Talking Business - The Hidden Gems of Cloquet

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Pinewood.  Pinewood is a private, non-profit 501©(3) charitable corporation licensed by the State of Minnesota Department of Human Services as a Day Training & Habilitation (DT&H) and Employment Services provider. Pinewood was established in Cloquet in 1964, and they moved into their current facility at 915 18th Street in 1975. In 1991, they expanded into Duluth.   The Cloquet and Duluth program sites provide person-centered services to more than 140 adults with intellectual disabilities, employ more than 80 professional staff, and operate a fleet of over 20 vehicles. And during the pandemic, Pinewood was awarded for volunteer efforts and named a proud recipient of the 2021 Life Enrichment Award from the Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation.

Employment services help individuals find jobs regardless of disability status. Employment Specialists help individuals, or small crews, find a job and, once hired for a position, then work with them on that job to teach and learn the skills for that job and maintain contact with the employer to stay ahead of needs and ongoing training as needed. A few examples of employment services provided are:

o   Bulk Mailing, Labeling, Folding, and Packaging

o   Landscaping/Gardening/Lawn Mowing

o   Janitorial and Housekeeping

o   Food Service and Dishwashing

o   Product Assembly

o   Recycling

o   Clerical

Sammy's Pizza Owner Mike Acheson has hired Pinewood employees with disabilities since shortly after he opened the Cloquet Sammy's Pizza in 2000. In 2018, Mike Acheson was awarded an Outstanding Disability Employer.

With current workforce shortages, a considerable opportunity exists connecting with opportunities with Pinewood for employment services. Employers may also be eligible to use the workforce tax credit. For more information, don't hesitate to contact the Employment Services Manager at (218) 879-4566 or email [email protected]. Like most employers these days, Pinewood is also looking to add to their staffing team in their Cloquet and Duluth locations. Applicants must possess a minimum of a high school diploma or GED, a valid Class D driver's license with a clean driving record, the ability to pass a drug and alcohol screen, and a Minnesota Dept. of Human Services criminal background check. Previous experience in supporting persons with intellectual disabilities is preferred.

Pinewood-Cloquet Inc (218) 879-4566

915 18th ST

Cloquet, MN 55720

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of LCS Coaches and Cloquet Transit.  Located at 1203 Avenue B and owned by Jeff and Jack Lane, LCS Coaches Inc. and Cloquet Transit have a vibrant history in Cloquet. LCS Coaches originally started its operations as Cloquet Transit Company, created over 80 years ago. While Cloquet Transit began offering charter service in 1985, LCS Coaches, Inc. was created as a separate company, leaving school transportation and routing as Cloquet Transit's main business.

The business has 30 employees and has been owned by the Lane family since 1974. LCS Coaches is familiar with the roadways with their daily Duluth Commuter Line. They are a charter bus company providing transportation for college and semi-pro sports teams, school field trips, weddings, sporting event trips, casino trips, and band acts. To have them bid on a custom charter trip for you, don't hesitate to contact them at (218) 879-3391.

To provide professional transportation services through an unparalleled dedication to driver quality, staff support, and vehicle reliability. We will set the highest standard through innovative action and a personal commitment to customer satisfaction.

LCS Coaches is one of the oldest transportation providers in the region.

LCS Coaches' staff is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

LCS Coaches trains its drivers to meet above-average standards.

LCS Coaches employs its own full-time safety director.

LCS Coaches' repeat customers include semi-professional sports teams; the United States military; area corporations, area school districts, municipalities, universities, and many more!

Cloquet Transit, a private business, has proudly provided contracted student transportation for the Cloquet School District for over 65 years.  Drivers go through training every year and keep up with industry changes.  They work with the school district to design safe and effective bus routes, bus stops, and student behavior guidelines.  If your school district is interested in having Cloquet Transit bid on services, please call (218) 879-1291.  Cloquet Transit also offers fleet maintenance service programs, body repair upon request, and bus washing services.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Sappi.  Strategic investments into the globally based Sappi Cloquet Mill to diversify production streams have poised them well to weather market trends. In May 2021, Sappi Cloquet was named one of the 2021 Top 100 U.S. Exporters by the Journal of Commerce. Yes, that’s right, Sappi Cloquet is one of the top 100 U.S. exporters for 2021, which is incredible. Sappi’s Cloquet Mill produces high-quality graphic papers. The mill can swing production between paper-grade pulp for internal consumption and dissolving pulp (DP) for the open market. Sappi’s integrated pulp and paper mill in Cloquet is the most modern pulp mill operating in the U.S.  By utilizing Continuous Batch Cooking, Sappi achieves extended delignification while maintaining high yield and strength properties. In 2013, Sappi further modernized the pulp mill by adding two additional batch digesters, an acid pre-hydrolysis stage and an ozone bleaching stage. These changes, along with modifications to Sappi’s wood yard and pulp dryer, enable the Cloquet Mill to make either dissolving pulp for the textile market or bleached kraft pulp used for papermaking. The Cloquet Mill produces premium publication grades, GalerieArt, Opus and McCoy, and dissolving pulp (DP), an additive in textiles, pharmaceutical, and household products. Sappi Cloquet annually produces 340,000 metric tons of coated woodfree paper and 370,000 metric tons of dissolving pulp with a workforce of 700 people.

The Cloquet Mill, located on the banks of the St Louis River, began in 1898 as Northwest Paper Company with the iconic vintage “Mountie” branding materials (the red-coated horse riders). In 1964 the Cloquet Mill became Potlach and Sappi in 2002. The Cloquet mill is part of the fabric of the community and its identity. Employment at the mill spans generations, as does pride in the mill’s culture of hard work and a “can-do attitude.”  Sappi’s vision is focused on People, Prosperity, and Planet, and they dynamically adapt to transportation logistics, consumer markets, and the workforce.

So what do people often not know about Sappi? Let’s get the root of that, literally, as it’s all about the trees. Sappi is a diversified forest products company rooted in the core value of sustainability. They invest an incredible amount of resources in implementing continuous environmental improvements in energy use, waste and pollution prevention, forestry planning, and more. Their supply source or the products they produce are from trees, a sustainable renewable resource that is biodegradable. With the shift in 2013 to making dissolving pulp, Sappi has diversified into packing materials, litho-laminates, and other specialties.

Their skilled workforce is derived from college graduates with technical degrees. Their modern manufacturing facilities offer cutting-edge technical jobs, for Sappi actively recruits workers. Positions at the Cloquet mill focus on mechanical, electrical, civil, computer science, chemical paper science, environmental, forestry, and more. Sappi has a co-op program and several internship programs. Employees at the Cloquet Mill are committed to giving back to their local communities. They regularly volunteer their time, make financial contributions to a range of community organizations, and coordinate outreach efforts to non-profit groups such as the United Way, the local fire and police departments, and over 20 local school programs.   

Mill leadership is committed to the local community and participates in several local boards and committees across various organizations.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Northwoods Power Equipment.  With Cloquet and Moose Lake locations, Northwoods Power Equipment is your local hometown lawn and garden equipment sales, quality powersports, service, and rental store, also offering Mobil 1 Lube Express oil changes.

Originated out of Moose Lake, MN, in the early 2000s by owners Joshua and Kerry Pangerl, they opened the Cloquet location in March 2019.  This branch is managed by Zandra Pangerl and Sales Specialist Braden Richards.

They carry new inventory, factory promotion, financing available, and used models.  They are dealers for ASV, Husqvarna, Meyer, eXmark, Bad Boy Mowers, and Kawasaki.  They offer various services, including lawn tractor service, snow-thrower service, plow/power unit service, pre-season inspection, push/walk-behind mower service, small engine repair, and zero-turn service.

They can also assist with parts requests.  Rentals are only available at the Cloquet location and offer lawn and garden equipment, earth moving equipment, and trailers. Find model information here: ttps://www.northwoodspower.com/rentals.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Pine Knot News.  After the closure of the physical Pine Journal office in Cloquet by the Duluth News Tribune, several former staffers began researching how to start your own newspaper.  They reopened the closed newspaper office at 122 Avenue C and a small team partnered to start the Pine Knot News (PKN).  Pine Knot News (PKN) is a locally owned and operated small town community newspaper that is an independent hyperlocal weekly newspaper covering northern Carlton County with an office in Cloquet at 122 Avenue C.  PKN strives to bring communities closer together by keeping them informed and engaged through coverage of local news, sports, neighbors and happenings.

The first issue of the PKN launched October 26, 2018.  They unveiled their commitment to quality local information by blanketing Carlton County with two free issues to introduce themselves, a detailed election guide and a subsequent weekly newspaper.  After opening during a time of newspaper closures, and then the onset of the pandemic, PKN has grown to cover local happenings, sports, arts, and events and today has 1,800 subscribers and continues growing.

“We are a good source of vetted journalistic information.  We must fact check everything we publish including letters to the editor.  In our office we have many balls in the air, we do it all, we write, take photos, and do all administrative duties.”  Jana Peterson, PKN Editor.

“Our goal at the PKN is to educate people on issues that live here, work here, go to school here, have their families here, and want to be part of this community.  Our goal is to make it a bigger, better place, that celebrates our neighbors.  We are locals supporting local stories.”  Pete Radosevich, Columnist.

PKN staff is incredibly involved in the community and its events assisting in planning the Fourth of July events and hosting this year’s September Celebration in the West End.  Since opening, PKN has also become one of the most highly awarded newspapers in the state  with over 33 awards.  Editor Jana Peterson has won the Better Newspaper Contest and First Place for Investigative Reporting in the 2018 Page One Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, in addition to numerous other awards over her 20-plus years as a journalist.  In the first year the Pine Knot News was eligible to participate in the Minnesota Newspaper Association's Better Newspaper Contest, for stories written between October 2018-August 2019, the PKN won 15 awards, including first place in General Reporting, Sports Reporting, Social Issues story (on vaping), Columnist Pete Radosevich and overall General Excellence.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Reach Mentoring and Adult Partnerships. If you’ve met the staff from the Reach Program, you know the passion they hold for their jobs.  The REACH Program is rooted in youth adult partnerships.  So parents and educators in Carlton County, we have an awareness message for you.  Reach provides support to youth ages 10-21 in most schools in Carlton County (they are not in the elementary schools) providing meaningful tutoring and group based mentoring opportunities, during and after school.  In years past, youth activities have included recreational, social, and service-based ventures. Group activities have included skiing and snowboarding, hockey games, canoeing, movies, and local service projects.  The crux of the program is to provide youth the opportunity for group social capital and support.  “Partnering with peers lowers risks and increases protective factors for youth providing positive group community,” said Executive Director Dakota Koski.

REACH Program has 250 active youth on a grass roots level in the County providing programs such as SOS in schools – students offering support and After School Activities.  For your child to become a REACH participant in the schools, parents or guardians are able to sign their children up or another pathway is from referrals from working professionals, such as probation officers, social workers, in-school support workers, school councilors, etc.

You may also have seen various Reach fundraising events to support their work, annually they host a golf tournament.  They also offer a limited number of scholarships for youth.  If you’re an advocate for youth, REACH is also in need of Board members.

In July 2021, REACH received a $920,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to further their work to reduce drug and alcohol use through positive community norms over the next five years in Carlton County. The goal is to come up with positive activities, people and ways students can spend their time other than using drugs and alcohol.  Cara Keinanen was hired to work with the current REACH staff, including executive director Dakota Koski and program coordinator Anne Parish, on this goal.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Cloquet Natural Foods.  Cloquet Natural Foods (CNF) is a small, locally-owned health food store, located at 502 Carlton Avenue, that sells organic food/produce, supplements, health-foods, beauty products, household products, gifts, bulk and frozen foods. CNF offers a friendly, helpful, welcoming environment to orient you to unique products. Owners Jodi and Don Christensen are passionate about offering high quality goods at moderate prices that are local, organic, and relevant products. CNF strives to provide moderate prices and offers lots of sales! CNF also special orders unique products and can help customers research questions. They also offer shipping and curbside service ([email protected]). CNF offers a personal component for shoppers that sets them apart and compliments what other food sellers offer. The staff at CNF are continuously learning and engaging in online trainings.

A typical day for the Christensen’s starts early at the store around 5am which allows the married couple to rotate their schedules to manage family demands. They began their journey into business ownership in 2000. They had worked at CNF for the original owner Linda Dahl (she opened this store in 1970!) and decided to open their own store in Sandstone called the Organic Carrot. In 2013, CNF was up for sale in Cloquet and the Christensen’s purchased it from the second owners the McClures. The McClure’s added solar panels to the building and made numerous building improvements which allowed for the addition of a fabulous massage studio featuring therapist Leah Burr ([email protected]).

“We love this business because we are surrounded on all sides with dedicated, passionate, and enthusiastic people.” Jodi Christensen

Stop in and check them out today!

CLOQUET NATURAL FOODS

502 Carlton Ave

(218) 879-3243

http://cloquetnatural.com/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063637085393

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Pine Valley 360. Of all the parks within the City of Cloquet, the vast natural area of Pine Valley Park is the crown jewel. Situated on top of unique geological features, Pine Valley is the largest of Cloquet’s parks, covering approximately 240 acres. 

 Pine Valley is maintained by the City of Cloquet Parks Department and has a multi-use trail system for cross country skiing during the winter season and hiking and trail running in summer and fall. The ski jumping facility has multiple jumps and hills with a rope tow. The singletrack trail provides opportunities for mountain biking, hiking and running during the summer and fall, plus snowshoeing, hiking, and fat-tire biking in the winter.

Northwest Paper Company donated 40 acres of land in 1960 to the City of Cloquet for the purpose of developing the park for ski jumping and Nordic skiing, which was then a pine plantation with mixed hardwoods throughout its hills and valleys. The natural vegetation and geography would soon become the backdrop for a beautiful ski trail system in the forest and was named Pine Valley Park by Cloquet’s legendary ski coach Joe Nowak in 1961.

The primary purpose headlining the creation of the park was to provide a first-class ski jumping and Nordic ski trail network, sports Cloquet had become renowned for. Throughout its history the park has been supported by a vast network of volunteers who constructed chalets, built the ski jumps and trails, and then maintained the ski jumps and trail network.

The creation of the Nordic skiing and ski jumping park proved to be a successful endeavor, soon playing host to state high school championship ski meets, regional USSA ski races and jumping meets, and the annual City Ski Meet. Pine Valley and Cloquet High School produced 13 Minnesota State Champion High School Ski teams, many individual state champions in Nordic skiing and jumping, plus United States Olympic Team members in Nordic combined, biathlon, and ice hockey. The street into the park is aptly named “Olympic Drive.”

At the entrance into Pine Valley Park is the Pine Valley Ice Arena (Northwoods Credit Union Arena), home to high school hockey programs, the Cloquet youth hockey association, and the Minnesota Wilderness junior league hockey team. While Nordic skiers and ski jumpers had already been active at Pine Valley during the 1960s, a cooperative effort between the skiers and the growing hockey program looking for a place to build an indoor ice rink identified a suitable location at Pine Valley on which to build the new rink. The Pine Valley Ice Arena was built in the late 1960s, using local volunteer labor and funded by grassroots fundraising by the hockey program spearheaded by then head coach Bill Kennedy.

Improvements led by volunteers and City staff included a Nordic trail lighting project in 1998 that resulted in 2.5 kilometers of lighted ski trail. The ski jump landings were re-graded and the start positions at the top of the jumps were modified to accommodate new jumping techniques in 1999.

The most recent addition to Pine Valley is the five-mile singletrack trail that winds through the park. The singletrack trail concept initially came from a group of Nordic skiers who thought the addition of the new trail network would bring more users to the park, particularly during the summer and fall seasons, thereby making Pine Valley more of a year-round center for silent sports.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of USG Interiors.  For more than 115 years, USG Interiors has been expanding the boundaries of building science with products and systems that are safer, lighter, stronger, and more sustainable. They are the leading manufacturer of building products and innovative solutions worldwide.

USG's mission has been simple: create building products that improve the world around us from the very beginning. USG was formed in 1902 when about 20 gypsum companies came together as the United States Gypsum Company. Twenty more companies joined the following year, and a network of gypsum mines, quarries, and processing plants spread across the United States.

In 1916, USG disrupted the construction world with the invention of Sheetrock® panels, changing the way interior walls were installed. A sales representative named it Sheetrock®, and the most well-known product was born.

Today, USG is a market leader in wallboard and gypsum products in North America, but they also invented latex paint, mineral fiber ceiling tile, shaft wall elevator systems, and Durock® cement panels along the way. These products sped up the building process and improved the way buildings could be designed and built. USG has helped build some of the world's most iconic structures, such as the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Lotte Tower in Seoul, and the Freedom Tower in New York.

Headquartered in Chicago, USG serves construction markets worldwide with wall, ceiling, flooring, sheathing, and roofing products that enable their customers to build the outstanding spaces where people live, work and play.

Their network of plants, mines, quarries, and other facilities includes 49 manufacturing locations and 6,900 employees across North America, and 3,615 active patents.

In 1985, United States Gypsum purchased the Conwed plant, now known as USG's Cloquet facility located at 35 Arch Street. The facility employs approximately  320 employees in its over 20 acres of buildings under the roof, manufacturing ceiling tiles. In 2014, USG rebranded and did some major plant renovations. USG is proud to be a part of a manufacturing-friendly community.

The positive reputation in the community has often led to generations of families being employed with the company.

"We have a multi-generational workforce. We're looking for people to join the family, so to speak," Jameson said. "They want to stay in the area. They want a decent-paying job. They want good working conditions and benefits, and USG offers all of that."

USG is an industry leader in health and safety by creating an injury-free workplace and modeling safe behavior for families, colleagues, customers, and communities. They received the Robert W. Campbell Award from the National Safety Council in 2016. The international Robert W. Campbell Award honors companies that achieve business excellence by integrating Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) management into business operations. Safety is a top priority. Learn from employees at USG.

In this episode of Talking Business, Shelly Peterson - Founder and CEO of Promoting Me, LLC. and Holly Hansen - Community Development Director for the City of Cloquet  are talking about the Hidden Gem of Upper Lakes Foods. Upper Lakes Foods (ULF), located at 801 Industry Avenue,  is your local foodservice leader proudly serving  Midwest businesses and organizations with the products and services required to thrive in the food industry for over fifty years.

Upper Lakes Foods is the largest independent distributor in Minnesota and Wisconsin with over $360 million in sales in 2019 and 400 employees across all three locations of Janesville, Northfield, and Cloquet. They were recognized as the No. 1 fastest-growing distributor in the US in 2017 and 2018.

As an independent, family-owned company, they ensure businesses have access to the freshest local products. They have a dedicated team of experts in menu and product development, marketing, social media, graphic arts, and more, all committed to generating innovative ideas to drive business forward.

Larry Sorensen founded Upper Lakes Foods in 1967 at the age of 32. Operating out of the Duluth Terminal building, Larry had nine employees who worked every aspect of the business. Larry established a company culture that put the customer first, and delivering excellence was paramount. In January of 1981, Upper Lakes Foods moved to what is now the corporate headquarters in Cloquet, MN, due to a new highway in Duluth that claimed ULF's seven-story warehouse on Lake Avenue and Commerce Street.

Larry passed away in 2005. His wife Patricia and his children carried on his legacy.

Today, 12 Sorensen/Ryan family members are working in the business. The legacy crafted over 50 years ago by Larry Sorensen is still thriving today.

The ULF Advantage is the people who are dedicated to sales, culinary, marketing, and operations. It's timely deliveries by professional drivers you can count on. It's the innovation and passion around food.   It's promotion of table tents to menu designs and dining room layouts from the foodservice marking team that assists customers every step of the way. It's about partnering to get the best products at the best prices. It's a team of professionals whose performance is dedicated to customer success.

The COVID pivot was necessary and noticeable, being that 50% of annual sales come from street businesses, 8% healthcare, 37% schools, and 5% national sales. Despite the challenges, Upper Lakes Foods' leadership and employees worked hard to lay the groundwork for a strong foundation for continued success. They introduced weekly truckload sales to reduce inventory, created industry-leading COVID-19 customer support, established a company's freight division, created myulf.com grocery delivery, launched a retail program incentive, and offered creative customer financial programs.

Upper Lakes Foods continues to grow at a sustainable pace while investing in replacing aging equipment and modernizing facilities. They believe in investing in their people and conducting themselves with integrity, and cultivating an environment of innovation, collaboration, and trust at all times.