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Cloquet police are still cautioning residents to lock their cars when they leave them, as there have been reports of lots of vehicle prowls in town lately. In fact, while you’re at it, make sure to lock your house and garage too. “Please do not make it easier for people to steal from you,” the latest police newsletter reads. “We kindly ask you to make sure you are securing all your doors and do not leave valuables in your vehicle. If you have a key fob that allows for keyless entry; make sure it is far enough away from your vehicle when in...
As recommended by members of the Cloquet planning commission, the Cloquet city council approved plans for the proposed Essentia health care clinic Aug. 20. The new clinic will be 10,000 square feet and located at 1413 Highway 33, currently the site of the vacant Driftwood Motel across Highway 33 from Walmart. City planner/zoning administrator Al Cottingham said now only the building permit needs to be approved. “We haven’t seen detailed construction plans, but I understand the architects are working on them,” he said, explaining that the appro...
Starting Oct. 1, Family Pathways will replace WINDOW Victim Services in providing domestic violence and sexual assault services such as advocacy, education, outreach and crisis line, as well as parenting time centers for supervised visitation in Carlton, Pine and Kanabec counties. The Minnesota Office of Justice Programs (OJP) awarded Family Pathways the contract for two years. WINDOW will cover the three counties with a skeleton crew through Sept. 30. Two staff at the moment are handling the Carlton County needs. Sue Wojciehowski, a former...
The Cloquet city council is holding a public hearing on its intention to issue library expansion project bonds in the amount of roughly $1,275,000 during its Sept. 3 meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Citizens are encouraged to speak at the public hearing. The library received a $784,000 library construction grant from the Minnesota Department of Education, and the Cloquet Shaw Memorial Public Library Foundation also committed $275,000 toward the more than $2 million project. If citizens disagree with the council decision Sept. 3, they can take...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the Enbridge Energy Line 4 project on Aug. 22, a move the pipeline company applauded as its Line 3 pipeline continues to move at a snail’s pace through the state approval process and the courts. As part of the agreement between the pipeline company and the Band regarding the Line 3 oil pipeline replacement project, Enbridge plans to relocate a portion of the Line 4 pipeline that currently crosses the reservation. Enbridge’s Line 4 oil pipeline ...
Carlton school board members took another step toward consolidating with Wrenshall last week by forming a committee to work on a two-site solution, but the district is also working to come up with costs for other possible future configurations that don’t include consolidation with Wrenshall. On Wednesday, Carlton superintendent Gwen Carman confirmed that three representatives each from the Carlton and Wrenshall school boards will meet Sept. 9 for a working session, to explore exactly what a t...
New beaver control provisions were enacted by the Minnesota Legislature this past session but the final bill provided no money to guarantee alleviating the financial burden on local governments for handling nuisance beavers. Still, it was a step in the right direction, said Rep. Mike Sundin (District 11A), who authored the initial bill with input from Wayne Thom, a member of the Minnesota Trappers Association. The largest member of the rodent family, the beaver is an active woodcutter and dam...
The Cloquet school board met Monday, Aug. 26 to address the last-minute details that every school faces before the start of school, from the approval of new staff and recognition of others, to talk of classroom sizes and teacher training. But Monday's meeting was a little different, as it started with two drum songs by the Cedar Creek drum group and a ceremony with the Fond du Lac Honor Guard before the school board formally accepted the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa flag as a part...
With just days until school starts, the summer is almost over. But let’s hope there are many more great fall days to come before we have to deal with cold weather. I was able to attend the Aug. 21 Cromwell council meeting, at which MnDOT project manager Josie Olson explained why the Highway 210 and Highway 73 project is being delayed until 2021: the City of Cromwell did not approve the roundabout, so it will now take longer to revise the project plans, the project is expected to take longer t...
It seemed like a fairly simple call. A dog in a plastic culvert, could the Esko Fire Department help the owner get it out? But this was no ordinary culvert, running from one side of the road to another. It was a culvert built at Oldenburg Point after the 2012 floods ripped through Jay Cooke State Park and the surrounding area. "I think [the pipe] ran about 300-400 feet, down a steep ravine and probably emptied out into the river," said Esko fire chief Kyle Gustafson. "We aren't sure because we...
In front of a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday, Cloquet City Council members first "reconsidered" a vote to deny a $1000 donation from Enbridge Energy, then reversed their vote from two weeks ago in favor of accepting the money. The donation became an issue at the Aug. 7 council meeting when Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb made a motion to deny the donation to the National Night Out celebration, asserting that if the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline goes through, sex trafficking will increase in Cloquet...
There are very few people in this world who are widely known by just their first names. Some athletes, celebrities, or the occasional politician might achieve this distinction, but it is a fairly unusual thing. Yet, in Carlton and Wrenshall, and even in Cloquet, when the name "Harold" comes up in conversation, longtime residents frequently know the man to whom the name belongs. Harold Ankrum is the rare, memorable person who merits this sort of recognition. Owner and operator of Harold's...
Three people filed to fill the Ward 3 Cloquet City Council seat vacated by Dakota Koski, including Uriah Wilkinson, Ray Schow and Chris Swanson. With three people filing, that means there will be a primary election on Nov. 5, with a general election to follow for the final two candidates on Feb. 11. All three men had also applied to fill the Ward 3 seat on an interim basis; the city council selected Swanson, who was sworn in earlier this month. Elected in the November 2018 general election,...
Jody Acers is a familiar face at the Cloquet Educational Foundation, having served on its board for at least nine years - two of them as president - and worked hand-in-hand with founding director Lorna Mangen for years. Now Acers will step into a new role at CEF: as its executive director. She is a Cloquet High School 1986 alumna and parent of two CHS graduates, Emily and Andy. Acers is replacing outgoing director Jeannie Kermeen, who is leaving after three years to work as the director of...
If Carlton County Democratic voters get to choose, Minnesota’s senior senator will be the next president of the United States. The Carlton County DFL party ran a popsicle stick poll for president at their fair booth, and Klobuchar got the most votes, with 32 percent. Joe Biden took second with 21 percent, Elizabeth Warren with 16 percent, Bernie Sanders with 13 percent, Pete Buttigieg with 8 percent and Kamala Harris with 4 percent. “Almost 500 people cast a popsicle stick!” said local DFL party activist Patty Murto....
All kinds of organizations are partnering to get local residents to ‘Meet on the Street’ in downtown Cloquet 3-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27. This free community event will temporarily close Cloquet Avenue from Eighth to 14th streets to vehicles and open the street to pedestrians. The event has an overall focus on physical activity, and healthy eating initiatives in the community. Each block of Cloquet Avenue will have different activities related to healthy living. Some of the activities include local educational and informational booths, fam...
Following is a very brief overview of Cloquet police calls from Aug. 2-18, provided by the Cloquet Police Department: Aug. 2 Officers responded to the 1700 block of Sahlman Avenue for a report of a possible abduction of an 11-year-old. Officers spoke with the child and later began canvassing the area for a suspect but were unable to locate anyone or any vehicles matching the description of the suspect. Officers then obtained video footage of the area where the alleged abduction attempt took place. The video did not show any attempted abduction...
A crowd of about 50 people gathered Aug. 14 to celebrate the start of something new: the Fond du Lac Cultural Language and Learning Center. Although it's a vacant lot now, by March 2020 the site will be home to a new building for Anishinaabe language and cultural health programs. Many members of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and other local officials and construction industry representatives gathered near Tribal Center on a plot of land off Big Lake Road, eager to learn more...
Cloquet police chief Jeff Palmer resigned last week, something which will change operations at the police department very little, as he had already been on “voluntary paid leave” since April 16. Palmer, whose salary was set at $102,096.37, submitted his resignation Thursday, Aug. 8, effective the same day. Patrol commander Carey Ferrell has been acting police chief since Palmer went on leave April 16, and city administrator Aaron Reeves said he expects him to continue in that role for now. Ferre...
Cloquet city officials got some unexpected news last week. It appears that Cloquet city administrator Aaron Reeves had no authority to make any decisions regarding the CAT-7 cable access station - including closing and moving the studio, cutting staff hours and spending reserve funds to equip the city's new council chambers for live streaming video - because the authority for the management of CAT-7 staff and resources lies with the cable commission. Former Carlton County commissioner and...
A Pequot Lakes man was arrested early Saturday on charges of possession of methamphetamine. Brandon James Salgy, 34, was charged Monday, Aug. 12, with first-degree possession of drugs in Sixth District Carlton County Court. According to the criminal complaint: Fond du Lac police officer Nils Hansen spotted a male and female walking on the Black Bear Casino floor wearing backpacks, which is against policy, and told casino security, which made contact with the two. Security then advised Hansen...
A singer and pastor from Iowa was arrested Saturday, Aug. 10, by Cloquet police officers on a warrant accusing the man of fondling two minor girls. Emanuel J. Rodriguez, 44, was charged in Douglas County, Nebraska, with two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child. An affidavit filed Friday accused Rodriguez of fondling two girls between Jan. 1, 2017, and May 17, 2019, inside two homes in Omaha previously owned by Rodriguez. The girls are now ages 12 and 11. Cloquet acting police chief...
About a dozen people gathered at Thomson Town Hall Thursday evening for a brainstorming session on both the present and the future. On Tuesday, at the National Night Out celebration in Esko, community members of all ages were standing in line to voice their opinions on the place where they live, go to school, play and maybe even work. It’s all a part of developing the township’s next Comprehensive Plan, an effort that last happened in 1999. A lot of things have changed since then. The tow...
It was quite a first meeting for interim Ward 3 Cloquet city councilor Chris Swanson last Wednesday. The agenda appeared simple and uncontroversial. Then Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb made a motion to deny a routine donation from Enbridge Energy to the National Night Out celebration put on by Cloquet police, asserting that if the company's Line 3 pipeline goes through, sex trafficking will increase in Cloquet and other Carlton County communities. "A $1,000 donation is not worth putting a single...
The Highway 210 project through Cromwell is unable to be delivered in 2020 as planned, and MnDOT staff will attend the Cromwell city council meeting Aug. 21 to give an update and field any questions. The project is now scheduled to be constructed in 2021. MnDOT staff will attend the Cromwell city council meeting Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Cromwell Park Pavilion and provide more information. The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions. For more information on the project, visit http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d1/projects/hwy...