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
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Carlton County residents are encouraged to recycle Christmas trees during Treecycling, a free program with drop-off locations throughout the region. Christmas trees, like yard waste, are banned from landfills in Minnesota. Dispose of trees properly by bringing them to a Treecycling site. Remove all ornaments, tinsel, lights, tree stands and tree bags before bringing trees in. Here are the locations: -SAPPI Fine Paper (gatehouse entrance), Avenue B in Cloquet through Jan. 31. -Moose Lake Compost and Recycling Site, 2-6 p.m. Wednesday through F...
The Pine Knot News office will be closed the week of Christmas through New Year’s Day. We will not produce a paper that week, and encourage readers to take their time perusing the special North Pole News section in this week’s paper. Obituaries and breaking news will be published online at pineknotnews.com. Got news tips over the holidays? Call or text Jana at 218-213-1231. Email less urgent news tips to news@PineKnotNews....
More people phoned Carlton County to complain about tax increases than attended the Dec. 12 Truth in Taxation hearing. More than 30 people called the county to deliver messages about “unsustainable” increases, or to say, “you’re taxing us out of our home,” said auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt. Only about a half-dozen people spoke briefly during the hearing, and only one rose to the dais to plead his case. “This is the kind of increase that’s not treating our elderly population with respect or dignity,” said Jim Kuklis, who owns Trails Edg...
At the final meeting of 2023, Cloquet City Council members prepared for 2024. They selected the Pine Knot News as the city’s official newspaper, approved standing rules and selected at-large councilor Lara Wilkinson as the acting mayor again, to take over when mayor Roger Maki is absent. The council also set updated fees and charges. Taking a look ahead at the time when the Cloquet police department gets its new body cameras, they set the fee for public data requests regarding camera footage as payment for actual expenses incurred. Public W...
Property tax levies will increase in 2024 after the Cloquet Area Fire District board unanimously approved the tax and budget changes at Wednesday night’s meeting. The fire levy and ambulance levy will increase 2.99 percent and 2.83 percent, respectively. The $3.6 million the combined levies will generate, not including the $118,000 to be collected for servicing ambulance debt, is meant to absorb some of the impact of inflation. “As far as expenditures go, inflation has hit everything and everybody and every organization,” district fire chief...
The large Swedish dala horse that guarded Bergquist Imports since the 1970s has a new home in Cloquet: next to the Cloquet Chamber of Commerce sign off Highway 33, on the hill overlooking the St. Louis River. The horse was made for Bergquist Imports in the 1970s by Fast Fiberglass in Sparta, Wisconsin, according to Barry Bergquist. Barry and Vivian Bergquist donated the horse to the Chamber and Cloquet Constructors moved the horse from the Bergquist’s site on Thursday, Dec. 14. The storefront portion of the 75-year-old Bergquist business has b...
A new dawn for Carlton and Wrenshall schools appears closer than ever before, after Carlton school board members on Monday talked about moving ahead with consolidation. Carlton board members softened their position on a one-site-only plan Monday, agreeing to start with two facilities — a merged high school at Wrenshall and combined elementary at South Terrace in Carlton. The board left open a vision for construction of a combined one-site school down the line. News of Carlton’s willingness to proceed in earnest with consolidation was met pos...
Remote Carlton County land west of Cloquet will be used to hold wild elk during the establishment of a herd, beginning as soon as 2026, following a vote by the county board Tuesday. “They’re not asking for permission to bring elk here, they’re asking for us to sign a lease on a particular parcel,” commissioner Marv Bodie said, directing the board to stay on task during another meeting that featured a wide-ranging discussion on efforts by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Min...
Moose Lake residents will help decide whether to maintain the city’s police force or contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office for the city’s policing needs. The city scheduled a public hearing at 6 p.m. Jan. 24, and will also solicit public opinion by sending out a mailer and polling residents on the topic. The hearing will take place at the city council chambers at 313 Elm Ave. “A city councilor requested a public hearing on the matter to gather community input,” city administrator Ellissa Owens said in a statement. “Consensu...
Speak now, Esko residents, or forever hold your peace. The Thomson Township board of supervisors wants to hear from you regarding future development of Northridge Park. Township residents have until Jan. 5 to respond to questions in an online survey that will guide the use and design decisions for the park. Residents and others can answer the 14-question survey, which asks citizens to prioritize park amenities such as picnic tables, pickleball courts, trees, a fishing dock, soccer fields, cross country skiing, open space and more. Respondents...
The Cloquet school board approved a maximum levy increase Monday after a Truth in Taxation meeting that had no input from the public. Taxpayers can expect a 4.79-percent increase in the school portion of their taxes for the year 2024. District budget manager Candace Nelis said a huge factor in the increase is the delicate dance of state aid in contrast to property values in school districts. Values on property in Carlton County increased by up to 7 percent, Nelis said, meaning that even a “zero” increase in school taxes would leave res...
It began with a group of parents in the early 1960s looking for something - places to go, things to do - for their grown children, all of them adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Pinewood, Inc. grew out of that early effort at Zion Lutheran Church. Formed in 1964, the nonprofit organization offers employment and day support services to adults (over 18) with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Some may be born with the disability, others may qualify because of a...
The Cloquet Police Department responded Dec. 7 to a report of a residence struck by bullets in the 10 block of 14th Street in Cloquet. The shooting is believed to have occurred the night before. Police discovered several bullet casings and at least one bullet hole in the residence. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident. The Cloquet Police Department is actively investigating the case, with no arrests made as of early this week. “The preliminary information suggests this is an isolated incident, and there is no immediate t...
It’s free to dispose of your unwanted or no longer working holiday lights at the Carlton County Transfer Station located at 1950 Highway 210. Rope lights, extension cords, appliance cords and telephone cords are also accepted. The transfer station is open 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays. Before recycling, please remove all decorations and remove lights from any type of plastic spool, cardboard packaging, or plastic bags. Place the clean string lights in the correct box at the Transfer St...
Now that the new Esko school fitness center is nearing completion, school district officials are focusing on another big question: What to do with the 3,800 square feet occupied by the current fitness center? Create a flexible learning center, offered superintendent Aaron Fischer. He likened it to a commons area, a modern open space where students could go study for College in the Schools (CITS) classes at Esko, or even post secondary education option (PSEO) classes they're taking away from the...
Carlton County earned one of six outstanding achievement awards for exhibiting excellence and innovation at the annual conference for Minnesota's 87 counties earlier this month. Carlton County was celebrated for establishing a formal agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. "In 2023, Carlton County, (the) Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Arrowhead Regional Corrections completed a 12-page agreement that guides agreed-upon best practices, protocols and...
The city of Cloquet is calling on eligible residents to serve as election judges for the 2024 Presidential Nominating Primary on March 5, Primary Election on Aug. 13, and General Election Day, Nov. 5. Cloquet election judges are paid $12-$14 per hour depending on their assigned duties. By law, election judges are granted time off from their regular work. Potential judges must be eligible to vote in Minnesota, be able to read, write and speak English, and complete an online training session. If interested, call City Hall at 218-879-3347 and ask...
Boycott the deer hunt? That was a suggestion from Carlton County commissioner Gary Peterson last week, during a widely attended meeting in Carlton about wolves and their supposed impact on the declining deer population. Peterson was quoted by a Duluth media source as telling the crowd of roughly 300 attendees, "Boycott the deer season," as a way of hitting the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in its pocketbook. When reached for further comment this week about his suggestion, Peterson...
Jordan Rau KFF Health News Jon Guckenberg's rent for a single room in an assisted living cottage in Cloquet was $4,140 a month before adding in a raft of other charges. The facility, New Perspective Cloquet, charged him $500 to reserve a spot and a $2,000 "entrance fee" before he set foot inside two years ago. Each month, he also paid $1,080 for a care plan that helped him cope with bipolar disorder and kidney problems, $750 for meals, and another $750 to make sure he took his daily...
There was a little extra cleaning and TLC last August in the Cloquet Middle School pool. It was completely drained, scrubbed and some on-deck painting was completed as well. In addition to the almost daily usage of the pool by the school district for physical education classes, Community Education also utilizes it for morning/senior lap swims, swimming lessons, aquatics classes and more. Last year, over 1,200 children participated in 168 Red Cross swimming classes. More than 700 participated in...
The city of Moose Lake is weighing a proposal that would eliminate its police department in favor of using the Carlton County Sheriff's Office to conduct the city's policing. The Carlton County proposal would staff the city with four dedicated deputies along with a half-time clerical position at a cost of $574,220. "This is not a decision that the city council takes lightly," city administrator Ellissa Owens said. During a tense Nov. 8 city council meeting, councilors and Owens described being...
When Anthony Uzarowski set out to write a biography about Cloquet native and world-famous actress Jessica Lange, he planned to visit Minnesota, retrace her steps and meet the sources for the book when he could. Instead, the Covid-19 pandemic struck while Uzarowski and his boyfriend were isolated in a tiny village along coastal France. “I ended up doing all of the research from my office,” Uzarowski told the Pine Knot, this time in a Zoom interview last week from Thailand, where he was vac...
Changing school culture - and incorporating more of the local Ojibwe culture - has paid off for Cloquet's Washington Elementary School, in test scores, recognition and especially the well-being of its American Indian students. Washington principal Robbi Mondati recently learned the school has been designated a National ESEA Distinguished School, an unexpected honor promoted by better test scores. ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, aims to close the skill gap between students. The...
Soon the rest of Minnesota can find out what Cloquet residents already know: Pine Valley is special. City officials learned last week that Cloquet's Pine Valley Recreation Area - home to ski jumps and woodland trails for skiing, walking and mountain biking - was designated a regionally significant park. That means the woodland park will be included on various statewide maps and online resources. More importantly, it makes the park eligible for Minnesota Legacy funds, statewide sales tax dollars...
As the days grow shorter, the Santa's Home for the Holidays celebration spread light and cheer last weekend. There were multiple Santa appearances, magic, meals, shopping, a parade, hot drinks, fireworks, s'mores and more fun spanning three days and multiple venues across the city of Cloquet. The new "Pet photos with Santa" saw a good turnout, with only one overexcited doggie accident, no cat fights and one well-behaved hedgehog. The annual Churchill Holiday Expo raised more than $10,000 for...
