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 276 - 300 of 446
A look up at the Cloquet Forestry Center last weekend offers quite the pastiche with the pine trees there. This weekend will be a perfect time to get outdoors with a winter thaw expected as temperatures linger into the 30s....
I shouldered my way through the early morning crowd at Hi-Banks Resort on Fish Lake. A patron glanced my way, unimpressed, through a forest of celery sticks jutting from his Bloody Mary breakfast. I plopped $5 on the bar to access the lake out front. The bartender scooped up my cash and thanked me. No receipt, no dashboard tag, just an honor system and an agreement. They plow the road and I pay. I like that. I shuffled my way back to the Suburban. The whole vehicle shook from our dog, Mogli,...
The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has decided to charge an annual fee to access thousands of acres of reservation land for non-band members. It’s $25 a month or an annual fee of $100. I have enjoyed hunting and fishing on tribal lands the past 40 years. I can say paying no fees and taxes has been a real bargain. Have I taken over $100 annually in fish and game? Probably not. Have I collectively done $100 in damage to the land? Not to my knowledge. I’ve respected the land as if it...
Intrepid wildlife photographer Mike Farmer shared this photo of a fox peeking over a snowbank. While many other animals hunker down in cold weather, foxes keep moving day and night, looking for food like voles, mice, rabbits or even insects. On the other hand, a fox may be seeking a mate in January and February....
When most kids my age were playing Nintendo or watching “The Goonies” on VHS, I was nose-deep in a Stephen King novel. My mom developed my love of reading, even if “Misery” or “Pet Semetary” kept me up late at night. Flash forward to the present. Following more of my dad’s love of nonfiction, Jared Diamond’s “Upheaval,” Sigurd F. Olson’s “The Lonely Land,” Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage,” and Alex Messenger’s “The Twenty-Ninth Day” all sit within arm’s reach, dog-eared at various poi...
Based on what I’ve been able to read in other newspapers, I’m not your typical outdoors columnist. For one, if I were listing jobs I currently occupy, writing for the Pine Knot News would be third or fourth down the list. Also, when I get time away from all my responsibilities, I tend to try to catch or hunt or spear something. I’m not much for taking long hikes with my dog or staring at a campfire contemplating the cosmos. I also don’t own a fat bike or a serviceable pair of skis. Truth be told, I’ve only skied once — and that was long ago. M...
Schools and nonprofit organizations interested in introducing students to archery can apply for a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources program that pays for some of the cost of archery equipment. Through the program, teachers can also receive training on how to teach archery in their schools to students in grades 4-12, using curriculum designed by the National Archery in the Schools Program. Details about the program are available at the DNR website....
Minnesota fishing regulations recognize two types of shelters: portable and nonportable. A portable shelter is one that collapses, folds or is disassembled for transportation. Portable shelters need only licenses and identification when left unattended, which is defined as all occupants being more than 200 feet away. In contrast, all nonportable ice shelters must be licensed. Wheeled fish houses are not considered portable and must be licensed. An annual shelter license costs $15 for residents and $37 for nonresidents, not including possible...
Public entities and nonprofit organizations have until 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, to apply for funding from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in the second phase of the No Child Left Inside grant program, which supports getting more children outdoors. Grant funding is available to assist with work including teaching kids about nature outside or getting them to recreate outside, integrating fishing and hunting programs into school curriculums, and supporting high school fishing leagues. The Minnesota Legislature authorized the No...
When I slow down, staring out the window late at night, it eats at me. It pulls at me. It bothers me, but I try to ignore it. Thirty years I’ve hunted whitetails. Not this year. It began in September. I could barely walk, and pulling back my bow was an exercise in frustration. It ramped up during rifle season. I knew I could sit for a while, but dragging and processing a deer would prove difficult, if not impossible. I waited. Each week I hoped the next weekend would find me healthy enough to s...
Swamp. It's a word that can conjure negative thoughts and feelings. A place filled with dirty, dank, dark water. An area that is almost impassible and can literally suck your shoes right off. That swampy place where tons of much-hated mosquitos and swamp critters live and breed. Most landowners consider wetlands as useless areas that get in the way. Many want to fill them in, a practice in the past that has affected ecosystems. The truth is that wetlands are some of the most important and...
A couple of nagging health issues have kept me out of the whitetail woods and off the newly formed ice. I have to rely on the stories of others or think back to hunts of the past to keep me sane, knowing bucks and bluegills are out cruising. Some of my earliest hunting memories revolve around my brother Bruce taking me under his wing. We covered a lot of ground chasing grouse and woodcock in the fall, and speedy cottontail and snowshoe rabbits in the winter. He took me deer hunting just once. I...
News from the Minnesota Department of Natural Recources Jay Cooke getting in winter shape with deep snow Staff at Jay Cooke State Park east of Carlton have been busy after the recent snowfalls. They’ve been able to open up the office, River Inn, Oldenburg and Grand Portage parking lots but there’s now intermittent ice on sidewalks and roads. Due to a muzzleloader deer hunt Dec. 7-13, ski trails have not been groomed. With snow depth and ice on trees, it will take some time to groom beginning Saturday. Skiers are welcome to ski on ungroomed tra...
Pine Knot News friend Mike Farmer shared his photo of a barred owl in rural St. Louis County. Farmer said the owls sound like they’re saying “Who cooks for you?” Personally, he said, he thinks they look and sound a bit mournful....
Well, deer rifle season has come to a close in Minnesota. For some hunters, it is the conclusion of their most cherished time of the year. Each November, these sharpshooters reminisce about numerous and bizarre stories and tales because of their uniqueness. The stories don't even have to necessarily be about hunting or searching for the elusive big buck. It could be the weather storms, or getting lost or stuck, or even unbelievable card games in the hunting shack. These are the stories, and...
Readers sent in photos from the storm and its aftermath, but we ran out of room in the paper. So we are sharing them with you here....
Another Minnesota firearms deer season has come and gone, and while some hunters enjoyed a bountiful harvest, others, like me, left 2019 in the rearview without adding any venison to their freezers. The fact that I was unable to harvest a deer this year did not diminish the overall experience and just solidified the reasons those of us who like to deer hunt do what we do. At least four or five times this past week I was asked by non-hunters why I hunt. What is it that makes it appealing to go...
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is waiving entrance fees to all Minnesota state parks and recreation areas on Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving. "I wish everyone in Minnesota a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving," said DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen. "And on the day after the holiday, I can't think of anything better than visiting one of Minnesota's spectacular state parks, with free admission. No matter where you are in the state, you're likely within about a half-hour's drive of...
Don’t forget to share your “Big Buck” photos and relevant details with the Pine Knot at [email protected] You can also share your favorite way of enjoying venison. Here’s a recipe: Korean Venison Steak Marinade ingredients 3 Tbs sesame seeds 3 Tbs salad or olive oil ¼ cup soy sauce ½ cup chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced ¼ tsp pepper ¼ tsp ground ginger 2 tsp brown sugar Directions Mix together ingredients and marinate 4-6 venison steaks for one hour only. Grill (outside or on your George Foreman) to medium rare or medium, not more. J...
Believe it or not, fall is the best time of year to tackle buckthorn. The pesky and intrusive invasive is most vulnerable when cooler weather rolls in for a couple reasons. One, it is one of the easiest times to identify the small tree because its leaves persist into winter. Two, like the rest of the plants, it’s pulling nutrients down into the roots for winter storage. That makes it susceptible to chemical treatment that has high chance ending any further growth. Here’s how easy buckthorn rem...
As the first snow of the season arrives, Minnesotans start thinking about clearing snow and ice from pavement — sometimes with salt. But when the snow melts or it rains, the salt, which contains chloride, runs into storm drains and into nearby lakes, rivers, and groundwater. It takes only a teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. There’s no feasible way to remove chloride once it gets into the water, and we are finding increasing amounts of chloride in waters around the state. Salty water harms freshwater fish and other a...
Jay Cooke State Park will be closed Dec. 7-13 to all visitors outside of the campground, office and River Inn areas during a special muzzleloader hunt to prevent overpopulation of deer and protect resources. The swinging bridge will remain accessible to visitors but they should not access any areas south of the bridge. All trails will be closed. Visitors are advised to wear blaze orange or brightly colored clothing if they will be in the park while the hunt is in progress. Visitors should also check for hunt-related information at the park...
Sometimes you can’t wait for perfect, you just have to jump in. A week-long vacation in Canada slamming walleyes? Sounds nice. Two weeks bow hunting elk in Montana. Sign me up. When I’m retired. Most of us are under varying degrees of a time crunch. Jobs, families, finances, responsibilities all take up large chunks of our time, as they should. When it comes to the outdoors, it’s not about having the time, it’s about making the time. The night I got a crack at my biggest buck is a prime example....
Spending time in Carlton, Cloquet, Thomson and Jay Cooke State Park is sure to reveal a few sites of interest for sure. I like to paddle the St. Louis River from Scanlon to the Thomson Reservoir on warmer days than today. During the journey we get to run, or portage, a famous drop called "electric ledge." When approaching this drop, you can't miss how it got its name: not from the electricity flowing through my body, but the high power lines that span the river. This beautiful St. Louis River...
Cloquet photographer Mark Cline captured this huge wall of sea smoke over Lake Superior, looking as if it will soon overtake a ship and downtown Duluth Tuesday morning. Cline said he captured the image from Skyline Drive near Enger Park. Check out more photographs by Cline and fellow photographer Vern Northrup on exhibit at the Pine Knot News office at 122 Avenue C, Cloquet. Both photographers are featured at The Knot gallery through December....
