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 1666 - 1690 of 3909
Carlton County is looking for the approval of Thomson Township organizations to move forward with planning the proposed County State Aid Highway 61 reconstruction and trail project, but the community organizations are not ready to give their stamp of approval. Carlton County engineer JinYeene Neumann requested a letter of support from the Thomson Township board at their meeting March 17, to be used as part of a grant application process for the project. Due to relatively low traffic on the roadway, approximately 2,400 vehicles a day, and...
Judge Eric Hylden told Roxanne Peterson that her words spoke to him. He said the pain and agony she described in a Duluth courtroom Tuesday is painfully familiar. He lost a teenage son in 2009. Peterson had just given a victim impact statement regarding the 2020 death of her 16-year-old grandson, Cloquet resident Joe Peterson. A table away was the teenager who shot “Little Joe,” his cousin, Joseph Fohrenkam. Judge Hylden made it official at Fohrenkam’s sentencing in St. Louis County District Court: He will serve 7 years in prison for shoot...
One of the mothers involved in a very public Cloquet child custody case was charged with three counts of malicious punishment of a child last week. Carlton County attorney Lauri Ketola announced Thursday that Nicole Ammesmaki would be charged. Her sister, Dawn Ammesmaki, won’t be charged because the accusation of child abuse against her involve reported instances from three years ago, beyond the statute of limitations. Ketola also announced that she is also charging a teacher at the Fond du Lac Head Start, Kayla Hansen, for failing to report p...
Spring brings many things: Gordy’s opening, mud, birds, more snow … and two mailings from the county assessor’s office. Property tax statements for 2022 are arriving in mailboxes — wrapped in official-looking county envelopes — and so are property valuations for 2023, bright yellow letters that are hard to miss. County assessor Kyle Holmes said it’s the property valuation, or assessed value, that may seem startling to homeowners and others because the estimated market value of almost all residential and commercial properties is going up by at l...
Nearly 400 wastewater treatment plants, industrial facilities, airports and landfills across Minnesota will begin monitoring for PFAS this year, state regulators said on Tuesday. They say the data collected will provide vital clues about how and where the ubiquitous compounds known as “forever chemicals” are getting into Minnesota’s air, water and soil. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large class of human-made chemicals known for their durability. They’re found in a wide variety of industrial processes and commerc...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources are seeking public comments on their recommendation to remove an impairment designation from the St. Louis River Area of Concern for Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations Beneficial Use. There will also be aan open house discussion on April 14. The U.S. and Canada identified the St. Louis River as one of 42 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) in 1987 as the result of...
Cloquet Area Fire District crews responded to a structure fire on the 700 block of 29th Street in Scanlon just after 2 p.m. Monday, March 28. Upon arrival, there was fire showing from the rear of the structure and extending into the eves. Firefighters were on the scene for approximately two hours and determined the cause was accidental. There were no injuries. CAFD firefighters also responded to a car fire and additional kitchen fire on Saturday....
• Cooper Ketola of Cloquet graduated from the University of Tampa on Dec. 17 with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations. • Dawsen Cossalter of Esko graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in December with a degree in nursing and health sciences....
• The University of Minnesota Duluth recently announced its dean’s list for last fall. It included the following students from the area: Ezekiel Palmer and Ben Talarico of Carlton, Hannah Green of Cloquet, and Alina Lekander of Mahtowa. • Winona State University recently announced its dean’s for last fall. It included the following students from the area: Amber Collman of Cromwell, Trayton Houck and Rosalie Richardson of Mahtowa, and Katelyn Kelley of Cloquet. • Paul Smith’s College in New York announced that Aidan Ripp of Cloquet was named t...
Two schools in Esko and Cloquet were impacted by threats last week, but they weren't the only ones faced with frightening messages on St. Patrick's Day. Law enforcement responded to an anonymous 911 call at 12:49 p.m. Thursday indicating that an explosive device was seen in an Esko High School classroom. Students and staff were evacuated to a nearby safe spot and the entire school was closed down for several hours as the building and grounds were searched extensively. An online search of bomb...
A social media message between four teenage boys from Cloquet and Esko that was filled with derogatory statements about Native Americans left many students, parents and district staff reeling in shock last week. It also put Cloquet and Esko on the list of schools around the state that are dealing with what feels like a wave of overt racism, including students making monkey noises at Black basketball players and other students flashing a known white supremacy sign. In the case of the local students, it was a Snapchat thread Thursday afternoon,...
A storm sewer freeze-up caused some minor flooding at the school in Wrenshall Thursday, March 17, forcing the district to send students home at midday because water had collected in the cafeteria. The school was open again on Friday. The Wrenshall school board met Wednesday to discuss the issue, since it coincided with the continuing construction improvements being made at the school. Superintendent Kim Belcastro said the district is trying to figure out where the problem stemmed from and how to make an insurance claim. If any work needs to be...
The Cloquet July Fourth committee is seeking volunteers to serve on the organizing committee as well as individuals and organizations willing to give their time on any of the dates July 3-5. Anyone interested in being a part of this community tradition is encouraged to email [email protected] or call Jana at 218-213-1231. A steering committee meeting will meet in early April....
Cloquet Sporting Goods announced that it will be closing April 1. The downtown Cloquet store sold new and gently used sports equipment and sports apparel. The store opened in 2020, and operated under the stress of the pandemic for its entire existence. “We wanted to provide a service and store that we felt the community needed, but unfortunately something happened in the world shortly after we announced our plans to open that has made it extremely difficult to stay in business,” owners wrote on Facebook earlier this month. It appears the phy...
Enrolled members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will vote for Reservation Business Council District II (Sawyer) candidates in a primary election scheduled for April 5. Candidates include Daniel G. LaPrairie, Michael J. Diver, Brad (Raff) Blacketter, Bruce M. Savage (incumbent) and Naomi Northrup. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 5 at the Sawyer Community Center, 3243 Moorhead Road in Sawyer. The election is open to members who have resided in District II for at least 30 days preceding the election. Because...
A 60-year-old man died in a recreational vehicle fire in Kalevala Township the morning of Friday, March 18. Law enforcement identified the man as Robert Charles Haufle. A 911 call reporting the fire on the 4900 block of Moline Road came in at 8:01 a.m. Firefighters from Kettle River, Moose Lake and Cromwell responded, along with Essentia Health ambulance and Carlton County Sheriff’s Office deputies. When they arrived, emergency responders found a fifth-wheel camper fully engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire is under investigation by d...
Firefighters and deputies found a pole building completely engulfed in flames when they responded at 12:26 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. Despite the best efforts of firefighters, the building on the 300 block of Koski Road was considered a total loss. The property owner was not home at the time of the fire, but returned a short time later. He told law enforcement that approximately 70 sheep were inside the building and all perished in the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown but it is not considered suspicious. Law enforcement and firefighters...
Fees for playing on the Lumberjacks varsity and junior varsity hockey teams may increase in the future, as part of an effort by the Cloquet school district to decrease the burden on the overall budget. During the Cloquet school board work session Monday, March 21, board members and administration discussed the expensive lease agreement with the city for use of Northwoods Credit Union Arena for hockey games and practices. Superintendent Michael Cary told the board that player fees for the...
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...
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...
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...
