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 26 - 50 of 70
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...
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...
From Carmen LaPlant Owner, Burger's Shoes September means so many things to me: the end of summer, the start of fall, and another year of small business ownership. While September marks two years of my owning Burger's Shoes, this destination store has been a part of Cloquet's many small businesses for a grand total of 65 years. That's a long time! There's so much history since Ludwig Burger began as a cobbler in a small shop on 10th Street. I still have people come in and share stories about...
Hagen Construction & Remodeling, LLC is a relatively new business name in Carlton County. But owner Bart Hagen is no stranger to the area. Barnum is Bart's hometown. Bart and his family returned to the Barnum area to be closer to his aging parents in 2020. As a child, Bart helped his dad put an addition onto the family home and often assisted with household projects. He worked for his family's lumber mill business. Being a handy man comes naturally. Bart Hagen started Hagen Construction in Color...
Carmen's Dry Dock West opened in May 1997, originally a sister company to the Dry Dock on Midway Road, by Carmen Lindstrom-Zezulka and Michael Van. Their goal was to have a bar and restaurant with a home-feel vibe by offering quality comfort food with caring staff and committed ownership. Throughout its history, Carmen's Bar & Restaurant has always been a family-owned and -operated business. In December 2020, Carmen's sons, Ryan Lindstrom and Zachary Zezulka, took over full ownership with...
TJ's Country Corner is the hub of the Mahtowa community and a business that's hard to pigeonhole. Owners Renee and Glenn Gaffney love the support they receive from the community and they like to help out whenever and however they can. TJ's always offers delicious food, great conversation, and a rich history in Mahtowa. They have a little bit of everything. Their Facebook page lists them as a convenience store but they're much more than that. Known for their slogan - "Our Wurst is Best!" - TJ's...
Established in 1923, the Cloquet Country Club golf course is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this summer. Festivities last weekend included special food and drink, live music, a nine-hole tournament on the original layout, kids' games and activities, and even people sporting costumes from the dated era weekend. I delved into the history of the club for a special 20-page booklet, produced with the Pine Knot News and Northern Printery. It all started thanks to Illinois entrepreneur Rudolf...
At the very center of a panoramic photo of Cloquet taken before 1918 stands a substantial stone building. A bank? A theater? A store? Nope. The prominent building is the public library, completed in 1902 when Cloquet was still a village. Cloquet had no city water or sewer system, no electrical service, and no paved roads - but it had a library, a public symbol of the value of culture and learning. Donations totalling about $7,500 came from the Shaw family, Northwest Paper Company, and First...
Jim and Colleen Myhre purchased what was then 29 Pines golf course just before Labor Day 2020, renamed it Rugged Spruce and - though Jim had just retired - life got very busy. The purchase wouldn't have happened without timing and a certain inspirational phrase, said Jim, who had just retired. The saying came from a story a friend told Jim about hiring someone to cut down a tree right next to his house. "The professional eyed up the tree and agreed that it was going to be a tricky fall," Myhre...
Knowns as the Carlton Municipal until 1982 (when Paul Carpenter and Mike Balow purchased and renamed it), the Third Base Bar changed hands in 2011 with new owners Ryan Osvold and Aaron Hanson coming on board. It continues to be a staple of the Carlton community, hosting benefits, fundraisers and other special events bringing many people together, especially during Carlton Daze held the last weekend in July. Carlton Daze has grown to one the biggest town festivals in northern Minnesota. With...
When Cory Drickhamer pulled in for the start of business at the MarksMan Trading Post one day earlier this week, there was a customer right behind him. Within moments, the pawn shop had five more used rifles to sell, including a Remington .30-06 pump carbine - a well-regarded deer hunting rifle. "I bought five guns in the first 10 minutes I was open," Drickhamer said. "I didn't even count my cash register drawer yet." MarksMan Trading Post celebrates its one-year anniversary in November. When...
One of Amy Louhela's favorite places is Jay Cooke State Park, and that is often the setting for her clients at Amy Louhela Photography. "I go to Jay Cooke every day," said Louhela in an interview in her studio. "I love taking photos of animals and rainbows and owls." Louhela just celebrated 13 years in business. She had a previous career as a counselor. She quit a solid government job 13 years ago to start her own photography business. "I had no schooling and no experience, but that's what I...
Atkins Northland Funeral Home may have new owners, but don't expect any big changes, said Bob Atkins, who officially sold the business in May. "Very little will change with the ownership transition," Atkins told the Pine Knot News this week. "The business names will stay the same and our employees will still be here with the goal of continuing to provide exceptional service while growing the business." The new owners are Foundation Partners Group, a privately held funeral services company with...
Public-record filings are indicating that there may be another shakeup in the direction of Cloquet’s only new car dealership, and its one-time owners have filed for bankruptcy. June filings with the Minnesota Secretary of State office shows that Cloquet Auto Center has renewed the various assumed names attached to Cloquet’s Ford and Chrysler dealership. What’s new is that the Cloquet Auto Center name was renewed in May with an address associated with Duluth-based car dealership group Evergreen, which owns dealerships in the Twin Ports and a...
For the third year in a row, the Advanced Wound Clinic at Community Memorial Hospital was awarded the Center of Distinction award by Healogics, the nation’s largest provider of advanced wound care services. The Advanced Wound Clinic achieved outstanding clinical outcomes for 12 consecutive months, including patient satisfaction rates higher than 92 percent and a minimum wound-healing rate of at least 92 percent within 28 median days to heal. There were 555 centers eligible for the Center of Distinction award and 278 achieved the honor. “We are...
The Cloquet branch of Members Cooperative Credit Union (MCCU) was recognized recently with a CUNA Diamond Award for its distinctive lobby design and aesthetics. Hosted by CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, the annual Diamond Awards ceremony took place in a series of virtual events recognizing credit unions nationwide for creative excellence and outstanding results in marketing. The event drew 1,278 entries across 35 categories. MCCU was chosen Best in Category (Color) with an award...
On Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019, at 5:20 p.m., Kathie Kemi, resident of Esko and Cloquet since age 8, was told she had a mass on her pancreas. As the stranger/doctor looked into her eyes and spoke the words, in the small consultation room where she sat, the walls of the room didn't crumble. The earth didn't shake. No lightning bolt flashed and her life didn't flicker by like a clicking highlight reel. "I just felt normal." Kathie insists. "Well, maybe not normal, but numb. I mean, I wasn't thrilled...
Golf has survived the pandemic, albeit with a few changes in Carlton County the past year. After some pandemic unknowns, the Cloquet Country Club, the Moose Lake Golf Club, and Pine Hill Golf Club opened with restrictions and special rules. Surprisingly, these courses had record player turnout and golf rounds posted. In July of 2020, the Mahtowa 29 Pines Golf Club was sold to Jim and Colleen Myhre and the course name changed to the Rugged Spruce Golf Club. It opened around Labor Day with much...
It's not quite business as usual at the Black Bear Casino Resort, but general manager Dan LaPrairie said staff are working hard to stay open and keep people healthy during the pandemic. So far, so good, LaPrairie said. "We are doing a balancing act here, compared to what we normally do," LaPrairie told the Pine Knot News last week. "We normally have 2,000-seat concerts, and we do drawings and we try to fill this place with 6,000 people. So it's been a balancing act with what we do as far as...
Locally, nationally and internationally, Sappi has been working hard at sustainability practices and people are taking notice. In February, Sappi North America received the SEAL Business Sustainability Award for Environmental Leadership, in particular for the land application program at the Cloquet mill. On Dec. 3, Sappi North America won a different sustainability leadership award, this one for a reclaim and reuse project at its mill in Skowhegan, Maine. And in early December, all three regions...
The Cloquet Police Department held its fourth annual Stuff the Squad Dec. 16 outside the Cloquet L&M Fleet Supply and Walmart stores, where people were invited to fill the squad cars with new, unwrapped toys, games, or sporting equipment for the Cloquet Area Salvation Army Toy Drive. Pictured at the L&M store Saturday are CPD officers Laci Silgjord and K-9 Vader, Trevor Kaldor, Ryan Lunda, Dave O'Connor, Larry Sherk and James Demko. O'Connor said between the two stores, the CPD collected five...
Through the contributions of Lake Country Power’s participating members, the Operation Round Up trust board recently approved $53,497 in assistance to various community programs during its quarterly meeting. The cooperative’s trust board reviewed and considered 40 grant applications and distributed funds to 38 projects and programs this past quarter. Since the program’s inception in October 2004, more than $2.5 million has been distributed to community-based projects and programs. Carlton County recipients included the Cloquet Educa...
To thank the men and women who are building Line 3 and the communities all across the right of way, Enbridge purchased more than 3,600 gift cards from northern Minnesota restaurants, totaling more than $90,000. “We wanted to find a way to give back to the communities and businesses in northern Minnesota who we know have experienced significant economic strain due to the pandemic, while also thanking the construction crews who are building the Line 3 Replacement Project,” says Lorraine Little, director of Community Engagement. “Purchasing these...
The Lake Country Power rural electric co-op expects to award college scholarships valued at $4,000 each to more than 30 high school students in 2021. Scholarship recipients can qualify for up to $4,000 over four years to help pay for college or technical school. Scholarships are renewable for up to eight semesters, and students must maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or higher. They must have a full-time enrollment status at a technical school, community college or university. The online application process opens Jan. 1 and ends Jan. 31....
Dinel and Lance Hollerbach were asked to smoke a whole hog for a birthday barbecue years ago, but they didn't have a smoker that was big enough. "One man said that he had a big roaster," Dinel said recently. "We went to look at it in the woods. There was a tree growing through it." They brought the smoker home and Lance used his welding and fabricating skills to fix it up. "When he pulled up with it at the place where we were going to smoke the hog, people laughed and called him a redneck,"...
