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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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... Full story
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... Full story
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... Full story
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... Full story
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... Full story
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,...
It didn't take long for the Career and Technical Education building at Wrenshall school to show its value. The facility opened this school year after $2.1 million in renovations. By turning it into an asset, officials hope to attract students to a district currently in a budget crisis. "I like how big it is," said senior Peyton Johnson earlier this week. "Now look, we can build a house inside here." Johnson spoke as peers in his carpentry class spent the afternoon adding particle board sheeting...
The Duluth Miller Hill Mall isn't the only place in the Northland with a missing roof thanks to the snow. When Cloquet's Nick Brown went to bed the night of March 6, his detached garage was intact. By the next morning, the roof had collapsed and the top window had shattered from the force, blowing glass shards at least 20 feet out onto the driveway. Brown hadn't heard a thing. "My room is in the corner, so about 8 feet away, and my boy's room is in the back, and the neighbors didn't hear it eith...
Last week, state Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township, voted with a small group of Minnesota House Republicans to help the DFL pass a $1.9 billion package of infrastructure projects. On Thursday, his counterpart in the Senate — Rob Farnsworth of Hibbing — voted against the same plan as Senate Republicans blocked a major construction bill from reaching the desk of Gov. Tim Walz as part of a bid to secure new tax cuts. “It was a tough vote but I’m getting more emails and requests from people to end the tax on Social Security,” Farnswort... Website
With a potential project labor agreement vote on the Cloquet city council agenda, union members from Duluth, Superior and beyond packed City Hall Tuesday. Well over 100 people, mostly men, filled the council chambers and the atrium, the hum of their voices outside the meeting room making it difficult to hear Mayor Roger Maki as he opened the meeting. In the end, councilors voted 5-2 to table the issue, with Maki and Ward 4 Councilor Kerry Kolodge dissenting. That vote to delay a decision came...
When Barnum residents elected Dale Riihiluoma as mayor, running unopposed, in November, it was the culmination of decades of public service. It was also something his wife of 47 years, the late Diane Riihiluoma, didn't want to see happen. Diane passed away in November 2021 after three decades of battling cancer. She tended to favor blending in over standing out. "When Diane was still living she never wanted me to be mayor - it was too far out there," Dale said. "'You're not doing that,' she'd...
