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 1351 - 1375 of 3909
Thomson Township officials hosted a sewer rates presentation Thursday, Sept. 8, to allow the township engineer Joe Jurewicz to explain why he is recommending an increase in rates for upcoming years. When Jurewicz and the Thomson Township board of supervisors began public discussion about raising sewer rates earlier this summer, the prospect was met with questions from the community about why there was a need for a price hike. Jurewicz and the board offered the sewer rates presentation to the public to give them an opportunity to see the work th...
At their first meeting of the new school year, the Esko school board heard good news from district administrators. Principals Greg Hexum and Brian Harker told the board Monday, Sept. 12 that there is excitement in the building like never before. With a handful of new teachers, and classrooms being somewhat back to normal after the height of the pandemic, students arrived eager to learn. Superintendent Aaron Fisher said enrollment numbers have remained similar to last year, despite the predicted reduction in numbers this year. All told, 1,265 Es...
Outside the wastewater treatment plant in the Iron Range town of Aurora, a small trailer could hold clues to solving a big environmental problem facing northern Minnesota — how to protect wild rice from sulfate, a pollutant released by iron ore mines, wastewater treatment plants and other industries. Mei Cai, an environmental engineer with the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth, points to a series of tanks where a chemical called barium chloride reacts with dissolved sulfate in the water to form p... 
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A study of the Minnesota Highway 33 corridor through Cloquet is being conducted to help create a transportation plan in the area, said a Minnesota Department of Transportation news release. The Arrowhead Regional Development Commission and MnDOT are studying the state highway, in part, by gaining public feedback through a virtual open house available through Sept. 30. “The goal of the transportation plan is to look at pedestrian and bicycle safety along Highway 33 in Cloquet and develop a long-range plan and vision for potential system i... Full story
County Road 1 in Carlton will be closed between the Streetcar Kitchen & Pub and Red Dog Drive-Thru for approximately two weeks starting Monday, Sept. 19. Douglas Road will be the detour route.... Full story
If you have an interest in plants and gardening and would enjoy sharing your interest with others, apply to become a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener volunteer. Applications are open for the Carlton County Extension Master Gardener program now until Oct. 31. Individuals selected for the program begin an internship that starts with the Master Gardener core course training in January 2023. The course is taught online through the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Instructors are University of Minnesota Extension... Full story
Carlton County Public Health is hosting a FREE Childhood Vaccine Clinic • WHO: Children in grades K-12 who need vaccinations to meet school requirements • WHEN: Thursday, September 22, 2022 • TIME: Appointments available between 3:00-5:30 PM • WHERE: Carlton County Community Services Building- 14 North 11th Street Cloquet, MN 55720. • COST: No Cost. Insurance information will be collected and billed if the child is insured; NO CHARGE if the child is uninsured or if insurance doesn’t cover the cost of vaccines. • Parent/Guardian MUST complete th... Full story
A Culver man was killed Wednesday, Sept. 14, as the result of a work-place incident at the Northland Constructors gravel pit in Industrial Township. According to a news release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, Brad Lewis Wojtysiak, 40, was found dead just before 3 p.m., Sept. 14 in what appeared to be an industrial accident at the gravel pit near Highway 33 and Sunset Lake Drive. An employee at Northland Constructors, Wojtysiak was working on a large piece of equipment. Though there were other workers in the general area, he was a... Full story
There's a saying that goes around Sappi: folks who've worked in the boiler room for 40 years think the paper mill makes steam. It's an insightful joke about the processes within the mill which require heating chilled Lake Superior water to meet the needs of pulp and paper-making. It's also one that's taken on renewed meaning at a time the mill is striving to reduce its energy usage and water consumption. "Back in the late 1960s, we used over 40 million gallons of water per day," said... Full story
Cloquet city councilors unanimously voted for a preliminary 2023 levy increase of 6.5 percent Tuesday, following advice of staff to build a little "wiggle room" into the budget. Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb made the motion, stressing that the goal was to lower the levy increase to 5.95 percent by the time the city budget and levy are formally adopted in December. City administrator Tim Peterson recommended the "wiggle room" and higher increase, noting that the council can choose to decrease the...
Carlton County officials blamed a national inflation rate of more than 8 percent this year for putting pressure on the county’s upcoming 2023 budget. On Tuesday, the Committee of the Whole forwarded a preliminary 6.9-percent levy increase for board action by the end of the month. Minnesota statutes call for a preliminary levy to be adopted in September in preparation for a final levy decision in December. Historically, the final number can come in lower, but it cannot be higher than the figure set in September. What are the forces putting p...
The Cloquet Area Alternative Education Programs, a small alternative school for grades 6-12 which draws from 12 school districts, made a list of 371 schools that will receive extra support by the state department of education last week. The program’s four-year graduation rate was below 67 percent for all students, triggering the extra support. Located in Cloquet’s Garfield School, the school ironically reported its highest percentage of graduates last year at 59.4 percent. According to the state’s Minnesota Report Card for CAAEP, the school had...
The superintendent's introduction of a formal complaint form for use going forward opened the floodgates at Wrenshall Schools on Wednesday. Meeting during the committee of the whole, board members praised a new complaint form, designed to go to the superintendent, or board chair should the complaint address the superintendent. Complaints can come from students, parents, employees or community members. "We need to be transparent about where to go," board member Nicole Krisak said. Superintendent...
Approximately 90,000 Minnesotans will continue to save money on MinnesotaCare premiums through the end of 2025, thanks to the federal Inflation Reduction Act signed last month by President Biden. As part of the landmark law, MinnesotaCare premiums will remain at reduced levels for an additional three years, helping workers and families maintain their access to affordable health care. MinnesotaCare covers people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to purchase other health insurance. Until January 2026, people with incomes...
The city of Cloquet will host a mountain bike race featuring as many as 600 youth participants later this month. But such a large race coming so close to the ski season at Pine Valley has the local ski club concerned. "We know it's a multi-use park," Cloquet Ski Club representative Ken Ripp said. "But let's not ruin one sport for another." The Minnesota Cycling Association's race series for sixth- through 12th-graders is coming to the Pine Valley Recreation Center on Sept. 24-25. "At this point...
• The spelling of Cheryl Ankrum’s name was incorrect in the Aug. 26 story, “Wrenshall disciplines someone, but who?” on Page 7. • The caption for the Anderson family was out of order in last week’s century farm story on Page 21, “Cromwell farm earns prestigious century label.” Family members as pictured, from left, were Joan, Guy and LeeAnn Anderson. • The Aug. 26 Cloquet Educational Foundation golf tournament brief on Page 16 listed last year’s winner by mistake. In reality, Team “Uptown Funk” took home the 2022 tournament trophy. Capt... Full story
A panel of court-appointed condemnation officials agreed with an $8,000 appraisal for Hotel Solem on Thursday, Aug. 25. The approval opened the door for the city of Cloquet to proceed with plans to redevelop the deteriorating 103-year-old building on the corner of Cloquet Avenue and 10th Street. "We believe we have established that is the actual value of the property that was taken and the amount that should be due to the owners," city attorney William Helwig said near the conclusion of the...
The Cloquet Area Fire District is seeking a board member from Thomson or Twin Lakes townships to fill the seat vacated by Jason Paulson when he resigned from the Thomson Township and CAFD boards earlier this month. CAFD chief Jesse Buhs said an applicant must reside in either Thomson or Twin Lakes townships in the area the CAFD covers for ambulance service. “The easiest way to determine that is if they see us on their tax statement,” he said. The term would run through 2024; it is a volunteer position. Anyone interested in applying should con... Full story
A 26-year-old Cloquet man was killed Monday, Aug. 29, succumbing to injuries sustained when the motorcycle he was driving crashed with an SUV. Hunter Thorman, of Cloquet, was pronounced dead sometime following the crash in Cloquet. The crash occurred at approximately 11:05 p.m. Monday, with the Cloquet Police Department responding to Carlton Avenue and 22nd Street, according to a CPD news release. Upon arrival, officers found a small red Honda CR-V and a motorcycle had been involved in a crash. Officers and Cloquet Area Fire District paramedics... Full story
Remember the 500-year flash floods that ripped across the Northland 10 years ago, and the drought that had farmers and others praying for rain last summer? Cloquet city officials are hoping to make a plan for future climate change and they need help from the people who live here. City staff and the SEH consulting engineering firm are in the process of preparing an assessment of the stormwater infrastructure throughout Cloquet, something that was last done 40 years ago, according to assistant city engineer John Anderson. As part of the...
Following a closed meeting Wednesday that lasted three hours, the Wrenshall school board fired the school’s information technology director, Jaime Hopp, the Pine Knot News learned Thursday. Hopp had been the subject of a personnel investigation which began earlier this summer. The tech director was alleged to have profanely alluded to “killing” the district superintendent while in the staff lounge in June. Another district employee overheard the comment, which superintendent Kim Belcastro later reported to Carlton County authorities. Following...
Following a closed meeting Wednesday that lasted three hours, the Wrenshall school board fired the school’s information technology director, Jaime Hopp, the Pine Knot News learned Thursday. Hopp had been the subject of a personnel investigation which began earlier this summer. The tech director was alleged to have profanely alluded to “killing” the district superintendent while in the staff lounge in June. Another district employee overheard the comment, which superintendent Kim Belcastro later... Full story
A federal judge last week dismissed the remaining claims in a $4 million civil lawsuit filed by a former Cloquet detective, but left open the door for continued action in state court. 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. Holman’s complaint claimed that the detective’s termination was the result of a Brady policy created by the Carlton County Attorney’s Office for “sanctioning” police officers without due process. The term “Brady” r...
Hawaii's loss was Cloquet's gain this summer, when a dog being trained as a backup accelerant detection K-9 for the island state became available in June. Cloquet Area Fire District battalion chief Jason Maki picked up Delta, a 2½-year-old golden retriever mix from the North Carolina training site in mid-June. "It's a long story, but she was one of two dogs that were slated to go to Hawaii after the police academy," Maki explained. "They do two dogs because Hawaii is super strict on... Full story
After close to 10 months of musical chairs, the Cloquet Area Fire District staff and board members celebrated a slew of promotions and other moves that have the district almost on stable ground in terms of staffing. CAFD chief Jesse Buhs said in many cases, a promotion led to a vacancy that was filled and created more vacancies behind it. A case in point, Buhs was appointed interim chief in December and officially got the job in March. A new assistant fire chief position was created, and former... Full story
