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 1684 - 1708 of 3909
The Carlton school board continued to explore its budget options Monday at its monthly regular meeting. It heard details from the online resource it currently uses to offer students a wider range of electives options. One of the goals of the board, in order to shave from its expected half-million-dollar deficit next year, is to increase online electives and eliminate teachers. The board formally approved allowing district office staff to seek cuts and offer recommendations to the board for consi...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has released details of more groundwater leaks caused by the construction of the Line 3 oil pipeline last year. The DNR has completed its investigation of three sites where crews installing the pipeline breached underground aquifers, causing uncontrolled - and unauthorized - flows of groundwater. State regulators previously identified one of the three locations, near Enbridge's Clearbrook terminal. In January 2021, crews installing the replacement... Full story
The Cloquet Area Fire District has a new fire chief, but he's no stranger. CAFD board members voted unanimously last week to remove the "interim" title and appoint Jesse Buhs the full-time CAFD fire chief. Buhs has been interim chief since former fire chief Matt Ashmore resigned in December, a move that came after the former chief was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 11. It had taken the board two national searches and a revision of the job requirements to land on Ashmore, who lasted... Full story
While arguments continue to be made in the custody cases involving 10 Cloquet children, Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekah Stumme made her feelings clearly known Tuesday when it comes to how representatives for the adoptive mothers and those who want the children kept out of their homes are interacting in front of her court. “Put away the knives,” Stumme said at the end of a hearing concerning petitioner Danielle Martineau — a relative who wants children removed from Dawn Ammesmaki’s care. The judge said she was dismayed by the ten...
A Cloquet police officer who was fired by the city in early February hopes to have that decision overturned, after requesting arbitration under the Veterans Preference statute. As that case makes its way through the Bureau of Mediation Services, it remains a mystery why Laci Silgjord was fired. However, the police officer is involved in another case — regarding the estate of a woman who died in 2020 — that may be related to her dismissal. Silgjord participated in a formal unsupervised probate hearing (held via Zoom) on Thursday, March 17, reg...
A woman charged with hitting a car and then coming back and hitting one of its occupants made her first appearance in Carlton County Sixth District Court last week. Rebecca Lee Glader, 38, faces seven charges, including three counts of felony criminal vehicular operation with substantial bodily harm and leaving the scene of an accident, along with gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor traffic violations including failure to stop, failure to notify police, reckless driving and violating the “keep to the right” traffic law. Glader’s attorney, Andre...
Preliminary site details for the new Carlton County justice center were revealed this week in an update from the working committee at a discussion-only meeting of the board of commissioners. The justice center, which includes jail and district court facilities, will sit just northeast of the county transportation building on what formerly was Twin Lakes Township property. That section was annexed into the City of Carlton in order to place the justice center there. Jail administrator Paul Coughli...
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive Committee voted 7-5 Monday to censure Kevin Dupuis Sr., chairperson of the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee. Other than the disapproval implied by the censure, the vote came with no consequences from the committee. There seemed to be consensus among many of those voting both ways that the issue would be better addressed by Fond du Lac band members. The tribal committee, or TEC, comprises the chairperson and secretary/treasurer of each of the six...
City of Cloquet staff invites the public to share broadband stories and to hear about results from the recent Cloquet Broadband survey and completion of the Blandin Broadband Communities Program. There will be two meeting opportunities: Tuesday, March 22 at 6 p.m. at the Cloquet Library in the Northwoods Meeting Room A (320 14th Street), or Thursday, March 24 at noon at Common Ground Coffee Bar & Deli (103 Avenue C).... Full story
Two new reports released this month by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and Minnesota Department of Health find that air pollution continues to pose a threat to public health in the Twin Cities area and other regional metropolitan centers in Minnesota, with impacts falling disproportionately on communities with more residents who are low-income, uninsured, people of color, or people with disabilities. The reports, “Life and Breath: Metro” and “Life and Breath: Greater Minnesota,” examine how air pollution affected health in 2015, the mos...
Former Cloquet Area Fire District chief Matt Ashmore signed a separation agreement with the CAFD board in December that provided him with $35,407 (equal to four months salary) and a payout of unused vacation time of $7,954. Ashmore was CAFD fire chief for only a year and was hired by the CAFD board after two searches to replace retired fire chief Kevin Schroeder. Ashmore had worked as a battalion chief and emergency medical services director before he moved here from Hibbing. When he resigned...
The Esko school board is looking ahead to the 2023 school year, with Covid-19 cases slowing down for the district and the end of the current school year in sight. As of Friday, March 11, there were only two active Covid-19 cases documented by K-12 students and staff. The low number of cases not only means that masks remain optional for students, but it also allowed Esko school board members — and audience members — to hold their meeting Monday, March 14, without talking about Covid protocols, which have been the focus of many meetings throughou...
A Cloquet man is facing multiple felony charges after police found he had shared illegal pornographic videos featuring children on social media in 2020. Jaypee Selorico, 36, was arrested earlier this month and faces eight charges relating to the possession and dissemination of pornographic work, including two charges for pornographic work featuring a minor under the age of 13. Selorico appeared virtually in Sixth District Carlton County court on March 9 before judge Rebekka Stumme. Stumme set bail at $10,000 cash or $100,000 bond. According to...
The Barnum school board voted against proceeding with the $8.32 million in proposed projects at the regular meeting of the board on Tuesday, March 15. Board member Paul Coughlin pointed out during the meeting that the board had approved, 4-3, to proceed with the projects back in December but, for “due diligence,” had to vote once again about proceeding with the projects and with selling bonds to finance the projects. The projects consisted of replacing a cooler in the elementary school, indoor air quality improvements, and a roof rep...
It’s the petition that wouldn’t go away, or perhaps it’s just the angry district resident who won’t go away. An obviously distraught Tony Sheda repeated his demands to the Wrenshall school board Monday night that the creators of the petition that denied an appointment to the school board last August be responsible for the costs incurred by the school district to verify the petition. Despite repeated explanations and investigation of the issue that reached state offices in St. Paul, Sheda is yet to be satisfied, and apparently a majorit...
The Carlton school board met Monday, in large part to discuss again the possible cuts to meet a budgetary shortfall of about $500,000. The board is looking to cut that deficit in half for next school year with changes in curricular and extracurricular offerings, staffing levels and superintendent benefits. The committee of the whole meeting was for discussion purposes only, with ideas, questions and information exchanged freely among all six board members, superintendent and participating staff. Any decisions on budgetary cuts will still need...
Fond du lac Tribal and Community College has been designated a 2021 Leader College by the network called Achieving the Dream. FDLTCC is one of four colleges across the country to receive the designation this year. “I am proud to work at FDLTCC and be surrounded by colleagues with such caring hearts and expertise,” said president Stephanie Hammitt. The “Leader College” designation among ATD Network colleges indicates that every person affiliated with an institution is committed to ensuring studen...
Brad Matlack likes the idea of finding a better way for landowners to burn brush and other biomass from cleanups on properties. In late 2020, the manager of the Carlton Soil and Water Conservation District heard about some money available to let residents experiment with what is known as creating "biochar." In a nutshell, it's method of high-heat burning that creates lower emissions into the atmosphere while leaving a charcoal-like pile that research has shown could have beneficial resources... Full story
As the snow gets a bit soggy around the edges, thoughts of spring aren't far from the minds of Wrenshall area farmers, and many have been planning for the coming season by attending conferences and symposiums. My husband, Janaki Fisher-Merritt of the Food Farm, signed up for the virtual option of last month's organic vegetable production conference run by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and presented remotely to the Quebec ministry of agriculture. We had a few representatives from...
Students and staff at Esko schools were safely evacuated Friday afternoon, after the Carlton County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous 911 call indicating an explosive device was seen in an Esko High School classroom. Officers and school officials initiated evacuation procedures, and enlisted the help of emergency responders and law enforcement from many different agencies to conduct an exhaustive search of the building and surroundings. No suspicious items were located, and the campus was... Full story
A hearing on a motion to censure the chairperson of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is set for Monday, based on allegations he knowingly violated a reservation ordinance that prohibits weapons in the tribal business center. Fond du Lac secretary/treasurer Ferdinand Martineau made the motion to censure Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee chair Kevin Dupuis Sr. at the Jan. 28 meeting of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive Committee meeting. The Tribal Executive Committee comprises the chairperson and secretary/treasurer...
The three-day throng of tech-inclined high school students called the Duluth Regionals in robotics didn't disappoint last weekend as 111 teams from Minnesota and neighboring states took over the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. There were four Carlton County teams in the competition, from Cloquet, Esko, Barnum and Moose Lake. Esko came away with the biggest honors: a run in the playoffs, a top award for innovation in controlling its robot, and a sure place in the state tournament....
The Cloquet Police Department is investigating the “suspicious” death of Amanda Cadotte, a 33-year-old woman, within Cloquet city limits on the Fond du Lac Reservation. According to a news release, Cloquet and Fond du Lac police departments, along with the Cloquet Area Fire District, responded to Trettel Lane in Cloquet on a medical call at approximately 7:24 a.m. Thursday, March 3. Cadotte was unresponsive and pronounced deceased at the scene. It is an open and active investigation, as the death is being considered suspicious, police said, whi...
Owners and staff at Gordy’s Hi-Hat in Cloquet, a seasonal food hotspot for 62 years, were busy last weekend removing snow from the restaurant grounds. That’s because they plan on welcoming people interested in working there 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 12. Gordy’s announced online and with its sign off Minnesota Highway 33 north of the St. Louis River the past week that opening day will be March 23. It will be the first year of operation without founder Gordy Lundquist, who died last July....
Carlton County has announced that $10,000 of the remaining pandemic relief funding will be disbursed as grants aimed at bringing county communities back together. Groups that plan to host free community events in Carlton County in 2022 should consider applying for grants of up to $1,000, based on event details, geographic disbursement, impact, and countywide demand for funding. Applications are available beginning Monday, March 14 and are due by 4 p.m. April 15. Over the past two years, many fun, community-building, educational and cultural eve...
