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 students who will be 11, 12 or 13 years old on Nov. 15 are invited to enter the 2023-2024 Lions Club International Peace Poster Contest for free. This year’s contest theme is “Dare to Dream.” “We would love to feature our young artists of Carlton County,” said Lions club member Joel Soukkala. “This could turn out to be a wonderful opportunity for an area youth on an international level.” The Carlton Area Lions Club and Encore! Performing Arts Center and Gallery are sponsoring the local poster contest. Register and see contest r...
Entries are now being taken for the redesign of Minnesota’s next state flag and seal by the State Emblems Redesign Commission. The redesign commission was established in the 2023 legislative session to develop and adopt a new design for the official state seal and a new design for the official state flag no later than Jan. 1. Public submissions will be accepted online and via mail and must be submitted or postmarked by Oct. 30. Mail submissions can be sent to the address listed at www.mnhs.org/serc. All entries must be original and follow t...
Carlton County averted a double-digit percentage increase in its property tax levy for 2024, but it may not be so fortunate this time next year — when budgeting for 2025 could include wrestling with a runaway health insurance premium. That’s the fear being articulated by county officials, who explained that high numbers of claims forced the county to use 5-percent and 10.5-percent caps on premiums in 2023 and 2024. With no such negotiated cap on the premium with Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2025, the premium could skyrocket. “The increases are d...
The former Shopko store in Moose Lake is now St. Luke’s Plaza, home to Northern Lakes Surgery Center, Lake Area Therapy Services and St. Luke’s Diagnostic Imaging. These health-focused businesses are serving patients in the Moose Lake area with high-quality, compassionate care. “Since Northern Lakes opened, we’ve loved being able to provide everything from colonoscopies to cataract surgeries and biopsies in our community,” said Eric Nielsen, Gateway Clinic administrator and Northern Lakes Surgery Center board vice president. “Our partnership...
A Carlton man pleaded guilty last week to one count of production and attempted production of child pornography. He also admitted to engaging in a pattern of sexually abusing at least six children under the age of 12. Stephan Jeremiah Hansen signed the plea deal in U.S. District Court on Tuesday, Sept. 26. According to the 12-page plea agreement and sentencing stipulations, Hansen admitted to taking photos and videos of the children over a period of at least seven years with his Apple iPhone. In return for Hansen’s guilty plea, the U.S. Attorne...
The Carlton Area Lions Club has been serving the Carlton area since 1972 and is one of 49,000 Lions clubs around the world. Members of the all-volunteer Carlton area club have resided in all corners of Carlton County, giving their time and energy to create a positive impact here and around the globe. Club members spend much of their time raising funds to help support a number of causes. Fundraisers include their monthly Burger Night at the Carlton VFW, raffles, plant sales and more. Their next...
When Esko assistant coach Liz Kyes shared how her high school cross country team would run the game ball from the opposing team's school to the homecoming game each year, head coach Jerimy Hallsten was intrigued. But first he had to find out whom Esko would play for homecoming. "If it's International Falls, that's a game changer," Hallsten said of the town 160 miles away. Luckily, it was Two Harbors. With his team excited by the idea, Hallsten mapped a 47-mile course from Two Harbors to Esko,...
A rural Carlton County man faces both state and federal child pornography charges after an FBI covert operation revealed an alleged sexual photograph and contact with a minor. Cord Cameron Schipman, 33, was charged in U.S. District Court Sept. 29 with a single count of production and attempted production of child pornography. He was charged Oct. 3 in Carlton County Sixth District Court with one count each of first and second degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 16, plus one count of disseminating pornographic work of a...
Allison Ronning gets some confused looks when she tells people she’s an end-of-life doula. “People are like, ‘oh, you help birth babies,’ and I explain that I’m on the opposite end of that,” she said. By definition, an end-of-life doula assists in the dying process, in the same way a midwife or doula does with the birthing process. Both a birth or end-of-life doula can serve somebody in their home or in a hospital. “I know death is not an easy topic. Life is messy. Death is messy,” Ronni...
Once a member of the first class of students to graduate from the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College campus in Cloquet, Roxanne DeLille went on to u niversity in Duluth and later committed five years to the tribal college at the request of its founding president, the late Jack Briggs. "Twenty-five years later, closer to 30, I'm still here," DeLille said. As dean of indigenous and academic affairs, DeLille described herself as a big-picture person who likes to dream big. For that, she was...
A barn in rural Esko caught fire last week when a homeowner was burning vegetation and the fire spread to the barn. The call came into the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office at 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20, for a structure fire at 44 E. Palkie Road in Thomson Township. No injuries were reported by the property owner or emergency personnel. Property inside the barn was destroyed due to the fire. The barn was not used to house animals. The Esko, Carlton and Wrenshall fire departments responded to contain the fire. No foul play is s...
Count the city of Carlton among the growing list of communities to pass an ordinance prohibiting marijuana smoking and use in city parks and other areas the act of smoking is already outlawed. “We’re not trying to control use in public spaces as much as protect people that don’t want to be around it,” Mayor Mike Soderstrom said. “My thought process was parents taking young children to the park and having to walk through clouds of marijuana smoke probably wasn’t the best thing.” Soderstrom called it a proactive approach and one he sees continui...
Cloquet will keep its school resource officer after Attorney General Keith Ellison released a revised opinion on the legislation last spring regarding the use of force in schools. That was better news than anticipated, superintendent Michael Cary told school board members Monday. Cary had expected to tell the board the district would be exploring other ways to work with local law enforcement. But over the weekend, he received an email from Cloquet Police Chief Derek Randall that the CPD was more comfortable after the attorney general clarified...
Three Cloquet High School science fair students who excelled at regional and state science fair last spring continued their winning ways at national and international competitions across the country over the past few months. Science Fair mentor Cindy Welsh shared recent updates: Junior Johanna Bernu competed at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas, Texas, in May. She was awarded a $40,000 Scholarship to Arizona University at ISEF. In June, Bernu also represented...
Any girls interested in finding out more about joining a Scout BSA troop — formerly known as the Boy Scouts — can get a taste of a typical event by joining in a campout at Pine Valley on Friday, Oct. 6. Scoutmaster Jason Mangan said they are trying to start a girls troop. Troop activities are focused on camping and the outdoors, community service and similar activities. It’s a great opportunity for kids to learn to be self-reliant, and learn outdoor skills, some leadership skills and have a good time,” he said. His wife, Jenn Mangan, would b...
Carlton County commissioners approved a 3.99 percent increase over last year’s levy, delivering a preliminary figure for 2024 at $33.5 million on Monday. With the unanimous 5-0 vote in Carlton, the number the board settled on cannot exceed above 3.99 percent of this year’s $32.2 million levy. It could go down. The budget is set for public review and approval in December. “I feel 3.99 is a good starting point,” auditor/treasurer Kevin DeVriendt told commissioners. Commissioner Marv Bodie praised the work of the budgeting committee, includi...
The pet microchip and vaccine clinic in Cloquet for Carlton County residents, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, was canceled last week after the partnering humane society founder was charged with fraud. Northern Lakes Rescue has partnered with the city and county in recent years to operate the microchip clinics. Carlton County coordinator Dennis Genereau said the city and county discovered the charges and plan to reschedule the clinic with another agency in the future. According to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the...
Ten-year-old Cyleiona Almenares made three trips to Cloquet's new game store on the first day it opened at 305 Broadway St. On trip No. 2, she carefully counted out her change to pay for Demon Slayer cards under the watchful eye of her dad, Tyler Almenares, an unabashed Pokémon fan. The father-daughter duo is exactly the target audience Sara Kenwood and her wife, Gabrielle, were thinking of when they decided to open the store in Cloquet. Game players. Card collectors. People who enjoy the art...
Pine Hill Golf Course on Highway 61 in Carlton will have a new owner soon, and there are some big changes in store for the popular nine-hole golf course. Jim and Cassie Barry have owned and operated the golf course since 2005, and listed the golf course for sale three years ago. Tom Kraemer Inc. of Moose Lake contacted them a day after it went on the market. TKI, formerly StorMor, is presently located just off Minnesota Highway 27 and Old Highway 61. The company offers large, portable storage...
Sometime in winter 2024, the city of Barnum will be less of a food and retail desert than it is. Dollar General is moving onto Main Street, with construction already begun on a store which figures to include staples such as milk. While not a grocery store, Dollar General will fill a longtime void in a community that sees its residents travel to Moose Lake, Cloquet and beyond for merchandise such as cleaning supplies, health and beauty products, stationery, seasonal decorations, and some snacks...
With the leaves turning color and with cooler days and nights, we know that fall is truly in the air. Folks are busy getting their yards ready for winter and planting all those bulbs so we have flowers in the spring. The apple trees have produced bumper crops in many areas, so lots of pies and crisps will be enjoyed this fall too. Congratulations to Gary Lott and Shauna Buelt of Wright on their recent marriage on Sept. 23, 2023. They were married underneath the trees beneath a canopy in their...
It was one of those picture-perfect fall days. Cerulean blue sky, the slight, wet waft of decaying organic matter, the hillsides seemingly turning orange and red and yellow in the moment. On Dunlap Island last Thursday, there was also the chattering of teenagers and outdoors experts as more than 200 ninth-graders from Cloquet High School spent the day exploring the natural world. They were in canoes on the St. Louis River. They were under the Minnesota Highway 35 bridge collecting aquatic...
More expensive homes are changing hands than ever before in Carlton County, which saw a $1.29 million property sale close Sept. 15, and 16 sales over $600,000 in the past 12 months. "We're seeing record increases in values," county assessor Kyle Holmes said. "When it stops, only the buyers and sellers will let me know. Right now, it's not slowing down." Residential home assessments have increased 70 percent from 2021-23, with respective increases of 20 percent, 30 percent and another 20 percent...
Riding in a balloon over rural Carlton County was amazing, said Superior's Meghan Edwards, one of the lucky ones who got to fly away from Black Bear Casino Resort in a giant hot air balloon Saturday. They landed in a neighborhood not far from Carlton's Chub Lake. "It was very peaceful, very calming, there were a few trees that had changed colors already, so that was kind of neat," she said. It was also nice and warm, she added, thanks to the burner that heats the air inside the balloon, making...
The newest president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College already knows the college from the inside out, working in numerous positions since she was hired as a part-time counselor nearly 30 years ago. Anita Hanson is the fifth president of the college, and the second woman to lead the college, a partnership between tribe and state. Hanson replaces FDLTCC's first woman president, Stephanie Hammitt, who passed away unexpectedly in November after leading the college officially since 2018....
