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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The Big Drum has a new home. Friday morning, members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and guests gathered for the opening of a new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba'iganing, in Sawyer. It was built specifically to house the Big Drum. The drum is named Nimishomis, which translates to "my grandfather." The hall is new, but the drum and the songs and ceremonies that surround it are very old. Band member and Sawyer resident Vern Northrup said his great-great-grandfather...
A Cloquet man is facing three felony assault charges after allegedly assaulting a woman last week that he was in a relationship with. Toby Ray Smith, 25, faces charges of first- and second-degree assault as well felony domestic assault for allegedly trying to strangle and then cutting the throat of the woman. According to the criminal complaint, Smith is known by area law enforcement, and Fond du Lac Police Department officers noticed him walking down a road with a woman on the reservation. He had an active warrant for his arrest, police said,...
The Cromwell Harvest Festival is back next weekend, offering three days of family friendly fun at the Pavilion Friday through Sunday, Sept. 6-8. But first things first: scarecrows must be decorated this weekend because judging starts at 6 p.m. Monday, the same day the medallion hunt kicks off. Then there's time to settle back into school before the fun really kicks off Friday with a steak fry 4-7 p.m. at the pavilion and a home football game at the high school. Saturday is the big day, starting...
A 70-year-old rural Carlton County man was flown by helicopter to a Duluth area hospital Tuesday evening after an ATV crash west of Mahtowa. According to a news release from the Carlton County Sheriff's Office, the man lost control of the ATV while exiting a gravel driveway on the 2500 block of County Road 4 just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27. The ATV ended up on top of the driver, who sustained significant injuries. Medical personnel determined he should be flown to the hospital. Steve...
For the second time in 14 months, the board of commissioners for the Cloquet/Carlton Housing & Redevelopment Authority fired its executive director. Trisha Osborn, formerly Trisha Morgando, was terminated effective July 26. The Pine Knot News learned of Osborn’s dismissal earlier this month. In response to a public data request, attorney Donald Erickson shared the dismissal letter and another letter denying the appeal of her dismissal. Erickson is a labor and employment law specialist with Fryberger Law Firm in Duluth who was hired by the Cloqu...
The Cloquet City Council will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3 at Cloquet City Hall, 101 14th St., on the proposed adoption of the International Property Maintenance Code. The IPMC would provide up-to-date widespread property maintenance standards for residential, rental, commercial and industrial properties. The IPMC is updated on an ongoing basis by the International Code Council and would give the city additional “tools” to enforce code on existing structures, which is lacking in the Minnesota State Building Code, acc...
Cloquet Police Officer Trevor Kaldor was officially promoted to patrol sergeant during the Cloquet City Council meeting Aug. 20. Kaldor has been with the Cloquet department since May 2020. According to police chief Derek Randall, Kaldor was already considered an informal leader among his peers, “especially with our younger and less experienced officers.” He was one of several internal candidates who applied for the job. Kaldor has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin Superior, and later attended Fond du Lac T...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources reminds firearm and muzzleloader hunters who want to harvest antlerless deer in a deer permit area designated as antlerless permit lottery this hunting season to purchase their license by Thursday, Sept. 5. Hunters who purchase their license on or before this date are automatically entered into the lottery for the deer permit area or special hunt area they declare. Hunters who want to participate in special firearm or muzzleloader deer hunts need to apply for permits that are issued through a...
With school set to start Wednesday, Sept. 4 in Cloquet, superintendent Michael Cary shared good and bad news with the board on Monday. The good news? The district is almost fully staffed, with the exception of a couple of last-minute resignations. Also, 22nd Street should be open to traffic from Washington Avenue to Doddridge Avenue by the start of school, although workers will be striping and doing other work between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on school days for a while. The bad news? The district could face a six-digit shortfall this year, following...
In an effort to protect emergency personnel on Minnesota roadways, motorists are reminded to move over for emergency and maintenance vehicles with activated flashing lights. When traveling on a road with two or more lanes, drivers must keep one full lane away from stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights activated, whether that’s ambulance, fire, law enforcement or maintenance and construction vehicles. If drivers are unable to safely move over, reduce speed when passing emergency vehicles on the side of the road. This Minnesota law i...
Cloquet area residents who want to receive text messages or emails with public safety news should register with the Cloquet Police Department’s Nixle service. Nixle was created for local law enforcement, designed to notify the public of community updates, public advisories and emergency alerts. To sign up for notifications and alerts using the Nixle messaging system, text the city’s zip code (55720) to 888777 and follow the prompts, or follow the link https://local.nixle.com/register. Nixle also offers an anonymous tip line for the public to...
The Cloquet Community Band is seeking new members. If you have played an instrument, please check out the band. Practice is 7-8:30 p.m. Mondays at the Cloquet Presbyterian Church, 47 Fourth St., Cloquet. The band provides sheet music, and you bring your instrument. The band performs at a variety of community events (spring and winter concert, Cloquet Memorial Day service, parades, nursing homes and other events as requested). Questions? Contact Becky at 218-206-4441....
On Friday, from a galaxy far, far away, the original Star Wars movie will return to Cloquet, this time with the dialogue dubbed in Ojibwe. "Anangong Miigaading," aka "Star Wars: A New Hope" will show for one week at Cloquet's Premiere Theatres. There will be English subtitles with the movie, for non-Ojibwe speakers or those who aren't fluent. The movie will run for a week, starting Aug. 30, with showings at 2, 4:40, and 7:30 p.m. daily. The story of the newly dubbed 1977 movie is one of...
Did you know? -The Carlton County Justice Center will house the Sheriff's Office, the jail, 911 dispatch center, probation, courtrooms, court administration, the Carlton County Attorney's Office and public defender offices. -The total size of the project is 112,276 square feet located on a 28-acre county-owned wooded site next to the existing County Transportation Building off County Road 61. -The Sheriff's Office includes administrative offices for administration, detectives, patrol officers,...
Graffiti with white supremacist messaging appeared on and along paved pedestrian trails in Cloquet and Carlton earlier this week. "White Man Zone" was painted on the walls of the underpass on the north side of the pedestrian bridge over the St. Louis River in Cloquet. Farther down the wall was the Nazi SS Lightning Bolts symbol, commonly used in the white supremacy movement. Repeatedly, in both Cloquet and along the Willard Munger State Trail in Carlton, someone scrawled the website address for...
A 21-year-old driver, who struck and killed a pedestrian in Moose Lake in March, is now facing additional charges after blood tests revealed the presence of four drugs in his system. Brent James Keranen, of Pengilly, Minnesota, waived his right to an omnibus hearing Monday morning in a remote hearing held with Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekka Stumme. Keranen’s attorney, David Keegan, requested a settlement conference versus a jury trial, an indication they’re looking for a plea deal. According to the criminal complaint, Keranen adm...
The annual Cloquet Labor Day parade is fast approaching. Look for plenty of political candidates in this year’s parade, which starts at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 2, and travels down Cloquet Avenue from 18th Street to Eighth Street. Once again, there will be food trucks in the city parking lot. Labor day celebration president Chad Tuura is excited about this year’s celebration for two reasons: He’s got more help, and he’s hoping to see a large turnout, since it’s a presidential election year. “I got an interesting call from a Democratic office that...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will have a public grand opening celebration today, Friday, for its new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba’iganing, at 3276 Moorhead Road in Sawyer. The event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will include tours, a ribbon cutting, and remarks from drumkeepers, leaders from the Fond du Lac Band’s Reservation Business Committee and community members. The Fond du Lac Band said the new hall marks a “significant milestone” with dedicated space for the ceremonial big drum and a sanctuary for wellnes...
Thomson Township is the latest Carlton County area to learn it is now home to the emerald ash borer, an invasive forest pest known for its devastating impact on ash trees. Jonathan Osthus, technical assistance coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, informed the township that the MDA had located an infested ash tree at 16 E. Highway 61 in Esko. The area already falls within what is considered a “generally infested” area, which means any ash tree not currently being treated has a high likelihood of already being impacted by EAB...
Carlton County has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for its Women, Infants and Children breastfeeding program. Carlton County WIC is one of three WIC agencies in the state to receive the high-level award. The Breastfeeding Award of Excellence recognizes local WIC agencies that support breastfeeding goals through “exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities and serve as models for other local agencies to strengthen breastfeeding among WIC participants,” a press release from the cou...
Ian Erickson addressed the Carlton school board during Monday's regular meeting, informing the board he was taking two of his children out of the Carlton school district. Erickson emphasized that he liked the school district, teachers, and principals, "but we feel like the four-day week has forced our hand," he said. Child care was not an issue. Instead, Erickson thought his two younger children should be in school more than four days in a week to provide the kind of educational continuity they...
A summer’s worth of cooling off between sides in the proposed consolidation between the Carlton and Wrenshall school districts is coming to a close without any sense of how the districts expect to proceed. Both sides say they’re waiting to hear from the other. Neither side appears prepared to nudge talks forward. A clearer picture of the division began to appear following recent Pine Knot interviews, data requests and school board meetings. In short, Carlton wants consolidation to run through superintendents and Wrenshall does not, pre...
Ten months ago, the Pine Knot News reported on concerns Carlton County officials expressed about the potential for runaway health care costs for county employees starting in 2025. A high number of claims had forced the county to use 5- and 10.5-percent caps on premiums in 2023 and 2024, with the county facing an uncapped future. At risk was a higher tax levy and the hard decisions that could have resulted from trying to contain other costs. But based on what transpired Aug. 13 during the county board meeting in Cloquet, it’s safe to say, ...
Cloquet city officials and Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) celebrated the CTC Woods to Waters Broadband Initiative and its arrival in rural Cloquet. The $4.9 million local grant will fund what are considered last-mile projects connecting some of the most rural and/or underserved residential areas of central and northeastern Minnesota. In Cloquet specifically, the project will improve service in the northern part of the city. Crews burying fiber optic cable have been visible along Minnesota...
What is normally a five-minute rubber-stamp meeting of Thomson Township residents turned into a near-revolt Tuesday, when citizens pushed back hard on actions by the township's elected officials. First up on the agenda for the reconvened annual meeting? An error in the township's proposed levy for 2025 after township officials failed to include payments to cover a $400,000 certificate of indebtedness to purchase equipment executed March 29, just over two weeks after the annual meeting when...
