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
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First-grade teacher Ann Doesken was expecting Tuesday to feel like the first day of school in the fall. After all, it was the first day of in-person learning since schools went to distance learning in November when the Covid-19 rates started going through the roof. But it wasn't. It was better. "Everyone just jumped right in and didn't miss a beat," said the overjoyed teacher, adding that there was little of that first-day nervousness for kids. "It felt amazing to be with students in person. My...
Heather Wright, vice chair of the Carlton County fair board, has assured Carlton County commissioners that the fair board is committed to updating the 4-H building on the grounds and can make it available for the Minnesota Extension Office. “The 4-H building is already used for 4-H and Extension work in the summer,” Wright said during the board meeting Monday. “It is a large building and centered in the rural area of the county.” Wright said there are many buildings in the fairground complex that could be used more effectively for Extensi...
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea issued a statewide order effective Feb. 1 that limits in-person activity in courthouses for an additional 45 days and requires remote hearings to the extent possible for all case types. No new criminal or civil jury trials will begin before March 15. Exceptions may be granted for criminal jury trials that meet three criteria: the defendant has requested a speedy trial, the defendant is in custody, and the case involves a felony or nonfelony person crime....
The Barnum girls basketball coach was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 19, for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his players. Andrew John Palmer, 33, of Moose Lake was charged with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Carlton County Sixth District Court Thursday; each count is related to a different alleged sexual encounter. When the Pine Knot News wrote of Palmer’s arrest in last week’s newspaper, he had yet to be formally charged. There was little information available, other than the fact that he had been arrested with cha...
It's not quite business as usual at the Black Bear Casino Resort, but general manager Dan LaPrairie said staff are working hard to stay open and keep people healthy during the pandemic. So far, so good, LaPrairie said. "We are doing a balancing act here, compared to what we normally do," LaPrairie told the Pine Knot News last week. "We normally have 2,000-seat concerts, and we do drawings and we try to fill this place with 6,000 people. So it's been a balancing act with what we do as far as...
A hub in the Mahtowa community serving a large part of western Carlton County, TJ's Country Corner has the feel of the neighborhood grocery once common in American locales. But with the death of founding owner Tom Bislow two years ago, the patrons of the store and the Mahtowa neighborhood braced themselves for what the future would hold. Bislow's commitment to the local area, making the store a community hub, could change with new owners. In this case, change brought more good. And during the...
The motto of the Cloquet Area Fire District when it concerns the state legislature could be phrased this way: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again." For at least the fifth time since the district was formed by legislative action in 2009, the fire district is making a request of the state legislature. This time it's for a new building as it has outgrown its current home. In the past, requests have ranged from fixing mistakes made by the legislature when it formed the fire...
Over the past several years, customers walking into the Cloquet or Carlton post offices have been greeted by a familiar face backed up with a helpful, can-do attitude. The guy who seems to be at the front window of every local post office is Philip Birkhofer, who now runs a one-man operation in Carlton. Birkhofer started his career in Cloquet seven years ago, then shifted to Carlton before going back to Cloquet for about five years. He was the head clerk there, "kind of running the front...
A Cloquet man was charged with first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from an arrest warrant issued in November, after a young woman reported he allegedly assaulted her last spring, when both he and the victim were living with her guardian. Timothy Scott Young Jr., 38, had his first hearing in Sixth District Carlton County Court on Jan. 13. He is charged with criminal sexual conduct, first degree, penetration with a victim under the age of 16, and second-degree criminal sexual conduct, significant relationship with a victim...
With assistance from several law enforcement agencies, Cloquet police department detectives seized 2.2 pounds of cocaine with a street value of nearly $30,000 last week. Misty Anne Baum, 40, of Duluth, was charged with first degree possession of drugs for the cocaine possession, along with fifth- degree drug possession and introducing contraband into jail. According to the criminal complaint, the Drug Enforcement Agency contacted Cloquet detectives on Jan. 12, after local agents located a package containing nearly 1 kilogram of cocaine...
Students went back to the Barnum elementary and high schools Tuesday, Jan. 19. “It was great to hear their voices in the halls again,” said Barnum superintendent Mike McNulty in a telephone interview later that day. “I hope that lasts a long time.” The elementary students have returned to school five days a week, while the high school students attend school four days a week. They participate in distance learning on Wednesdays, explained McNulty. “Wednesday is a day for the teachers to do preparation work,” said McNulty. “We don’t have th...
Esko elementary students returned to school in-person on Tuesday and it was fabulous, Esko superintendent Aaron Fischer told Esko School Board members during their meeting Tuesday. “Quite honestly, I walked around and I couldn’t believe all the smiles from the teachers and staff and the kids,” he said. “It felt really good to be here today; there was just a different vibe in the air.” Pre-K students through sixth grade returned to Winterquist Elementary this week, while students in grades 7-12 continued with distance learning for one more week...
The Minnesota Department of Revenue will open the state Individual Income Tax filing season on Feb. 12. The date matches the opening day for the Internal Revenue Service. The filing deadline to submit 2020 Minnesota income tax returns is April 15, the same deadline for 2020 federal income tax returns. Tax software providers and tax professionals may be accepting and preparing tax returns before Feb. 12 and will submit those returns when the IRS and state systems open in February. “Filing electronically and choosing direct deposit for your r...
Water protector Nia Zekan climbed into a pipe trench along the Line 3 pipeline easement on the Fond du Lac reservation Monday morning, shutting down work for approximately four hours. Zekan halted construction at this Enbridge worksite while "dozens more people stood around in support of Nia and resistance to Line 3," according to a press release from the Line 3 Media Collective. "I want to protect this beautiful land and all its wisdom. I want to stand with the people who have been learning...
What seemed like a routine retail tobacco license suspension turned into lengthy discussion during Tuesday's Cloquet City Council meeting, but the end result was the same. Lakeshore Tobacco Vapor was fined $200 and its retail tobacco license suspended for 10 days, after the local smoke shop sold a tobacco product to a minor - who had been engaged by police for its twice-a-year compliance checks - for the second time in two years. The fine and suspension are detailed in the city code, but the...
A report out this month says Minnesota’s air quality is good overall, but isn’t the same in all parts of the state. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is required to report to the Legislature every two years on how clean the state’s air is. The most recent report, sent to the Legislature on Jan. 1, says Minnesota is meeting federal standards for air pollution. But it also says people in some areas experience pollution levels high enough to affect the health of children, the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. “In areas t...
A difficult pandemic year did not spare the city of Cromwell. As mayor Sharon Zelazny said, “When it came to challenges and achievements, the challenges definitely won out.” Zelazny said the city council and staff made the Covid-19 pandemic the top priority. Every employee had to adopt their job description to include pandemic preparedness and adapt their responsibilities accordingly, she said. “Our municipal liquor store required everyone’s help to keep up with the necessary changes. I felt it...
Almost every aspect of life has been upended by the global pandemic we continue to find ourselves in. Organizations have learned to find creative solutions to new challenges, including Business Professionals of America, a competitive organization that allows middle- through post-secondary students to compete in business, marketing, and technology events at regional, state, and national levels. Wrenshall High School has had a BPA team for the past several years. Started by Kelly Bonitz, now at...
I have received several thank-yous for keeping my readers informed during these past 11 months of the stay-at-home pandemic. It seems that every week when I sit down to type this column, I don’t have that much to share, but when I get to writing there’s always some news to share. Also, thank you to all my faithful readers and folks that share their news with me so this column can keep going. Remember, we are all in this together and need to work together to make a brighter future. I had the oppo...
The Barnum girls basketball coach was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 19, for allegedly sexually assaulting one of his players. Andrew John Palmer, 33, of Moose Lake was charged with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Carlton County Sixth District Court Thursday; each count is related to a different alleged sexual encounter. According to the criminal complaint, the victim’s parents contacted local law enforcement on Sunday, Jan. 17, regarding a possible criminal sexual assault of their 17-year-old daughter by her basketball c...
Expect to see children in a school near you very soon. School districts across Carlton County will have students back to in-person or hybrid learning as soon as next week, thanks to a change in state guidelines for Covid-19 precautions. While the previous guidelines required districts to rely on county-level data on the level of virus transmission in their communities, the latest plan allows schools to bring students back as soon as Jan. 18, provided they meet certain requirements. Those...
Ginger Spiess, a former Moose Lake resident who now lives in Ramsey, Minnesota, had just 10 minutes to prepare for a trip to Washington D.C. on Jan. 4 for what turned out to be an infamous week after protestors stormed the Capitol on her second day there. The backlash led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump Wednesday, the second time the U.S. House of Representatives has done so. For Spiess, the events that led to her proximity to the actions on Jan. 6 were an accident. "It had never...
Three Esko Girl Scouts are hoping to make the world a safer place for pedestrians, starting in their own backyard. Annika Halvorson, Claire Fontaine and Carli Bloom, along with Troop 4079 leaders Sybil Halvorson and Joe Fontaine, reached out to the Thomson Township Board of Supervisors in a letter last week, asking for the board's support to make two particular crosswalks safer. Esko and Thomson Township as a whole are active places, the scouts said, "with people of all ages out walking,...
Minnesotans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other food assistance programs who are receiving the maximum amount will soon see a 15-percent increase in monthly food benefits. They do not need to do anything additional to receive this increase. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act in Congress increased the maximum SNAP benefit amount by 15 percent starting Jan. 1 and running through June 30. It means a family of four receiving the maximum benefit will receive $782, an increase of $102. Minnesota provides state-funded...
The mother and son who fled following the shooting death of Joseph James Peterson on Dec. 28 were apprehended last week. Alleged shooter Joseph James Fohrenkam, 18, and his mother, Little Fawn Fohrenkam, both made their initial appearances in St. Louis County Court in recent days: Joseph on Friday, Jan. 8, and Little Fawn on Monday. Both had shaved their heads to alter their appearance after fleeing the scene more than two weeks ago, and Little Fawn told police she drove her son away from the scene to protect him and hid him from law...
