Carlton County, Dontcha Know: A local language 'nest,' a robotics competition, a Bison NLI signing and more

Elder Nancy Jones, whose Ojibwe name is Ogimaagwanebiik, teaches how to make and enjoy bannock while Miles Trimble, whose Ojibwe name is Giiwitaagiizhig, smiles and watches at Grandma's House in Cloquet, Minnesota, on the Fond du Lac Reservation.

By Jen Zettel-Vandenhouten

March 03, 2023 at 7:30 AM

CLOQUET — Welcome to the weekend! Almost.

One story I found interesting this week was reported by Melinda Lavine. She caught up with organizers of women's hiking groups in Duluth and Cloquet. What a fun way to get outside and meet new people! To learn more about the women who participate and how to join them, be sure to check out the story.

We've also got an update on last week's fire at Bergquist Imports in Cloquet.

Here are the rest of this week's headlines:

Learning together

Jordan Hurdknapp, left, stirs chili as Tyler Tollerud gets ready to dump more into the container in the kitchen at Carmen’s Bar and Restaurant in Cloquet as they prep for the day on Monday, Feb. 13.

Parents and children are learning to speak Ojibwe at Gookonaanig Endaawaad, or Grandma's House, on the Fond du Lac Reservation.

Robots abound

Members of the robotics team stand around their robot in matching t-shirts. — Members of the Doomsday Dogs at Carlton High School pose with their robot, Eugene. From left to right; Andrew Brunfelt, Rochelle DeLovely, Ben Talarico, Alexis Coy, Mike Harper, Karysa Brown, Robert Larson. Not pictured team members include Jasper Crane, Dawson Laveau, Zander Hall, Jazmyn Martini, Ayden Ojibway and Devin Goodman.

Students across Carlton County, including the Carlton High School Doomsday Dogs 7041 (pictured above), will bring their teams' robots to the DECC for competition starting today.

Here's a rundown on the Northland teams who will be there.

NLI signed

NLI signing — Cloquet senior Reese Sheldon throws up the "Go Bison" hand sign with his family after signing his National Letter of Intent with North Dakota State University on Friday, Feb. 24, inside the conference room of Cloquet High School.

Cloquet's Reese Sheldon signed his National Letter of Intent Feb. 24 to play football at North Dakota State University. He becomes the first Cloquet football player to sign with a DI (FCS or FBS) since Aaron Jones in 1996.

A few more stories to check out:

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College received a $250,000 grant to study the impact of using rice hulls as mulch.
The state of Minnesota recently extended the sunset date for the Carlton County Jail.
There's a lot happening at Barnum Community Education, but shake a leg you're interested in joining the bus trip to see "The Prom" at Chanhassen Dinner Theater — the deadline to register is today.

Editor's note: Carlton County, Dontcha Know is a newsletter I publish every Friday morning. Please consider subscribing — it's free — and hits your inbox just once a week. You can sign up here.