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Carlton County, Dontcha Know: A smokin' business, a new meat store, spring prep sports previews and more

Mar. 31—CLOQUET — It's not every day an area athlete makes it to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Championship! Cromwell-Wright graduate Taya Hakamaki is a member of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs team that will play for a national title on Saturday, April 1, in Dallas, Texas.

Here's a preview of the matchup

and details on how to watch the game.

We also reported on

a car crash

that caused Wrenshall High School student Janae Sjodin to be airlifted to Essentia Health. Sjodin was one of three people injured in the crash. We'll continue to follow this story as authorities release more information. My prayers go out to those involved.

Here are some more stories for your consideration:

Erin Welch sold more than 2,500 travel cribbage boards

in 2022, and some of her other pieces are truly works of art.

The artist bulk-cuts, lasers and drills her pieces at her parents' home in Saginaw before staining, burning, painting and assembling them at her home in Duluth.

The

Northeast Regional Corrections Center has opened its own meat store,

complete with beef, pork, poultry, sausage and more.

NERCC opened a meat processing facility in the fall where as many as eight NERCC residents learn the proper way to dismantle beef, inspect it for wholesomeness, debone it and more.

The Cloquet Lumberjacks have five starters

who will return to their softball lineup and will look to fill the rest of the roster with some younger, less experienced athletes.

"We have some kids that are really fighting hard and working hard for those spots and we've got some pretty good competition within our own team, and that's only going to make you better is continuing to have someone looking over your shoulder a little bit to fight for that spot," coach Tyler Korby said.

Be sure to visit pinejournal.com/sports/prep

for more spring sports previews.

*

Essentia Health is seeking $51 million in conduit bonds

from Carlton County for a pair of projects, including a 163,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Esko.

*

A Cloquet massage therapist pleaded guilty

to third-degree criminal sexual conduct after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a massage.

* And in our Community Education Corner, Vicki Radzak gives us an update on the latest offerings in Moose Lake.

Spoiler alert: Pickleball 101 is one of the courses!

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.

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