Sporting goods store to close

Cloquet Sporting Goods announced that it will be closing April 1.

The downtown Cloquet store sold new and gently used sports equipment and sports apparel. The store opened in 2020, and operated under the stress of the pandemic for its entire existence.

“We wanted to provide a service and store that we felt the community needed, but unfortunately something happened in the world shortly after we announced our plans to open that has made it extremely difficult to stay in business,” owners wrote on Facebook earlier this month.

It appears the physical store is closing but some services, including engraving, embroidery and apparel services, will continue.

The store made headlines as the Cloquet school board debated over items being sold using the Lumberjacks logo. The district eventually set up a royalty agreement with the store and, later, with Walmart.