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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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... Full story
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... Full story
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,... Full story
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...
Grief calls for food in every culture. Friends arriving with bread, lasagna, brown paper grocery bags of fancy deli treats — it’s a helpful, practical act, but also a loving reminder that we are not alone. Maybe we bring food because words are so inadequate when dealing with death, whether you’re trying to offer sympathy to someone hurting after a loss or trying to express your own grief. Bringing food also offers an excuse for a quick face-to-face moment — to offer a hug, hear a story, or help...
Dinel and Lance Hollerbach were asked to smoke a whole hog for a birthday barbecue years ago, but they didn't have a smoker that was big enough. "One man said that he had a big roaster," Dinel said recently. "We went to look at it in the woods. There was a tree growing through it." They brought the smoker home and Lance used his welding and fabricating skills to fix it up. "When he pulled up with it at the place where we were going to smoke the hog, people laughed and called him a redneck,"...
Cloquet High School Quarter 1 Honor Roll A HONOR ROLL Grade 9 Elexis Anderson Drew Angell Madyson Babineau Joseph Bailey David Baker Hannah Bastien Owen Brenner LeeAna Burley Ava Carlson Elise Cawcutt Ella Chartier Quinn Danielson Macy Dearborn Kiana DeFoe Emmie Doesken Ethan Doty Madison Fredrickson Anders Gunelson Riley Hall Isaac Hill Makenna Horvat Kiley Issendorf Eli Jazdzewski Kloey Jensen Carly Johnson Gage Johnson Annalise Kalm Foday Kamara Mary Kayser Brynn Kowalke Caden Kubis Kyle Lahti Kobin Lambert OE Levinski Erin Loeb Walker... Full story
When the state was ordered to shut down in March, the majority of Cloquet's roughly 30 restaurants adapted by offering curbside service. When the lockdown ended, new social distancing regulations went into effect, limiting indoor seating so customers would not be too close to each other. Like other businesses, Culbert's Cafe in downtown Cloquet reopened in mid-June. Unlike other restaurants, the small cafe closed about a week later. Owner Heather Culbert said she felt ill and closed the cafe...
Longtime Carlton County attorney Thom Pertler died Monday after falling ill during a trip this fall. Pertler worked for the Carlton County Attorney’s office for more than 23 years, starting as an assistant county attorney under Marv Ketola, and was well-known for prosecuting Donald Blom in 2000 for the murder of Katie Poirier. He won a conviction, despite a recanted confession and conflicting evidence. He also helped prosecute the Paul Antonich murder case in 1996, a case in which five men were found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a D...
In spite of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the annual community Thanksgiving dinner will go on ... in a Covid-conscious way. All meals will be delivered or picked up from this year's home base at the Cloquet VFW at 210 Arch Street, said Raffy Johnson. Curbside pickup in the VFW parking lot will be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26. Delivery will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Anyone who would like to order a meal is asked to call 218-590-4027 by Nov. 24. Leave a... Full story
The Cloquet Public Library closed to the public until further notice on Thursday, Nov. 19 in response to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the region. The library will still offer curbside pickup of requested materials in the lobby as well as kids and adults take-and-make kits and their personal librarian service. Curbside pickup hours are Mondays 12:30-5:30 p.m., Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursdays 1-6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The library will be closed on Wednesdays and Fridays. To request materials, use the online catalog at...
The Carlton school board voted Monday night to hire a company to provide construction cost estimates on transforming South Terrace Elementary into a facility that could serve three more grades, up to grade 8, or serve all students through 12th grade. The move comes as the board has discussed its options the past month since state funding fell through this year for a consolidation with Wrenshall. The South Terrace studies won’t be new to Carlton taxpayers. The district did similar studies leading up to a failed referendum in 2017 to expand t...
On Tuesday, local law enforcement located a man who escaped from the Northeast Regional Corrections Center on Friday, Nov. 13. Keith Cochise Bellanger, 33, was being transferred to the secure wing of the facility when he took off on foot from the property at approximately 4 p.m. Friday, according to a press release from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. He has a history of burglary and domestic violence and was also facing an second-degree attempted murder charge. On Tuesday afternoon, in a coordinated effort, officers located Keith B...
This Saturday the lights at Bentleyville turn on for driving tours ($10 per car) but the grand Duluth lighting display isn’t the only place showing its Christmas spirit in the Northland. Voting for the Christmas Lighting Challenge also begins this weekend. It’s not too late to enter the contest, as registration continues through Dec. 10. Online voting by the community for both homes and businesses begins Saturday, Nov. 21 and ends Dec. 20. Sign up your home or business at christmaslightingchallenge.com, or view the online map of all par...
Two city recreational facilities could get some much-needed work in a few years if the city of Cloquet is successful at passing a new sales tax. During Tuesday's virtual meeting, Cloquet city councilors took the first concrete step toward a new sales tax bill that would likely start after the current sales tax sunsets in 2022. But there are a whole lot of steps that need to happen first, including creation of the bill, passage by the legislature and approval by Cloquet voters in a general...
