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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Carlton County Covid-19 numbers declined for a fifth week, with an increase of 65 cases between last Tuesday and this Tuesday, and three new deaths from Covid from Dec. 22-29. That's down from a week-to-week high of 407 new cases from Nov. 18-25. Since then, the new case numbers have been dropping steadily, although they are still high compared to the surge this spring. As of Tuesday, Dec. 29, Carlton County had seen a cumulative total of 2,572 Covid-19 cases and 36 deaths, according to the...
Covid-19 vaccination shots were given Tuesday at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet. The first shot was given to Vicki Rostollan, an ICU nurse, above. The shot was given by registered nurse Shelly Demers, who was the second person to receive the vaccine at the hospital, below. CMH safety officer Lucas Goodin administered the shot. About 170 employees and 50 EMS providers from Cloquet, Cromwell and Carlton were expected to get the first batch of vaccines, which are due to arrive on a weekly...
Gene Shank most often got up before his wife, Linda, did. She had allergies, and at night it could keep her from getting to sleep right away. Gene would let the dogs outside at their home next to the Moose Horn River in Barnum. He'd putz around, get on his computer. It was the "normal life of retired people," he said. Linda was a loud snorer - "she rattled the windows" - and he relied on that rumbling to know she was at least getting her sleep. By mid-morning, he'd start preparing the stinging...
Carlton County Covid cases continued their downward trend for the fourth week in a row, with an increase of 108 cases and four deaths because of Covid-19 from Tuesday to Tuesday, Dec. 15 to 22. Compared to 172 new cases and eight deaths from Dec. 9-16, it’s a decrease. And those numbers were a decline from Dec. 2-9, when there were 224 new cases and 21 deaths, and Nov. 25-Dec. 2, when there were 327 new cases and seven deaths. But the numbers are still much higher than Carlton County Covid numbers last spring and this summer, when there was jus...
MPR News With COVID-19 cases moderating — but still high — across the state, and the first doses of a vaccine slowly rolling out, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday he’s extending some of the restrictions on businesses and social gathering announced in November, while lifting or softening others. Most notably, the current month-long ban on indoor bar and restaurant service will extend through the typically busy holiday season, until Jan. 10 — but limited outdoor dining will now be allowed. Rules restricting social gatherings have been loosene...
Excitement is mounting as approval and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines are here. We know these vaccines are effective at preventing people from getting sick, but we don't have enough data yet to indicate whether someone who gets vaccinated could still spread the disease to others. This means that throughout the duration of the vaccination efforts, please keep masking, staying 6 feet apart, washing your hands, and following other public health recommendations even if you get vaccinated. Here's what we know about vaccination efforts as of Dec....
When the most recent surge of Covid-19 infections hit Carlton County in a big way, the staff at Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet had to handle their own surge in patients. CMH CEO Rick Breuer said staff are exhausted. "I've heard people describe it as a mass casualty event that just keeps happening," Breuer said. "I mean, we prepare for those kind of things as sudden, acute things, not as an ongoing event. We've turned a lot of corners and seen a lot of ebb and flow, but it's straining a...
The Minnesota Department of Health issued updated Covid-19 quarantine guidance that integrates new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including options for shorter quarantines under certain conditions. The new CDC guidance adopted by Minnesota includes several specific conditions. Shortening your quarantine period to 10 days after your most recent exposure to someone with Covid may be considered if: • You have not tested positive for Covid, you don’t have symptoms, and you will continue to watch out for pos...
The Carlton County Public Health and Human Services reports that despite a heavy focus on Covid-19, health officials have seen both confirmed cases and hospitalizations from influenza this fall. People ages 6 months and older are urged to get an annual flu vaccine if they have not already done so. Covid-19 and flu could spread simultaneously this winter. There is still time to get a flu vaccine to protect against influenza illness and serious flu complications. Many of the prevention measures (wearing a mask, social distancing and good hand...
The staff at Sunnyside Health Care Center don't know exactly how the coronavirus got into the long-term care facility: they just know that once it arrived, it spread quickly, sometimes with devastating effects. Jennifer Capra, director of nursing at Sunnyside, said it started at the end of October, when community spread of Covid-19 was blowing up across the Northland. "Once we got one case in here, it went like boom, boom, boom. You couldn't stop it," Capra said. "As soon as October 30th hit,...
Minnesota is expected to receive 183,400 doses of CovidD-19 vaccines this month, and they’ll be targeted toward health care workers and the state’s most vulnerable residents, Gov. Tim Walz said this week. The vaccines will come from two makers, Pfizer and Moderna, which are seeking emergency use from the federal Food and Drug Administration. The agency was expected to decide on Pfizer’s vaccine on Thursday and Moderna’s on Dec. 17. That timeline could position Minnesota to start vaccinating people as early as next week. “It is happening. It is...
A client at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake died Dec. 2 of Covid-19. It was the first Covid-related death among clients or staff at MSOP facilities. Nearly 740 civilly committed clients receive treatment at MSOP facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter. There are currently 18 active cases of Covid-19 in MSOP facilities. All facilities have implemented stringent infection-prevention and control measures. Staff are screened daily for fever and other Covid symptoms before they begin their shifts and are required to wear surgical...
Due to higher numbers of Covid-19 cases and the tight quarters at the National Guard Armory in Cloquet, Ruby's Pantry will not distribute this month in Cloquet. Ruby's Pantry serves about 200 people on the fourth Wednesday of each month in Cloquet. It hopes to have a better distribution location by January. The Second Harvest Mobile Food Pantry comes to the Our Savior's Lutheran Church parking lot in Cloquet to distribute food 10:30-11:30 a.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Drive up, and...
Covid-19 numbers appear to show that Carlton County is on the downside of the latest and strongest surge of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began, according to daily numbers provided by the Minnesota Department of Health. However, Carlton County Public Health officials pointed out there is usually a 14-day lag in data, so the effect of Thanksgiving won't show up for another week or two. For the second week in a row, the state reported fewer new positive cases in Carlton County than the...
Covid-19 cases in Carlton County are still rising rapidly, although the increase over the past week is lower than the previous week, with 327 new cases from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, versus 407 from Nov. 18-25, according to daily numbers provided by the Minnesota Department of Health. Deaths from Covid-19, however, show no sign of slowing. Carlton County went from a total of two deaths on Oct. 27, to 15 deaths attributed to Covid by Friday, Nov. 27. Another two deaths were reported earlier this week. N...
Find out how to get tested locally, symptoms to watch out for and more in this roundup of Covid-19 information provided by Pine Knot News staff and Minnesota Public Radio. Covid symptoms, local testing Anyone who has symptoms of Covid-19 or who has been exposed to someone they think may have the disease is encouraged to seek testing. Symptoms can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, fatigue, congestion, or loss of taste or smell. Other less common symptoms include gastrointestinal symptoms such...
Carlton County set another record for a one-day jump in Covid-19 cases this week, with an increase of 81 positive tests on Sunday, Nov. 22, continuing the local “exponential growth” of the virus that Public Health and Human Services director Dave Lee described earlier this month. Although statewide numbers are showing some sign of leveling off, state health officials say it’s too soon to hope the latest pandemic wave has reached its peak. The county appears to be bucking that trend. “Right now we are seeing widespread community transmi...
Minnesotans who have lost their jobs and watched their incomes drop during the Covid-19 pandemic have less to spend on necessities, including food. As the struggle to put healthy food on the table has increased, there is more help available from state and local sources. Since the pandemic began, the state and its community partners have issued food benefits to more than 400,000 Minnesotans per month. In most cases, the aid has been funded through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic...
For several weeks now, Carlton County has seen a surge in its Covid-19 numbers. Not only are the day-to-day numbers of positive cases jumping by alarming amounts — by 81 on Sunday, 77 on Tuesday — the percentage of positive cases is also climbing. While increased numbers of tests will usually result in higher numbers of both positive and negative cases, more tests do not automatically equate to a higher percentage of positive tests. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the per...
Covid-19 couldn't happen to us. We were careful. We wore masks. We avoided crowds. We washed our hands incessantly. We carried hand sanitizer everywhere we went. We are homebodies. We only visited with people who we knew are also very careful. We were wrong. We got Covid. My wife Kim tested positive on Oct. 17. I tested positive four days later on Oct. 21. It's been an emotional and physical rollercoaster. On Oct. 13, Kim started feeling sick after dinner. We just thought maybe she ate...
Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday rolled out a new COVID-19 order that prohibits all in-person social gatherings with people outside your household for four weeks. It restricts bar and restaurant service to takeout and delivery. Theaters and gyms must close, although retail stores can be open. Organized sports for youth and adults are on hold. Collegiate athletics and professional sports can continue but with new spectator limits. Places of worship and child care can stay open with the proper precautions in place. “We’re at a dangerous point in thi... 
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Carlton County broke another Covid-19 record last week, jumping from a cumulative total of 937 positive cases on Nov. 11 to 1,013 on Nov. 12, an increase of 76 new cases in a day. From Wednesday to Wednesday, Nov. 11 to Nov. 18, the total number of cases in the county jumped by 313, from 937 to 1,250, and the number of deaths attributed to Covid went from seven to nine in that same seven-day period. By comparison, on Oct. 7, the cumulative cases in the county were at 320, with just one death....
There are two types of diagnostic tests in use across Minnesota: PCR tests and antigen tests. PCR — which stands for polymerase chain reaction — tests are the nose-swab tests or the saliva tests and they are very accurate. They require specialized lab equipment to process the samples, so it takes some time — often days — to get results. Antigen tests, or “rapid tests,” use either a nasal or throat swab to collect samples. They can deliver results pretty quickly, some as quickly as 15 minutes....
As a result of the spike in Covid-19 cases in this area, public access to Cloquet City Hall and other city facilities was suspended starting Wednesday, Nov. 18. The city will still offer all core services, including police, public works, building and zoning permits, inspections and applications and more. City administrator Tim Peterson said the closure will inconvenience some residents, but city officials believe the decision is in the best interest of the community as a whole. The city has also struggled with staff missing work due to either...
Covid-19 is here in greater numbers than ever before, Carlton County, and it's going to get worse before it gets better. How much worse depends on our residents, and how well we heed recommendations for masking, social distancing, hand washing and quarantining - that's the message local public officials sent during a press conference Tuesday. "We have reached a critical time pretty quickly, and my fear is this is just the beginning," Community Memorial Hospital doctor and head of the CMH...
