City pulls plug on outdoor ice

The Cloquet public works department admitted defeat Tuesday, with the earliest-ever removal of the ice hockey boards at Pinehurst Park. Matt VanReese and Shawn Risel load portions of the hockey rink wall onto a skid steer driven by Trevor Nummela. The Cloquet public works employees say it's the earliest they've taken down the temporary ice rink. The rink was flooded before Christmas, then warm weather melted the ice away. They flooded again in January and skaters did get in a little time on the ice before warm weather rolled around again. "We're not going to throw any more water on it," VanReese said as he and Risel unlocked the plastic walls and loaded them on a skid steer, to be returned to the public works garage in the hopes that next year will bring a more typical winter.

This winter has been a slow one, the opposite of last year's record breaker with snowfall. "We've only plowed one time so far this winter," VanReese said. "That's my favorite part of the job." Jana Peterson / Pine Knot News