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 583 - 607 of 4027
With plans for a first-ever city hall followed by cascading improvements from there, city leaders in Wright are aiming big in an attempt to provide more for residents and families. "Wright has always been the wild, wild West of Carlton County, and everybody kind of turned a blind eye to us and what's happened out here," city councilor Terri Lott told the Pine Knot earlier this month. "It was our business." Lott, mayor Donovan Ranta and fellow councilors Jerri Haugan and Gene Lott, Terri's...
Following a special meeting Friday morning, Cloquet school board members voted 5-1 to approve the list of softball coaches for this spring, including head coach Tyler Korby and assistant or JV coaches Joel Korby, Brian Fleck, Olivia Diver and Travis Warnygora. Board member Hawk Huard was the lone “nay” vote. The board previously approved all the other spring coaching staff with no discussion at its Feb. 5 meeting. The special meeting was closed for a time to discuss allegations against a school district employee. No action was taken Friday reg...
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is honored to share that Achieving the Dream has awarded FDLTCC the 2024 Leah Meyer Austin Award. The Leah Meyer Austin Award signifies a college’s adoption of practices and strategies leading to a student-focused culture, notable increases in student outcomes, and reduction of equity gaps. The announcement was made at the annual DREAM conference, which brought over 2,000 community college leaders, faculty, and student affairs staff to the Orlando World Center Marriott. FDLTCC joined ATD in 2017 among a...
Superintendent Donita Stepan asked the Carlton school board to downsize staff by more than four full-time positions, including three teachers, during Tuesday’s school board meeting. Included in the cuts were one full-time position at South Terrace Elementary and the band program at the middle school/highschool. Declining enrollments and the accompanying decrease in revenue from the state have driven the retrenchment. In her remarks on the issue, Stepan pointed to the unassigned general fund balance — which should be kept to at least 16 per...
Carlton County is short by up to 50 units of entry-level housing for new homebuyers, 350 units of affordable apartments, 60 units of workforce rentals and scores of units for seniors who desire to own, scale down or transition into settings such as assisted living. That was the stark tale told by a Comprehensive Housing Needs Analysis presented to the Carlton County board earlier this month. Presented by LOCi Consulting of St. Paul, the analysis left commissioners thankful for the information....
The Cloquet city council laid the groundwork for a number of new or ongoing initiatives Tuesday, including plans for future transportation and housing projects. Councilors and Mayor Roger Maki unanimously passed a resolution supporting the “multimodal” use of Highway 33 between Big Lake Road and Cloquet Avenue, with a letter outlining the city’s viewpoint shared with the Minnesota Department of Transportation. MnDOT is looking at rebuilding that stretch of the state highway in 2028 and held a public information meeting in Cloquet on Feb. 1. The...
The Indigenous-feminist Spiderwoman Theater is bringing its 16-member ensemble to Cloquet as part of a five-day residency at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, and Northland College, in Ashland, Wisconsin, Feb. 27-March 2. Spiderwoman grew out of the urban Native community centered in Brooklyn in the 1950s. In addition to their experimental and activist focuses, they have emphasized the importance of interconnectivity among Indigenous communities across the globe. Spiderwoman Theater was...
Once again, Cloquet sent the largest contingent of students to Saturday's regional science fair, held at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Fifteen middle school and four high school students from Cloquet competed, plus a number of students from other schools. Although overall numbers declined this year after a post-Covid jump last year, the overall projects were better, judges said. Most of the students will compete at the 2024 State Science and Engineering Fair March 22 at the St. Paul...
It’s been a year since roughly 40 residents packed Thomson Town Hall to comment on two proposed township ordinances regarding private roads and driveways. Many speakers provided constructive criticism, while others outright rejected the attempt to set standards for shared private roads and driveways. Although township attorney David Pritchett told people they would fine-tune the ordinances and hold another meeting in a while, there have been no meeting notices or new draft ordinances posted on the website. Nor have any of the people that v...
The Minnesota Department of Revenue announced last week that they will be reissuing over 128,000 one-time tax rebate checks that have gone uncashed and subsequently expired after their November and December issuance dates. The mailing of reissued checks should be completed by mid-March. The rebates are part of a $1 billion giveback passed in the last legislative session. According to a story by MPR News, Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart said the outstanding payments add up to about $48 million. What do the checks look like? Unlike previously...
Carlton High School announced its list of postsecondary education option (PSEO) students in good academic standing, with a GPA of 3.0 and above. The list includes seniors Michael Cadotte, Sam Ojibway, Gibson Reed and Dante Thompson; and juniors Lauryn Hilton, Julia Peterson, Kayla Radtke and Skyler Vernon. • • Minnesota State University Mankato announced its academic high honor and honor lists for the fall semester. A total of 1,227 students qualified for the high honor list by achieving a 4.0...
Close to 100 people gathered Tuesday to talk about the future of a place they all love, the Cloquet Forestry Center. Although University of Minnesota representatives presented the transfer of the Cloquet Forestry Center to the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa as a mostly done deal - with only the details left to be negotiated - that didn't stop people from sharing their opinions on the proposal. And that was the intent, said Karen Diver, former Fond du Lac tribal chairwoman and now...
The Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging announced the launch of a series of webinars aimed at providing valuable information and resources for community members and professionals, beginning Feb. 27. Learn about Minnesota’s multisector plan on aging, insights from the Age-Friendly Exchange, and how you can take action in the first webinar 12-1:30 p.m. Feb 27. Other topics include “Paying for Long-Term Care” 10-11:30 a.m. on Feb. 29, and “Paying Family Caregivers to Provide Care” 10-11:30 a.m. on March 19. Each webinar will feature knowledge...
Middle- and high school students across the state of Minnesota are being invited to participate in a contest to help educate their peers on the dangers of vaping, with the chance to win up to $500 for students and $500 for their associated school or organization. To participate, students will submit a 30-second public service announcement video to educate their peers, schools, families, and community on the dangers of using e-cigarettes. Email video submissions to mnescapethevape.org. by the end of February. Winners will be announced on May 7....
In an effort to quell a vaping epidemic in Cloquet high school and middle school bathrooms, the Cloquet school board voted unanimously Monday to purchase a vaping detection system at a total cost of $21,699. The school district is purchasing 14 devices for the high school, 10 for the middle school and seven for the Cloquet Area Alternative Education Program at Garfield. “We’ve been trying for a number of years to see if we could address the vaping issue,” superintendent Michael Cary told the board, advocating for the purchase. “Our princip...
The Carlton County board pumped the brakes on a resolution lending support for delisting the gray wolf as a federally endangered species during its meeting Tuesday. The proposed resolution would have featured letters sent to federal legislators, including Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Rep. Pete Stauber. Instead, the board tabled the resolution until its 4 p.m. meeting Feb. 26. The proposed letter requests a return to state management of the wolf. Fewer deer sightings and harvests in northeastern Minnesota during November’s deer hunt h...
Public finance advisers Ehlers told the Carlton school board on Monday that a consolidation with Wrenshall would be close to revenue-neutral with only a slight decrease in state aid for the new combined school district. Aaron Bushberger, Ehlers’ municipal advisor, forecasted revenues that could be expected from a consolidation between Carlton and Wrenshall. Because the new district would be larger, it loses certain state aid to the tune of $61,000, which is partially offset by an increase of over $23,000 in the total tax levy, resulting in a n...
The Northland Foundation awarded nearly $2 million in grant funds in the last quarter of 2023 to benefit people and communities in its geographic service area. The lion’s share of grant dollars, $1,175,000, was awarded through the Northland Foundation’s Integrated Rural Community Aging Program. The program provides resources to help three targeted rural sites and three Tribal nations to integrate care coordination, social engagement, and quality of care for older adults, elders, and their caregivers. This is the second three-year phase of thi...
In a webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 21, a member of the Minnesota Mycological Society will discuss edible mushrooms that grow in Minnesota and how foraging for mushrooms, after learning how to do so safely, can be a fun and healthy way to find delicious wild food and connect with the outdoors. The Minnesota Outdoor Skills and Stewardship Series webinars are free and offered year-round, though registration is required. Visit the Outdoor Skills and Stewardship webpage of the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/discover) for the registration portal,...
Pranee left her home country, Thailand, to come to the United States so her son could receive the best education possible. Additionally, she hoped to improve her English speaking, reading, and writing skills. She joined Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency's (AEOA) Adult Education Classroom in Cloquet to attain these English language goals. AEOA offers a variety of adult education services to individuals who are at least 17 years old and not currently enrolled in secondary school. Adults can...
Following a packed public hearing last month on policing in Moose Lake, the end of the city's police department unfolded in comparatively quiet council chambers on Wednesday. The council and mayor voted 3-2 to contract with Carlton County Sheriff's Office to provide law enforcement services to the city, effectively disbanding the city's police department. Its lone remaining member, interim chief Chad Pattison, pleaded for an opportunity to rebuild the department, which saw two officers resign...
Would you like to beautify your yard with showstopping flower blooms and grasses while protecting our lakes, streams, attracting songbirds, hummingbirds, and beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies? If you said yes, we encourage you to think about installing a pollinator rain garden on your property. A pollinator rain garden is a small, depressional garden that collects rainwater from your roof, lawn, driveway, and other impervious surfaces before it ends up in our groundwater, storm...
Cloquet residents converged at the public library Feb. 1 to address the future of what one resident called "the superhighway" through town. The resounding message: no more roundabouts on Minnesota Highway 33. "A roundabout, in my opinion, on Cloquet Avenue would kill my business in Dunlap Island," said NorthEastern Saloon and Grill owner Bert Whittington, citing the parade of industrial truck traffic through the neighborhood on the way to USG, Upper Lakes Foods and Sappi paper mill. "If you did...
The past week has been bittersweet in the Pine Knot News office as its staff said goodbye to the traveling Mills Trophy that marked the newspaper as the best weekly in Minnesota the past three years. While Millie is now 313 miles away in the office of the Worthington Globe, the Pine Knot remained the most decorated weekly paper this year, earning 28 awards in the Minnesota Newspaper Association's annual newspaper contest. "We did very well, like past years, but other papers definitely stepped...
Interim police chief Chad Pattison was granted special authority in Moose Lake after the three-member department saw the resignation of two of its officers last month. Both officers resigned in the wake of a public hearing last month to determine if the city council would either maintain a force or disband the department and contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office for the city’s law enforcement coverage. The board will vote on the matter during its meeting at 4 p.m. Feb. 14. In the meantime, city administrator Ellissa Owens explained...
