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 1961 - 1985 of 3909
A former Barnum girls basketball coach pleaded guilty Friday to having sex with a player. Andrew Palmer, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Two other third-degree counts will be dismissed as part of the plea deal. Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola said Palmer “provided a factual basis that he had intercourse with the victim,” adding that there was no agreement on sentencing. According to the criminal complaint, a 17-year-old Barnum student’s parents contacted local law enforcement in January, regar...
Misty Louise Mattinas, 27, pleaded guilty Friday to one felony count of criminal vehicular homicide, with alcohol concentration .08 or more, in Sixth District Carlton County Court. Two other felony charges of criminal vehicular homicide, six felony charges of criminal vehicular operation-bodily harm, and two charges for endangerment of a child along with an open bottle law violation, and driving after revocation were dismissed as part of the plea bargain. Mattinas’ three-year-old son died as a result of the crash on White Pine Trail last N...
DFL legislators tour the fire district’s Station 1 last week. Segregated by party, state legislators have been cruising around the state on a tour of entities with projects vying to be included in the next round of state bonding. One of those stops was Cloquet on Oct. 5. The Cloquet Area Fire District is asking the state to bond for up to $10 million — with a 50-percent local match — to build a new facility combining the Cloquet and Scanlon fire and ambulance stations. The money would also...
Although the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program is full, other schools in the Cloquet district are seeing a decline when compared to pre-pandemic numbers, superintendent Michael Cary told board members Monday. Pre-Covid, Cary said, resident student numbers had been decreasing slightly, but the high number of students open-enrolling into the district always offset and kept the district numbers on an upward trajectory. There were a number of years in which the enrollment grew quite a bit, just after the new middle school was built; those...
Lane closures that began this week on southbound and northbound Interstate 35 at the Moose Horn River between Moose Lake and Barnum are expected to last until the end of the month. The left lane in both directions is closed for pier work underneath the bridge at the river. Lanes are expected to reopen Oct. 31....
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa clinic coordinator Chris Davis has earned national recognition- the Outstanding Service Award, presented by the National Indian Health Board at a ceremony last week. NIHB is a Washinglon, D.C.-based organization established to represent tribal governments through collective advocacy, program development, as well as policy formation and analysis. The service award was created by NIHB to recognize individuals or organizations whose work has made an...
Thomson Township board supervisors are taking a look at some township roads before winter begins. At its Oct. 7 meeting the board voted to pay for preparation work on Hillside Road so that it can be repaved by the end of 2021. Residents along the road petitioned for an assessment and came together to pay for the new road themselves, which is allowed under Minnesota statute 429. The board decided to take on the cost of the preparation work since the project will ultimately benefit the township, not just the residents who live there. The final...
As part of West End Flourish events, enjoy and participate in a unique class and pop-up performance art event 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 at Dunlap Park. Organizer Kim Buskala said the first 30 participants will receive a journal made by Northern Printery. “We will dance, we will write, we will be in the community,” she wrote. Buskala offered a writing prompt to consider in advance of the event: “How do you envision change, how do you imagine our city, the west end?” Also including music and storytelling, the pop-up will finish with a communi...
A directive has come from Minnesota Supreme court chief justice Lorie S. Gildea to the Sixth Judicial District, which includes Carlton County, that all backlogged cases due to the Covid-19 pandemic are to have judicial action before the end of this year. Upon the recommendation of county attorney Laurie Ketola, the Carlton County board of commissioners unanimously approved hiring a provisional attorney during Monday's regular meeting, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act money coming from the federal government. The attorney will be hired for...
Haunted Hawthorne This 10-minute walk-through maze at 827 Hawthorne St. in Cloquet returns for another year. There’s candy at the end and you can buy a $5 raffle ticket to win a T-shirt. It’s free, and donations are accepted. Do the haunt 7-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through the end of the month. Carlton mazes • The Ru-Ridge Corn Maze is open Thursday-Sunday through Halloween at 1781 County Road 1, Carlton. • The neighboring Haunted Shack and Haunted Ridge is open the nights of Oct. 15-16, Oct. 21-24 and Oct. 28-30. Hours are 7-9 p.m. Th...
A man suspected of killing two other men shot and killed himself early Saturday morning after a short pursuit by law enforcement in St. Louis County west of Cloquet. According to a press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, the man -- identified as Cody Pirila, 31 -- confessed to the murders to a 911 dispatcher while he was being pursued by a state trooper and indicated he wanted to kill himself. The two victims were identified by law enforcement Sunday as Skylar Hunter, 31, and his father, Jamie Hunter, 51. Authorities were firs...
The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Daryl Brian Quagon, a person recently released from prison on Intensive supervised release whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Mr. Quagon is 56 years-old, 6 feet tall, and weighs approximately 190 lbs. He has black hair often worn in a ponytail and has brown eyes. He was placed on intensive supervised release in August after completing his term of incarceration at the Lino Lakes state prison. H...
The Cloquet Area Golden K Kiwanis club is no longer. Its members met for the last time as a club on the last Tuesday in September. The Golden K group was Cloquet's final Kiwanis chapter to disband, said president Ray Hatinen. The Noon Club started in the 1950s and ended just a few years ago. The Morning Club started in 1976 and met at 7 a.m., before the workday. It, too, went away. While the pandemic certainly did some damage to the longtime local organization, so did age and a lack of interest...
Take a late afternoon tour of the grounds at the Haunted Shack with Pat Stojevich and you get the feeling that the name is a misnomer. It should be Love Shack, or Family Shack, Survivor Shack or even "Hey, I Got a Kidney" Shack. An energized Stojevich obviously still loves the monthlong dive into scaring people to raise money for charities. He's been at it for 28 years, making his operation the oldest of its type in the state and one of the oldest in the country. The Haunted Shack is a...
A Carlton man died from injuries sustained in a construction accident in Lindstrom, Minnesota last week. Developer Dave Chmielewski, 48, was standing near an excavation trench at an apartment building construction site on Sept. 28 when the trench partially collapsed. According to Lakes Area police chief Bill Schlumbohm, Chmielewski asked another person at the trench to go grab something. When the person returned, approximately two minutes later, he found Chmielewski partially buried inside the...
Two recent grant awards has the Lake Superior Community Health Center in Carlton expanding from four to six dental operatories in 2022 — increasing appointment capacity from 4,400 to 6,600 per year. As a nonprofit community health center, LSCHC provides care to those in need, regardless of insurance or ability to pay. LSCHC opened a dental office in Carlton in August 2020 due to the well-documented shortage of dental services, particularly for low-income residents. The practice rapidly reached capacity. The Delta Dental Foundation provided a $...
Hammarlund Landscape Nursery is hosting a houseplant swap and more 2-6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 9. There will be live music, a yard sale and an assortment of craft vendors. All are welcome. Plants must be healthy and pest-free. Unrooted cuttings must have a visible node. Plants must be labeled with scientific names, to the best of your ability. Please have a price or range marked if selling. Plant-related crafty things can be brought to trade or sell. Contact [email protected] with any questions. Hammarlund Landscape Nursery is located at 159...
After months of visible renovations at a new location on Cloquet Avenue and Eighth Street, Pedro's Grill and Cantina has moved. "Today ... was our last day in our old building, kind of a sad day after almost 17 years but excited at the same time," owner Erika Aranda posted on Facebook Tuesday, adding that they were looking forward to seeing all their faithful customers at the new restaurant. The popular Mexican restaurant won't be the first eatery in the building at 7 Eighth Street. It was most...
Since taking over as interim, and then appointed, police chief two years ago, Cloquet police chief Derek Randall has been slowly building the police department back up to full strength, after a flood of retirements and disability claims reduced the department by close to 30 percent in 2019. On Tuesday, the department held a public celebration of sorts, swearing in every officer hired since the pandemic began. There were seven of them, which brings the department just shy of its budgeted total...
The lost chickens of Carlton County have been found. And they’ve been adopted. This week, for the second time in a month, people exploring the woods off Carlton County Road 4 between Interstate 35 and Hay Lake — along the border of Blackhoof and Twin Lakes townships — discovered more than 100 chickens roaming wild. And for the second time since Sept. 12, a call to action on social media has raised outrage and compassion as people have taken the birds in. It isn’t difficult to ascertain where t...
Three years ago, a stranger from New Jersey wanted to buy B&B Market, but Kim Lind turned him down. "Whatever I wanted he would have paid, but I couldn't do it," she said. "Because I still have to live here. You have to be involved in the community." Just over a month ago, however, Kim and John Lind signed the sale papers for their beloved store at 506 Big Lake Road. They had a buyer they believed in. And maybe because - after 33 years of running around like crazy, a pandemic and three young...
It’s official. After more than two years of studies and debate, the Carlton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to build a new justice center north of the current transportation building. The justice center will house both the jail and courtrooms with space for support staff — including administration, the county attorney’s office and sheriff’s office — at a possible cost of more than $70 million. On Monday, the board approved a working plan for the Justice Center site south of the Carlton Junction on Old Hwy 61, permissio...
A crowd of about 75 people traveled from western Carlton County to a public hearing at the county board meeting Monday on whether to close or keep open the county’s satellite garage in Kettle River. County engineer Jin-Yeene Neumann gave a short presentation at the beginning of the hearing at the Transportation Building in Carlton, explaining that it not only costs an extra $15,000 to run but also is a safety issue because it is a one-man shop. Neumann said the transportation department wants to move the grader and a pickup to the new county g...
The Cloquet school board on Monday voted to approve a preliminary levy for next year at the maximum level as budget numbers are still being worked out. The district will set a final 2022 tax rate at a meeting following a “truth in taxation” meeting allowing for public input. As required by law, the meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13. In Minnesota, taxing districts must adopt proposed property tax levies for the next year and certify that amount to the county auditor on or before Sep. 30....
As many as six people have expressed interest in a once-again open seat on the Wrenshall school board. After a verified petition was submitted to the district to rescind a board appointment made in August, the board needed to make a plan for another appointment. Its original appointee, Bill Dian, is not eligible. More than 200 people were verified on the petition that asked for a more public appointment process after Michelle Blanchard left the board to serve as the school principal. The sudden appointment of Dian, with no previous public...
