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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For the first time since Covid-19 arrived, new infections in Minnesota are topping 10,000 a day. And those are just the folks who are getting lab tests. That number does not count the number of people using at-home Covid-19 tests. “All five of the top days for cases recorded in Minnesota by sample data were within a week after Christmas,” said MPR News data reporter David Montgomery. “Before then, all the records had been set back in November 2020.” The ripple effect is being felt across the state, as sick employees — or those with positive... 
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Since the end of last year, Carlton County has recorded 246 new Covid-19 cases and two deaths. The cumulative numbers since the start of the pandemic as of Wednesday are 6,361 cases and 82 deaths, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. As of Jan. 6, the positive test rate here was 4.8 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, community transmission is high, with a total of 133 cases reported from Jan. 4-10. There were four new hospital admissions over that time period. Just over 70 percent of the total popu... Full story
Raiter Clinic – Cloquet Call 218-879-1271 for appt. PCR test, 3-5 days for results. MedExpress – Cloquet Call 218-878-7903 when you arrive at the parking lot. Tests are first come, first served. Wait times may be up to 1-3 hours. Offers both rapid (15 minutes) and PCR test (3-5 days). Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) Vault PCR test gives results in 1-2 days in most cases. Rapid test results while you wait (15 minutes). Open Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed on Martin Luther King Day. Schedule an... Full story
It was as much for themselves as it was for him. Last week, just before Christmas, Steve Jarve got a clamorous escort out of Community Memorial Hospital after an emotional 40-day odyssey dealing with Covid-19 and its complications. He almost died, but the staff at Cloquet's hospital wouldn't let him. After a while, he would motivate himself and the staff in a recovery few expected to see as another grim pandemic year comes to a close. "He just refused," said social worker Jennifer Potocnik. "He... Full story
With the more highly transmissible Omicron variant now the dominant Covid-19 strain across the state and much of the country and world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new quarantine guidelines Monday. According to a media statement, the CDC is shortening the recommended time for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of transmission occurs early in the course... Full story
After seeing Covid-19 cases climb precipitously this month, Wrenshall school district officials sent students an early Christmas present — letting kids out of school five days early — in hopes of getting people well. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said the early vacation was in response to rising Covid numbers, but even more about difficulties finding substitute teachers for sick teachers, including several who were fully vaccinated. Finding a balance between keeping students safe and giving the... Full story
With travel expected to be near pre-pandemic levels, the demand for Covid tests - as well as vaccinations - are up across the board. The fast-spreading omicron variant adds urgency. State health officials on Wednesday announced that omicron is now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in Minnesota. A spokesperson for Abbott Labs, which manufactures the BinaxNOW rapid antigen tests, said the company is seeing unprecedented demand and currently produces about 50 million tests per month, with the... Full story
Community Memorial Hospital CEO Rick Breuer confirmed that the Cloquet hospital has been at capacity for much of the past month, but said Covid is not the only cause. Probably between one-quarter and one-third on the inpatient side of things are Covid patients,” Breuer told the Pine Knot Wednesday. He stressed that people should not be tempted to minimize the impact of Covid, saying they are seeing a lot of patients coming in for many reasons. “If we have to divert and can’t care for more patients, it’s because of the [additional] Covid cases.... Full story
"You don't think something will happen that fast," said Chad Laine. He explains how quickly his brother's Covid-19 infection progressed from something Connor was hoping he could sleep off in a few days to the 24-year-old not being able to breathe properly. Both Connor and his mother, Karen Laine, died last month from Covid: Karen on Friday, Nov. 12 and Connor three days later, on Nov. 15. The world lost two wonderful, kind and caring people, said Bernie, Karen's husband of 25 years. Both of... Full story
Infected Minnesota resident recently returned from domestic travel; variant was found through MDH variant surveillance program, which is one of the strongest surveillance programs in the nation The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced Thursday, Dec. 2, that its Public Health Laboratory has found the variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as Omicron in a specimen from a Minnesota resident with recent travel history to New York City. The variant was found through the MDH variant surveillance program, which is one of strongest surveillanc... Full story
Community transmission of Covid-19 locally and statewide has been consistently “high” since August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s not getting any better yet. Like last winter, cases are climbing as the temperatures drop. “The Delta variant doesn’t seem to play by the same rules as [the initial Covid strains],” said Carlton County public health nurse Jenny Barta, the county’s Covid-19 subject matter expert. “We’re seeing some waning of vaccine protection but it (the vaccine) is still doing a very good... Full story
U.S. regulators on Friday opened up Covid-19 booster shots to all adults, expanding the government’s campaign to shore up protection and get ahead of rising coronavirus cases that may worsen with the holidays. While all three vaccines used in the U.S. — Pfizer, Moderna and the single-dose Johnson & Johnson — continue to offer strong protection against severe Covid-19 illness and death, their effectiveness against milder infection can wane over time. Here are a few things to know about boosters and why health officials are urging people to ge... Website
Monday’s Wrenshall school board meeting began with a palpable moment of silence. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said the family of board member Alice Kloepke reported she had taken a turn for the worse in a battle with Covid-19 and was in an intensive care unit in the Twin Cities area. Hours earlier, Wrenshall resident Shelly Kilby posted a dire report on her husband Steve. “They needed to intubate Steve. It was a tough decision for him. They have called the six surrounding states to try and find a critical care unit for him. He received a tra... Full story
A year ago, almost all of Chey Eisenman’s car service customers wore masks. “We were at almost 100 percent of people — regardless of how they felt about COVID or masks — were wearing them,” she said. “And that was fascinating to me. And then as people got vaccinated, those masks came off really fast.” Eisenman runs a luxury car service called Chey Car. She said mask-wearing ebbed and flowed during the summer months, and jumped up again in late July when cases started to rise again, but she said that’s dropped off in recent months to aroun... Full story
Raiter Clinic Cloquet Call for an appt 218-879-1271 PCR Test, 3-5 days for results. Do not have to be a Raiter Clinic patient to test Med Express Cloquet Call 218-878-7903 when you arrive to parking lot Tests are first come, first served. Wait times may be up to 1-3 hours. Offer both rapid (15 min) and PCR test (3-5 days) DECC Duluth Schedule a test by going online to decc.org PCR tests: Result in 1-2 days. Rapid tests: Result while you wait (15 minutes) Open Tuesday-Friday 11-6, Saturday 11-4 Walgreens Cloquet Schedule a test online by... Full story
Community Memorial Hospital will be giving Covid-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11 from 4:15-6:15 p.m. Nov. 22 by appointment only. To schedule, call 218-879-1271. Additionally, parents can schedule Covid-19 vaccine appointments at St. Luke’s and Essentia Health in Duluth for their kids between the ages of 5 and 11, and at local pharmacies. For St. Luke’s, call 218-249-4200 or go to slhduluth.com/myCare. For Essentia Health, schedule through essentiamychart.org or by calling 833-494-0836.... Full story
Cloquet schools superintendent Michael Cary cracked open the door to a change in the district's mask mandate Monday, now that elementary school students - ages 5 and older - can be vaccinated for Covid-19. Cary broached the subject with Cloquet school board members to see if they would consider a future date, perhaps the start of the second semester, when Cloquet schools would remove its universal masking mandate because all students and staff would have had the opportunity to be vaccinated. As... Full story
Eighteen months into the Covid-19 pandemic, the Carlton County jail has managed so far to avoid an outbreak. Of the roughly two dozen people incarcerated in the jail daily, just two have tested positive for the coronavirus, along with one worker. That's fortunate, because in the close quarters of a jail, a contagious virus can spread quickly. Public health specialist Holly Compo, who works in the jail, said they've followed state and federal guidelines - including wearing masks, quarantining... Website
Catharine Richert/MPR News Starting this week, Minnesota kids age 5-11 now have access to Covid-19 vaccines, as the state started rolling out doses of the Pfizer shots tailor-made for younger children. “Getting our children vaccinated will help our kids be kids again,” said Gov. Tim Walz in a news release announcing the next phase of the state’s vaccination campaign. “Now that the vaccine is approved for kids ages 5-11, Minnesota is ready to administer these shots quickly, efficiently, and equitably. I encourage families to make a plan to get... Website
Carlton County Public Health will be offering a walk-in flu clinic Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Community Services Building at 14 N. 11th St. in Cloquet. The clinic will be held in the second-floor conference rooms and is open to the public. In addition to the flu vaccine, first or second doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine as well as the one-dose Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine will be available. Covid booster shots will not be available. Registration is strongly encouraged for all vaccines, and please note that the... Full story
Numbers of cases and deaths continue to rise in Carlton County with 23 cases on Oct. 18 and a seven-day average of 20. Overall, the county continues at a heightened infection rate, but case numbers fluctuate daily. On Oct. 8, 40 new cases were reported. On Oct. 13 there were 16 new cases. To this point, 4,403 county residents have had Covid-19 and there have been 66 deaths documented since the beginning of the pandemic.... Full story
Gov. Tim Walz toured a Covid-19 testing site in Duluth last Thursday morning — one of more than a dozen community testing sites around the state. He said officials were getting ready to announce an additional expansion of testing capacity around the state as hospitals deal with another surge in Covid cases that are filling up ICU beds. Officials announced last week that the state was opening its 14th testing facility in Morris on Tuesday. “We’re going to massively expand our testing capacity across Minnesota again,” Walz vowed. The governor als... Full story
After making Time magazine last year with one of the first drive-thru vaccination clinics in the country, Carlton County did it again this week. This time, residents could get a twofer, two shots in the same drive-thru, both of them free. On tap were both Covid-19 and influenza vaccinations, inside the county transportation building on Wednesday and the county's Barnum garage on Thursday. Getting both shots - a double, if you please - is fine according to the Centers for Disease Control and... Full story
Carlton County will be running two drive- thru dual influenza and Covid-19 vaccination clinics targeted to Carlton County residents next week. From 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, residents can drive through at the Carlton County Transportation Building, 1630 County Road 61, Carlton. On Thursday, 2:30-7 p.m., residents will find the drive-thru clinic at the county’s Barnum garage, 3888 County Road 61 in Barnum. Options for influenza include the FluMist nasal spray, the flu shot and and a high-dose flu vaccine for age 65 and older. C... Full story
Minnesota’s spreading Covid-19 outbreak has been pummeling greater Minnesota for weeks, and hospitals are feeling the impact. For the first time in the pandemic, there are more Covid patients hospitalized in greater Minnesota than in the Twin Cities region. The pressure is significant. Covid accounts for less than 10 percent of hospitalized patients in the Twin Cities area and in southeastern Minnesota, but that percentage is nearly twice as high or more in much of the rest of the state. Across Minnesota, 864 people are in hospital beds with Co... Website
