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 3920 - 3944 of 4092
Cloquet school board members got good news about the district budget Monday, when district finance director Candace Nelis announced that a possible $400,000 deficit for fiscal year 2019 (July 2018-June 2019) will be closer to $80,000. Moving funds out of the transportation fund and additional special education revenue are two of the reasons for the reduced deficit, along with a grant that wasn’t included in the original budget as adopted. She said the district kept enough in its Fund 3 to cover...
Tony Lourey hasn't forgotten the rural areas he served as state senator. On one of his first road trips as Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner, Lourey - along with agricultural commissioner Thom Petersen - called a "town hall" meeting in Cloquet last week to discuss proposals put forth by Governor Tim Walz to create broader access to health care coverage and mental health care. Attended by mostly healthcare professionals along with media, the meeting covered the ONECare...
There is so much negative communication out there today that I just want to share a positive one regarding this area of Minnesota. I have lived in northern Minnesota all my life, and this area of Carlton County for most of it. I have been a pastor in the area for over 20 years. I am sure all who are reading this have heard people complain about this area. They complain about the weather, the economy, the politics, the schools, and the list can go on. At times I have even been one of those...
Couple find adventure, kindness in snowstormWhat do you call a white-out snowstorm with the sun shining? My wife and I found out last weekend when a "ground blizzard" in the I-90 corridor east of Rochester turned us into refugees spending 20 hours with scores of others in a church social hall. As we were heading west through Winona County, high winds were blowing deep snow that had fallen the night before into drifts several feet high on the road; ice had already formed on the surface from rain...
FDL board says railroad not working with tribe Kevin Dupuis didn't mince words Tuesday when talking about the BNSF Railways' response to a derailment of 40 cars carrying coal Saturday on Fond du Lac Reservation land. He was not happy. "We have jurisdiction; it's within our lands," said the chairman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. "We are the lead agency and we should have been contacted. There should have been collaboration to ensure the cleanup is done the right way within...
Cloquet city councilors took the first steps Tuesday toward an outside investigation of complaints filed by former Cloquet police chief Wade Lamirande. Lamirande emailed Cloquet city officials, councilors and local media a list of complaints about Cloquet city councilor Steve Langley and current police chief Jeff Palmer on Feb. 6; he also included allegations against city administrator Aaron Reeves and human resources director James Barclay within the complaints. After going in and out of closed...
When County Coordinator Dennis Genereau asserted that Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake and Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola made state history, he was almost right. The two may be the first women in northern Minnesota to lead county law enforcement together. However, they follow a southern Minnesota duo -- Sheriff Terese Amazi and County Attorney Kristen Nelson -- in terms of making state history. "I hadn't given it much thought," Sheriff Kelly Lake noted about the idea of all-female...
Pine Knot NewsA bad economy may have meant good timing for people in the far southern Minnesota city of Albert Lea. In the depths of the economic downturn that began in 2008, city leaders decided to take on a project to make its residents healthier. "Why not do something that we can control," said Ellen Kehr. "It was better than just sitting around worrying about the economy." What the city took on has been measured as a head-turning success. It's called the Blue Zones Project and a similar effo...
We had been making steady progress on the battle with tobacco use. It has been a long fight with many victories over the years. Each victory brought our community closer to lowering the use of tobacco. From the early days of the surgeon general issuing warnings and the elimination of much of the advertising and marketing of tobacco, to the more recent elimination of smoking in bars and restaurants, we have been moving forward to a healthier community. All of these changes have resulted in a...
If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, you can make changes to improve your health and prevent Type 2 diabetes with a new series of classes being offered at Community Memorial Hospital. The Diabetes Prevention Program will help you reduce your risk by making lifestyle changes, such as improving food choices, increasing physical activity and managing stress. The program includes 16 sessions, beginning April 24 at 4 p.m. There will be an information session explaining the program 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 10. There is a cost associated...
It was the perfect match for Valentine's Day. The Washington Elementary schoolchildren came bearing roses, valentines, a youngster's open curiosity about the world and the gift of song. They were received with patience, smiles and an elder's appreciation of little ones. First-grade teacher Julie Schultz said her students were super-excited to go back to Evergreen Knoll Senior Living - a place they've visited before - and see the residents again on Valentine's Day last week. "They each made a...
The county may be taking up residence in Cloquet City Hall before summer comes. “Our goal continues to be a building for County occupancy with little cost to the county taxpayer,” county coordinator Dennis Genereau said at the Carlton County Committee of the Whole meeting earlier this month. “Cloquet officials still say they will be out of the present City Hall late spring.” Genereau said plans center around installing an elevator in the new building to provide easy access to the large basement, adding that the County Coordinator and Human R...
The exchange of letters in the past six months between the school boards in Carlton and Wrenshall — to find common ground in consolidation talks — reached an icy end this week. Carlton Superintendent Gwen Carman says her district is moving on. Wrenshall Superintendent Kim Belcastro said her district is holding firm that any consolidation must include a school in Wrenshall. The district has often suggested keeping the elementary school in Carlton and retrofitting the Wrenshall school for the upper grades. During a special meeting scheduled for...
A Wright man is facing charges of criminal sexual conduct with juveniles. Robert Laurence Besch, 48, was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Carlton County District Court on Feb. 7. According to the criminal complaint, the mother of two juveniles reported that they told her on Feb. 1 they had been sexually assaulted on more than one occasion by Besch. On Feb. 4, First Witness Child Advocacy Center conducted forensic interviews with the two victims, who both...
On Feb. 6, three individuals were arrested in Twin Lakes Township for extensive damage to various vehicles at a pipeline job site. Shawn Etsitty, Edgar Morelos Pelayo, and Harvey Goodsky were each charged with felony first-degree criminal damage to property by the Carlton County Attorney's Office for $25,000 in estimated damages. According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement was dispatched early in the morning to the pipeline job site on County Road 61 when security guards reported...
It is very important that the Carlton school district community, parents, caregivers, staff and students know the facts about the most recent communications with the Wrenshall school board regarding the possibility of our school districts consolidating. The Carlton school board has consistently supported, and continues to support, a consolidation plan with Wrenshall that improves opportunities for students and financial stability for taxpayers. However, it would be shortsighted and irresponsible to consolidate just for the sake of...
Community Memorial Hospital in Cloquet is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Charles Kendall to its staff. Dr. Kendall is a family medicine physician and will divide his time between seeing patients in the new Family Clinic located at the hospital, and serving as a member of the Hospitalist Program. Dr. Kendall received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, and completed his residency at the Duluth Family Practice program. Prior to joining Community...
We had been making steady progress on the battle with tobacco use. It has been a long fight with many victories over the years. Each victory brought our community closer to lowering the use of tobacco. From the early days of the surgeon general issuing warnings and the elimination of much of the advertising and marketing of tobacco, to the more recent elimination of smoking in bars and restaurants, we have been moving forward to a healthier community. All of these changes have resulted in a...
The fallout from a former Cloquet Police Department officer's untruths continued last week when an imprisoned man walked free after charges he pleaded guilty to were dismissed in Carlton County District Court Friday. All charges stemming from a December 2016 case of second-degree assault against Clarence Manuel Lozoya Jr. were dismissed after the Carlton County attorney's office determined that former CPD officer Scott Beckman - who lied under oath on an unrelated search warrant application in...
After two years of attempting to get results through official channels, former Cloquet police chief Wade Lamirande finally just decided to let the world know of his concerns. Early last week, Lamirande dropped a series of complaints on city councilors, the mayor, city staff and media, detailing eight issues each with Cloquet City councilor Steve Langley and Cloquet police chief Jeff Palmer. The Pine Knot News explored the allegations against Langley for this story, utilizing records of the...
Local science fair students had their chance to shine Saturday. Wearing their Sunday best and armed with practiced explanations of projects backed up by months - or years, for many older teens - of research, 35 Cloquet students climbed onto a school bus at 6:45 a.m. and headed to Duluth for the regional science fair. Once there, they joined students from 10 other schools from northern Minnesota, from Hinckley in the south and Babbit to the north. Student projects ran the gamut. Cloquet...
It's been seven years since the Cloquet High School Mock Trial team made it to the state tournament. The 2018-2019 season is looking like a promising opportunity to return. The Lumberjacks are 3-0 at trial, and if they keep rolling through the fourth trial, they will find themselves deservingly back at state. Since its start 35 years ago, only two coaches have led the Lumberjacks. Cloquet social studies teacher Bret Baker has coached the team since he took over from retired social studies...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College hosted its second annual Mental Health Days on campus Feb. 5-7. Each day was filled with unique events and activities to help combat and bring recognition to mental health challenges. "The goal of our Mental Health Days was to bring awareness to common mental health issues of college students, and to provide experiences for students and employees using strategies that help ward off the winter blues and avoid the mid-semester slump," said Ashley Tegels,...
Carlton County commissioner Mark Thell and assessor Kyle Holmes spoke to the Carlton County Board of Commissioners during Tuesday's meeting about their appearance at a hearing at the State Legislature regarding the issue of repayment to utility companies for years they were deemed as overtaxed on their properties. The two men testified in support of a bill authored by State Rep. Mike Sundin that would make the State Commissioner of Revenue fully responsible for any paybacks if litigation goes ag...
Animal control garnered the most attention at the Feb. 6 Cloquet City Council meeting, as councilors got an update on future plans for strays and runaway animals from city administrator Aaron Reeves, then heard from citizens too. Reeves recapped a joint meeting of 11 different city, county and township officials held Jan. 29 at Cloquet City Hall. Noting that the old Friends of Animals humane society building has supposedly been sold, Reeves told councilors that estimated costs for a new animal...
