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 158 - 182 of 3944
Work on the Interstate 35 Atkinson Bridge (pictured) continues, and so do detours on Carlton County Road 61, which passes under the bridge about 3 miles south of Highway 210. Traffic on County Road 61 is being detoured to County Road 4 to County Road 5. This traffic configuration was expected to last through late August. Costs for the project were estimated at $4.15 million and will improve the load carrying capacity of the bridge and life of the highway. Carlton County also announced the...
Folks thinking that all the Carlton County fair judges are local folks sharing their expertise are only partially right. A lot of judges - every livestock judge, in fact - come from outside the county, said Ora Mord. Mord drove nearly 200 miles from Clearwater County (west of Bemidji) to judge dairy goats for Carlton County 4-H last week. "You cannot judge in your own county," Mord said. "That's because you know the animals, you know the kids and you know the people. We want to make it as...
Car racing has been a part of the Carlton County Fair in Barnum for as long as most people can remember. This past week, the tradition continued as nearly 6,000 fans watched local drivers compete for $40,000 in prize money. "I've been either involved with the fair or coming to the fair for a long time and these events draw many people who might otherwise not attend the fair," said Steve Loucks, president of the Carlton County Fair Association. According to Loucks, more than 150 drivers...
Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Program served more youth from 2021 to 2023 than in previous years and found high levels of satisfaction with the program, according to a new evaluation report. The Safe Harbor program is a multi-agency, statewide initiative designed to meet the needs of sex-trafficked and exploited young people through age 24. Under Minnesota’s Safe Harbor law, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking victims and survivors are protected from criminal prosecution and can access Safe Harbor services, including housing. A substantial maj...
Congratulations to Kettle River Days raffle winners: first prize, Sandra Merritt; second, Dennis Kaminski; third, Carol Forse; fourth, Lawrence Lundin; and fifth prize, Jeff Glaser. A special thank-you to all those who donated money and food for the steak fry, and all the volunteers who worked many hours to make this event happen. Thank you, too, to all the vendors who made it a fun day. This event would not be possible without all those people. We need more volunteers to help us plan the next event, so watch for meeting notices, and come to a...
It's great to have my internet back. I haven't been able to send this news column to the papers or my internet friends for the past three weeks. The last couple of weeks were busy and I hope you didn't miss any events due to not getting the news from me. Aug. 11 was a very special day for our family. My brother and sister-in-law Mark and Linda Dahlman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright. We had relatives and friends from all over the country,...
Ted Swenson knew his farm had passed the 100-year mark, he just didn't know it happened in 2011. A trip to the Carlton County Courthouse led to that discovery last year. Now Swenson's Dairy will be honored as Carlton County's latest Century Farm in a program starting at noon Friday at the Carlton County Fair. To qualify as a Century Farm, a farm must have been continuously run by a family for a century or more, be at least 50 acres in size and currently involved in farming. Now owned by Ted...
The Cloquet Forestry Center is holding its annual free open house 4:40-8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. It’s an opportunity to have some fun and learn through wagon tours, fireside educational chats, informational booths, scavenger hunts plus raffle prizes and more. Food from the Room at the Table food truck will be available. The Cloquet Forestry Center has been the primary research and education forest for the University of Minnesota since 1909. CFC is located 3 miles west of the City of Cloquet w...
A home in Skelton Township was completely destroyed by an early morning fire Tuesday, Aug. 13. The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call reporting a structure fire at 2:28 a.m. Tuesday on the 3500 block of County Road 157 in Skelton Township, northwest of Barnum. The initial report indicated a house was on fire and all occupants had made it safely outside. Deputies from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office responded with fire departments from Barnum, Moose Lake and Mahtowa. Upon arrival, the house was found to be fully inv...
The Esko school district updated its student handbooks to tighten rules on student cell phone use, including no phone on students while they sit at their desks. At Monday's school board meeting, superintendent Aaron Fischer introduced the revisions which are intended to standardize the rules for all the classrooms. The Minnesota legislature in the last session directed schools to set cell phone use policies by March 15, 2025. The legislation did not directly prescribe how the policies should be...
The upcoming back-to-school issue of a popular Wrenshall publication will be its final print edition. Images, the monthly Wrenshall school newsletter that's distributed community wide, is moving to an online-only format. Beginning in October, Images will appear only on the school's website, isd100.net. The school board approved the move at its business meeting Monday. The move will save the district roughly $6,500 a year. Images publishes 10 times a year, with printing, delivery and postage...
Judge Rebekka Stumme offered no leniency Friday, Aug. 9 when she sentenced a 41-year-old Cloquet man to nine years in prison for cornering and attempting to assault a 12-year-old relative who was under his care. “You, sir, are the farthest things from amenable to treatment,” Stumme said in Sixth District Court in Carlton, denying Tony Allen Gohl’s plea for a lesser sentence. Now twice convicted of violent sexual encounters, Gohl received a “top of the box” sentence, based on state guidelines. The 108-month sentence followed Gohl’s jury convicti...
The Arrowhead Library System will be providing a limited number of free “Beautiful Writing with Calligraphy” take-andcreate-kits for member public libraries to distribute in September. This art experience, created by Silver Bay calligrapher Lynn Prouty, introduces the art of calligraphy to beginners and enthusiasts. The free program is best suited for ages 12 and older. Kits will be distributed at the Cloquet, Carlton and Moose Lake public libraries....
A Carlton County man was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Friday for sexually abusing three young girls in his care. Jamie Alden Godbout, 35, dated their mother for nearly a decade and was part of the family, so much so that the girls’ grandmother actually testified on his behalf, asking for a reduced sentence. But Sixth District Carlton County Judge Amy Lukasavitz echoed the words of the one victim who testified Friday. “You were the adult, you were the person who was supposed to protect them,” said Lukasavitz, who sentenced him t...
Carmen's Bar & Restaurant has always been a home away from home for many, customers and crew alike. Since opening in 1997, they've been fortunate to have long-standing employees consistently deliver great food and service, earning loyal customers. That has allowed Carmen's to grow within and to take the opportunity to branch out to another location. You can expect to see certain events throughout the year, such as dinner specials for every holiday, including corned beef and cabbage for St....
The Lake Superior waterline to Cloquet "failed in spectacular fashion" earlier this month, but underwater pipe repairs are underway in the St. Louis River east of Duluth's Riverside neighborhood. "We had a geyser in the river there the morning it came to light," said Cloquet public works director Caleb Peterson Wednesday afternoon. "It's been shut down for about a week and a half." Peterson explained that the waterline pumps water from Lake Superior to Sappi. It is not used for potable drinking...
Carlton County announced the following upcoming road closures on Friday, Aug. 16 CSAH 6 Closure - East of Barnum CSAH 6, E of CR 11, will be closed starting Monday, August 19 for approximately two weeks. Detour will be posted. CSAH 25 Closure - Ditchbank Rd CSAH 25, in Perch Lake Township at the pipeline crossing, will be closed starting Sunday, August 25 for approximately one week....
Kent Syverson’s mind was blown when Mount St. Helens blew its top in 1980. The famous eruption of the long-dormant volcano in Washington scratched a geology itch in the Barnum student’s brain. “I was always interested in rocks and the outdoors,” he said this month. The historic event led to a 4-H project on volcanoes, which eventually won ribbons at the local Carlton County Fair and then the Minnesota State Fair. Today, Syverson is a well-traveled geology professor at the University of Wisconsin...
TJ's Country Corner is the hub of the Mahtowa community and a business that's hard to pigeonhole. Owners Renee and Glenn Gaffney love the support they receive from the community and they like to help out whenever and however they can. TJ's always offers delicious food, great conversation, and a rich history in Mahtowa. They have a little bit of everything. Their Facebook page lists them as a convenience store, but they're much more than that. Known for their slogan - "Our Wurst is Best!" - TJ's...
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Cloquet is hosting an event later this month called “Respectful Conversations” that it says will focus “not on changing minds, but on softening hearts while discussing politics.” The Respectful Conversations Project is a program of the Minnesota Council of Churches designed to strengthen civic life in Minnesota. “Congregations throughout Minnesota have hosted conversations that explore issues through the lens of deeply held convictions while maintaining, even enhancing, relationships among those who disagree,...
At Monday night’s Carlton school board retreat, board members had a freewheeling discussion about the major challenges to be faced in the coming school year. A large amount of discussion centered around the four-day school week which starts this September. Board members were supportive, but expressed doubts. Board member Ryan Leonzal was direct. “I’ve had anywhere from 10 to 15 families tell me that they’re leaving, and they’re not particularly ones that I would have assumed [would] go,” he said, and went on to warn the board about the gamble...
A Carlton County man died in a single-car accident on Minnesota Highway 210 on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 1. According to the State Patrol incident report, Rodney William Metso of Sawyer was traveling eastbound just before 9 a.m. on Highway 210 near the cross street of County Road 5 in a Ford Escape. The vehicle crossed into the westbound lane and entered the north ditch, hitting an embankment. The airbag deployed but Metso apparently died at the scene. Road conditions were wet at the time. Fond du Lac Police, Carlton County Sheriff’s O...
The $75 million Carlton County Justice Center opens this month with a public grand opening celebration at noon, Aug. 22, at the new facility along County Road 61 in Carlton, on the new Justice Drive. Public tours are scheduled for 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Aug. 22, and for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Aug. 27. The public grand opening ceremony will include cake, refreshments, a ribbon cutting and media tours. The Justice Center combines a new county jail with a new Sixth...
Road construction begins Monday, Aug. 19, at the intersection of Highway 2 and Munger Shaw Road in Solway Township. As a result, both roads will be closed at that intersection for approximately six weeks. Detour signs will be posted, directing traffic on Munger Shaw Road to use Hermantown Road, Jeffrey Road, and Maple Grove Road. Meanwhile, Highway 2 traffic will be directed to use Canosia Road, Maple Grove Road, and Midway Road. Access to the Solway Town Hall will be from the north only during...
For the first time in anyone's memory, Wrenshall school will head into the new school year with multiple sections of multiple elementary grades as enrollment continues to rise during the summer offseason. A kindergarten split was approved in July as the class hit 25 prospective students. Last week, the board agreed to split fourth grade, as it approached 30 students. The board will vote at its Aug. 12 business meeting to post a job opening for a second fourth-grade teacher at the school. "This...
