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 1149 - 1173 of 3909
'There's a lot of nice stuff there' In 30 years of auctioneering and conducting estate sales, Steven Wesely has never gone to a second weekend for a sale. Until this weekend. "This is by far the most unique place I've had," Wesely said of the sprawling property at 3698 Bayview Dr., overlooking Little Hanging Horn Lake between Barnum and Moose Lake. Hundreds of guests visited the estate sale last weekend and, when Wesely talked about the sale on Monday, he was preparing to put out another wave...
With a state budget surplus of more than $17 billion, Carlton County leaders are again looking to the state legislature for help funding the new justice center, despite voter approval in November of a half-cent sales tax for the next 30 years. The county had requested $22 million in state bonding money for the combined jail and courts facility during the 2022 legislative session, but the divided legislature failed to pass a bonding bill. Now, because construction has already started, the justice center project no longer qualifies for bonding...
The Board of Directors of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District welcomes Jack Ezell as the elected Carlton County representative. The seat was previously filled by Ruth Janke who dedicated 13 years of service to WLSSD and its environmental mission. Ezell had a 43-year career with WLSSD and now joins the board after 4 years in retirement. WLSSD is governed by a nine-member citizen board. Four members are appointed by the city of Duluth, three by the city of Cloquet, one is elected by the Carlton County cities and townships within the...
Voters in the Cromwell-Wright school district will go to the polls Feb. 14 with a chance to weigh a series of school improvements, costing $6.45 million and including updates to the second gym and improved safety infrastructure. Voting for the referendum will take place from 1-8 p.m., at the Sno-Gophers Club building at 1247 Highway 73 near city hall. Mail and absentee options will be more limited than a general election. "This building is, conservatively, about a $40 million asset,"...
After January 27, it will be official: the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey team will move to Class A hockey starting next season for at least two years, a move that 90 percent of parents in the hockey program supported when polled by the school district earlier this year. "Cloquet has played up since the state went to a two-class system, and even when there was a Tier 1 and Tier 2 system in the early '90s," Cloquet High School activities director Paul Riess said after Monday's Cloquet School...
A Barnum man is facing charges after police found him passed out in a parked car earlier this month. Roger Petersen Jr., 35, was charged Friday, Jan. 20, in Sixth District Court in Carlton County with felony first-degree drug possession along with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $75,000 bond or $7,500 cash. According to the criminal complaint, a Fond du Lac tribal police officer was at a gas station on Minnesota Highway 210 on Jan. 18 when a staff member told him she had observed a vehicle parked and running next to the...
The Thomson Township board of supervisors had a short agenda for its meeting Jan. 19. The board rescheduled a public hearing to set rates for sewer service in order to allow time to work out the details for changes to commercial businesses in the township. The meeting will now be held at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 16, before the board’s regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. According to the public hearing notice online, the proposed rate changes per month are as follows: • One-family dwelling used for residential purposes: from $35 to $40 • Multi-family dwell...
The Food for Thought tasting event returned to the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College last week after a Covid hiatus. More than 200 people enjoyed samples of signature food and beverages from a dozen local vendors and raised more than $22,000 for FDLTCC student scholarships. The crowd voted to award the Golden Spoon to Route 61 out of Moose Lake for their ribs and tasty deconstructed cheesecake. The Silver Spoon award went to Room at the Table catering for their fantastic assortment of...
A Cloquet man who was charged in October for having 1,200 fentanyl pills in his possession is facing new drug charges. James Daniel Randa, 19, and Kaydance Marie Barrett, 18, were charged with felony second-degree drug sale and fifth-degree drug possession in Sixth District Court in Carlton County after Black Bear Casino surveillance staff observed possible drug use activity in the parking lot earlier this month. Fond du Lac police responded to a call Jan. 9 from security and observed video of people in two vehicles handling and smoking an...
An e-book project coordinated by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was recently awarded the 2022 Minnesota Author Project award in the Communities Create category. To celebrate the win, the college is inviting the community to a reception and reading starting at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 7. The e-book, “Bringing Joy: A Local Literary Welcome” is an anthology of writing and art inspired by the work of former United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Muscogee) and created by local writers and artists. Harjo made a virtual visit to the Northland in 202...
Arctic cold and dangerous wind chills continue through the week. A Wind Chill Advisory is in effect tonight along the International Border for wind chills of -25F to -35F. According to the National Weather Service in Duluth, the coldest period this week is expected to be Thursday night into Friday morning, when widespread wind chills of -35F and colder are possible across the Northland, with wind chills of -40F to -50F over the MN Arrowhead. Look for a weekend warmup. Recent Changes - Wind Chill Advisory issued for all of the Northland tonight...
A suspect in the burglary this month at the Esko post office was arrested Jan. 12 in Anoka County. The arrest came as a trail of evidence was located by investigators, indicating that the suspect was involved in a string of burglaries in the region. Steven Russell Macdonald, 37, of Willow River, is alleged to have been burglarizing and shoplifting seemingly at will across several days earlier this month, according to a criminal complaint filed in Sixth District Court in Carlton. Macdonald is...
After close to five months without representation, Cloquet's Ward 3 voters have a new city councilor. Iris Keller was selected Tuesday by unanimous council vote, following interviews with her and fellow candidate Pete Erickson. Both candidates ran write-in campaigns this fall, after previous Ward 3 councilor Chris Swanson moved outside of his ward last summer. The move came after the election filing period, however, so Swanson's name could not be removed from the ballot. Despite news stories,...
With nearly 50 inches of snow recorded so far this winter, it's no surprise Cloquet residents feel like the streets are not up to their usual standards. Waits have been longer, and the piles of snow at corners and in parking lots (and everywhere else) are much higher. While people know there's been a lot of snow, many are still frustrated. Jeremy Johnson, who lives on the 300 block of 21st Street in Cloquet, told the Cloquet City Council Tuesday that he and his neighbors feel like second-class...
A Cloquet man accused of manslaughter resulting from a fight pleaded guilty Friday in Sixth District Court in Carlton. Joel Jay Ammesmaki, 59, was charged with first-degree manslaughter in September 2021 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.” It was not alleged that he intended to murder his victim, just that he punched him so hard that death was a possible outcome. Under the terms of a plea agreement last week, the cha...
Deeper cooperation between Wrenshall and Carlton schools was on the table Tuesday — and the Carlton school board promptly swept it off. The board members dismissed a letter from the Wrenshall board seeking greater collaboration, declining to move beyond the full sports and activities cooperative that’s already set to begin this spring. “We need to focus on Carlton,” board member Tim Hagenah said. “Wrenshall needs to work on their issues.” Hagenah described how the Jan. 9 letter, made public at this month’s Wrenshall board meeting, caug...
Cloquet High School head football coach Jeff Ojanen pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to a single fourth-degree misdemeanor count of driving while impaired related to his arrest last month. Ojanen, 39, was arrested by Cloquet police early in the morning on Dec. 23, and was subsequently charged in Sixth District Court in Carlton with a pair of misdemeanors related to DWI. In his plea agreement, Ojanen admitted to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10, which is over the legal limit of 0.08. Ojanen declined to comment when reached by the newspaper, and...
Snow days may soon be a thing of the past in Esko. Esko school board members approved the district’s eLearning day policy — basically having school online instead of canceling classes for a snow day — as presented by superintendent Aaron Fischer during the Jan. 9 meeting. eLearning days will be communicated to parents and students at least two hours prior to normal start time. Teachers will share assignments virtually or will have sent home assignments prior to the eLearning day. Internet accommodations will be made for families that do not h...
Minnesotans facing mental health crises can now dial or text 988 to connect to Lifeline support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 988 code will serve as a universal entry point, so callers can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help regardless of where they live. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. People should call 911 if they suspect a drug overdose or need immediate medical help The change is part of a nationwide effort to transition the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline...
Declaring he would follow through on a pledge to make Minnesota an attractive place to raise a family, Gov. Tim Walz announced a key slice of his 2023 budget Tuesday with major spending increases for education, child care and per-child tax credits. "Our budget will ensure that the opportunities are there to make every single school the very best in the nation and every child to succeed for generations to come," Walz said as he announced the plan at Adams Spanish Immersion School in St. Paul.... 
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A camper fire at Knife Island Campground on Saturday left a mother and her 2-year-old daughter homeless. According to a news release from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, the 911 call came in just before 5 p.m. Jan. 14 from the campground at 234 W. Highway 61, in Thomson Township. Firefighters from the Esko, Carlton and Wrenshall fire departments responded and found a pull-behind camper on fire at a campsite in the campground. The woman and child were inside the camper when the fire started, but were able to get out. Both were evaluated b...
The 2022 Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) Awards Committee selected Carlton County commissioner Dick Brenner as one of three recipients of the AMC Outstanding Service Award. Established in 1985, this award is presented to individuals who have exhibited exceptional leadership, participation and service to Minnesota counties and the Association. Brenner has served as a Carlton County commissioner for over 30 years, with two years remaining on his current term, and is the longest-serving commissioner over the 152-year existence of the...
The inaugural Northland Hackathon in April 2022 exposed students from 20 Minnesota high schools to aspects of computer science that included building apps, writing code and exploring opportunities in tech. That focus was important because, according to a 2022 report by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition (https://advocacy.code.org/stateofcs), Minnesota finished in last place when it came to the percentage of public high schools offering computer science courses. This year, organizers are taking addi...
There is a lot of snow out there this winter. How much? It depends on where you are. While Duluth is breaking - or on the cusp of - all kinds of snowfall records for December and the season, areas in Carlton County are not quite setting records. But the snowfall we've had is far above normal. In Cloquet, the average snowfall in December is about 16 inches. Last month, there was nearly 30 inches of snow recorded in the city. That is the highest of area measurements. A recording 3 miles northeast...
Twelve years ago, the death of a bat during a logging operation in Carlton County would not have caused much of a stir. Today - after white-nose syndrome has decimated bat populations here by as much as 90 percent - the death of one bat could impact the health of the entire population. "Prior to white-nose, if a bat was injured, it was one of thousands. It didn't make a big dent in the population," said Carlton County land commissioner Greg Bernu. "We want to make sure we don't accidently take...
