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 2517 - 2541 of 3909
Residents are invited to donate new, unwrapped toys or gift cards for children age 17 and younger through Dec. 16 for the Carlton VFW toy drive. Dropoff locations include the Carlton VFW, City of Carlton offices, Thrivent Financial, Carlton Wellness Center, Carlton Meat & Grocery and The Brickyard in Wrenshall. Donations can be dropped off during regular business and city hours. If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to the Carlton VFW Auxiliary. Hats, mittens and scarves will also be collected at the dropoff...
A total of 62 local businesses applied for the Carlton County Covid-19 small business relief grants this fall. Those businesses will know soon if their applications were successful, following approval by the Carlton County board of commissioners at its meeting Tuesday, Dec. 8. The grant program offered Carlton County businesses grant money to offset expenses and losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and is funded federally through the CARES Act. Requests for the small business grants came in at $812,583, with some businesses requesting far...
Clearing pavement with salt containing chloride leads to it draining into storm drains and into nearby lakes, rivers, and groundwater. It takes only a teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency reports. There’s no feasible way to remove chloride once it gets into the water, and we are finding increasing amounts of chloride in waters around the state. Salty water harms freshwater fish and other aquatic wildlife. Smart salting strategies can help reduce chloride pollution in state w...
Valerie Ross Zhaawendaagozikwe, a student at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, was awarded the 2020 Spirit of Sovereignty Scholarship, which is given to students attending tribal colleges across the country. Scholarship recipients are selected by their college, and funds can be used for any education- related expense, including but not limited to tuition, books, housing, travel and childcare. Spirit of Sovereignty is a National Indian Gaming Association-advised fund at the Indian Land Te...
It may look and sound like a toy, but Carlton County's newest device promises to be a boon to local public safety efforts. The new Autel Robotics EVO II Dual drone has a high-quality camera with two sensors - one visual, one thermal - that can be used for everything from search and rescue to finding a hot spot in a fire. The new drone was donated to the county by Frandsen Bank and Trust, which offered a new drone to every county sheriff's office where they have a branch. "Eight of them accepted...
While the Cloquet city council passed the city’s 2021 budget and tax levy Tuesday, the Cloquet police department got a one-time boost from unspent funds in this year’s budget. Police chief Derek Randall presented the council with a list of requests, mostly for equipment and technology upgrades, to be paid for out of the department’s 2020 budget surplus, which Randall estimated at a minimum of $139,200, including planned expenses through the end of the year. Many of the items are urgently neede...
For years, the Sixth Judicial District has wanted more space at the Carlton County Courthouse in Carlton, which houses both the courtrooms and myriad county departments. Lawyer-client conferences happen in public hallways and stairwells, plus the district needs additional space for courtrooms and court administration. During last week's board of commissioners meeting, county coordinator Dennis Genereau recommended the Community & Family Initiatives Department led by Donna Lekander be moved to...
Carlton County saw exactly two recounts following the Nov. 3 election. The Carlton County auditor’s office completed a recount of votes in the special election for Wrenshall council member, and got the same results, with just two votes separating winner Joyce Gvesrude (116) from Kevin House (114). On Wednesday, Dec. 2, votes were recounted for three Esko School Board seats with the same numbers coming up. Sixteen votes separated the third- and fourth-place candidates: Leona Johnson received the third-highest number of votes with 1,347 votes a...
With the approval of a final stormwater permit by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Monday, the Enbridge Energy Line 3 project has all the permits it needs to begin construction in Minnesota. Line 3 begins in the Alberta oil sands in Canada and crosses a corner of North Dakota before crossing Minnesota on its way to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior. The new Line 3 would replace one that has been in use for decades and currently clips the northeast corner of Carlton County. The new line route was originally shifted to avoid reservation l...
Every week that they can - pandemic permitting - the staff and students involved in the REACH program meet at the Common Ground coffee bar and deli. They do a little homework, various activities, enjoy some snacks and simply spend time together. Over time, the staff at the Christian coffee shop have grown pretty fond of the kids, so they were looking forward to hosting them for a Thanksgiving dinner last week. But Covid-19 got in the way. "I couldn't let it go," said Common Ground cook Jeana...
Jerry Anderson, the last surviving starter on the first boys basketball team from Carlton County to reach the state tournament, died Tuesday at age 83. Anderson was a star on the 1955 Esko team that won the consolation championship. The success of the Eskomos preceded runs by Cloquet and Carlton in subsequent tournaments in the late 1950s and 1960s. Pine Knot News writer Steve Korby wrote about Anderson this past October, after fellow starter Don Terwey died on Sept. 30. Anderson said he met...
For generations, families have bundled into layers and wandered in a winter wonderland in search of the perfect Christmas tree. The snow crunches underfoot, breaking the sound of silence as they walk between the trees before making a selection. The traditional tree hunt continues unhindered this year, despite the many changes brought on by the pandemic at tree farms across Carlton County. Perhaps the oldest family farm in Carlton County selling trees is the Butkiewicz Family Farm, established...
MPR News With Covid-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations at or near record highs, roughly 60 percent of Minnesota K-12 students are currently in distance learning - more than double the rate from early October. Many schools pivoted to remote instruction just before Thanksgiving break and plan to stay that way for at least a couple of months. St. Paul Public Schools, for example, which began the year with distance learning, won't resume any in-person instruction until at least Jan. 19, or two...
With many ACT testing dates canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Alworth Foundation board of directors has determined that eligibility for scholarships will be based solely on a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher this year. “In previous years we’ve required both a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher and an ACT test score of 25 or higher for students to be considered for an Alworth scholarship, but it would be unfair to require a test score when many students have no opportunity to take the test,” said Patty Salo Downs, Alworth Found...
Esko High School Quarter 1 Honor roll Will Abrahamson Emma Adkins Kaitlyn Adkins Alexandra Aker Ashley Aker Jason Amireault Claire Anderson Karin Anderson Siri Anderson Santiago Anich Joseph Antonutti Rachel Antonutti Ellahna Barnes Ellynor Barta Joel Barta Nathan Barta Alena Beare Mollie Belich Aspen Berg Cuinn Berger Tia Bertogliat Carli Bloom Sierra Boitz Alexander Bourgeault Cadence Brissett Owen Campanario Samuel Cheslak Ayden Chopskie Jordan Chopskie Megan Chopskie Brynn Christensen Ty Christensen Liberty Clifford Isabelle Cloose Avah Clo...
When the Covid-19 pandemic started, lots of people thought it might be over in a few months, but it's still going strong. So is the B&B Market's "food train." Started in late March by a single donation from Cloquet's Lenny Conklin - who bought 100 pounds of ground beef to "pay it forward" - what grew into the food train is still chugging along, eight months later. During that time, individuals and businesses from all over Carlton County and even further away have donated money, products,...
Carlton ambulance director Erik Bergstedt sure is happy he was working at the Carlton fire hall on Sept. 29. That's the day a woman walked in carrying an infant in a blanket. She told Bergstedt the baby was three days old, that he was born at home and she delivered him on her own. She did not want Bergstedt to call the police or any other EMTs, she just wanted to leave the baby with him. After she left, he called for assistance. Although unusual, the situation worked exactly as it was supposed...
The Enbridge Energy Line 3 dominoes are falling, as various agencies sign off on the project to replace the existing pipeline. Last week the Line 3 project received approval of a water quality certification from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and several needed permits from the Minnesota Department of Natural resources, including a license to cross state land and public water. Twelve of 17 members of an MPCA advisory group on environmental justice issues resigned after the agency approved the permit on Nov. 12. On Monday, the U.S. Army...
A Wisconsin man accused of attacking two men with his fists and a roofing jack pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced Friday, Nov. 13. Jeffrey Allen Louks, 35, of Washburn, Wisconsin was originally charged with first-degree assault, great bodily harm, as well as second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of felony third-degree assault. According to the criminal complaint: On July 25, Carlton County deputies received a phone call regarding an alleged assault that took...
Cloquet High School is one step closer to a 21st-century Career and Technical Education space. Project planners from Architectural Resources Inc. presented Cloquet school board members with an updated plan for a remodeled space that will include updated wood and metal shops, a computer lab, a new art room with a kiln space and a new fabrication lab to be shared between all the classrooms. The fab lab would contain a 3D printer, a large plotter and lots of counter space where small groups of...
The Esko school board was given an update on the bus garage and athletic field parking lot projects at its Monday, Nov. 23 meeting. Project manager ICS reported the two projects are essentially complete, with the new bus garage ready to open at its new location next to the Esko Business Park. The old garage was demolished to make room for the Esko athletic field parking lot project, which included stabilizing the ground and paving a large lot. The projects came in $60,000 under the $2.23...
Kirsti Marohn MPR News A nonprofit organization has purchased more than 70,000 acres of northern and central Minnesota forest formerly owned by the paper and lumber giant Potlatch. Potlatch once owned 330,000 acres across Minnesota, on which it managed and harvested trees for its paper mills. Now called PotlatchDeltic and based in Spokane, Washington, the company sold off most of that land over the past few decades. This month, The Conservation Fund finalized a deal to purchase the remaining...
Christmas is a magical time for children. Kids everywhere send lists and requests to the North Pole in hopes of Santa granting their wishes. To one Cloquet girl's surprise, her wish is being granted. We think Santa just needed an extra year or two to iron out the details. Alice Swanson is 9 years old and in the third grade at Cloquet's Queen of Peace Catholic School. Alice has five brothers and no sisters. So when it came to writing a 2018 letter to Santa, Alice asked for a baby sister. "Dear...
The newest member of the Carlton school board will be one of its most experienced when she takes office in January. Voters elected candidates Timothy Hagenah and Eryn Szymczak, who filed for two of the board seats, but also selected Julianne Emerson, who garnered the most write-in votes for the third open seat on the board. The Carlton school board met Friday, Nov. 13, to officially canvass the votes. Emerson had 81 write-in votes, compared to 64 for Timothy Soden-Groves, 33 for Donna House and 25 for Jennifer Chmielewski, an incumbent who...
While last week's shutdown order put an end to any live theater performances until Dec. 19, Cloquet's County Seat Theater was ready for it. Kind of. They had selected a show that they could livestream or offer as an on-demand video performance, just in case. They had paid the extra royalties to do that. They chose a version of the show that required fewer actors, and provided for social distancing. But they still rehearsed and planned to perform in person, in front of an audience, with opening...
