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
Sorted by date Results 1239 - 1263 of 3909
Two property owners addressed the Cloquet City Council on Tuesday about substantial property tax increases. Marty Hill said he was still suffering from sticker shock after seeing his taxes climb by 25 percent from this year to next, without any renovations to his property. “You hear about how we have to tighten our belts. I hope the city is doing that too,” said Hill. “It would be nice to give us a little bit of relief.” Scott Brander shared his estimated 2023 tax statement — and the 36.2 percent tax increase it contained — with city admini...
The city of Cloquet is accepting applications to fill the Ward 3 Cloquet City Council seat for the next two years, with plans for interviews in mid-January. Applicants must reside within Ward 3 — which lies in the area between Highway 33 and 14th Street, and Doddridge Avenue and Avenue B — plus be at least 21 years old upon assuming office and an eligible Minnesota voter. The Ward 3 position has been vacant since mid-August, when incumbent Chris Swanson moved to a new home in Ward 1. Since then, Swanson won the November election for a seat he...
It was cold, but Cloquet's Santa's Home For the Holidays celebration last week was a warm embrace of the season with a flurry of activity, including the Saturday night parade downtown with Santa and Mrs. Claus in a sleigh, delighting children along the route. Fireworks punctuated the end of the parade, capping off three days of events. As Old Man Winter brings lower temps and longer nights, Santa Claus and his helpers arrived with a special kind of magic during the annual Santa's Home for the...
Bonnie DeBondt and her husband, Bill, brought their two youngest grandchildren to Santa's Home for the Holidays festivities on Saturday in Cloquet. The children, Karsyn DeBondt, 7, and her cousin Ryken Robinson, 3, decorated cookies, climbed onto their grandparents' laps and sat rapt as "Magic Bob" made Christmas tree supplies appear from a cardboard chimney set up in the Wood City Motors showroom. "We moved to Cloquet to be with the grandchildren," Bonnie said. "This is what makes it so...
The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors is once again accepting applications for an open seat on the board. In an effort to self-correct after the Minnesota Department of Administration ruled this month that the board violated open meeting law during its previous appointment process, a special meeting Thursday, Dec. 8 was used to reset the process. At the suggestion of township attorney Dave Pritchett, newly appointed Thomson Township supervisor David Sunnarborg resigned from his seat during a special meeting. The decision allowed the board...
The National Weather Service office in Duluth has upgraded its Winter Storm Warning to a Blizzard Warning for all of Carlton County, southern St. Louis County and areas along the western shore of Lake Superior all the way to the Canadian border. the warning is in effect from 6 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 13) until 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15. Here is the warning posted at 1:39 p.m. today: ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of 10 to 17 inches,...
Better walking, biking, trail access is goal of plan The future of the state highway bisecting Cloquet isn't expected to be as vehicle-centric as it is today. A report due this month from Duluth-based Arrowhead Regional Development Commission and the Minnesota Department of Transportation figures to position the four-lane Minnesota Highway 33 as a more pedestrian and bicycle-safe environment, one that also accommodates greater snowmobile and ATV trail frontage alongside the highway. "We're...
By 10:36 a.m. Thursday, some 300 Thanksgiving meals had been delivered across Carlton County, all of them free, all of them cooked, packaged and driven to their destination by volunteers. Then the power went out. "Luckily the ovens at the VFW are gas, so they just kept cooking in the dark," said Raffy Johnson, noting that the lights were out for about two hours. It was just another challenge to conquer, Johnson said. He has led the annual community meal for the past six years as a member of the...
A multimillion-dollar athletic facilities project got another step closer to reality Monday, when Cloquet school board members voted unanimously in favor of using the state government bid process for contracts and purchasing and hired Kraus-Anderson Construction to act as construction manager for the district. What started in the spring as a group of community members wanting to raise $1 million dollars for turf has turned into a larger school project, estimated to cost $4.5 to $5 million. The vote also fast-tracked the project. If things go...
Authorities are expected to cite a former renter with a kennel violation following a garage fire in Scanlon responsible for the loss of seven dogs Nov. 18. The former renter at 1208 28th Ave. will face a misdemeanor charge and fine for disobeying Scanlon ordinance requiring a license for private or commercial kennels. The Pine Knot does not generally name a person until they've been charged. "Through her own admission she knows she needed a permit," Cloquet police chief Derek Randall said. "She...
Carlton County voters approved it, but paperwork and state bureaucracy means collecting the voter-approved half-cent sales tax money to support the construction of the Justice Center won’t begin until spring. In November, Carlton County voters overwhelmingly accepted a half-percent sales tax to pay for the $66 million jail and courts facility being constructed in Carlton. But purchases and services of goods in the county will not see the added tax until April 1. Auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt received approval to proceed with the n...
Dave Perry curled his hand in front of his face, forming a small circle. "What I like to see is a kid with that hood, and all you see is about this much of him or her," he said. "And all of a sudden that hood comes off. It might take a week, it might take five months. But all of a sudden we see who that person is above the neckline. ... If I had a hand in that, that's awesome." Perry was describing his work as a teacher for the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program in a nomination video...
The English department at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is accepting submissions of high-quality creative work for the 11th edition of the Thunderbird Review. The deadline for submissions is Dec. 15. Based at FDLTCC, the Thunderbird Review is an inclusive journal that looks for work that speaks to the human condition and fulfills the college’s goal to create a union of cultures. Submissions will be accepted from current residents of, or individuals with a strong connection to, the Twin Ports area and the surrounding counties and t...
The Northland Foundation was recently awarded a federal grant of $500,000 over two years to support intergenerational programming in northeast Minnesota, leveraging the foundation’s “AGE to age” program that brings generations together in tutoring and help in children’s programs. The program taps the skills and experience of 500 older adult volunteers to support children and youth in tutoring, out-of-school time, and summer enrichment activities like reading programs, homework help, art clubs, sewing projects, fitness activities and holiday...
A ninth-grade student at Barnum High School was among two teenagers killed in a crash last weekend. Aubrey Tuura, 14, and Kaden Tuura, 19, died in the crash Saturday. “It’s a tough day,” Superintendent Bill Peel of Barnum Public Schools said Monday. “It’s terrible and shocking, and we have some students that are struggling.” The school put in place extra counseling support from community providers. “We’re getting through the day,” the superintendent said. According to the Minnesota State Patrol, the teens were southbound in a 2000 Volvo statio...
Essentia Health announced Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement with union nurses in Moose Lake. “Both parties worked hard at the bargaining table in pursuit of a contract that benefits our nurses, our organization and — most importantly — our patients,” an Essentia Health news release said. The Minnesota Nurses Association negotiating committee agreed to recommend ratification and will hold a ratification vote on or before Dec. 9. The tentative agreement also meant that the Moose Lake location would not participate in a strike...
Seven dogs died late Friday, Nov. 18, when a garage they were kept in caught fire in Scanlon. The fire occurred at 1208 28th St. Firefighters began arriving within a few minutes of being paged at 9:10 p.m. Friday. They found a "heavy, well-developed fire" in the garage, said Cloquet Area Fire District chief Jesse Buhs, who confirmed the deaths of the dogs. "It had progressed to the point where there were no survivable conditions within the building," Buhs said. "It tugs at people's heartstrings...
The Thomson Township board of supervisors interviewed finalists for its vacant board seat on Nov. 17, after nearly three months without a full board. The three candidates, Eric Rish, Gary Bonneville, and David Sunnarborg, were asked a series of questions about their intent to apply for the seat, what they view as hot issues for the township, and what they would bring to the board. Eric Rish is a retired Duluth Police Department lieutenant and Esko resident. He served on the Esko Sports Alliance board for four years and was a member of the...
For decades, the two churches have stood across the street from one another: one Lutheran, the other Presbyterian. Each holding services every Sunday, plus weddings and funerals, Bible studies, baptisms and confirmation classes. Each seeing the number of people in the pews declining over the years. Now the two Carlton churches - Bethesda Lutheran and River's Edge Presbyterian - are taking action together to change that. They formed a partnership, starting in October, that leaves them with...
Earlier this month, Fond du Lac welcomed Indian Health Services director Roselyn Tso for a tour earlier this month. It marked the first time an IHS director selected a tribal facility in this part of Minnesota. The tour consisted of stops at the three FDL Human Services Division facility locations, the Band's regional water project site, and wrapped up with an in-depth discussion with FDL's governing body, the Reservation Business Committee. Indian Health Services is the principal federal health...
The Esko school board approved all winter sports team coaches and their stipends at their meeting on Monday, Nov. 14, but not without discussion from the board about the direction the coaching staff has taken over the last few years. With more parents stepping up to fill empty coaching positions, board member Jeff Salo asked the board to take a good look at what options the district has to entice individuals to come coach long-term, and not just while their child is on the team. “The comment which I seem to be making every year is my disdain fo...
The Carlton school district administration and board plan to discuss an audit along with enrollment and budget at its meetings in December. But this month, school leadership heard from one portion of the school community already representing itself impressively. With 65 American Indian students in Carlton schools, Indigenious children make up 20% of the student population, said American Indian Education coordinator Kevin Kot. "They wanted to have a voice," he said. "Otherwise, it's invisible...
Ann Gustafson - a local farmer and teacher and all-around engaged citizen - is one of eight statewide finalists in the 2022 Outstanding Conservationist Award Program, along with her family and the business they operate northeast of Carlton, Leaning Barn Farm. The Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts will announce one of the eight as Outstanding Conservationist of the Year at its convention on Dec. 14. The awards program recognizes farm families, individuals,...
Minnesota will likely see a record number of visits to food shelves this year. The demand has nonprofit organizations scrutinizing budgets and considering new ways to stretch resources. The Salvation Army is one of many organizations responding to a growing demand for food. The Northern Division of the organization serves hundreds of hot meals every day at locations across Minnesota and North Dakota. Local units also operate food shelves. Maj. Scott Shelbourn said demand is up 15-20% over...
Staff and students at Churchill Elementary capped off their Blue Ribbon awards season with a party in the gymnasium, complete with drumming and a brass band, special guests, a funny heartwarming movie and hundreds of blue and white pom-poms. The celebration began in September, when U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the 2022 National Blue Ribbon schools. Churchill was one of 297 schools in the country - and only eight in Minnesota - to make the list. The Cloquet school was the...
