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 3895 - 3919 of 4092
The Town of Thomson — popularly known as “Esko” — held its annual meeting Tuesday night. About 15 residents plus Thomson Township officials and employees reviewed the annual financial statement, heard from department heads, and discussed town business at the one-hour meeting at the Thomson Town Hall. The most significant vote was approving the 2020 tax levy, which increased by 3.35 percent to $1.6 million, which is a similar increase from recent years. Although the voters asked some questio...
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 13, an employee of Northwoods Credit Union called 911 to report smoke coming from the Moose Lake Motel on Arrowhead Lane, according to the Moose Lake Star Gazette newspaper. Billowing smoke and flames could later be seen coming out of the roof of the motel, which had 14 units and a living quarters for the caretaker. Fire departments responded to the scene from Moose Lake, Mahtowa, Barnum, Sturgeon Lake, Willow River, Kettle River and Carlton. The...
This winter has been one for the record books in Minnesota, and as the temperature begins to warm up the melting snowpack will increase the chance of major spring flooding for homes and businesses. To prepare for the possibility, Senator David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm) encourages Minnesotans, who may live in a flood plain or who may have experienced flooding in the past, to consider purchasing flood insurance as soon as possible. “Homeowners need to be prepared for the potential of major spring flooding, and it’s better to take pre-emptive actio...
Among the din of the pits in Pioneer Hall in Duluth, adjacent to the DECC Arena where robots were going head to head before a raucous crowd, the SubZero robotics team from Esko was quietly and systematically fine-tuning its machine for another run on the floor. Whatever they did, it worked. Esko won its next face-off and then the playoff title to qualify for the FIRST Robotics world championship in April in Detroit. The win at the Duluth regional last weekend also means the team will likely qual...
Ross Milberger (from left), director of Pine Ridge Homes, and Ray Saeland, Pine Ridge board chair, hand over the keys to the two vans to Gary Dahl, DAV senior vice commander and a Pine Ridge board member, and Stan Heuer, DAV commander, Chapter 18. Pine Ridge Homes donated two gently used vans to the Disabled American Veterans, Minnesota Chapter 18, Carlton County this year. The larger van, which is equipped with a ramp, will be passed on to a disabled veteran who uses a wheelchair. The other...
The Carlton County Attorney’s office recently dismissed seven more criminal cases involving former Cloquet police officer Scott Beckman. The court actions bring the total number of cases dismissed because of Beckman to 26, including 18 that were dismissed pre-conviction last year, one Feb. 8 dismissal that resulted in a man imprisoned for second-degree assault being set free and now seven more post-conviction dismissals (along with four criminal cases in which no charges were ever filed). All o...
One of the oldest traditions in the history of Minnesota carries on Tuesday in the annual township meetings. The township system of government was established as part of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which included the northeast portion of today's Minnesota as a territory. Areas of land were divided into 36-square-mile units called congressional townships. Today, the term "township" refers to organized but unincorporated areas of the state usually governed by a three-person board of...
Firefighters from the Cloquet Area Fire District responded to two house fires Monday and found a frozen hydrant at each location. That's a problem, said CAFD captain Chad Vermeersch. "We had two frozen hydrants [Monday], one on each of the fires," Vermeersch said. "They hadn't been dug out and they were both frozen." Vermeersch said the first call was a chimney fire on the 2000 block of Prospect Avenue in Cloquet. The fire extended into attic a little bit but the firefighters were able to knock...
Monday's visit from Minnesota Department of Higher Education Commissioner Dennis Olson Jr. and lieutenant governor Peggy Flanagan felt more like a reunion than a tour stop to promote proposals for the higher education budget Gov. Tim Walz and Flanagan released two weeks ago. Both Olson and Flanagan greeted the audience of educators and students at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College by speaking in Ojibwe. When Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe, told the crowd she...
The city of Cloquet has solved its mystery of the missing water. Public Works director Caleb Peterson said city officials suspected there was a big leak, as they were missing about 200,000 gallons of water a day based on historical data. But they couldn’t figure out where the water was, because no one had reported a leak, and there weren’t any new skating rinks forming in random places. It took about a week, but they found the leak by checking sewers. They found one about a quarter-full with flowing water, definitely not normal for the rec...
A sex offender at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in Moose Lake pleaded guilty to felony premeditated first-degree attempted murder last week. George Mack Jr., 42, was charged with premeditated first-degree attempted murder as well as fourth-degree assault in Carlton County Sixth District Court Thursday, Jan. 31. He pleaded guilty to both charges Feb. 25 and will be sentenced Friday, March 8. According to the criminal complaint, here's how the incident unfolded: MSOP clinician Zachary...
With training conducted Friday at Cloquet Middle School, staff at all of the Cloquet schools have now completed a new-to-them “active shooter” training, which focuses on giving staff and students tools to react to situations in which a person is shooting inside the school. Rather than teach them to lock the door, hide under desks and do nothing, ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform 911, Counter and Evacuate) trains teachers, staff and students to respond actively. They learn to evacuate if they can, barricade if they can’t, and they practice techn...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will host a “We Are Water MN” exhibit in partnership with the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, starting with a kickoff event 1-4 p.m. Sunday, which will include an opening ceremony, a puppet show and a play by the Ikidowin Youth Theater Ensemble. We Are Water MN is a traveling exhibition and community engagement initiative. It is also a partnership among state agencies and host sites, formed to tell Minnesota’s water stories collaboratively, bringing together personal narratives, historical mater...
The Esko school cafetorium erupted with cheers and laughter Wednesday morning as Principal Brian Harker smooched a pig. It was the perfect ending to the "Pig Out On Books" challenge at Winterquist Elementary in honor of the February "I love to read month." Before he went nose-to-snout with Diesel, the pet potbellied pig, Harker told the 690 students in grades K-6 how proud he was of them. "You worked so hard to beat your AR (Accelerated Reader) challenge," he said. "And some needed extra...
They have fought in wars, plowed endless fields, delivered mail, and helped build civilizations for centuries. Their strength is still a measure of how powerful our machines are, and yet, their understanding and gentleness is being tapped to help heal bodies, minds, and spirits ravaged by illness and circumstances. Horses, those beautiful four-legged animals, are working their magic in therapeutic establishments not only across the country, but in our community as well. As early as the 1960s,...
This has been one of our old-style winters with lots of snow and at times high winds. Locals complain of the inconvenience of it all: slippery roads, poor snowplow service, and high heating bills from the subzero temperatures. Yet we can go back to other winters such as the winter of 1940-41 and the famous Armistice Day storm. In this photo from Lila Kaski Schwoch of Barnum, the Carlton County snow removal truck of the period, a powerful but slow Oshkosh truck with cables running the front plow...
The Cloquet city council didn't meet this week, but that doesn't mean city business ground to a halt. In fact, Mayor Roger Maki said he and Cloquet city administrator Aaron Reeves are taking steps toward a new study of the Cloquet police department. As with the study done in 2014, the idea is to have experts and people from outside the department analyze its strengths and weaknesses, internal structure and more. "It's been five years and with everything that's been going on, we agreed it's a...
The Wrenshall school district will offer the third building bond proposal in two years to voters in May. While some might think of the past two failed attempts to raise taxes as a warning from residents, school board members have looked at the votes as lessons. “We’ve had more time to dig into it,” said board chairman Matthew Laveau. “I think it’s a good, thoughtful plan.” The district will have a vote May 14 asking for building bonds totaling $14.4 million. In April of 2017, voters soundly rejected a $12.5 million proposal. Nearly three-fourt...
The following are Carlton County Sixth District Court dispositions at a gross misdemeanor level or higher from January through Feb. 10, 2019. The information is taken from reports generated by Carlton County Sixth District Court. Cher Lynette Nash, Cloquet Possession of a Controlled Substance, 5th Degree, Gross Misdemeanor, Plea: Guilty 2-6-19 Kevin Roy Petite, Duluth Felony Domestic Assault 9-26-17, Plea: Guilty, Credit for time served 59 days, Probation Donna Marie Tiessen Fifth Degree Possession of a Controlled Substance, Gross Misdemeanor...
The same attorney hired to investigate allegations against former Cloquet police chief Steve Stracek nearly two years ago has been hired by the city to conduct an inquiry into current complaints against city administrator Aaron Reeves and human resources director James Barclay. Neither Reeves nor Barclay is being suspended while the investigation is ongoing. Reeves said Michelle Soldo, of Soldo Consulting Group, will conduct the investigations. Cloquet mayor Roger Maki confirmed that it was his...
The annual Robert Rodd Memorial hockey game Saturday presented plenty of challenges for the players - like trying to play when you're laughing at the sight of a ketchup and mustard bottle chasing a penguin around the ice. "It's hilarious," said organizer Leola Rodd. "Especially for the audience, because you don't know whose team is whose because they're all in costume. But they know." The hockey game starts out just like any other hockey game for the first period, with players dressed in either...
There was good news about the BNSF Railway derailment this week, according to a statement from the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. First, as of Wednesday, Feb. 27, approximately 85 percent of the coal spilled on land by the derailment of 40 train cars Feb. 16 had been recovered. And, BNSF is working closely with Fond du Lac staff and government to coordinate the cleanup, something FDL chairman Kevin Dupuis said wasn’t happening at a Feb. 19 press conference when he threatened to s...
The Feb. 22 news article “With districts locked in, consolidation is out” about consolidation talks between Carlton and Wrenshall school districts contained some inaccuracies in the final paragraph which we would like to clarify. Which community has historically been most opposed to consolidation is really a matter of opinion, as school board members in both districts have voted against it at different times for different reasons. While both districts have failed to pass a building referendum over the past couple years — twice for Wrenshall, on...
Thomson Township residents, now is your chance to step up and get involved in your growing community. There are currently vacancies on the Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the Board of Adjustment and Appeals. The Planning and Zoning Commission is an advisory commission to the Township Board concerning comprehensive planning, zoning, platting, changes in streets, and other matters of a general planning nature. The Board of Adjustment and Appeals holds hearings upon request by the Town of Thomson Zoning Official for variances from the...
It's a wonder what Ruthie Breuer might get up to with two good legs. She was infectious enough Monday morning, despite wearing a walking boot on her left leg, to get nearly a dozen toddlers jamming to music. Breuer was leading the last of demonstration classes for a new music program at Cloquet Memorial Hospital called "Music Together." It's designed for babies and those older up to age 5. A 10-week schedule of classes begins in early April. "I'm just a guide," Breuer told parents and their...
