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 551 - 575 of 1396
Last Tuesday the Moose Lake/Willow River girls softball team got a wake-up call. For only the fourth time this season, the Rebels lost - this time to Carlton/Wrenshall in the Section 7A playoffs. The Rebels used that loss as a catalyst to rebound by winning five straight games on their way to the Section 7A title. In those five games the Rebels piled up 53 runs while giving up just two runs. "Give Carlton/Wrenshall and their pitcher Abby Mitchell credit when they beat us," said Rebels coach...
Wrenshall students and supporters may have enjoyed the most unique graduation ceremony Friday afternoon, thanks to English teacher Joel Swanson. The guest speaker rapped - rather than recited - his original "Grad Poem 22" before the crowd in the Wrenshall gymnasium. In the poem, Swanson spoke of the fork in the road: "one path taken by those seeking less resistance and the more difficult one that questions our existence." But Swanson wasn't done. When he was done, the teacher called for a volunt...
An important mission of Rotary International is to promote literacy. In April the Cloquet Rotary Club distributed 337 dictionary/reference books to third-graders from Churchill, Washington, Winterquist elementary schools in Cloquet, South Terrace in Carlton, and the school in Wrenshall. In addition, 324 kindergarten students from the same schools each received a personal storybook with the characters and the settings selected by each student and woven into a story. The kindergarteners are proudl...
The Section 7A softball tournament has found its way to the final two teams as tournament action continued Tuesday at Braun Park in Cloquet. Defending section 7A champion Cherry will face Moose Lake/Willow River Thursday with a trip on the line to Caswell Park in North Mankato next week. Thursday, May 26, the double-elimination portion of the Section 7A playoffs began in Grand Rapids. Four Polar League schools opened play: Carlton/Wrenshall (No. 5) versus Barnum (No. 4), and South Ridge (No. 9)...
As the defending champions and the No. 1 seed in the Section 7A baseball tournament, South Ridge will be a tough out for any team. On Tuesday, May 31, the Panthers began defending their crown by enjoying a first-round bye and then notching a 9-1 win over Cromwell-Wright, the No. 9 seed. "We played well overall," said Panthers head coach Aaron Weber. "We came out hitting right away, but our bats slowed down as the game wore on." The Panthers threw four pitchers in the game including starter...
The local graduation season kicked off over a week ago with Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College holding its first in-person graduation since 2019, and the celebrations and honors continue with high school graduations this week and next. Of note, the weather looks good this weekend for Cloquet High School, which will hold its graduation ceremonies outside on the football field at 6 p.m. Friday, after getting positive feedback from last year’s outdoor event, held there in response to the C...
A special meeting of the Wrenshall school board took a surprising turn Tuesday evening when board members voted to postpone discussion of an extension to principal Michelle Blanchard’s one-year contract. While school boards typically perform annual evaluations of principal and superintendent performance in closed session, Blanchard had requested that Tuesday’s evaluation meeting be open to the public. No public comment was taken. Superintendent Kim Belcastro began by recommending that the boa...
Chief Master Sgt. Kelvin McCuskey retired as the 148th Medical Group superintendent, 148th Fighter Wing, Minnesota Air National Guard, after 40 years of service. McCuskey, a Wrenshall High School graduate, enlisted in 1982 as a refrigeration repairman assigned to the 148th Civil Engineering Squadron. He went on to hold numerous positions across the Wing to include heating systems technician, personnel specialist, First Sergeant, command post technician and emergency management superintendent....
Transparency in government is important. That’s why we’d like to applaud the Cloquet school board and superintendent Michael Cary for deciding this week to continue livestreaming school board meetings. Yes, the pandemic is over and many — but not all — school districts and other governmental bodies have stopped making their meetings available online. That’s too bad. Because livestreaming a public meeting tells your constituents that you want to be both accessible and transparent. That you have no secret agendas. That you don’t fear people bein...
The Moose Lake/Willow River girls softball team entered the Section 7A playoffs on Tuesday as one of the top-ranked teams in the state. Playing at home against No. 16 seed Cook County, the No. 1 seeded Rebels rode strong pitching, tight defense and good hitting to pull away to a 10-0 victory in six innings in Willow River. “Winning the first playoff game is Step 1 in the postseason,” said Rebels coach Kelly Goeb. “We talked about this being a whole new season now. We are starting over, and w...
The Polar League Conference Championship was held May 18, at the Esko High School athletic complex. Participating schools included Cook County, Carlton, Barnum, Cromwell-Wright, Floodwood, McGregor High, Moose Lake/Willow River, Silver Bay, South Ridge, Two Harbors and Wrenshall high schools. Find results for the top three finishers in each event below. Girls Team Results: 1. Esko 213.5 2. Two Harbors 154 3. Carlton-Wrenshall 69.5 4. Mcgregor 53 5. Moose Lake/Willow River 51.5 6. South...
Over the last week I found a deer tick, a blacklegged tick, and a wood tick, all in very uncomfortable proximity to my body. After hearing from an area resident who contracted Lyme disease, I am adding my voice to others’ (including singer Brad Paisley) to encourage nightly tick checks. In doing some research on best repellents, it seems that products with picaridin are rated the highest and are also safe to use on bare skin. We’ve found that making sure our animals are up to date on tick repellent medication also helps keeps the bugs to a low...
The filing period for state and local offices — only those that could require primary elections in August — is open through May 31. Minnesota’s primary election day is Aug. 9. The city of Cloquet has four positions up for election in November, including the mayor and council seats for Wards 1, 2 and 3. Carlton County also has a number of positions up for election this year, including county commissioners for District 2 (Thomson Township area) and District 4 (including the Wrenshall, Carlton and Mahtowa area and parts of Barnum). Count...
Nearly two dozen people attended Monday's Wrenshall school board meeting, none of them to address agenda items. Four people spoke; two others belatedly said they wanted to give their time to the first speaker. That was Tony Sheda, a frequent speaker at Wrenshall school board meetings. The longtime resident repeated a litany of past complaints to the board, starting with the assertion that a petition that led to the removal of a board-appointed member, Bill Dian, last September was illegal....
About 30 county residents, including farmers, conservationists and entrepreneurs, met at the Carlton County Transportation Department Thursday, May 12, for two hours discussing politics and stewardship of our land. With the November election in view, participants shared ideas about government roles in encouraging return on investment, regulation, subsidies and community involvement. Jeff Dotseth, a real estate agent, meat producer, and Republican candidate for Minnesota House District 11A, participated in writing with support for the meeting an...
Friday, May 20 Baseball Cloquet at Hibbing, 4:30 Barnum vs Crosby-Iron, 4 Carlton at Ely Esko vs Mora, 4:30 ML/WR at Pine City, 4 South Ridge at Virginia, 2:30 and 5 Wrenshall vs Littlefork-Big Falls at Braun, 4 Softball ML/WR at Barnum, 4 South Ridge at Chisholm, 4:30 Saturday, May 21 Softball Cloquet at Grand Rapids, 11 Baseball Cloquet at Hibbing, 3 Cloquet at Hibbing, 5:30 ML/WR at Ely, 9 South Ridge at Ely, TBD Track Esko boys at Stillwater Monday, May 23 Golf Cloquet girls and boys Cloquet Invite, 9 Baseball Carlton at Cherry, 4:30 Tuesda...
With improved weather, local softball teams are playing catchup to get in as many regular-season games as possible before the playoffs begin right around the corner. The Pine Knot also spent some time this past week catching up with softball coaches at four local smaller schools on how their teams have progressed so far this season. Carlton/Wrenshall Entering the week, the Raptors sported an impressive 8-4 record and are showing signs that the cooperative program is going to be a team to be...
The Wrenshall and Carlton school districts are continuing talks about a cooperative agreement when it comes to sports, something similar to the longtime agreement between the Moose Lake and Willow River district in the southern part of Carlton County. Carlton superintendent John Engstrom reported to his school board Monday that after two meetings, the co-op committee has agreed to use the Moose Lake and Willow River “template” for pairing up in all sports in grades 7-12. He also said other extracurricular programs could also be added. Nei...
Jake Tremble moved to Wrenshall a year ago in June with his girlfriend, Claire, and dog, Gracey. The couple had been living in Duluth, and he had been training as a classical painter at the Great Lakes Academy of Art. The two were looking to be part of a CSA (community supported agriculture) and found Wrenshall's own Northern Harvest Farm. What started as just a place to get vegetables turned into a job at the farm for Claire, and a home for the couple down the road in a farmhouse they share...
Carlton County commissioners got a taste of some of the challenges they will face in crafting a budget for 2023 at Tuesday’s board meeting. “Fuel costs are at $4 and rising,” said county coordinator Dennis Genereau. “The rise of gas and fuel prices impacts everything we do in the programs we run.” Genereau explained that the costs to run the new justice center are still in the planning stage. Another groundskeeper and at least a couple of custodians are being considered. Additional staff for the Sheriff’s Office and the court system are...
Joseph W. Puckett, 83, of Duluth passed away May 5, 2022, in St. Luke’s Hospital. He was born Feb. 15, 1939, the son of LeRoy (“Roy”) and Elma Puckett (Vanguilder) Puckett. Joe attended school in Wrenshall, and worked as a carpenter for many years and retired from Diamond Tool after 29 years. He married Linda Halase on Sept. 20, 1986. He enjoyed fishing, camping and spending time in the woods. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, and one sister. He is survived by his wife...
Last Thursday six area boys and girls track teams met in Esko for the Esko Sports Alliance Showcase Invitational track meet. In the end the Esko boys and girls dominated to take first place, but there were plenty of amazing performances to go around. Perhaps the most impressive performance was turned in by the Esko boys 4x100 relay team which ran a state best and school record: 43.57. Relay team members were Braden Lowe, Carter Zezulka, Mason Perich and Makoi Perich. "People don't know how...
Colleen Dennie, 72, of Duluth passed away in her home May 6, 2022, with her husband Mitchell by her side. She was born Jan. 14, 1950, the daughter of Raymond and Sira (Strand) Gray. Colleen attended Brookston Elementary and graduated from AlBrook High School. Colleen married Mitchell Dennie on June 25, 1988, at Concordia Lutheran Church in Duluth. She worked for University of Minnesota Duluth for 48 years in numerous positions, retiring as administrator director for the School of Fine Arts in...
Friday, May 13 Golf Cloquet girls at Princeton, 8:30 a.m. Cloquet boys at Lakeville South, 1:30 Softball Cloquet at Princeton, 4 Cloquet vs Chisago at Princeton, 6 Barnum vs Silver Bay, 4:30 Carlton/Wrenshall vs Hinckley-Finlayson, 4:30 Esko vs Rush City, 4:30 ML/WR at Cherry, 4:30 South Ridge at Ely, 2:30 Baseball Cloquet at Chisago Lakes, 4:30 Barnum vs Silver Bay, 4:30 Esko vs Roseau, 3 South Ridge at New York Mills, 1:30 and 3:30 Wrenshall at Cromwell-Wright, 4 Track Carlton/Wrenshall, Esko, ML/WR, South Ridge boys and girls at Denfeld,...
Considering a run for political office? The filing period for state and local offices — only those that could require primary elections in August — will be open May 17-31. The city of Cloquet has four positions up for election in November, including the mayor and council seats for Wards 1, 2 and 3. All are four-year positions. Carlton County also has a number of positions up for election this year, including county commissioners for District 2 (Thomson Township area) and District 4 (including the Wrenshall, Carlton and Mahtowa area and parts of...
