City seeks citizens willing to serve

The city of Cloquet is looking for a few good men and women to step up and serve on several local boards and commissions that help oversee various governmental departments or entities. Currently, there are openings on the Planning Commission, Parks Commission, Cloquet Public Library Board, Cloquet Area Fire District Board and the Citizens Advisory Board, which helps police department hiring, firing and disciplinary actions, among other things.

Council members approved the reappointment of seven citizens to four local boards or commissions, and city administrator Tim Peterson issued a plea to civic-minded citizens after he thanked all the board and commission members.

“It takes a whole lot of community members to keep everything running; their input is invaluable,” he said. “So we certainly appreciate everyone that has stepped up in the past and is now moving on to do something else.”

To find out more about these positions, check out the city website at cloquetmn.gov and find “Boards and Commissions” under the Our City tab for descriptions of each board and current board members. Of note, there are no women on the Parks Board, which has one vacancy. For more information, call Cloquet City Hall at 218-879-3347.

Councilors and Mayor Roger Maki also considered their own appointments to various boards and commissions and made no changes.

At-large councilor Lara Wilkinson was appointed “acting mayor” for 2022 for the second year in a row, meaning she will take on the duties when Maki is not available, which usually means running a council meeting in his absence.

“I only threw the gavel once on accident,” Wilkinson said.

Councilors also agreed they would like to keep the meeting times at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month at Cloquet City Hall.

In other matters, the council unanimously approved the Pine Knot News as the city’s legal newspaper for 2022. They also approved a two-year agreement with Cloquet Community Education to manage the city’s community recreation program, including managing The Beach at Pinehurst Park each summer.