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 1784 - 1808 of 3909
After warning families that the district might have to switch to distance learning because of staffing shortages caused by the pandemic, Cloquet superintendent Michael Cary said things are looking up. Staffing levels have stabilized, somewhat. “They’re still not exactly where we would want them to be, but they have definitely improved,” Cary told Cloquet school board members during Monday’s meeting. “All the available data that we can see would suggest that we should be at or nearing our [Covid] surge peak soon — if we haven’t hit it alread...
Continued fluctuations between moderate and frigid temperatures this month, coupled with spates of snow, have left roadways slick. In just the past week there were several incidents of cars sliding off roads and some overturning. In Cloquet on Friday night, Jan. 21, a bus carrying athletes from a game back to Two Harbors entered the intersection at Washington Avenue and into northbound traffic on Minnesota Highway 33. The bus, carrying 23 people, including the 71-year-old driver, hit an SUV traveling northbound on 33, the Minnesota State...
Carlton County was one of five counties recognized for the Association of Minnesota Counties County Achievement award out of all 87 counties in Minnesota last month. Several Carlton County departments were recognized for their collaborative work on the drive-through Covid-19 vaccination clinics, including Public Health and Human Services, GIS, Land Department, Sheriff’s Office, Transportation Department, County Coordinator, and Maintenance Department. According to the most recent Carlton County newsletter, this collaboration was innovative a...
For the fourth time in the last 40 years the Carlton County board of commissioners declared their support for necessary funding by state and federal action to rebuild Highway 73 in western Carlton County, particularly the 8-mile stretch south of Cromwell. There was little discussion before the unanimous vote during the county board meeting Monday, Jan. 24. Federal funding is available through the new infrastructure initiative and the state of Minnesota has a budget surplus of more than $7.5 billion. County highway engineer JinYeene Neumann...
Talk of the Cloquet Area Fire District continued at the Thomson Township Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, Jan. 20. In past discussions about CAFD board representation, it was unclear whether the township’s representative had to be an elected official, a township employee, or if it could be anyone. According to township attorney Dave Pritchett, the representative cannot be a paid and/or current employee of the township, but must be an elected official to vote on the CAFD. Board supervisor Jason Paulson questioned whether the township w...
A Cloquet man who is facing manslaughter charges will argue he acted in self defense, and seek to have the charges dismissed, according to his attorney. Joel Jay Ammesmaki, 58, was charged with first-degree manslaughter in September for “causing the death of another while committing assault in the fifth degree with such force and violence” that death or great harm was “reasonably foreseeable.” Ammesmaki was arrested Sept. 14 after police responded to a 911 call at around 2 a.m. reporting an unwanted person in an apartment inside the Fond du...
Following the upheaval of the final weeks of 2021, the first Cloquet Area Fire District Board meeting Wednesday, Jan. 19, was positively noncontroversial. The fact that it was held online likely helped — the board will meet remotely as long as Covid numbers are high — as did the rollback of the ambulance district tax increase at the board’s final meeting in December. After stepping up to serve as chair following Bob DeCaigney’s resignation last month, Brevator Township rep Linda Way was elected chair for 2022 by unanimous vote of her fellow...
The two women accused by protestors of abusing children in their care fought back in Sixth District Carlton County court Tuesday. More than 100 people observed the online hearing, which ultimately continued the removal of 10 children from their Cloquet homes as allegations of abuse on the part of their caretakers are being investigated. The investigation and legal actions came about after photos and video of the alleged abuse were circulated widely on Facebook earlier this month, and protesters...
More than 100 students attending Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College during Fall Semester 2021 achieved high academic standing and earned Dean’s List honors for the semester grading period. Requirements for earning Dean’s List honors at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College include maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher while completing 12 or more course credits during the semester. Students may take daytime classes, evening classes, weekend classes, online classes, or a combination of the...
Tyler Ojibway, a law enforcement major from Cloquet, graduated this past fall....
The Minnesota Association of Townships will award up to five $2,000 scholarships to high school juniors this year. All students attending a Minnesota public, private, or parochial school, or a home-study program, are eligible to apply for the program. Since its inception in 2001, the MAT Scholarship Program has had more than 2,100 submissions and 92 recipients. Applicants should submit a written essay using critical thinking on the topic of promoting township government by May 1. Winners will be chosen by an independent panel of judges and...
Other local students at colleges and universities across the country who also made the Dean’s list at their respective universities are listed below: Southern New Hampshire University Melissa Heroff, Emily Johnson, both of Cloquet Iowa State University Mackenzie Roy, Cloquet Itasca Community College Isaac Maki, Cloquet; Eli Erickson, Esko; Ryan Korby, Esko; Anthony McKay, Cloquet Milwaukee School of Engineering Dakota Tireman, Esko University of Minnesota Crookston Nick Olson, Cloquet Normandale Community College Abby Hayes, Cloquet S...
Protests and social media posts alleging abuse of up to 10 Native American children at two local foster care homes have been seen and heard. Fond du Lac Band attorney Scott Buchanan filed a petition for an emergency protective care hearing for two of the children last week. More than 60 people attended the Zoom hearing for that case on Tuesday, with Sixth District Carlton County judge Rebekka Stumme presiding over a virtual courtroom. In the end, Stumme ordered that a total of nine children be...
Hot on the heels of the Cloquet City Council decision to go to remote meetings due to the high number of Covid cases, the Cloquet Area Fire District Board is also going remote. Residents can still attend meetings online or via telephone. To join from a computer, tablet or smartphone, get the meeting link and passcode from the CAFD website at cloquetareafiredistrict.com. Otherwise call the district office at 218-499-4258 or 218-499-4274 to get the call-in number and passcode....
Candidate filings for the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee positions of secretary/treasurer and Committeeperson District II (Sawyer) opened Jan. 14 and will close at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 24. Band members may file with the secretary/treasurer’s office. Primary elections will be April 5, with the general election on June 14....
A house and garage in Thomson Township were destroyed in a fire Sunday morning. According to a Carlton County Sheriff's Office press release, fire crews were called to 21 Ridge Road north of Esko at about 2 a.m. Esko Fire Department members were first on the scene and found a garage fully engulfed in flames. Wind spread the fire to the home. Both were deemed a complete loss. Occupants and pets were out of the residence and the family is receiving aid from the American Red Cross. A relative of...
Cloquet police issued a press release Tuesday that a "dispute over parking issues" led to "road rage," leaving a Cloquet man in critical condition Saturday. Cloquet police responded to a 911 call of a man lying on the side of Highway 45 near Carlton Avenue around 5:40 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 15. The police statement said the man left the SUV after it went off the road, and stepped into the roadway. The driver of the other car, a 38-year-old Cloquet woman, turned around after the initial incident...
After nearly seven hours of deliberation and close to five days of testimony, a Carlton County jury returned guilty verdicts on all but one kidnapping charge for a Scanlon man accused of rape, kidnapping and domestic abuse. The jury found Dennis Michael St. John, 55, guilty of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct "with heinous elements," plus one count of kidnapping and domestic assault with the intent of bodily harm. They found him innocent of a second kidnapping charge. By...
November may seem a long time away, but the first steps toward the next election are already happening with political candidates announcing their decisions to run or not, and precinct caucuses next month. The 2022 precinct caucuses will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to the Secretary of State's website. Precinct caucuses are meetings run by Minnesota's political parties. They are the first in a series of meetings where parties may endorse candidates, select delegates, and set...
The heavy lifting on cutting away the Carlton school district’s million-dollar budget hole will begin in meetings in February, but the school board on Tuesday showed signs that those cuts will sting — especially for those seeking activities outside the classroom. The board balked on accepting contracts for advisors to the school play and pep band. None of the four members present brought forth a motion on music teacher Sharrie Janovick and potential theater director Alyssa Olsen. It means there will be no school play and no pep band, which als...
The Father-Daughter dance is back. This year’s dance is 5:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Cromwell Park Pavilion. Tickets: $20 per couple, $5 for each additional girl, in advance; at the door: $25 and $5 for each additional girl. Price includes music, dancing and snacks. The dance is sponsored by Cromwell Area Community Club. Volunteers are needed, and high school girls willing to help with music would be greatly appreciated. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing sponsored by the Cromwell Area C...
It had been three weeks since he'd been at work, and K-9 Roman practically danced from the squad car to the back door of the Carlton County Law Enforcement Center Friday. Once inside, he got busy eating a generously sized dog treat, largely oblivious to the Carlton County officials preparing to honor the K-9 and his partner, patrol sergeant Tory Cawcutt, on the occasion of Roman's retirement. Roman had been having some health problems, so the department officially retired him on Jan. 1. Trained...
Photos and video showing the alleged child abuse of at least two Native American children in foster care set off a Facebook firestorm last week that has ballooned into a series of protests that organizers say will continue in Carlton County until the children are deemed safe. One video shows a toddler being spanked repeatedly. Another shows a boy between the ages of 5 and 10 years old wearing only what looks like a diaper while he's being hit in the back with a spatula. The same boy is pictured...
A jury trial is underway at the Carlton County Courthouse for a Scanlon man accused of criminal sexual conduct “with heinous elements” and kidnapping. Dennis Michael St. John Jr., 55, was arrested in July 2020, after being accused of holding a woman against her will and raping her repeatedly, forcing drugs on her and threatening to kill her. He has been in custody since his arrest with bail set at $1 million with no cash option. According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim ran into St. John at the Black Bear Casino Resort on Jul...
The Cloquet Broadband Committee is asking residents for a few minutes of their time to complete a survey about their internet service. Local business people and public officials gathered Wednesday morning to talk about the need for reliable high-speed internet in today's world, and how the pandemic has exposed some of the deficits in the city of Cloquet. Cloquet schools superintendent Michael Cary talked about the progression of access to information, from the lucky few with a set of encyclopedi...
