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

Membership of Moose Lodge 1274 is vibrant and growing with over 400 men and women.  Membership is by invitation.  Most new members are empty nesters looking to give back to their community and to build community.  These folks often volunteer in the kitchen and work on Lodge events such as their golf tournament at Big Lake Golf Course and Cloquet Mini Golf event.

In Cloquet we saw firsthand that Moose Lodge 1274 members are people who like to help one another and have a good time.  Ever miss small-town American and wonder where it’s gone to?  GET HERE.  They are hosting Friday night bingo, Wednesday card night, a Tuesday night member cash drawing, a Monday night meat raffle, and participate in citywide pool and dart leagues.  They are rooted in community service with international purpose.  The Cloquet Moose Lodge has food and a bar that helps generate funding to maintain the building and taxes.  The only two paid positions are the bartender and gaming staff.  Last year along, gaming proceeds raised at the Cloquet Moose Lodge 1274 brought in $59,000 in donations for local community organizations – such as area robotics teams, and support for schools projects.  Members can rent the building for showers, funeral luncheons, and other space needs.  Its currently $40/year to become a member plus the initial $20 application fee.

“We care for each other like a family,” said Cloquet Moose Lodge 1274 Administrator Patti Haus member since the age of 21 whose father has Pilgrim Moose Lodge status, meaning he’s been a member for over 50 years. “I’m on an International Moose Lodge Board, I know people in every state,” said Haus.

Have you ever wondered what is the Moose Lodge all about? In short, they are a fraternal organization that serves children and seniors in need.  The Moose is an international organization with membership in Canada and England.  If you are a Moose Lodge member, you can visit any Moose Lodge across the country or internationally.  Funding they raise supports many activities but we want to note Mooseheart located west of Chicago, a facility for children without parents with a private school and activity center on a 1,000 acre campus referred to as a Child City and home for children and teens in need from infancy through high school.  There is also Moosehaven for seniors located in Orange Park, Florida a retirement community for Moose members with over 15 years of membership.

Loyal Order of Moose – Cloquet Moose Lodge 1274

702 Cloquet Avenue

Phone: (218) 879-8423

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cloquet-Moose-Lodge-1274/210222412519908

Website Cloquet: https://www.mooseintl.org/location/1274-cloquet/

Website International: https://www.mooseintl.org/

Laugh & Learn Childcare Center now has two locations in Cloquet. The original location of 1506 Washington Avenue is for infants and toddlers. There are two infant rooms, one toddler room, and one school-aged room. The new location is 1000 Washington Avenue had three preschool classrooms. With this recent expansion, they created 20 infant spots, seven toddler spots, and 41 preschool spots.    

Business owner Stacy Pohjola graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Superior in 2009 with an elementary education degree. 

Stacy also worked at University Nursery School in Duluth and landed in Cloquet as the Director at All We Can Be on Doddridge Avenue. She opened her business Laugh & Learn, on January 2, 2013, and today operates three buildings with over 35 staff and lease space in Hermantown’s Salem Lutheran. She recently purchased her Washington Avenue building and opened a new lease space inside Cloquet’s Zion Lutheran Church. 

Give them a call to learn more today!

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 TrueJourney Advisors - Cameron Nelson. Cameron Nelson opened his Cloquet office of TrueJourney this year in the Union Lofts building downtown. Cameron offers over twenty years of experience in investment planning and management and other financial services. TrueJourney is a Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network entity that offers independent offices additional marketing and compliance support.

“My company’s slogan is Invest in What Matters. I love that because it’s exactly what I work with my clients to achieve. What matters to one person is completely different than what matters to the next. It is my job to make sure we pinpoint exactly what is important to each client in order to move forward with a plan that will honor and safeguard those values,” said Cameron Nelson, Financial Advisor -Managing Director of the Cloquet TrueJourney office.Christine Schmidt, a Client Service Manager with extensive knowledge in the industry, joins Cameron. Both pride themselves on being available for calls and questions. They both love their downtown Cloquet office location and find it supports them in work-life balance and client access. Cameron shared, “I feel fortunate to have colleagues in this business who do a great job for their clients and represent this industry with dignity and a strong sense of responsibility. Living in a small town, we must support each other. There is plenty of room for all of us to succeed in making a positive difference for our clients.”

We asked Cameron and Christine what they offer clients and they responded, “Peace of mind.” Christine shared that taking care of people is her passion. Cameron shared that his niche is caring for people like he would care for his parents. “My goal is to deliver exceptional service. I go above and beyond in assisting my clients, it’s all about building relationships and understanding their financial goals.” He then shared, “I work with all kinds of clients, but I have a special place in my heart for helping those who have recently lost a spouse. I work hard to ensure that the role I play in handling the business side of things eases the burden for my widowed clients during a tremendously difficult time.”Cameron and Christine suggest that you introduce yourself to them next time you see them out at the grocery store or at a networking event. They love to meet new people and make connections.

Adolphson's Mission Statement: The foremost objective at Adolphson Real Estate is to uphold our reputable high integrity by providing thorough and professional service to our primary interest, the client.

“It’s a family atmosphere and a cohesive office with a sense of loyalty, we cover showings and the office for one another because we understand that life happens. Ultimately, Les is the broker and we represent him and are proud to work here,” said Associate Julie Antonutti.

“A trend that we have seen is the growth in FSBO (for sale by owner) listings, one thing to keep in mind for sellers is that agents offer ten times the network exposure for your property. We priced ourselves in match making and helping people build their dreams,” said Associate Cheryl Beck.

Adolphson Real Estate offers:·

A FREE market analysis.·

A personalized marketing plan for the sale of your home.·

Can show you any of the properties listed in the multiple listing area.·

Buyer Representation.·

Can answer your new buyer questions.·

Can REFER you to reputable real estate brokers outside our area.·

Have specialists in commercial real estate, land, lake property and residential sales!

With over 400 full and part-time staff supporting over 2,500 students, Cloquet Public Schools (ISD 94) is an unhidden gem that provides an excellent option with supportive staff and a comprehensive range of programs and activities. Cloquet Public Schools has lots of opportunities in which you feel part of the community. “We have the most comprehensive programming offered in Carlton County; it’s comparable to offerings in the Twin Cities metro school districts but in a small town,” said Superintendent Dr. Michael Cary. Because of its strong reputation, Cloquet Public Schools attract students outside the ISD 94 boundaries. Both elementary schools are award-winning, Washington (Elementary Principals Association) and Churchill (Nation Blue Ribbon Schools Program), and Cloquet Middle School’s Tom Brenner was named Principal of the Year for the State of Minnesota.

The construction of this project will be done with no additional input of taxpayer money beyond existing state aid, as the school district will use some ARPA funding received during the pandemic and has a private sponsorship for a substantial portion of the project.If you're new to the region or considering school systems, Cloquet Public Schools provides an excellent option with supportive staff and a comprehensive range of programs and activities. The school system is nicely sized to provide a small town feel with the amenities and courses of a larger district.

302 14th Street Cloquet, MN 55720

(218) 879-6721

Website: Click Here

Facebook: Click Here

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 Hup Family Dentistry.

Hup Family Dentistry1419 Cloquet Ave. Cloquet, MN 55720Open Mondays through Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Website: https://www.hupfamilydentistry.com/Email: [email protected] Phone: (218) 210-0252 or (218) 879-3341Request an appointment https://www.hupfamilydentistry.com/request-appointment-form

Cloquet Automotive has operated in business in Cloquet since 1982. Bruce Becker worked here starting in 1982 after gaining education and experience working with heavy equipment and machinery. He purchased Cloquet Automotive in January 1988 from former owner Dick Shikes and expanded the building in 2002, doubling its size. “The more you take on, the more space you need,” said Becker. As such, they specialize in manual and automatic drive transmissions, differentials, and transfer cases; they do not do alignments.  

Becker currently has two employees, himself and his son Kyle Becker, but typically employs four people. With the shortage of automotive techs across the United States, finding a skilled workforce has been challenging. Supply chain inconsistencies have led to more patient customers after the pandemic.

“Since the pandemic, the business has been overwhelming, with average repair shops not having the ability to custom build transmissions or make H.D. changes better than the original units. H.D. option parts allow us here to fix the vehicles better than the way they came from the factory,” said owner Bruce Becker. 

Becker explained that in the last five to ten years, repair shops have taken on transmission work via “boxed transmission units.” The differentiator is that Cloquet Automotive offers customization of transmissions with quality parts.

Cloquet Automotive has built its business on word of mouth and maintains a quality website. They offer the following 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 Members Cooperative Credit Union.

Members Cooperative Credit Union (MCCU) was formed in 1936 from a group of eight people in the Cloquet area, seven men and one woman, who envisioned a better way of getting the financial services that their community needed. They became the charter members of Cloquet Co-op Credit Union, and each person deposited $5 and formed the organization with just $40 in capital.

Today with over 53,000 members and 250 staff, MCCU is the largest credit union north of the Twin Cities. They continue to grow with twelve locations, adding branches and expanding into Duluth, McGregor, Aitkin, Brainerd Lakes Area, and Baxter. In 2015, they merged with Lake State Credit Union adding Moose Lake Sandstone, North Branch, and Isanti locations. In 2017, they merged with Lakes Area Federal Credit Union, adding Grand Rapids. Growth has been proactive and necessary as credit unions compete with banks. MCCU is always looking to expand to serve and seek opportunities to build value in non-saturated lending markets. “MCCU has a person-centered mission; our base and culture are very nimble over banks. We are deliberate about growth and look for opportunities that align with our philosophy and people that fit our leadership,” said Marketing Director Lara Wilkinson.

We took in the beautiful building of the newly constructed Cloquet MCCU Office at 1299 Hwy 33 South, which felt like we were delicately placed in nature. “We designed this building to reflect the Frank Lloyd Wright heritage and architecture of this site,” said Wilkinson. The Cloquet Office site is located on the site of the former Frank Lloyd Wright-designed homestead called Mantyla, a house among the pines in Finnish. Wright designed this former homesite and gas station in Cloquet for the Lindholm family.

MCCU has boldly contributed to countless charities, causes, and special events. MCCU has a community-centered philosophy. As a not-for-profit credit union, MCCU is not in business to make money for a handful of shareholders; they are in business to serve members with a myriad of full-suite personal and commercial products and hometown service. There is much pride in MCCU ownership and openness as a result. “We operate on profit and loss, not commissions,” said Wilkinson.

MCCU offers excellent products and technology, along with several benefit membership perks. They have worked hard to keep pace with changing technology offering video banking but are still human in customer service.

Northwoods Credit Union (NCU) started in 1936 in a small trailer on the Northwest Paper Company property in Cloquet. Five paper mill employees began the credit union with a vision to offer fairly priced products and excellent member service to their hard-working blue-collar coworkers. NCU remained at the Cloquet Paper Mill location from 1936 – 1996 until they moved off-site to their Avenue B location.  

Since then, NCU has continued to expand with over 12,000 members and a staff of 55. In 2007 their community charter was opened for banking common services. They now have three Cloquet locations, one on Avenue B near Sappi, one on Stanley Avenue near Walmart, and one on Tall Pine Lane, which houses their back-office staff. Their Stanley Avenue location offers consumer loans, while their Avenue B location offers mortgage loans. They also have a Moose Lake location which houses a mortgage representative, call center, collections department, and financial planners, and then have a Floodwood location which was acquired via a merger in 2018.  

Credit unions in Minnesota date to the 1930s when they were formed for financial improvement for members in a cooperative to lend to one another. Today, if you live, work, go to school, volunteer, or attend church in the following counties or townships of Carlton County; Pine County; St Louis County; Townships: Feeley, Wawina, Goodland, Ball Bluff, and Unorganized Township 52-22, you are now eligible to open an account at NCU. Additionally, you may join NCU if you live in the same household as a current member, including but not limited to the spouse of a member, the blood or adoptive relatives of them, and their spouses may be members. You may join if employed by one of our Select Employer Groups: https://www.northwoodscu.org/our-story-and-membership/.   

NCU provides consumer lending, not commercial lending. So what makes NCU unique? CEO Doug Wolf says the answer is “how we do lending; it is very gratifying. We look for ways to say yes. We strive to be distinct and don’t lend on credit scores; our lending process takes longer because we take the time to get to know our members and put them back on track, working to lend to those with less than stealer credit scores.” Wolf shared that operating costs are higher compared to NCU assets which are unique. When it comes time to hire, Wolf shared, “we hire people that reflect our values.”  

NCU values are summarized as the “Northwoods Spice” perfectly blended for member service, with the ingredients of servant mentality, progressive thinking, integrity, compassion, and empathy, and best if used every day.

NCU exists to support its members and member community. In 2013, they stepped up to support via naming rights the Northwoods Credit Union Arena; they recently also supported the Cloquet Library expansion for a period of ten years, invested in Carlton’s Four Seasons Mini Mites, and donated towards the scoreboards for Cloquet High School baseball as a few examples—they locally co-sponsor Senior Day with Reliable Insurance. Wolf says, “We do things because it is the right thing to do. This is our community.”  

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 Diamond Willow.

Diamond Willow provides independent Assisted Living, Memory Care, and hospice care under one roof. Residents can age in place and never have to leave (as nursing home and hospice care are provided as needs advance). Diamond Willow has ten facilities in the region, plus Key Stone Bluffs, and employs a total of 300-400 staff. Proctor is the oldest facility, constructed in 2004, and the Cloquet facility was built in 2008. They then added Lester Park, Baxter, Alexandria, and more.  

The Cloquet facility was modeled to be built to be backed up into nature. With 30 employees, Cloquet is a star facility fully staffed, with good staff, under solid leadership. “Bigger isn’t always better,” said Samantha Anderson, the Onsite Manager/Administrator of Diamond Willow Cloquet. The setting is designed for fewer residents per suite. 

This design allows Diamond Willow to implement their model of care, person-centered care, in a home-like setting. Only 8-16 residents per home are provided the ultimate care by an integrated team of direct care staff, an onsite leadership team, and site-based registered nurses - all of whom work collaboratively to deliver the best-assisted living services.  

We met with passionate employees Samantha Anderson and Rudy Harvey. “At Diamond Willow, we are always admitting and hiring, and there are opportunities for CNAs, RNs, and LPNs at our facilities,” said Rudy Harvey, Admissions Director. We learned a lot about elder health care; not everything is apples to apples. Diamond Willow is proud to provide acuity staffing versus a price tag for care service. 

The care provided is census driven, so their staffing ratios for Cloquet are 6:1 (residents to staff). For private clients, they offer a flat rate with inclusive services versus other similar facilities which operate on point systems (points increase on care needs).

Interestingly, or perhaps ignorantly, we learned that Medicare stopped paying for nursing home care in 2004. “There is no boot camp for elder care education, you learn the process by assisting your parents, or you watch your parents help your grandparents. We need to better educate people at 60 and 70 on care options. There are two ways you gain entrance into our facility, that is by elderly waiver or private pay. Many elders stay at home in unsafe situations even though they are paying for long-term care insurance,” said Rudy Harvey. To learn more, contact them today.

Diamond Willow

130 W. North Road

Cloquet, MN 55720

(218) 878-1212

Website: https://diamondwillow.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DiamondWillowCloquet/