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 330 - 354 of 582
When teachers at Cloquet's Washington Elementary School put out a plea for some picnic tables, it didn't take long for one family to step up. "This post struck a chord in us because we are friends with many of the teachers and have personal ties to the school since our daughters attended Washington," Christina Rock said. ButJeff and Christina Rock didn't just donate some spare picnic tables. The entire Rock family worked together to create two special tables for the school, built to last and...
Water is all around us, but how often do we think about it? Where does your drinking water come from? A city supply, private well, bottles? Sometimes it feels like it magically appears, ready for use. And then it goes down the drain or toilet. Poof, all gone! Or is it? I am going to reveal the secret life of water. We all know the water cycle where water evaporates up to the clouds where it collects until it gets dense enough to rain (or snow). It then falls back to Earth to become groundwater again. When water seeps in from the surface and...
As I’m putting the finishing touches on this news column today, it’s my 75th birthday! That’s three quarters of a century! Or 27,394 days old, counting the 19 leap year days I added. My birthday was Aug. 31, and it sure feels weird getting to this age. When I was just 15 or 16 years old I never even thought of getting this old. But the years just keep rolling along! Now, we have to pray for a cure for Covid in the near future, although I think it may take another year or more. We don’t go anyw...
Two 20-something women have matching tattoos using the Latin words attributed to Julius Caesar: "Veni, vidi, vici," which translates to "I came, I saw, I conquered." It seems a fitting phrase for these driven women who came from humble beginnings and are or have marched their way through advanced college degrees in highly analytical fields. But they live 1,400 miles apart and, until this past July, had never met. They hadn't even known of the other's existence until luck - and genetic...
For 22 years, Gordy's Hi-Hat - and later, the Warming House - has supplied the residents of Sunnyside Health Care Center with free ice cream at least once a summer. Most years, the residents are walked and wheeled down the hill from the nursing home adjacent to the hospital to enjoy their treats and an outing. This year residents could not go to the Warming House because of Covid-19 restrictions, "so the Warming House came to us," said activities director Toni Hubbell. At left and above, Sever...
I have a small plot on the farm that I use to experiment and play - growing things such as artichoke, eggplant, or tomatillo. That last plant is irrepressible. I started growing tomatillos five years ago and every year I have so many volunteer plants that they could probably count as a perennial weed. Even the yellow spindles that I started from seed and forgot in pots grew into flourishing shrubs dripping with green fruit. It was this resilience and energy that came to mind as I talked with...
The McKnight Foundation has chosen author Marcie Rendon to receive its 2020 Distinguished Artist Award. The annual award recognizes a Minnesota artist who has made significant contributions to the state's cultural life. Rendon, an enrolled member of White Earth Nation, is the first Native American woman to receive the award in its 25-year history. Last year the award went to Ojibwe painter Jim Denomie. Rendon said she's honored and humbled to receive the award. "I am pleased that I am the...
A long chapter in the history of the Cloquet school district ended Friday when Bonnie Monfeldt retired. Monfeldt served as executive assistant to the superintendent the past two decades and was part of almost every major decision over that time. One can only wonder at the volumes of meeting minutes and notes she has typed up over the years. Only the fifth executive assistant in the school district's 95 years of existence, Monfeldt worked for four superintendents - one of them twice. Russell Smit...
The nation marked 100 years this week since women finally won the suffrage battle. A key player in getting women the right to vote hailed from Cloquet, Anna Dickie Olesen. She was the first female nominee of a major party for the U.S. Senate and was a celebrated orator and passionate social reformer who became one of the most prominent Democratic women of the early 20th century. Anna Dickie was born on July 3, 1885, to Peter and Margaret Dickie and grew up in rural Waterville in southern...
There was a passionate debate during a Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game at Veterans Park Tuesday, not to be mistaken as part of the nearby picnic for Carlton County Republicans. Nicholas Devriendt-Ledous, at left, in hat, is a mentor for Cloquet's REACH program. He and William Heyer, standing at right, gestured to each other as Edward Schulstrom, seated at left, and Shane Lavanki listened. REACH has been sponsoring weekly ventures in the park for outdoor activities....
Friends, family and members of the Carlton Fire Department wished Gordy Davis a happy 92nd birthday in a pandemic-appropriate manner this year. Friends and family brought lawn chairs and sat outside, but distanced from each other. His wife Lillian joined him. Firefighters from Carlton, where Davis volunteered for more than 20 years and served as chief for a few years, drove by with sirens and horns blowing while Car's Towing even towed an old-model car, followed by grandchildren and...
A Minnesota man walked 100 miles to raise funds for Covid-19 food programs. Mickey Nelson crossed the finish line at his church in Clarks Grove in southern Minnesota on Aug. 5, just three blocks from the house he was born in - and still lives in. A veteran of World War II, Nelson served in an armored division maintaining tanks. As a businessman, he founded and operated a successful bus business for 58 years. Now, he is serving in another role - as fundraiser. He decided back in May he would...
Of all of the sectors to be affected by the Covid pandemic, performing arts and special event centers have been some of the hardest hit. That is certainly true of our community treasure - The Historic Scott House. James Sheetz usually spends his summer months diligently preparing for musical productions along the lakeshore near his family's historic home. The Scott House has seen reviews of "Mary Poppins" and welcomed world-class musicians to share their craft with the community. When the...
When it's your pet that's missing, having a place to go for advice and support can make all the difference. During the nearly two years since the county's only humane society folded, that support system has been mostly online and filled largely by one small group. Missing Pets In the Northland is a Facebook page run by four friends. It posts lost and found pet photos and descriptions, offers advice and often a helping hand or supplies, as well as fundraisers for stray animals that would...
Changes at the Cloquet Ford Chrysler Center have been noticeable the past few months since it has been under new management. Owners Al and Renee Birman have stepped back to a more silent role and the previously silent partner, Mike Larson, has taken on a more active role. "We are trying to get things to a more stable structure," Larson said. "There are changes in several processes that we are working through." New staff members have been part of that effort. "We are under new management," he...
Members of Croft's Crew - from left, Cale Prosen, AJ Maijala, Josh Sanders, Ben Croft and Bob Fox - adopted a stretch of Carlton Road and met earlier this summer to collect trash. Contributed photo...
Photographer Dan Saletel captured this photo of the July 15 storm, which dropped 3 inches of rain on Wrenshall, while sitting inside his garage. Saletel said he took the photo with a 30-second exposure at f18, ISO 400. "I was really excited when I saw how it turned out," he said. Despite causing some damage with hail, lightning and high winds, last week's storm and significant rainfall - 1 to 3 inches in the region - was a relief for most residents as the southern half of the county had been in...
A summer of closed pools, canceled activities and less face-to-face contact leaves many kids seeking a little normalcy. Luckily, for some students and mentors in Carlton County, REACH is still finding safe ways to bring Carlton County adults and young people together. "REACH" stands for Recreational Experiences Achieving Community Harmony. The nonprofit organization's mission and vision is to provide supportive mentoring relationships to the youth of Carlton County. They work toward their...
The Jelinek family of Barnum has been named Carlton County's 2020 "Farm Family of the Year" by the University of Minnesota. Carol and Peter Jelinek purchased an old dairy farm near Barnum in 2001. They brought their five horses and one goat and made a home there. Eventually, the Jelineks added a couple of lambs for their boys to raise as part of their 4-H involvement. Those lambs quickly led to a flock of about 35 ewes. Later, Carol and Peter purchased two nubian goat kids from a cousin in New...
The morning of June 21, Father's Day, broke hot and humid in the Twin Cities. I was visiting my daughter and son-in-law and three of my grandsons. My work quarantine was over and, for the first time in three months, I was able to see my grandsons and play ball with them. Little did I know it came close to being the last time. After a quick breakfast, we all headed to a ballpark where we played catch, hit grounders and I pitched to them as we finally got a little normalcy back in our lives. The f...
I remember when I first learned that my smartphone kept track of the number of steps I took every day. I was sort of creeped out that this piece of technology I carry everywhere was keeping such close tabs on me but I was equally horrified that I lived such a sedentary lifestyle. I thought for sure that living on a farm would mean an abundance of ambulation but the reality of my driving and desk time for my day job came crashing into view. I made some short-lived resolutions about moving more...
Cloquet's newest librarian, Courtney Dietsche, started her job May 18 when the public library was closed to the public in response to the coronavirus pandemic and knee deep in a construction project. That means the new adult services librarian has had to get creative in planning some virtual events and an adult summer reading program and focus on other parts of her job, which includes publicity. The former director of the Evelyn Goldberg Briggs Memorial Library in Iron River, Wisconsin, got her...
I once had the opportunity to walk the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts. The trail is a red line painted on the pavement and guides people from the central city park to many of the historic sites that are preserved in modern downtown Boston. Sites like the Old North church where they famously hung one or two lanterns to reveal the British invasion route. Paul Revere's house, the Bunker Hill Monument, and the USS Constitution are all stops along the route. In July we celebrate those who...
Pope Francis has appointed Father Michel J. Mulloy, from the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, to be the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Duluth, it was announced June 19. Bishop-elect Mulloy was born May 20, 1953, in Mobridge, South Dakota, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sioux Falls in 1979. He served parishes in both the Sioux Falls and Rapid City dioceses before being incardinated formally in the Rapid City diocese in 1986. He has spent most of his ministry serving in parishes...
For the next two months, the Pine Knot Gallery will exhibit Julia Jaakola's watercolors, with an opening and in-person (socially distanced) reception on Thursday, July 9. How did Julia become an artist? "I always had a lot of time on my hands," she said, explaining that her family moved a lot when she was growing up. "I drew pictures to pass the time. My teachers encouraged me, and I loved all the art supplies." After graduating from Cloquet High School, where she spent many hours in Dewey Johns...
