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 2789 - 2813 of 3909
The cost of hiring a consultant to help with ongoing jail issues and future plans was on the minds of Carlton County Board of Commissioners members Monday. The cost of hiring retired Tony Mancuso as a general consultant for maximizing space use in current Carlton County facilities and to assist with hiring a construction manager and architect/engineer for a new jail complex came in at $75 an hour. County coordinator Dennis Genereau thought the hire would be worth the money. “I am pleased that Mancuso — who has helped build or remodel three jail...
Planning for an upgraded 14th Street corridor includes a new roundabout along with a wide multi-use pathway along the east side of the road from Washington Avenue to Cloquet Avenue. About 20 people tuned in to the virtual public input meeting on tablets, computers and phones to learn more about the upgrade last week. The June 17 meeting included a presentation by the engineering firm SEH led by Matt Bolf and Dan Hinzmann. About 30 percent of the work on an engineering plan has been completed,... Full story
State officials told schools last week to prepare for three different scenarios in the fall, but they won't hear which one to implement until late July. And even that scenario could change, depending on local COVID-19 infection rates. The three contingency plans follow: 1. In-person learning for all students with as much space between students as feasible during the day. 2. A hybrid model with stricter social distancing and capacity limits in the building and buses. 3. Distance learning only.... Full story
Folks setting off noisy late-night fireworks in the city of Cloquet are likely breaking two laws: Minnesota state statute 624.20 and the city’s noise ordinance. “The short version is anything that gets launched into the air and/or goes ‘boom’ is unlawful,” Cloquet police chief Derek Randall said. The police chief said late-night fireworks have been an issue this year, one he expects to increase as we draw closer to the July Fourth holiday. “We’re probably seeing an increase now just because of people not going in crowds, staying at home doing t...
Minnesota Power was investigating a series of momentary power outages in Cloquet and Duluth this month. On Monday, spokeswoman Kelley Eldien said the power company has received numerous calls about the “momentaries” that last for just seconds but can cause items such as computers to go down. There have been similar calls about outages in the East Hillside neighborhood of Duluth. The cause remained a mystery to crews earlier this week, Eldien said. Power companies across the country have reported more “momentaries” as power grid equipme...
Leaders from Mercy Hospital in Moose Lake and Essentia Health announced that plans for a formal partnership between the two organizations are expected to become effective in early August. As approved by Mercy’s board of directors — which issued a request for proposal last fall after realizing the rural hospital couldn’t go it alone — Essentia will assume operations of a next-to-new facility, as the Moose Lake hospital completed a $38 million expansion and renovation in 2015. Residents will no longer pay $500,000 in property taxes to support...
Cloquet High School Fourth quarter honor rolls A HONOR ROLL Grade 9 Brody Anderson Carter Anderson Robert Anderson Ashley Austin Jordan Ballard Luke Barney Jaydelyn Berthiaume Amy Blais Aili Buytaert Reese Councillor Roena Diver Patrick Dunaiski Alec Erickson Ellise Evenson Miles Fischer Mariah Fonoti Teegan Fruth Isabella Genereau Sophie Goebel Alexis Goranson Travis Grindle Shayna Hamilton Macie Hoffmann Allison Janke Lauren Johnson Araya Kiminski Lance Konietzko Josiah Larson Nicholas Lassard Madyson Lawrey Bailey Lehto Connor Lindstrom... Full story
Colter Hendrickson of Esko was named to the University of Utah spring dean’s list. Hendrickson is an engineering major. • • Frances Slater of Cloquet was named to the University of Arizona in Tucson spring dean’s list. Slater is majoring in business economics. • • Ellie Gamradt of Wrenshall was named to the Southeast Missouri State University spring dean’s list. • • Hailey Owens of Cloquet was named to the Berry College spring dean’s list. • • Mackenzie Roy of Cloquet was named to the Iowa State University spring dean’s list. Roy is maj... Full story
This week Don Johnson wrote in with a reminder of a very important Wrenshall anniversary. Here is the story: "It turns out that the 12th of June is the 30-year anniversary of the Brickyard Restaurant. So I thought I would give you some history of how it came into being." Johnson says there were three men who were part of the Wrenshall Development Corporation. They were Hugh Line, head janitor at the school who served several terms as mayor of Wrenshall; Ken Holmes, a farmer and then later a bus...
This has been an interesting and emotional week for our family. I had to take my husband, Bob, to St. Luke’s Hospital in Duluth on Tuesday, June 9 because he was very tired and just couldn’t get words out to communicate with us. I thought it might have been a mild stroke, so off we went in a hurry. When we arrived, I went right to the emergency door, and nurses in PPE came to the van and hurried him off to the ER. I was not able to go in, so waited in my van in the hospital parking lot for a c...
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to threaten the health of people locally and across the country, Carlton County acting auditor/treasurer Kathy Kortuem said both the county and the secretary of state are encouraging people to vote by using absentee ballots if they don’t already live somewhere using mail-in ballots. Absentee voting for the Aug. 11 primary election begins today, Friday, June 26. Residents also can vote at her office in the Carlton County Courthouse starting today. Kortuem said her office has received lots of absentee b...
I’ve been so sad since George Floyd’s murder. It’s sad and enraging. I keep wondering how it could have been different. For years, my son has been teaching me about police brutality against black Americans from his vantage point as a resident and businessperson in Brooklyn. And all the others. Philando Castile’s murder, a Minnesota black man who simply reached for his wallet when a traffic cop asked him for his driver’s license. Justine Damond, who called to report the possible assault o...
Local photographer and retired doctor Dan Malkovich shared this enhanced photo of the swinging bridge at Jay Cooke State Park with the Milky Way shining overhead, explaining that he had read about the Milky Way, but because of city lights, had never seen it until camping with college friends in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. "I was amazed at the depth and darkness of the night sky, and at the number of stars I could see," he said. "That was 50 years ago, and ever since then the Milky...
There will be no horse races, no midway rides, no cows or goats or pigs or chickens in the barns at the Carlton County Fairgrounds come August, as the county fair is yet another victim of the coronavirus pandemic. The Carlton County Agriculture Society board of directors announced on Facebook last week that it decided to cancel the 2020 fair in Barnum. The decision came after many "difficult discussions with fair and community representatives," the board stated. "We reviewed guidelines put forth...
The Cloquet Public Library opened to the public this week. It will remain open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday with limited services. Users will be able to browse the collections and check out materials, use library computers by appointment, and make copies and print. Curbside pickup will still be available during regular hours. The Cloquet Public Library is not offering in-person programs or use of its meeting spaces. To ensure safety, users should limit their time in the library, maintain 6 feet of social distancing, wear masks...
When vandals blew up a firework in the Jadeke family's free Book Barn earlier this month, Sarah Jadeke took to Facebook to express her disappointment. The explosion ruined all of the children's books on the bottom, and blew out the seams of the metal box, making it vulnerable to the weather and useless as a receptacle of free books in the future. "To whoever did this, just remember, your mom liked stopping here for books. Your aunt, your uncle, your brother, your sister, your cousins, your...
Community Memorial Hospital and CMH Raiter Family Clinic are open and back to operating at nearly 100 percent, while following all necessary guidelines to ensure the safety of patients and staff, officials said this week. Patients are strongly encouraged to schedule appointments for procedures and office visits that were put on hold during the past few months. Officials said it is especially critical for anyone who may be experiencing symptoms of potentially serious health conditions, such as heart problems or stroke. It is also very important...
The Minnesota Department of Transportation will have closures on Interstate 35 southbound at Minnesota State Highway 45 near Scanlon for drain cleaning, guard rail repair and bridge deck work on Monday and Tuesday, June 22-23. The I-35 southbound right lane at the Highway 45 bridge will be closed. The southbound entrance ramp to I-35 from Highway 45 will also be closed. A detour will direct drivers to Minnesota State Highway 210....
The two districts attempting to pull off a consolidation in the next year showed strikingly different anticipated budgets for the next year. The Carlton and Wrenshall school boards met in regular monthly sessions Monday night via online platforms. Carlton continues to bleed money. Board members passed a budget showing that revenues in the 2020-2021 school year won’t keep up with expenses by about $457,000. It’s a continuing pattern for the district that is slowly eating away at its budget reserves as enrollment continues to dwindle. Out...
The dehumidification system in the city’s Northwoods hockey arena — considered too small for the facility for years — is finally being replaced. Cloquet city councilors unanimously approved a bid for $275,080 to replace the existing dehumidification system with an appropriately sized unit this summer, paid for with funds from the half-cent sales tax. The bid came in almost $75,000 below the engineer’s estimate. The council did not approve a second bid to construct stairs and safety rails t...
The first week of June we brought the last of the rutabagas from our root cellar to the Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth. The following week we started the first summer deliveries to our Food Share members. There are a lot of things that power the farm and allow us to provide local organic produce to our community year-round, but arguably one of the most obvious and most important is the sun. We’ve been seeing a lot of the sun these days and, while we could definitely use some rain to balance it all...
I don’t know where my brain has been lately, but I just found out that Father’s Day is June 21, not last Sunday. Oh, well, it means twice the good wishes for all you fathers out there. I also know that there will probably be no class reunions this summer. The Class of 1961 will not gather this year, but members hope to make some bigger plans for the 60th reunion next year. I want to wish all our area classes a great summer, even if you can’t gather for your significant reunions. There doesn...
Cloquet's Washington Elementary School got some positive reinforcement of its own earlier this month, when the Minnesota Department of Education named it a Sustaining Exemplar School for its successful work using Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports. Students and parents at Washington don't call it PBIS, though - for them it's "Purple PRIDE." PRIDE stands for having a Positive attitude, being Respectful, Including others and Doing your best Everyday. It is essentially a code of... Full story
Credit union scholars Members Cooperative Credit Union has announced the winners of its 2020 Young Leaders Scholarship Program. The scholarship awards are presented annually to graduating high school seniors wishing to further their education. Following a rigorous review of competitive applicants, MCCU selected 11 college-bound seniors for scholarships totaling $10,000 in the Minnesota communities served by the credit union. Local recipients include Hanna Lattu of Wrenshall ($1,000) and Sydney Hall of Cloquet ($1,000). The scholarship program,...
The minutes from the Perch Lake Township annual meeting in March were stark. “The sewer project is dead.” After months of negotiations in 2019, the failure to reach a new joint powers agreement between the Big Lake Area Sanitary District and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa made clear in December that the death notice for improving lake water quality was nigh. Sanitary district chairman John Frederickson wrote the obituary on Dec. 12, saying all efforts to resolve differences between the district and the band “have been exhausted...
