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Barnum school officials are meeting with officials from the Moose Lake and Willow River districts to discuss schedules and busing changes for the next school year. “We are discussing the parts of the school bus routes that we can share,” Barnum superintendent Mike McNulty said. “Some of our routes are the other school districts. Some students from each of the school districts go to school in one of the other districts, so we are talking about how to keep bus routes from overlapping.” McNulty said the districts have also discussed startin...
When the City of Cloquet passed a proposed Project Labor Agreement into city code in May of 2017, the council chambers were standing room only, and packed with union members who spoke in favor of the PLA. Three years later, when councilors voted to overturn the PLA at their May 4 meeting, this time virtual, it was packed again. The city council will reopen its vote eliminating the PLA at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday, June 1, after Ward 2 Councilor Sheila Lamb motioned at the May 18 meeting to... Full story
With County State Aid Highway 61 in rough shape between Scanlon and Esko, Carlton County officials would like to make some dramatic changes. A proposed project would transform the highway from a divided four-lane into a two-lane road with a center turn lane and a recreational multiuse trail along one side of the highway. County engineer JinYeene Neumann told the Thomson Township board of supervisors the current pavement on 61 is in desperate need of repair and the structure under the road is failing. When the county began discussion about...
Carlton native Sam Kavanaugh bested Jennifer Quail and Veronica Vichit-Vadakan on Friday to become the winner of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Kavanaugh won the $250,000 grand prize; Jennifer Quail, a wine tasting consultant from Dowagiac, Mich., claimed $100,000 for her second-place finish, while Veronica Vichit-Vadakan, a reference and instruction librarian from Portland, Ore., placed third to earn $50,000. The 10-day tournament was hosted by JEOPARDY! All-Star Buzzy Cohen. The Pine... Full story
Northeast Minnesota motorcyclists and prospective riders can register now for training at Lake Superior College in Duluth. Training courses begin in June. Lake Superior College offers the MMSC Basic Rider Course and Intermediate Rider Course. • Basic Rider Course: Riders can earn their motorcycle endorsement and learn essential motorcycle control skills in this course, which costs $245. This course is designed for beginning riders with no previous riding experience. It is also recommended for returning riders. • Intermediate Rider Course: Rid...
At what was expected to be an uneventful hearing for a new countywide parking ordinance Monday, more than 20 people gave opinions, often straying from the details of the ordinance to complaints of trespassing, confrontation, and fear surrounding activities associated with Enbridge Line 3 pipeline protests. The Carlton County committee of the whole moved on the parking ordinance May 4 for consideration without discussion. The Monday hearing had plenty of it. In the end, the board passed the ordinance with little fanfare, compared to the hearing...
And just like that, 11,600 tree seedlings were scattered across Carlton County. The giant tree giveaway late last week was organized to honor the Pine Knot's status as the most outstanding weekly newspaper in the state and Sappi's many awards for being one of the most sustainable pulp and paper mills in the world. It was also a way of giving back to the world, as both companies need trees to keep their businesses going. With the help of Sappi, which paid for the seedlings, and Upper Lakes...
The latest Pine Knot News exhibit, “Art is for the birds” is up, but the artist reception has been postponed. The reception is now tentatively rescheduled for June 10 with a rain date of June 11. Feel free to stop by the Pine Knot office at 122 Avenue C, Cloquet, to see the exhibit in advance of the artist reception. Call ahead to 218-878-9332 to confirm the office is open....
The Moose Lake Area Historical Society is hosting Depot Fest 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 5 in the Moose Lake Depot parking lot. The event will feature a plant sale, bake sale, vendors, rummage sale, face painting, live music and food. The library’s book sale will be held in the Soo Line Event Center Friday and Saturday, June 4-5. The depot is located at 900 Folz Boulevard, Moose Lake....
Duluth Dylan Fest teamed up with the Carlton County-based Song From the North Country collaborative to celebrate Bob Dylan’s 80th birthday this week by creating a music video. Song From the North Country began making socially-distanced videos of original, regional music last year — under the leadership of Carlton’s Timothy Soden-Groves as a response to the pandemic and a way for area musicians to connect. Duluth Dylan Fest committee member Zane Bail said “fortunately, we were able to collaborate with Songs from the North Country to offer a...
A man who shot his sister's boyfriend at a funeral on the Fond du Lac reservation in 2019 was sentenced to 110 months in prison Monday. Shelby Gene Boswell, 29, was convicted in federal court with possession and discharge of a firearm (a .22 caliber rifle) by a convicted felon. His sentence of 110 months will be followed by three years of supervised release for illegally possessing and discharging a firearm in a school zone. According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 18, 2019, Boswell...
The Wrenshall school board opted for a very familiar face when it comes to hiring a principal for the next school year. Board president Michelle Blanchard was chosen last week after the board interviewed three candidates. The position is being created as superintendent Kim Belcastro goes to a part-time role solely as superintendent, giving up her time in principal duties at the school. The board cut the dean of students position for a fulltime K-12 principal, eventually saving money in the new administrative structure. Blanchard is a Wrenshall...
The Carlton County Assessor’s office has begun its statutorily mandated 5-year reappraisal of properties in the city of Cloquet. Staff will be out and about in Cloquet through the end of 2021. County staff will have proper ID, a county vehicle, a tape measure, camera and iPad, and are required to physically inspect each property. If a taxpayer is not at home or available, a business card or door hanger will be left....
Shortly after midnight early Monday morning, May 17, Cloquet Police Department officers responded to 227 Scotty Drive in Cloquet for a report of several shots fired at the residence. Officers responded and confirmed the initial reports. No one was injured. A short while later, at approximately 12:30 a.m., officers received a report of a second shooting, later determined to have occurred at 973 Ozhigaw Road in Cloquet. The victim, a 27-year-old male from Cloquet, had a gunshot wound to the leg...
Minnesota motorists are known for their high seat-belt compliance rate, but a disturbing development is taking place on Minnesota roads. Between Jan. 1 and April 22, preliminary reports show 31 unbelted motorists died this year, the highest number of year-to-date unbelted traffic fatalities since 2012. This loss of life comes after a deadly 2020 when 112 unbelted motorists died on Minnesota roads compared to 73 in 2019. The 112 unbelted motorist deaths in 2020 were also the highest since 2012, when there were 116. To remind motorists about the...
Don’t forget to watch Carlton grad Sam Kavanaugh compete in the Jeopardy 2021 Tournament of Champions Friday, May 21, and next week if he wins his way to the next round. On Friday, Kavanaugh faces off against Michigan writer Andy Wood and Oregon librarian Veronica Vichit-Vadakan. Kavanaugh and 14 other former champions (including one other Minnesotan) are competing for a $250,000 grand prize. Sam Kavanaugh won a total of $156,202 on the popular quiz show in 2019. “It’s so so exciting,” said Sam’s dad, Ed Kavanaugh, who will watch Friday’s...
The Carlton County board of commissioners will hold a public hearing at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 24 at the Carlton County Transportation Building at 1630 County Road 61 regarding a proposed parking ordinance. The ordinance will regulate parking and parking enforcement for local roadways within Carlton County, and would allow the county to prohibit or limit parking provided regulations are posted or marked beforehand. The parking ordinance would give the county the right to designate certain roads as no parking or with parking only during certain...
University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel announced earlier this month that Karen Diver will be the institution’s inaugural Senior Advisor to the President for Native American Affairs. Diver will assume this newly created position — an uncommon role in higher ed with only a few comparables nationwide — May 28. Diver was Reservation Business Committee Chairwoman for the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa from 2007 through 2015. As Chair, she expanded the land base of the Fond du Lac Band, grew the employment base from 1,600 to 2,200 a...
Planning for a new county jail, although slow and methodical, is getting closer to a decision on site and building design. The Carlton County jail steering committee and the property management department headed by county coordinator Dennis Genereau have recommended the green site as the preferred building site. The “green site” is a forested area north and northeast of the current Carlton County Transportation complex on Old Highway 61. The area set for soil borings and water table issues is in an area that was once the Northern Pacific bor...
Cloquet City councilors voted Tuesday to repeal the city’s ordinance requiring face coverings, and reconsider their vote on the repeal of the Cloquet project labor agreement passed two weeks ago. The repeal of the requirement to wear a mask indoors in public spaces came as no surprise, as Gov. Tim Walz issued an executive order May 14 to undo the state’s mask mandate. The order came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its own announcement, stating that people who are ful... Full story
Minnesota lawmakers walked out of the state Capitol in broad daylight after the 2021 session came to an end. In most years, that alone would be a banner accomplishment. This year, it produced howls of protest. The objections stem from the fact that the Legislature didn't complete a single budget bill by Monday's deadline. It's a point Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt dwelled on. "Basically, I think Democrats were waving the white flag of surrender. This was the least productive...
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... Full story
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... Full story
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... Full story
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... Full story