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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As the crew muscled yet another railroad car off the stern of the ship and into the murky depths of Lake Michigan, Capt. Peter Kilty of the Pere Marquette 18 may have breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a tumultuous few hours out in the middle of the lake early on the morning of Sept. 9, 1910 - 110 years ago. The ship, carrying about 60 passengers and crew, and close to 30 rail cars from Ludington, Michigan to Milwaukee, started taking on water faster than its pumps could handle, and Kilty qu...
Former Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler was disbarred Thursday, Sept. 10 by the Minnesota Supreme Court for professional misconduct because he failed to disclose known police misconduct when he was in office. Pertler was Carlton County Attorney January 2005 through December 2018, quitting after he lost a re-election bid. The Supreme Court's decision came after the director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility filed a misconduct petition against Pertler July 6. That office is...
A Hermantown woman was sentenced to five years in prison this week after pleading guilty to third-degree murder for selling methamphetamine to a Moose Lake woman who died afterward. Dawn Marie Clemons, 41, apologized to Leah Michele Olsen’s family for taking away their mother, daughter and sister, and told the court she will forever regret her actions of Aug. 5, 2018. “I wish more than anything that I would have been stronger enough to not contribute to Leah’s relapse,” Clemons said, through tears. “Because of my actions, my friend lost her lif...
As political campaigns increase their efforts toward the Nov. 3 election, it’s important to know and follow the state laws regarding placement of signs off of state property and only on land where the landowner has agreed to its placement. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is reminding people that the placement of campaign and other advertising signage on any highway right-of-way is not allowed under state law. All state, county, city and township roads and highways fall under the same state law. Highway right-of-ways include d...
Former Carlton teacher and girls basketball coach Robert Kent Pioro appeared in Carlton County District Court Wednesday afternoon for an omnibus hearing, which is the next step in the criminal process. Pioro, though his attorney Mikkel Long, entered a plea of Not Guilty and waived any contested omnibus issues. He asked the matter be set for an intermediate settlement conference, which Judge Robert Macauley set for Nov. 9. Pioro, 52, was charged July 2 in Carlton County Sixth District Court with three counts of criminal sexual conduct in the thi...
The Sons of Norway rescheduled a free performance by the Sutter Brothers for this weekend. Bring your own chair and find a good spot outside the Oldenburg House in Carlton 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19....
Carlton County will hold a drive-through flu vaccine clinic 12-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Carlton County Transportation Building. No fees will be collected at the clinic. Bring your insurance card for billing. There will be vaccines available at no charge for children 18 and younger who don’t have insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover vaccines. The vaccine will be available as a standard flu shot, flu-mist for ages 2-49, high-dose for age 65-plus and egg-free for age 4 and older. All att...
Both the Carlton Area Lions Club and the state of Minnesota are celebrating 30 years of the Adopt a Highway program this year. The Lions Club is one of 475 groups that have been with the Minnesota Department of Transportation program every year of its existence. Lions member Ron Haupt has been there from the start. "I don't agree with people that throw garbage out the window, it looks terrible," he said, adding that he and his wife will pick up along the trail when they go for a walk as well....
Reports to the school boards at Carlton and Wrenshall this week showed that the two small districts had relatively drama-free starts to the year despite intense pressure due to Covid-19 pandemic protocols. In Wrenshall, the major hitch remains the continuing construction project to improve the heating and air conditioning in the elementary portion of the K-12 building. It is expected that the project will wrap up by early November. Superintendent Kim Belcastro reported to the board that enrollment is slightly down from past years, at 367...
Cloquet city councilors approved the city’s preliminary budget and property tax levy for 2021 on Tuesday night, setting the maximum levy increase at 4 percent, for a total levy of $3,164,750. The council can choose to levy for less than that amount in December, but they cannot increase the levy. Property owners will probably not see an equivalent increase to their Cloquet property taxes, however, because the city has had a 5.12 percent increase in taxable market value, as new homes and commercia...
The city of Cloquet will not open three of the city’s four warming houses this winter due to pandemic health considerations. However, all four outdoor ice skating facilities — at Sunnyside (Churchill), Pinehurst, Athletic and Dunlap Island parks — will still open. Cloquet city councilors approved a decision by city staff and the Parks Commission to not open warming houses at Sunnyside and Athletic parks because they’re too small, and Pinehurst because it was too far away from the rink and rar...
Dorothy Elsie Seppala, 89, of Cloquet died Sept. 12, 2020, at New Perspective Senior Living in Barnum. She was born March 10, 1931, in Sandstone, the youngest child of John and Elsie Withoff. Dorothy was a 1949 graduate of Cloquet High School. She married Ervin Seppala on Feb. 14, 1951. She worked as a library aide for the Cloquet public schools for 25 years. She was a member of Zion Lutheran Church and enjoyed crafts, sewing and her flower gardens, especially her dahlias and gladiolas. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ervin;...
Katie Wilkinson was standing outside Churchill Elementary School before the doors even opened Wednesday, a pink gaiter pulled high over her nose, happily waiting for school to begin. "I'm so excited," the fourth-grader said. "I even got ready before I had to. I had everything on an hour before school started." In some ways, the first day of school was the same as always. Some children are in tears and reluctant to go inside, others can't wait to see teachers and friends in the classroom. Buses...
It's been six months since a pregnant Jackie DeFoe and her 20-month-old son, Kevin, were found dead in their Cloquet home - DeFoe stabbed multiple times and the toddler dead from blunt force trauma. On Tuesday afternoon, a crowd of nearly 50 people gathered outside the Carlton County Courthouse, to make sure officials are taking the case seriously and to ensure the alleged killer doesn't go free. Sheldon Thompson - Defoe's boyfriend and father of her unborn child - was arrested and charged in...
Following an Aug. 27 altercation at a local bar involving Cloquet city councilor Steve Langley, the man who says Langley shoved him without provocation — Cloquet’s Brian Vanderwerff — wants the councilor to be charged with assault. This is the second time in two years that Langley has been accused of assaulting someone at The Jack, although the victim in the first case, Don Gentilini, never wanted to press charges. He did, however, file a “matter of record” report with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office on Nov. 5, 2018. Whether or not Langley...
A woman died Saturday from injuries suffered in a crash between a side-by-side ATV in which she was a passenger and a car. According to a press release from the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 call came in at 3:16 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, reporting the crash on the Soo Trail east of Moose Lake. A side-by-side-style ATV was travelling on the Soo Trail and collided with a car at a trail and driveway intersection near the 4100 block of County Road 8. The 31-year-old female passenger in the ATV was transported to Essentia Moose Lake Hospital...
The Cloquet Police Department issued address information regarding a Level 3 sex offender who is transitioning into the Cloquet community. He is currently listed as homeless. Rory Francis Northrup, 34, has a history of physically assaulting known adult females and engaging in sexual contact with a known adult female, using force and threats to gain compliance, according to state records. Northrup has served the sentence imposed on him and is transitioning into the community. Additional...
The South Dakota priest appointed to lead the Diocese of Duluth in June has resigned after being accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Pope Francis had appointed The Rev. Michel J. Mulloy, from the Diocese of Rapid City, to be the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Duluth. The Rev. James B. Bissonette, administrator for the Duluth diocese, issued the following statement on Monday, Sept. 7: "I have learned that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has accepted the resignation of bishop-elect Michel Mulloy....
Federal funds sent to counties to address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have started to be allocated through Carlton County officials. Board of commissioners members approved funding in four general categories at their meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, drawing from the $4.4 million received in July. The county will keep $1.2 million in reserve for unexpected costs. After that, $800,000 was set aside to help small business and nonprofits. Grants will be given through the Carlton County Economic Development Authority for up to $7,500. The...
Subscription renewal notices to the Pine Knot News will soon be arriving by mail. Your notice may be for an expiration date that has already passed due to our transition to a new circulation software program. Please contact the PKN office if you have any questions about expiration or payment dates, rates or other concerns: 218-878-9332 or email news@Pine KnotNews.com...
Carlton County will hold a drive-through flu vaccine clinic for the entire family later this month. Set for noon-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, people can drive through and get an influenza shot at the Carlton County Transportation Building. “The COVID-19 pandemic makes this year more challenging since influenza and COVID-19 will both be a health risk at the same time—it is very important to protect yourself by getting a flu shot,” a flyer for the event declared, noting that people ages six months and older...
Former Cloquet police chief Wade Lamirande was recently appointed to a statewide task force on law enforcement education reform. Now the law enforcement program coordinator at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Lamirande will join some 30 other task force members in examining current law enforcement education programs at state colleges and universities using an anti-racism and equity-focused lens. The action is one element of a multi-prong approach to law enforcement education reform...
Sgt. Neil Dickenson of the Minnesota State Patrol offers some timely reminders on safety around school buses as the new school year starts up: • Parents should discuss and demonstrate pedestrian safety with their children and reinforce safe crossing after exiting a bus. • When getting off a bus, look to be sure no cars are passing on the shoulder. • Before crossing the street, wait until the driver’s face can be seen. Wait for the driver to signal that it’s safe to cross. • Look left, right...
By the time this paper hits your mailbox, we will have had one partial week of school under our belts. We will have either had a hard frost or we will have been given another week of needed growth for our final shares of tomatoes and peppers. By the time you read this column our family will have established a new schedule and know where we are going on each day and who will pick up whom and what to pack for lunch. We will know how much space the fall cabbage will need in the root cellar. For me,...
Fall is coming, and the Cloquet Public Library is excited to return to more normal operations. Now that our construction is complete, we’re able to offer additional services and to return to our regular open hours. Our building is open and we encourage everyone to come and see the changes we’ve made. Here are some important changes to library operations: • Our open hours will be Monday-Thursday 9:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Friday 9:30-5:30, and Saturday 9:30-2. We will remain closed on Sundays. • Requested items will be available for pickup at the cir...
