Our View: Merry Christmas to all

Welcome to the final Pine Knot News issue of 2024. The paper will be closed next week, so staff can spend more time with friends and family. That means there will be a two-week gap until the publishing of the Jan. 3 editionbut we will be updating the website more frequently.

Creating a newspaper every week is a labor of love for all of us at the Pine Knot News, but it’s labor all the same. We could use the breather, but not before we tell you how much we appreciate your readership and support.

In the six years since we printed our first edition in October 2018, we’ve created so many friendships with our readers and heard from so many of you. You tell us how important it is to have a local news source — one with a growing hometown office where folks can interact with newsgathering and the business conducted by the newspaper.

One of the favorite things we hear is from those who say, “I read it every week, cover to cover.” What happens in our communities in Carlton County matters deeply to us, and we know it matters to you. So, before we take our annual holiday break, we’d like to propose a Christmas toast to all of you, gentle readers. Thank you for caring about your community and supporting the Pine Knot News!

In other matters:

A Christmas toast to the outpouring of support for a local family whose temporary home in a converted school bus burned Thursday night. Since the fire, a Go Fund Me page has raised more than $35,000. People have helped search for their missing pets, and come forward with donations of everyday items for the couple and their 4-year-old son. The money will help the family rebuild their lives, and hopefully a safer, more permanent home. (See Page 4 for the story.)

A Christmas toast to all six local residents who stepped up to fill a soon-to-be vacant seat on the Cloquet School Board. Only one will be appointed, but current board member Dave Battaglia said you were all very good candidates. Well done and thank you. We hope you will consider running in the next school board election.

A Christmas toast to the local chapter and auxiliary of the Disabled American Veterans for all the work they do organizing, cooking and staffing the community meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Cheers to all the volunteers who show up to help as well. Seeing people of all ages willing to give their time and effort to make a day brighter for others is heart warming indeed. It’s also just a really nice event, so we encourage people to go mix and mingle at Zion Lutheran Church from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Day. Enjoy old and new friends there.