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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It's been a long wait for sugarbush time. The sap flows when warm days follow cold nights, and with the arrival of the spring equinox, we're there. Sap flows when the pressure inside the tree is greater than the external atmospheric pressure. Bruce and Tawny Savage welcomed the Fond du Lac Reservation Historical Society and the Carlton County Historical Society to Spirit Lake Native Farms a few weeks ago, in the midst of yet another snowstorm, to learn about taking care of the trees, stringing...
Angela Sjodin was sitting next to her unconscious daughter and thinking about the moments before everything changed. "Let's go for a walk, Mom," Angela wrote of the day before her daughters Janae and Jaela were injured in a car crash on Friday, March 24, coming home from softball practice. Angela recalled telling Janae the day before that she had work to do, charting for her social work job. "Charting will always be there, I will not be," Angela wrote of the conversation. Janae was referring to...
If you scroll Facebook or other social media, you've seen how spring roads in Minnesota have taken on a new life in memes. Many of the humorous images feature the character Jack from the blockbuster film "Titanic" shown submerged in a pothole. "It's one of the worst years I've seen for potholes," said Ross Biebl, assistant public works director for the city of Cloquet. "The roads are as bad or worse than they are in a normal year at this time," said Rick Norrgard, assistant transportation...
Carlton County Public Health is holding one more childhood vaccine clinic next week for children in grades K-12 who need vaccinations to meet school requirements, on Tuesday, April 4 at the Carlton County Community Services Building at 14 N. 11th Street in Cloquet. There is no cost. Insurance information will be collected if the child is insured; there is no charge for uninsured children. Parents must register for appointments, available 3-4:30 p.m., online at co.carlton.mn.us or by calling 218-879-4511. Available vaccines include DTap/polio...
The Minnesota Department of Transportation ended winter load increases — and started spring load restrictions — in the north-central and north zones (including Carlton County) on March 29. Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on The Minnesota Department of Transportation ended winter load increases — and started spring load restrictions — in the north-central and north zones (including Carlton County) on March 29. Ending dates for spring load restrictions are variable and based on how weather is affecting roadway...
With about two weeks left before the April 18 deadline, more than 1.8 million Minnesotans have already filed their income tax returns with nearly 1 million already getting their refunds. “The weeks leading up to the deadline are often the busiest of the tax season,” said Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart. “We anticipate hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans will file between now and the April 18 deadline. For those that haven’t filed yet, the Minnesota Department of Revenue offers these tips.” Need tax filing assistance? Free tax preparati...
The Essentia Health medical supply distribution center is moving to 126 Bedrock Lane in the Esko Industrial Park by late 2024. A 163,000-square-foot warehouse is planned to support the medical supply needs of six Essentia Health facilities regionally, reaching to the Dakotas. The supply center is currently operating in West Duluth in a warehouse only one-third the size of the proposed construction project. Twenty to 25 full-time jobs will be moved from West Duluth to the new facility. The...
With the dismissal of a state lawsuit March 13, the door shut on a fired Cloquet police officer’s attempts to sue those he blamed for his dismissal. Scott Holman, a detective and K-9 officer who had worked for the Cloquet police department for 22 years, was fired by the city council in June 2019. Although the city administrator would say only that the dismissal was a “personnel matter,” the action came after the Carlton County attorney’s office identified past misconduct issues for Holman that could affect his ability to be a credible witness...
When Jessie Graddy started teaching at South Terrace Elementary School three years ago, she wondered why the school wasn't participating in higher-level activities, such as spelling and geography bees and Math Masters competitions. Instead of shrugging, she acted, creating all three extra outlets. "I'm just trying to elevate our school a little bit," said Graddy, a fifth-grade teacher. On April 21, the school's fifth-grade Math Masters team will participate at a competition in Duluth, one of 17...
While the parking lot outside Cloquet City Hall filled with union members rallying in support of project labor agreements Tuesday, councilors inside the building steeled themselves for a contentious discussion on the subject. Ultimately the Cloquet City Council voted 5-2 - with Lyz Jaakola and Sheila Lamb the two "no" votes - to remove the PLA mandate for private businesses from city code. At issue was a request by the city's Economic Development Authority that the council remove the private man...
The case of a fight between drunk friends that ended with one of them dead 18 months ago concluded Monday in Sixth District Court in Carlton County. In a departure from state guidelines, Judge Rebekka Stumme placed Joel Jay Ammesmaki, 59, on probation, but with a longer-than-usual sentence for second-degree manslaughter if Ammesmaki violates that probation. “The ball is in your court,” Stumme told Ammesmaki Monday, also dictating that Ammesmaki complete 150 hours of community service by speaking to groups about his experience. “You have a lot o...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa was featured this week in an announcement aimed at curbing food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service said Wednesday it signed a cooperative agreement with the Fond du Lac Band under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. The Band will purchase and distribute locally grown, produced, and processed food from underserved producers. Using LFPA funds, the Band will establish the Aandanjigewin Local Foods Purchasing Agreement p...
The proposal to update Cloquet's outdoor athletic facilities for nearly $4.6 million remained in flux this week, causing school board members and superintendent Michael Cary to set an April 10 date to formally approve the project. "We are, in theory, a month away from breaking ground," Cary said. "[Contractors] need lead time to be able to order material and supplies. They were extremely nervous about pushing it to [April 10]. Beyond the 10th, they won't be able to do the project this year....
Jana Peterson [email protected] Wrenshall School Board members have been busy, with greater insights as a result of all their efforts. In addition to nearly weekly meetings to study school issues and finances, different board members climbed on the school roof Saturday and/or traveled to St. Paul for a "day at the capitol," arriving back in Wrenshall in time for Monday's regular school board meeting. The various excursions provided some vital information to the board: 1. Although Saturday's...
The Carlton school board formally hired Donita Stepan for the position of superintendent with the approval of her contract Monday, March 20. Stepan will start on July 1 of this year, earning a salary of $134,859, which includes $10,000 for elementary principal duties at South Terrace, health insurance and other benefits. The package is an increase over the amount current superintendent John Engstrom makes. "I took a haircut," he explained, meaning he accepted lowered salary expectations as his...
and neighboring Fargo can no longer put glass in their curbside single-stream recycling bins. Glass can still be brought to recycling drop off sites in both cities, but it will be reused locally rather than being shipped to a Twin Cities recycling company. MinnKota Recycling, which handles curbside materials collected by Fargo and Moorhead, said it made the change after Twin Cities area businesses where it sent material decided they would no longer take shipments of glass, plastic, aluminum,... 
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Left: Gordy's Hi-Hat in Cloquet opened for its 63rd season on Wednesday, with second-generation owner Dan Lundquist greeting and taking orders from customers at the counter. There was a line out the door at the morning opening. One woman talked about her grandson starting his first job at Gordy's later this summer, while others expressed interest in receiving a free T-shirt for being among the season's first 50 customers. Below: Gordy's features a pair of veterans on the grill in Tammy Hjerpe...
A crash Friday night left one teenager in serious condition, while her 11-year-old sister and the driver of the other vehicle have been released from the hospital. According to the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, a Ford Edge driven by Trinity Oakland, 21, from Saginaw, was traveling westbound on County Road 4 approaching the intersection of County Road 1 and failed to stop for the stop sign, striking a Subaru driven by Janae Sjodin, 18 years of age, from Wrenshall, traveling southbound on County Road 1 at the time of the crash. Sheriff Kelly...
What's with all the snow? It's a question everyone is asking after another weekend of digging out and another 6-inches-or-more burst forecasted as this issue of the Pine Knot went to press. We are above average is all we can tell you right now, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service data. There are variable snowfall amounts in the area, recorded since the first light snowfall way back in October. Officially, between 64 and 72 inches of snow has...
Thomson Township residents voted to approve a 3.91-percent tax levy increase for 2024, despite significant pushback from a few residents at the annual meeting Tuesday. At the end of 2022, Thomson Township was left with a fund balance in its general operating expenses fund of almost $1.85 million. This amount concerned some residents, who felt that this “surplus” in funds should be applied toward the annual budget to take the burden off of taxpayers. Resident Ole Larson had concerns during the review of the township’s annual statement and propo...
The Esko School Board approved its 2022-2023 revised (and largely unchanged) budget of $16.14 million at its monthly meeting Monday, March 13, along with final funding and construction plans for the highly anticipated fitness center. Final construction plans for the fitness center detail a nearly 4,750-square-foot fitness center, two rooms for physical therapy, two bathrooms, and a front entryway with a welcome desk for use by the public. The building is being constructed using the existing...
Neither wind nor snow could stop the 17th annual Mojakka Cookoff, held Sunday at the Northeastern Hotel and Saloon in Cloquet, where it's always been. What is mojakka, someone new to the area might ask. It's soup. Specifically, mojakka is the Finnish (or Finnish American) word for soup. On Sunday, a steady flow of people in search of delicious soups and good company kept coming through the door, paying their $10 and doing their best to sample all 14 different soups. There is no one mojakka...
Citing stress and burnout as the precipitating factor for three open positions in Health and Human Services, director Dave Lee said those staffers have “tough jobs.” Caseloads in child protection, mental health and involving vulnerable adults have swelled for county workers, with screenings of between three and 10 incidents reported daily. “These are heavy numbers, and it is growing, of child abuse cases,” observed County Attorney Lauri Ketola during Tuesday’s Carlton County board of commissioners meeting. “There are several factors for...
The Carlton school board heard bold ideas for getting the district to stand apart from neighboring school systems in an effort to reverse declines in student enrollment Monday. The committee of the whole took no action, but seemed excited by the creative thoughts. South Terrace principal Donita Stepan outlined the work of the District Advisory Committee which conceived the concept of a future dual path system for the upper grades. "[We'll have] a traditional track where students [attend class]...
The Wrenshall school board agreed to slightly more than $312,000 in budget cuts during a special meeting Tuesday — the biggest slice of three rounds of cuts to date, totaling $383,000. The board reiterated during its committee of the whole meeting a day later on Wednesday that it was on its way to $500,000 in cuts, money to cover its current deficit and allow for a modest surplus in the district’s fund balance. “We still have a lot of information to gather,” board member Eric Ankrum said. The final figure for cuts has been a moving target,...
