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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Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet conferred associate degrees and diplomas on the 157 students from its class of 2021 during a virtual commencement ceremony May 13. College president Stephanie Hammitt held out hope that it will be the last ceremony of its type in a while. "We find ourselves once again celebrating apart and virtually, rather than together," she said. "But our enthusiasm and happiness for your accomplishments is not diminished." The 2020 Student of the Year, Hope...
As the state rolls back pandemic restrictions, the Cloquet Fourth of July celebration in Cloquet is also is opening up. In addition to the previously announced fireworks, the Fourth of July committee got approval from the city council Tuesday to also hold a parade down the usual route in downtown Cloquet. Other events planned for the day include the Sawdust 5K, the annual car show at the NorthEastern Saloon and Hotel on Dunlap Island and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Pinehurst Park. Not...
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now. So why not grab some free tree seedlings and start changing the world, one tiny green growing thing at a time? Check the bottom of this story for a list of area businesses and organizations that are giving away what will be a total of 10,000 free pine and spruce tree seedlings beginning today, in partnership with the Pine Knot News and Sappi. Sappi's Chris Marland said it's a way of giving back to the community. It's...
I was taught at an early age that land, for the most part, does not change. It is the forest and the plants that naturally grow there that always are adapting to the natural forces of the earth. Tornadoes, wind shears, fire, heavy snow and ice, groves of trees past their maturity, and disease will thin the timber and, at times, clear the land regardless of what man tries to do. The last of the glaciers left 15,000 to 20,000 years ago, retreating north. All vegetation had been ground off with a...
What a difference a day makes. Students at Cloquet High School found out Friday afternoon that they would not have to wear masks during prom the following evening, AND they would be allowed to dance with anyone they wanted to instead of being limited to a pod of six people. And dance they did, starting out following dance song directions in rows and ending with a giant mosh pit in the school's back parking lot Saturday night. Senior prom marked Cloquet senior Casey Essler's second formal dance:...
The video is amazing. The reaction from Barnum High School sophomores Kate Ferrin and Ava Gran tells you all you need to know about how big a deal it was to find out last weekend that they are national champions. "We got first in nationals," Gran breathlessly says in an exhilarating reaction recorded online as news came May 8 that the team's national Business Professionals of America (BPA) project was deemed the best in the country. Days later, Gran was still in a daze. "It's crazy. It's...
Free community meals will be offered Thursday May 20 and 27 at the Carlton VFW, Cloquet VFW and Fond du Lac Head Start. There will be approximately 100 meals per location. Distribution starts at 3 p.m. and lasts until the meals are gone. Recipients are asked to arrive no earlier than 15 minutes prior. The meals, provided by Loaves & Fishes, will be prepared by Jim Vnuk of Jim ’n’ Jo’s Katering and Paul Sapyta and Kevin Peterson of Room at the Table Catering and Bakery, with volunteer support from the area United Way, Lions Club, Fond du Lac B...
The Cloquet Public Library will not be collecting fines for families with children from May 14 through Aug. 6 so that families continue to read throughout the summer and participate in their summer reading program....
For the first time since spring 2020, Monday’s Cloquet school board meeting was open to the public. No one came, but they could have. The change arose from a ruling on open meeting law by the Minnesota Commissioner of Administration, detailed in last week’s Pine Knot News story, “State ruling causes alarm.” The advisory opinion requires that boards allow members of the public to physically attend a meeting at which there is at least a quorum of board members (four, in the case of the Cloquet...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College will offer a new sustainable food systems class this summer. This summer's class, SUST 2090 Field Experience, is the first course of several that will form a new track in FDLTCC's Environmental Science program. The course is rooted in Indigenous values and food sovereignty, aiming to translate reciprocal relationships into sustainable harvest and cultivation techniques. The course's seven modules are holistic in nature with topics in treaty rights,...
Esko seniors will graduate in a normal ceremony this year, if everything goes the way superintendent Aaron Fischer hopes it does. “Current guidelines will allow only two guests per student,” at the graduation ceremony, he told the Pine Knot News, “but we’re expecting the restrictions to be relaxed May 28. If they are, we’re ready to have a completely normal graduation ceremony on June 4.” Students will be allowed up to six guests if the Minnesota Department of Education modifies its guidelines...
Approving the choice for a new county auditor/treasurer was easy, but what salary to pay brought out some dissension among the Carlton County commissioners. On May 3, commissioners interviewed finalists for the Carlton County auditor/treasurer and recommended Kevin DeVriendt for the hire. DeVriendt worked for many years as an accountant for Carlton County Health and Human Services before moving into the auditor/treasurer’s office as an accountant the last two years. At the county board’s regular meeting Tuesday, May 11, chairman Tom Proulx mov...
A Cloquet man faces charges for allegedly creating an elaborate system of false identities and forged checks based on stolen mail. Jory Richard Johnson, 32, is facing 11 different felony charges, including two for mail theft, two identity theft, two theft by swindle, four for check forgery and one controlled substance possession charge. The charges were originally filed in November 2020, but it appears a warrant was issued for Johnson in December 2020 and not recalled until May 7. During the...
The Thomson Township Board of Supervisors welcomed Deputy Randy Roberts into his new role as the official deputy for Esko/Thomson townships at their meeting Thursday, May 6. Roberts was the temporary fill-in for the position after the retirement of deputy Rob Lucas this March, and he has now taken on the position full-time. Roberts reported there were 119 calls in April. He responded to 59 of those himself, including a string of mail thefts that have taken up a bit of his time. Roberts said that the case is on track to be handled at a federal...
The Carlton schools choir concert previewed in the April 30 issue went off with only one hitch, but a major one: technical difficulties. So while the students were able to sing together and the 75-minute concert was recorded, the livestream link didn’t work. Not to worry. It will run on CAT-7, the local cable access channel, at 5:55 p.m. Fridays, 2:05 p.m. Saturdays and 12:15 p.m. Mondays for the next month. Don’t have cable? Anyone who would like to view the concert over the internet can find the link on the Bethesda Lutheran Church page at...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College was set to award associate degrees and diplomas to 157 students during a virtual commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 13, after this issue of the Pine Knot News went to press. In addition to the virtual ceremony, modified in-person celebrations were planned, including pinning exercises for nursing program graduates and a drive-through graduate parade starting at 5 p.m. Thursday....
Photographer Dana Malkovich loves to visit Jay Cooke State Park, especially at this time of year when the first wildflowers of spring line the park's trails. "One needs a sharp eye," he said, "because the blossoms are not as large or showy as our garden flowers, and they often last no longer than a few days." The hepatica are his favorite, which makes sense for a retired physician. They are named "because of a supposed resemblance of the leaves to the lobes of a liver ... The blossoms come in...
Sometimes you just have to ask. But it never hurts to do a little homework first. That's pretty much what happened with Cloquet High School senior Maya Fairbanks this spring, when she decided to ask that her school allow students to honor their American Indian culture during graduation ceremonies. Fairbanks, a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and her mother, Sheila Lamb, wanted to do more with decorated mortar boards or sashes. They initially found from talking to...
A recent state ruling regarding the state's open meeting law (OML) and public meetings during the pandemic had area school districts scrambling to make sure they were following the law, and changing procedures if they weren't. The Minnesota Commissioner of Administration issued an advisory opinion on April 19, in response to The Timberjay newspaper publisher Marshall Helmberger, ruling that the St. Louis County School Board violated the state's open meeting law when at least a quorum of school board members met in person, but members of the pub...
Students have been planting trees on Arbor Day since 1872, when more than a million trees were planted in Nebraska for the first official celebration of trees. Now add research, science and satellite imagery to the mix. That's what Cloquet students and staff did in advance of this year's Arbor Day plantings last Friday, with the goal of maximizing the chances the tiny seedlings will grow to big strong trees over the upcoming decades. Cloquet High School teacher Matt Winbigler explained that...
After repeated requests from bars and restaurants that were hammered financially by closures and restrictions because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cloquet City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to reduce liquor license fees by 50 percent for the next license year starting July 1. The reduction applies across the board to all liquor license fees, including the more expensive bar and restaurant licenses as well as liquor store licenses. The city normally takes in around $30,000 in liquor license fees, finance director Nancy Klassen said. City...
By the narrowest of margins, the Cloquet City Council voted to overturn the city's Project Labor Agreement, as recommended by staff last month. The 4-3 vote came after extensive public comment during Tuesday's meeting, which set a record for participation since the council started meeting virtually because of the pandemic. Including councilors and city staff, more than 50 people logged on or called into the meeting. Seventeen addressed the council directly Tuesday, and three had submitted...
The latest news regarding Minnesota property tax assessments was good for Enbridge and other utility companies and fairly dire for local governments, who find themselves on the hook for many years’ worth of past overpayments. Carlton County is no exception, with the total payback estimated at close to $5 million after the Minnesota Tax Court ruled that past tax assessments were too high on state utilities and pipelines. With that in mind, the Carlton County Board of Commissioners scrambled at their meeting Tuesday to formally support state l...
For the third year in a row, the Advanced Wound Clinic at Community Memorial Hospital was awarded the Center of Distinction award by Healogics, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services. The Advanced Wound Clinic achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a minimum wound-healing rate of at least 92 percent within 28 median days to heal. There were 555 centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award and 278 achieved the honor. “We are...
The Carlton County Historical Society has seen its fair share of change over the past year, including a new roof and a new director who came and went in that time. Former board president Ed Kavanaugh resigned in March to serve as interim director following the resignation of Beth Lyle, who served March 2020 until March 2021. Lyle has taken a full-time job elsewhere, as the CCHS job is part-time. The board has begun the search process for a new executive director. Kavanaugh will return to the...
