was born Oct. 17, 1942, in Two Harbors to Frank and Elna Beck. After graduating from Clover Valley High School in 1960, he spent four years in the U.S. Navy with his brother Bob, of whom he was very proud. Upon his return, he worked for Reserve Mining, and later for USG Corporation. Kenny was married to Debby Beck, whom he called "th...
With the turning of the leaves and calendar to September, many golf aficionados start planning where to store their clubs for the winter season. But a group of seniors maximize the remaining daylight and try to prolong the golf schedule with a condensed tournament that features six local course sites played over four days. The annual event, founded by the late Lee Samuelson of Lee’s Pro Shop in Pine City, has a maximum — and it is always full — of 18 foursomes playing in a four-...
Cloquet city councilors approved a master plan for Pine Valley Park Tuesday and continued their ongoing debate over the current Cloquet Project Labor Agreement. Additionally, councilors got a quick overview of the proposed 2022 budget, which included a proposed preliminary levy increase of 3.49-percent, or $109,400. City administrator Tim Peterson said department heads did a good job of holding the line on expenses, but there are increases the city doesn’t have control over, including a 3...
When the Carlton County Central Labor Body officials voted on this year’s Labor Day celebration back in March, they had no way of forecasting what things would be like come September. But they figured the parade was a safe bet, and that’s happening, starting at 11 a.m. Monday. Response has been good, said organizer Chad Turra, adding that it’s basically been a two-man show this year, with him and Joe Kneisel, respectively vice president and president of the Carlton County Central Labor Body, running things. “This town was built on Labor -- ther...
The Cloquet Labor Day festivities return Monday, Sept. 6. A parade — a regional highlight celebrating workers since 1917 — starts at 11 a.m. and runs down Cloquet Avenue from 18th to Eighth Street. There will be food trucks in the city parking lot at Cloquet Avenue and 11th Steet before and after the parade. A car show runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Northeastern Hotel and Saloon on Dunlap Island, with beer, brats and burgers available. Voting for awards is done by participants and spectators until 2 p.m. with trophies presented at 2:30 p.m...
The Cloquet City Council and Cloquet School Board are in the midst of a virtual faceoff over a new lease for use of the city-owned hockey arenas. Earlier this month, the school board voted unanimously to only ratify one year of a three-year lease; on Tuesday night, the council voted against approving the lease at all. Although school board chair Ted Lammi rallies annually against what he considers the gouging of the school district, this is the first time the school board has pushed back. Of...
Doris Lorane Naslund, 94, died peacefully at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton on Aug. 10, 2021. She was born April 8, 1927, in Barron County, Wisconsin to Herb and Grace Ellefson, and lived her early years on a farm in central Wisconsin. After graduating high school, she moved to Moose Lake. She met and married Allan Naslund and in 1951 they settled in Esko to build their home and family. Doris was an active, lifelong member of St. Matthews Church, where she always enjoyed worshipping and serv...
Patricia "Pat" (Wedl) Bailey passed away peacefully Feb. 15, 2020 at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. Due to Covid-19, the family was unable to gather and celebrate Pat. Visitation will be held 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 at her daughter's home at 11 Ridge Road, Esko. If you are unable to attend the service, please stop by between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. to share a story or two about Pat, visit with the family, and grab a bite to eat. The second of three children, Pat was born May 5, 1930 to...
Kids on bikes turned out in force Saturday morning, with nearly 100 participating in an event called Kids Pedal the Pines Day at Cloquet’s Pine Valley recreation area. There were bikers of all ages. “We were pleasantly surprised,” said Allison Jerde, secretary of the The Cloquet Singletrackers, a bike club advocating for trail use in Cloquet. “There were some really tiny kids on their strider bikes, using their feet to push, all the way up to teenagers,” she said. Singletrackers collabora...
As one sales tax nears its halfway point, the city of Cloquet is banking on residents approving a new one in November 2022 that would pay for improvements to the hockey arenas and Pine Valley park. It’s been almost nine years since the city’s first sales tax was passed, with 63 percent of voters approving the half-cent tax. Collection of monies for that sales tax will sunset after raising either $16.5 million or 30 years, whichever comes first. Finance director Nancy Klassen said Tuesday the city collected $1.1 million from sales tax funds in...
Whether you're looking for a way to while away an afternoon or plan an entire week's worth of activities - staycation style - there's plenty to do in Carlton County. Now that summer has taken hold, it's the perfect time to explore everything the area has to offer, from hiking in Jay Cooke State Park and whitewater rafting down the St. Louis River, to museums and other local attractions. Established in 1857 and home to more than 35,000 citizens, Carlton County encompasses Cloquet, Esko, Carlton,...
Although it squeaked through at the very last minute, Carlton County had a lot to celebrate in the final budget bill passed by state legislators and the governor last week. The agreement (see Page 1) that the state would cover Enbridge tax repayments for counties, schools and townships was a tremendous relief for local officials. Additionally, legislators also approved two different local sales tax requests and the fire district’s ongoing plea for appropriate taxing authority for emergency m...
The Frank Lloyd Wright house known as Mäntylä, Finnish for “under the pines,” that formerly made its home in Cloquet, was featured on the CBS “Sunday Morning” program June 27. Mäntylä was commissioned by the same family that built Cloquet’s Wright-designed gas station: Ray and Emmy Lindholm. Their daughter Joyce and her husband, Daryl McKinney, had fallen in love with Wright’s work when they were students at the University of Minnesota. In 2016, Peter and Julene McKinney donated the Cloquet hom...
I have thoroughly enjoyed the half-dozen grad parties I attended the last few weeks. It's always sweet to see how the featured grad beams at you and answers your "what's next?" questions. And I love the photo displays where you can trace the grad's trajectory, from lovable baby through finding himself or herself with the guidance and joy of strangers and siblings. A good party also involves sitting down, forking up yummy food, and visiting with neighbors and strangers. It struck me this year...
What would you like to see in an upgrade of Cloquet's Pine Valley recreation area? The city of Cloquet recently hired a team of consultants to consider options and survey the public on our priorities. On June 21, the consultants presented an overview and received feedback from a couple dozen community members at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. Many participants proposed improvements for Pine Valley. Cross-country skiers, ski jumpers, snowshoers, trail runners, mountain and winter...
There's a new club in town that's rolling right along. "We're a local mountain bike club and our goal is advocacy for singletrack and multi-use trails in Cloquet and the surrounding area," said Brendon Menze, president of the Cloquet Singletrackers. "It's a way to bring the local bike community together." So why the emphasis on singletrack trails? Menze summed it up in two words: "They're fun." "Singletrack trails are basically a path for bikes through the woods," described Menze. "They are...
Afton Marie Schmidtke, 84, of Cloquet passed away April 17, 2021 in St. Luke's Hospital in Duluth. She was born Oct. 13, 1936 in Shelly to Archie and Mildred Larson. She grew up in Shelly and graduated from Halstad High School. Afton received her bachelor's degree in education from Minnesota State University Moorhead and her master's degree in special education from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Afton met Gary Schmidtke while attending college, and the couple was married on June 16, 1957....
Like so many sporting events last spring, the 2020 USA Nordic Junior Championships were canceled at the last minute due to the spread of Covid-19 across the country. This year, three high-flying Cloquet athletes ended their winter sports season in Colorado, competing at the 2021 USA Nordic Junior Championships last month. Cloquet High School sophomores Charlotte Ripp and Karl Thompson, both age 16, traveled to Steamboat Springs the first week of March for junior nationals, after earning enough...
Cloquet City Hall and the Cloquet Police Department will reopen to the public on May 1, after limited access because of the pandemic since mid-November. City administrator Tim Peterson told council members Tuesday that he'd like to bring all of the staff back into the building effective next month. "Our goal for the last couple months here was to attempt to wait until vaccines were available to everybody," Peterson said in response to a question from Ward 3 councilor Chris Swanson. "Now that...
In Minnesota, we value strong schools, strong families, strong communities, and strong local economies. The last year has been full of hardship and sacrifices, including tragedy for too many families. Despite the trials and tribulations, it’s clear Minnesotans are resilient, and we’re on the verge of putting the Covid-19 crisis in the rearview mirror. Now, it’s time for us to do our part at the Capitol to prioritize those who have experienced the greatest hardships over the last year. Much of our work this session has been in House commi...
After a couple of coaching gigs and a trip back to school, former Minnesota Wilderness coach and Cloquet hockey star Cory Millen is back in the North American Hockey League as head coach of the St. Cloud Norsemen. "The owner of the Norsemen reached out and asked if I had any interest in coaching again," said Millen. "We had met a few times just being in the same league in years past." Millen accepted the invitation and is in the process of trying to build the Norsemen into a contender in the...
Got questions about Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College? For more than two decades, Tom Urbanski has been the person to ask many of those questions as the lead person for marketing and public relations. If Tom didn't know, he'd be able to point you in the right direction, almost always with an affable grin and likely more information than you even knew you needed. At the same time, Urbanski has woven himself into the fabric of the larger Cloquet area community, serving on the city's Parks...
This year's annual Frozen Forester races at Pine Valley raised more than $2,000 to help with trail expansion and maintenance costs for the new bike trails at Cloquet's popular woodland park. Held on March 13, the unique race offered participants a choice between a 5.5K run/walk/snowshoe - as a family-friendly trails option - or a much more challenging off-trail run. They could also do a 15K fat tire bike ride on groomed trails, or go for both a bike and a run of their choice. Race turnout has...
