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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Ward 3 Cloquet Council Candidate profile: Chris Swanson PKN: Briefly summarize your personal background and qualifications. Swanson: I grew up and lived in this area of Cloquet most of my life. I've taught government classes at CHS since 2001. As a parent, resident and community member, I appreciate the importance of remaining level-headed under pressure, responsive to my fellow residents, and conscious of the public's trust. PKN: What made you decide to run for Cloquet City Council? Swanson:... Full story
$52,000. That’s a lot of money to replace the refrigerant in the old “Barn,” especially since there is no guarantee this new batch of R-22 just won’t leak out again. Cloquet’s original indoor ice arena is showing its age, and the system under the floor that freezes the ice is old and in need of replacement or repair. Right now, though, all the refrigerant has leaked out and the City Council has agreed to spend the money to replace it, so we can have ice in The Barn this winter. Refilling the system with R-22 is the easiest and quickest...
We are learning a lot about industrial arts training and jobs these days, well-deserved and long overdue. But what about artists? Musicians, performing artists, writers, filmmakers, painters, photographers, designers and architects? An economist, I’ve been studying artists for almost 20 years: their aspirations, training, post-schooling work, and ways of relating to their patrons, audiences and publics. I started exploring data, mounting surveys, and interviewing many artists, hoping to learn a...
Cloquet's own wacky race, the Lost Forester Adventure Run, had a record 23 racers this year and 22 finishers (because one had to leave to get to a soccer game). Only five racers, however, officially finished within the required 3-hour time limit, according to organizer and lost forester himself, Tim Krohn. The Lost Forester is a race in and around Pine Valley recreation area and the Otter Creek Area on the Fond du Lac Reservation: and runners travel across the trails - and through the woods... Full story
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa flag now flies in the Cloquet city council chambers, a reminder to those who do business there that the borders of the Fond du Lac Reservation and Cloquet overlap and the two entities cannot thrive separately. Charlie Smith, or "Nenaaw" in Anishinaabe, offered tobacco to everyone in the room, as well as to the drum itself, after the Cedar Creek drum group finished two songs and the flag was placed behind the council dais. They presented the flag so...
Hey, it’s the 100th annual Labor Day celebration in Cloquet coming up this weekend. As your newspaper of record on such milestone events, we thought we’d check in on some history about what has become one of Cloquet’s signature yearly events — and a unique one at that, as few cities celebrate the holiday in grand style any more. So we went back to 1919. Sure enough, there was a big celebration. Fun was had by all, the old Pine Knot reported. The weather was perfect. Everything went off “withou... Full story
The 20K Lost Forester race and its tamer siblings, the Pine Valley 5.5K and 11K races, are now a Labor Day tradition in Cloquet. The Lost Forester is the race for hardy souls, who know how to use a compass (and own one) and who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty. The Lost Forester race features runs across the trails — and through the woods connecting them — instead of on them. Participants follow ribbons in the woods to reach a central point. There they will meet the “Lost Forester,” obtain a special card to prove the participant reached t...
At last Wednesday’s city council meeting, the council voted 4:3 to refuse a $1,000 donation from Enbridge to help defray expenses for the city’s National Night Out event at Veterans Memorial Park and also any future donations. I am, among other things, the chairman of the Pine Valley Mountain Bike Trail Extension Committee, which is a group of local volunteers whose sole purpose is to raise money to extend the Pine Valley Mountain Bike Trail from its existing 2.3 miles to the planned 5 miles. There is $125,000 budgeted for this project. In the...
Supported by many spectators, a grand total of 42 people from Cloquet, Esko, Carlton and that big city to the east, Duluth, ran in the first Pine Valley Bike, Run, Family Fun series of races at Pine Valley on Sunday, Aug. 11. The event consisted of a duathlon (two loops biking on the 2.3-mile single track bike trail and one loop running on the 5.5-kilometer ski trail), a bike-only race, and a run-only race. Many of the bikers were middle-school and high-school students from the Cloquet-Esko-Carl...
The hilly and wooded Pine Valley trails, the often too-close encounters with wildlife, and the satisfying smack of shoe on ground … It must be cross-country season. But this year, we had a bit of a unique snag. Oftentimes, first-day snags include unclear communication or some inconvenient weather. However, we got to start out the year dealing with “aggressive beavers.” Yes, you read it right. The team met for the first day of practice in the MedExpress parking lot because the balance of power...
Burkholder 5K The annual Kristin Burkholder 5K Walk/Run kicks off Esko Fun Day on Saturday. Race packet pickup begins at the Esko High School sports complex (football field) on Canosia Road at 7:45 a.m. Free kids’ races start at 8:45 a.m. and the 5K begins at 9 a.m. Race-day registration cost is $25 per individual and $60 per family. The race is held in memory of 12-year-old Kristin Burkholder, who died from injuries from a pedestrian-car accident while running during track practice on Canosia Road in 1997. Cloquet duathlon The new Pine V...
The first ever Pine Valley Bike, Run, Family Fun 13K Duathlon is set for Sunday, Aug. 11 in Cloquet’s Pine Valley Recreation Area. Participants can choose from several races, including a 13K duathlon (7.5K mountain bike, 5.5K run) at 12 p.m., a 7.5K mountain bike race also at 12 p.m., a 5.5K fun run at 1 p.m., and a 1.2K fun run for families with kids ages 10 and under at 11 a.m. Cost is $25 per individual event and $50 per duathlon team. Sign up a week ahead to get a T-shirt at the event; o...
On any given Tuesday, Thursday, or Sunday you may see the large group of mountain bikers standing eagerly, roughly in a circle. This group is the Cloquet- Esko-Carlton mountain biking team, and they are itching to get riding on the trails to continue their training for the upcoming races scattered across Minnesota and Wisconsin. There is a significant age range, with the youngest riders in sixth grade and the oldest preparing to start their senior year of high school. The CEC mountain biking...
Dozens of runners and volunteers gathered to have fun and honor the late Cole Drechsler during the Cloquet Rotary Club’s annual Color Run Saturday, June 13. Their transformation from the start to the finish line rivaled caterpillars turning into butterflies. The Rotary Club, the local Junior Rotarian program and the Drechsler family worked hand-in-hand to create a colorful race that Cole would have loved. “He provided lots of color,” Dawn Drechsler said in last week’s interview with Pine Kn...
Five years ago, family and friends of Cole Drechsler came together at the Cloquet Rotary’s Color Run to walk for Cole, a bright and vibrant young man who had passed away three days before. The 2013 Cloquet High School grad died as the result of injuries from a crash with an extremely drunk driver, Philip Bergerson, on July 11, 2015, on the Highway 61 Expressway between Two Harbors and Duluth. Cole died four days later while being treated for his critical injuries. The drunk driver was killed o...
Pollinator event at barn Two unique pollinator events are coming up soon. A Bee Friendly advocacy gathering is set for 4:30-7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13 in the Free Range Festival Barn, and will include a rural art project announcement, pro-pollinator presentations and screening of the “Pollinators Under Pressure” film, along with music and food with honey. On Saturday, July 20 efforts really get buzzing with a Bee Friendly Day in Carlton, including a 9 a.m. bike ride starting at the Carlton Bike Rental and Repair shop, “bee calm” yoga at 10 a.m...
Steak fry 4-6:45 p.m. Friday, June 28 at Cromwell Park Pavilion. (Hamburger plate also available.) There is also a silent auction 4-6:45 p.m., followed by the variety show 7-9 p.m. Sponsored by the Cromwell Area Community Club CHS Class of 1989 30th reunion 7 p.m. Saturday, June 29 at Cloquet Country Club. [email protected] Pet loss and terminal illness grief support group meets 5:30-7 p.m. the first Monday of the month. Next meeting: July 1. Suite 1000 in the Alworth Bldg, 306 W. Superior St., Duluth. No registration required. 218-481-7660...
When you think of the Cloquet Fourth of July festivities, your thoughts most likely fall to the parade, the fireworks display and, of course, the Sawdust 5K and its sister race, the Lavonna Mile. The ninth annual Cloquet Sawdust 5K will start off the day's festivities at 8 a.m. at Pinehurst Park. Participants will make their way through the western roads and hills of Cloquet and finish right back at Pinehurst, probably a little more tired than when they began. On the bright side, they are...
County races Whether you plan to run your fortieth 5K or your first this summer, make sure you leave room for at least one Carlton County race. Here are a few of the highlights: Cloquet Sawdust 5K July 4, Pinehurst Park, Cloquet Registration: $25, guaranteed shirt Race day: $30, shirt not guaranteed You can go the extra 3.1 miles by participating in the Jimmer Challenge: run the 5K, turn around and run back for a total of 10 km or roughly 6.2 miles. Lavonna Mile Date: July 4, 18th St. & Avenue B...
It’s probably been more than 20 years since there was an active Carlton County fastpitch softball league. I thought about it the other day when I was driving down Minnesota Highway 210 toward Cromwell and passed the old Iverson Inn ballfield. The inn, a bar and restaurant that grilled great hamburgers and served ice-cold beer, burned down to the ground many years ago. The adjacent ball field still has a backstop today but does not resemble the field where I had the privilege of playing f... Full story
Peter Tomhave, the Lumberjacks No. 1 singles player, headed off to the state Class A State Tennis Tournament this week for the second year in a row. Pine Knot News sports reporter Jack Slater asked him a few questions before he left. Q How did you get started playing tennis? A I started playing tennis through my family. Growing up, it was a big family tradition. It was just natural for me to step in and learn the sport - after that it was pretty easy to fall in love with it. Q This is your...
On Memorial Day weekend, we honor those who have died serving in the U.S. military. While Esko's Dale Erickson survived his stint in the Korean War, he came home a different person. "Some Marines never find their souls again," he writes in his memoir. "A part of them remains missing for the rest of their lives and they forever struggle." The memoir details relentless battles, dead bodies and near-death experiences. As we approach Memorial Day, a time when we honor our military veterans for the... Full story
It may be more than 1,000 miles away, but Cloquet native Peter McKinney said it felt like home when he stepped inside Mäntylä, the Frank Lloyd Wright home his Finnish grandparents built in Cloquet almost 65 years ago. Instead of being hidden in a grove of pine trees along Highway 33 in Cloquet, the home is now located in Polymath Park in Acme, Penn. After being dismantled, shipped and then reconstructed in Pennsylvania over a two-year period, Mäntylä - Finnish for "under the pines" - opened to... Full story
Cloquet’s local sales tax revenue is dedicated to specific projects and needs in our community. Seven years ago, the Minnesota Legislature and local voters allowed Cloquet to collect the tax — to be used specifically for park/trail improvements, public infrastructure and infrastructure improvements for a potential commercial development — but required that specific dollar amounts be tied to the three project areas. That included $5.8 million to develop the swampy corner adjacent to Highway 33 and Interstate 35. At the time, that area was thoug...
Almost three years after it was dismantled, and moved brick by brick from Cloquet to Pennsylvania, the R.W. Lindholm House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is open for business. The R.W. Lindholm House — known as Mäntylä, Finnish for “under the pines” — was commissioned by the same family that built Cloquet’s Wright-designed gas station. In 2016, Peter and Julene McKinney donated the home and much of the Wright-designed furnishings to the nonprofit group Usonian Preservation, with the intention of relocating it to Polymath Park in Acme, Penn. The... Full story
