City taking applicants for open council seat

Bun Carlson's seat sat conspicuously empty as the Cloquet City Council meeting convened Tuesday. Carlson, the Ward 1 councilor for the past six years, died Jan. 12, at age 68.

Mayor Roger Maki opened the meeting with words about Carlson, recalling him as a councilor who researched the issues and voted for what he felt was best.

One of the first items of new business for the council Tuesday was determining how to fill the open seat through 2026, the remainder of Carlson's term. After some discussions, councilors voted unanimously that the city take applications for the seat rather than holding a special election, which was deemed costly. Applicants will be interviewed by the council at its March 4 meeting.

According to the city legal notice, applicants must be a resident of Ward 1 for at least 30 days. Those interested in applying must submit an application, resume and cover letter to the City of Cloquet, 101 14th St., Cloquet, MN 55720 by 4 p.m. Feb. 24. Applications may be picked up at City Hall or found on the city website at http://www.cloquetmn.gov, where they can also find a map of Ward 1, which sits in the southern portion of the city which partially borders the city of Scanlon and other boundaries including Spring Lake Road, Carlton Road, Highway 45, 14th Street and Doddridge Avenue.

"We didn't have a lot of people file to run in the most recent election," said at-large councilor Lara Wilkinson, referring to the fact that four councilors ran unopposed in November. "What do we do if no one files [or applies]?"

"Get out and make people aware there's an open seat," Peterson said.

The city administrator wasn't too worried, he added, noting there are "a few people in Ward 1 that have a history of being involved in local government."

When contacted by the Pine Knot Wednesday, one of those people, Chris Swanson, said he plans to apply. Swanson previously served as Ward 3 councilor, but had to relinquish his seat in 2022 when his family moved to a new home in Ward 1.

Also Tuesday

• Councilors unanimously approved the hiring of Marcus Childs as a Cloquet police officer. Childs is from Duluth and graduated from the law enforcement program at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. He's been a police officer with the Fond du Lac police department for more than two years. He recently moved to Cloquet and lives within walking distance of the police station and city hall building, CPD Derek Randall told the council. "He said he's living out his goal of being a police officer," Randall said.

• The council appointed Erica Ludwig to the Parks Commission for a three-year term.

• Councilors approved the vacation of Anthony Avenue - a road that was platted but never built - which lies east of Pinewood Drive and south of 1410 West Prospect Avenue near Carmen's restaurant.