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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I set out to ask small businesses in Carlton County how they are faring under social distancing practices. I found amazing spirit, concerns, and accommodation on the part of employers, suppliers, customers, and workers. Among those deeply challenged are those working with food. It's not surprising that those engaged with growing, harvesting, processing, distributing, selling and preparing food face formidable challenges at present. Many café and restaurant owners have had to shutter their doors...
At the direction of Gov. Tim Walz, the city of Cloquet has opened a limited number of park facilities to allow for safe outdoor recreation — provided people follow safe social distancing practices. Tennis courts are already open to the public. Facilities will be open for small groups and recreational use only. Organized events and league play continue to be prohibited by the State of Minnesota. Playgrounds will not reopen for now, because it’s impossible to keep them disinfected. Additionally, the skatepark at Athletic Park on the corner of...
Worried about that funny looking skin ulcer but don’t want to risk going to the clinic in this time of COVID-19? Why not make a video appointment? Many of the providers at Community Memorial Hospital and CMH Raiter Family Clinic are now offering patient visits through the new CMH Telehealth program. The program allows you to have an appointment with your doctor, without leaving home. All you need to participate in a doctor’s visit via telehealth is a device with a camera and internet con...
Worries about keeping staff healthy when they unknowingly deliver meals or homework to students or families members who are sick with COVID-19 led to a mass email to families in the Cloquet school district last week. Superintendent Michael Cary said a staff member handing out bagged lunches from a bus was confused when a student came out of their home and waved at the paraprofessional to just leave the food. There was some confusion, and the boy eventually came and grabbed the lunch. Then a parent came to the door and told the paraprofessional...
After the first positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at the Moose Lake prison on March 30, inmates at the Willow River correctional facility, just 8 miles down the road, started getting nervous. By then, no visitors had been allowed into either facility for more than two weeks. But the Moose Lake and Willow River programs share a warden and some staff. And until last week, nobody on either campus was required to wear masks. Prisons, jails and other correctional facilities, where inmates live...
Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan launched a week-long statewide homemade mask drive to encourage Minnesotans to create homemade masks for donation and highlight the importance of workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, April 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Minnesotans can deliver homemade masks to their local fire department. Fire departments will then deliver the masks to local congregate living facilities for their employees and residents to wear. Find...
Things are a "lot different" at Carlton County post offices these days. Different from normal times. Of course, these are pandemic times, and the people who sort and deliver mail are trying to practice social distancing just like everyone else. Carriers are wearing gloves and other protective gear. There are floor markings at the post office, reminding customers to keep their distance from one another. You'll see sneeze guards and hand sanitizer. And, as hard as it may be for both parties, now...
For public safety officials, the coronavirus pandemic made an already dangerous job even more risky. Now, when officers are called to a local store to respond to an intoxicated person who is out of control and - worse yet (during a pandemic) - coughing all over people, the officers should also take time to put on masks and eye goggles or a face shield as well as gloves. That was an actual call earlier this month, explained acting Cloquet police chief Derek Randall, and the officers did not wear...
A Moose Lake corrections officer is in intensive care with COVID-19 complications, while a second staff member has been hospitalized for the disease, but is not in ICU, according to Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson Nicholas Kimball. A total of 12 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Moose Lake. Meanwhile, the number of cases continues to grow steadily among the incarcerated people there. As of Wednesday afternoon, 12 inmates had...
It can be tempting to fixate on numbers as the coronavirus makes its way through the population near and far. Each day, government agencies faithfully report the number of confirmed cases, the number of dead, the number of those who have recovered and more. But those numbers don’t always add up, and they don’t tell the full story. So far, in Carlton County, the majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases is related to the Moose Lake prison, either people incarcerated there or prison employees who wor...
As Minnesotans continue to hunker down in their homes in response to the stay-at-home orders by Gov. Tim Walz, area hospitals and healthcare leaders are working hard to prepare for what Walz says will be the inevitable surge in COVID-19 cases. Last week Walz said people around the state have done so well with their social distancing that the surge could come as late as July, rather than later this month if no precautionary measures had been taken. That allows health care and the government more...
After closing its thrift stores to customers to keep staff members safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Salvation Army has announced that it stopped accepting donations at six Minnesota stores, including Cloquet, effective April 11. “The stores’ retail operations had previously closed on March 23 to reduce public gathering and help stem the spread of the virus,” said Joanne Lee, service extension director for The Salvation Army Northern Division. “This additional step is being taken to further improve safety for both our donors and our emp...
It has been an interesting few weeks to say the least. We have all felt the changes that have occurred as our state, county, city and health care system to fight the coronavirus. The pandemic has overwhelmed health systems in other parts of the country and world. I am happy to see that this has not been the case in our state. We should be proud of the steps that our state has taken early to prevent a large wave of patients. These steps have been painful for everyone, but they are going to...
Donate to United Way The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic everyday survival items by sending grocery cards through the mail to local families who request help. The fund is open and accepting donations. To donate, text UWCARLTON to 41444 or visit the website. The office is not open to the public but is accepting grocery cards through the mail at United Way of Carlton County, PO Box 250,...
Cloquet native Dr. Kelly Cawcutt is an assistant professor of medicine and board certified in critical care medicine and infectious diseases with an academic and clinic practice at University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She is a 2000 graduate of Cloquet High School and is the daughter of Daryl and Doreen Hendrickson of Cloquet. She is married to Carlton native Michael Cawcutt. Kelly graduated from the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed her residency in internal...
Symptoms of COVID-19 Many patients with confirmed COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough and/or shortness of breath. Some patients have had other symptoms including muscle aches, headache, sore throat, diarrhea, or loss of taste or smell. These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. Community Memorial Hospital and the CMH Raiter Clinic are asking people who think they should be tested to call the Nurse Hotline at 218-499-6799. A nurse will help decide whether or not someone should be tested,...
As confirmed and unconfirmed cases of COVID-19 certainly continue to climb across the state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz congratulated citizens Wednesday for "overreaching" and helping slow the spread of the disease. He also extended his stay-at-home order from the original end date of April 10 until May 4, along with limiting bars and restaurants to takeout only for the same period of time. The point of extending the orders is to buy Minnesota more time to prepare for the spread of the disease,...
Funerals - as normally practiced - have become another victim of the coronavirus pandemic response. With gatherings of more than 10 people banned, people are either postponing a, making them for immediate family only or getting creative, like the drive-through funeral held in Moose Lake last month or livestreaming a smaller funeral service so others can watch from a distance. In most cases, said Rob Nelson, people are choosing to wait, at least for now. "Even before now, you would have a lot of...
Community Memorial Hospital and the CMH Raiter Clinic are asking people who think they should be tested to call the Nurse Hotline at 218-499-6799. A nurse will help decide whether or not someone should be tested, and arrange a time to come to the ambulance entrance to the emergency room at CMH, to avoid making any other patients sick. Leave a message if needed on this 24-hour hotline. Other healthcare hotlines include Essentia Health at 1-833-494-0836 or St. Luke’s at 218-249-4200. The Minnesota Department of Health has set up a COVID-19 p...
A statewide crisis hotline called Day One helps people suffering from domestic abuse at home: Call 866-223-1111 or text 612-399-9995. Locally, the Fond du Lac Human Services Division is providing supportive services at the Brookston, Cloquet, and Sawyer Community Centers. Behavioral Health, Social Services, and Substance Use Disorder staff will be available to provide support to the community. The Behavioral Health Department is open and taking referrals, call 218-879-1227. Fond du Lac Social Services Advocacy Program offers caring,...
There are many ways to help out locally. Following are just a few. COVID-19 Local Relief Fund The United Way of Carlton County created an emergency fund called the COVID-19 Local Relief Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide immediate support for Carlton County residents who need basic, everyday survival items by sending grocery cards through the mail to local families who request help. The COVID-19 Local Relief Fund is open and accepting donations. To donate, text UWCARLTON to 41444 or...
On April 14, Diocesan Administrator Father James B. Bissonette extended the measures the Diocese of Duluth has taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through May 4. In a letter to the clergy and faithful of the diocese, Father Bissonette said public celebration of Mass will continue to be suspended, the obligation to attend Mass continues to be dispensed, and gatherings of more than 10 people are canceled. However, priests will continue to celebrate private Masses, churches will be open at times for individual prayer, confession is to...
Can you imagine pastors Jeff Walther and Tom Brinkley preaching from the roof of St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Esko on Easter Sunday? Below them in the parking lot are parishioners in their cars dialed into an FM frequency on their radios, listening and reciting the Lord's Prayer. A few months ago, there would be laughter about such a stunt. Today, in a pandemic world, the plans at St. Matthews seem ingenious and hopeful. "It has forced us to be creative but stay within the guidelines,"...
As the numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 have grown across the state, from one case on March 6 to 629 on March 31, it was only a matter of time until the virus reached Carlton County. It's here now. The first case here was confirmed over the weekend - when an inmate at the Moose Lake prison tested positive - but not widely known about until Monday evening, March 30, and not reported by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) until March 31. At this point, the exact numbers of confirmed cas...
Super One Foods cashier Pam Line talks with a customer Sunday through a protective plastic shield that the company has installed at its stores to protect employees and customers from some accidental transmission of the coronavirus. Grocery stores are considered essential businesses, but the regional grocery store chain is doing everything it can to be safe, said Cloquet manager Bob Waltenburg, including putting up the shields, supplying gloves and masks to employees, deep cleaning every night...
