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 233 - 257 of 4027
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will have a public grand opening celebration today, Friday, for its new ceremonial hall, Gimanidoowichigemin Gwaaba’iganing, at 3276 Moorhead Road in Sawyer. The event, which begins at 10:30 a.m., will include tours, a ribbon cutting, and remarks from drumkeepers, leaders from the Fond du Lac Band’s Reservation Business Committee and community members. The Fond du Lac Band said the new hall marks a “significant milestone” with dedicated space for the ceremonial big drum and a sanctuary for wellnes...
Thomson Township is the latest Carlton County area to learn it is now home to the emerald ash borer, an invasive forest pest known for its devastating impact on ash trees. Jonathan Osthus, technical assistance coordinator with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, informed the township that the MDA had located an infested ash tree at 16 E. Highway 61 in Esko. The area already falls within what is considered a “generally infested” area, which means any ash tree not currently being treated has a high likelihood of already being impacted by EAB...
Carlton County has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service for its Women, Infants and Children breastfeeding program. Carlton County WIC is one of three WIC agencies in the state to receive the high-level award. The Breastfeeding Award of Excellence recognizes local WIC agencies that support breastfeeding goals through “exemplary breastfeeding promotion and support activities and serve as models for other local agencies to strengthen breastfeeding among WIC participants,” a press release from the cou...
Ian Erickson addressed the Carlton school board during Monday's regular meeting, informing the board he was taking two of his children out of the Carlton school district. Erickson emphasized that he liked the school district, teachers, and principals, "but we feel like the four-day week has forced our hand," he said. Child care was not an issue. Instead, Erickson thought his two younger children should be in school more than four days in a week to provide the kind of educational continuity they...
A summer’s worth of cooling off between sides in the proposed consolidation between the Carlton and Wrenshall school districts is coming to a close without any sense of how the districts expect to proceed. Both sides say they’re waiting to hear from the other. Neither side appears prepared to nudge talks forward. A clearer picture of the division began to appear following recent Pine Knot interviews, data requests and school board meetings. In short, Carlton wants consolidation to run through superintendents and Wrenshall does not, pre...
Ten months ago, the Pine Knot News reported on concerns Carlton County officials expressed about the potential for runaway health care costs for county employees starting in 2025. A high number of claims had forced the county to use 5- and 10.5-percent caps on premiums in 2023 and 2024, with the county facing an uncapped future. At risk was a higher tax levy and the hard decisions that could have resulted from trying to contain other costs. But based on what transpired Aug. 13 during the county board meeting in Cloquet, it’s safe to say, ...
Cloquet city officials and Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) celebrated the CTC Woods to Waters Broadband Initiative and its arrival in rural Cloquet. The $4.9 million local grant will fund what are considered last-mile projects connecting some of the most rural and/or underserved residential areas of central and northeastern Minnesota. In Cloquet specifically, the project will improve service in the northern part of the city. Crews burying fiber optic cable have been visible along Minnesota...
What is normally a five-minute rubber-stamp meeting of Thomson Township residents turned into a near-revolt Tuesday, when citizens pushed back hard on actions by the township's elected officials. First up on the agenda for the reconvened annual meeting? An error in the township's proposed levy for 2025 after township officials failed to include payments to cover a $400,000 certificate of indebtedness to purchase equipment executed March 29, just over two weeks after the annual meeting when...
Work on the Interstate 35 Atkinson Bridge (pictured) continues, and so do detours on Carlton County Road 61, which passes under the bridge about 3 miles south of Highway 210. Traffic on County Road 61 is being detoured to County Road 4 to County Road 5. This traffic configuration was expected to last through late August. Costs for the project were estimated at $4.15 million and will improve the load carrying capacity of the bridge and life of the highway. Carlton County also announced the...
Folks thinking that all the Carlton County fair judges are local folks sharing their expertise are only partially right. A lot of judges - every livestock judge, in fact - come from outside the county, said Ora Mord. Mord drove nearly 200 miles from Clearwater County (west of Bemidji) to judge dairy goats for Carlton County 4-H last week. "You cannot judge in your own county," Mord said. "That's because you know the animals, you know the kids and you know the people. We want to make it as...
Car racing has been a part of the Carlton County Fair in Barnum for as long as most people can remember. This past week, the tradition continued as nearly 6,000 fans watched local drivers compete for $40,000 in prize money. "I've been either involved with the fair or coming to the fair for a long time and these events draw many people who might otherwise not attend the fair," said Steve Loucks, president of the Carlton County Fair Association. According to Loucks, more than 150 drivers...
Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Program served more youth from 2021 to 2023 than in previous years and found high levels of satisfaction with the program, according to a new evaluation report. The Safe Harbor program is a multi-agency, statewide initiative designed to meet the needs of sex-trafficked and exploited young people through age 24. Under Minnesota’s Safe Harbor law, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking victims and survivors are protected from criminal prosecution and can access Safe Harbor services, including housing. A substantial maj...
Congratulations to Kettle River Days raffle winners: first prize, Sandra Merritt; second, Dennis Kaminski; third, Carol Forse; fourth, Lawrence Lundin; and fifth prize, Jeff Glaser. A special thank-you to all those who donated money and food for the steak fry, and all the volunteers who worked many hours to make this event happen. Thank you, too, to all the vendors who made it a fun day. This event would not be possible without all those people. We need more volunteers to help us plan the next event, so watch for meeting notices, and come to a...
It's great to have my internet back. I haven't been able to send this news column to the papers or my internet friends for the past three weeks. The last couple of weeks were busy and I hope you didn't miss any events due to not getting the news from me. Aug. 11 was a very special day for our family. My brother and sister-in-law Mark and Linda Dahlman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Wright. We had relatives and friends from all over the country,...
Ted Swenson knew his farm had passed the 100-year mark, he just didn't know it happened in 2011. A trip to the Carlton County Courthouse led to that discovery last year. Now Swenson's Dairy will be honored as Carlton County's latest Century Farm in a program starting at noon Friday at the Carlton County Fair. To qualify as a Century Farm, a farm must have been continuously run by a family for a century or more, be at least 50 acres in size and currently involved in farming. Now owned by Ted...
The Cloquet Forestry Center is holding its annual free open house 4:40-8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 21. It’s an opportunity to have some fun and learn through wagon tours, fireside educational chats, informational booths, scavenger hunts plus raffle prizes and more. Food from the Room at the Table food truck will be available. The Cloquet Forestry Center has been the primary research and education forest for the University of Minnesota since 1909. CFC is located 3 miles west of the City of Cloquet w...
A home in Skelton Township was completely destroyed by an early morning fire Tuesday, Aug. 13. The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office received the 911 call reporting a structure fire at 2:28 a.m. Tuesday on the 3500 block of County Road 157 in Skelton Township, northwest of Barnum. The initial report indicated a house was on fire and all occupants had made it safely outside. Deputies from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office responded with fire departments from Barnum, Moose Lake and Mahtowa. Upon arrival, the house was found to be fully inv...
The Esko school district updated its student handbooks to tighten rules on student cell phone use, including no phone on students while they sit at their desks. At Monday's school board meeting, superintendent Aaron Fischer introduced the revisions which are intended to standardize the rules for all the classrooms. The Minnesota legislature in the last session directed schools to set cell phone use policies by March 15, 2025. The legislation did not directly prescribe how the policies should be...
The upcoming back-to-school issue of a popular Wrenshall publication will be its final print edition. Images, the monthly Wrenshall school newsletter that's distributed community wide, is moving to an online-only format. Beginning in October, Images will appear only on the school's website, isd100.net. The school board approved the move at its business meeting Monday. The move will save the district roughly $6,500 a year. Images publishes 10 times a year, with printing, delivery and postage...
Judge Rebekka Stumme offered no leniency Friday, Aug. 9 when she sentenced a 41-year-old Cloquet man to nine years in prison for cornering and attempting to assault a 12-year-old relative who was under his care. “You, sir, are the farthest things from amenable to treatment,” Stumme said in Sixth District Court in Carlton, denying Tony Allen Gohl’s plea for a lesser sentence. Now twice convicted of violent sexual encounters, Gohl received a “top of the box” sentence, based on state guidelines. The 108-month sentence followed Gohl’s jury convicti...
The Arrowhead Library System will be providing a limited number of free “Beautiful Writing with Calligraphy” take-andcreate-kits for member public libraries to distribute in September. This art experience, created by Silver Bay calligrapher Lynn Prouty, introduces the art of calligraphy to beginners and enthusiasts. The free program is best suited for ages 12 and older. Kits will be distributed at the Cloquet, Carlton and Moose Lake public libraries....
A Carlton County man was sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Friday for sexually abusing three young girls in his care. Jamie Alden Godbout, 35, dated their mother for nearly a decade and was part of the family, so much so that the girls’ grandmother actually testified on his behalf, asking for a reduced sentence. But Sixth District Carlton County Judge Amy Lukasavitz echoed the words of the one victim who testified Friday. “You were the adult, you were the person who was supposed to protect them,” said Lukasavitz, who sentenced him t...
Carmen's Bar & Restaurant has always been a home away from home for many, customers and crew alike. Since opening in 1997, they've been fortunate to have long-standing employees consistently deliver great food and service, earning loyal customers. That has allowed Carmen's to grow within and to take the opportunity to branch out to another location. You can expect to see certain events throughout the year, such as dinner specials for every holiday, including corned beef and cabbage for St....
The Lake Superior waterline to Cloquet "failed in spectacular fashion" earlier this month, but underwater pipe repairs are underway in the St. Louis River east of Duluth's Riverside neighborhood. "We had a geyser in the river there the morning it came to light," said Cloquet public works director Caleb Peterson Wednesday afternoon. "It's been shut down for about a week and a half." Peterson explained that the waterline pumps water from Lake Superior to Sappi. It is not used for potable drinking...
Carlton County announced the following upcoming road closures on Friday, Aug. 16 CSAH 6 Closure - East of Barnum CSAH 6, E of CR 11, will be closed starting Monday, August 19 for approximately two weeks. Detour will be posted. CSAH 25 Closure - Ditchbank Rd CSAH 25, in Perch Lake Township at the pipeline crossing, will be closed starting Sunday, August 25 for approximately one week....
