Pinen County News

The website pinecountynews.com features two community newspapers: the Pine City Pioneer and the North Pine County News. These publications serve the Pine County area in Minnesota and are part of NorthStar Media, which also publishes the Star Gazette (mlstargazette.com) and the Evergreen Shopper in Moose Lake, Minnesota. Additionally, NorthStar Media produces the Isanti-Chisago County Star, a free newspaper available in Cambridge, Minnesota, and has a commercial web printing division located in Cambridge. NorthStar Media is owned by Gene Johnson, who resides in White Bear Lake. The Pine City Pioneer, which has been in circulation since 1873, reaches an audience of 2,500 readers. The North Pine County News, which continues the legacy of the Askov American, Hinckley News, and Pine County Courier, also has a circulation of 2,500. The Hinckley News originated in 1891 under the name Pine Wood Dart, while the Pine County Courier was established in 1894. The Askov American began its publication journey in 1914.

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Pine City Anytime Fitness sees new, but familiar, ownership

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | T.A. LeBrun

Pine City’s Anytime Fitness is seeing new ownership that comes with youthful energy in hopes to make a positive impact on the community. As of March 29, Joshua Leaf and Peyton Schmidt have become owners of the gym which was purchased from Bob and Stephanie Haase of Mora. Leaf and Schmidt are not strangers to the community or running a gym as they have both been working as personal trainers, with Schmidt as the manager, at the Pine City gym for the last four years.
Dragon Softball defeats Rangers in season opener

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | Andrew Burger

The Pine City Dragons Varsity Softball team kicked off their season with a dominant four-inning victory over the Rangers. The Dragons were led by Karly Dahlberg, who pitched all four innings to earn the win. Dahlberg was steady in the circle, striking out three and walking just two. The defense behind her was sharp, limiting baserunners and capitalizing on routine plays to record outs efficiently.
School board open-minded for future plan

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | T.A. LeBrun

The Pine City School Board continues to look toward a referendum amidst budget woes and failing infrastructure at the elementary school. At a recent work session, the school’s consultant Preston Euerle, president of R.A. Morton, reflected on the three failed referendums and presented some new options to the board. “The thought was after a pause to come back and discuss thoughts of what has transpired and ideas of moving forward,” said Euerle.
Week one for competetive shooting

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

Sunday was the kind of day most trap shooters love – partly cloudy skies with light winds and mild temperatures. It proved to be a very good day for Dragon shooters. Senior Ryan Carl once again led the team hitting 44 targets out of 50, one better than last week. Not to be outdone, sophomore Levi Kraft also shot a 44. Two more seniors, Bryer Berube and Nate Burns, continued their hot shooting with 43 and 42 hits respectively.
County utilizes DEED grant to help meet child care needs

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | T.A. LeBrun

Pine County has been awarded a child care grant from DEED in the amount of $500,000. This initiative addresses the childcare shortage in hopes to create additional childcare slots in Hinckley, Willow River and Pine City. A childcare study done in 2022 identified the need for an additional 300-364 childcare slots in Pine County, with the greatest need in the Hinckley-Finlayson area.
Grasston man facing child pornography possession charges

1 week ago | pinecountynews.com | Hope Murray

A Grasston man is facing felony charges for his alleged possession of child pornography. Daniel Raymond Johnson, 35, is expected to make his first appearance on Thursday, April 24, in Kanabec County District Court on six counts of possessing pornographic work involving minors under the age of 14.
Public Art Ordinance passes city council

2 weeks ago | pinecountynews.com | T.A. LeBrun

A Public Art Ordinance has been passed by the Pine City Council in a split vote which could usher in permanent visual art, performances, installations, events and other temporary works, preservation or restoration of unique architectural features, or ornamentation. A Pride crosswalk on the intersection of Third Ave. SE 5th St. SE in downtown Pine City near Robinson Park was the original proposal, but the ordinance has evolved into more after the initial proposal was made by Aaron Bombard.
The importance of community newspapers

2 weeks ago | pinecountynews.com | Jeff Andres

Is local news important? Are local news outlets such as the Pioneer still relevant in today’s digital world? We frequently hear these questions. Since you are reading this column in the Pioneer right now, whether it be in a home-delivered subscription copy or online at the No. 1 news website in the county, you already understand the importance of a community newspaper. How many people read local newspapers?
Some of the best scores shown this week!

2 weeks ago | pinecountynews.com | George Johnson

What a difference a week can make! Blue skies and light breezes greeted the Pine City High School Trap Team shooters Sunday for the first event of the season, reserve week. Scores from this week are used in the event a competition week is canceled. The good weather definitely benefited the Dragon shooters because they posted some of the best scores for the first shoot of the season in the history of the team.
County board expresses opposition to Governor’s PILT cuts

2 weeks ago | pinecountynews.com | T.A. LeBrun

Pine County is facing a proposed 34% loss in revenue from the state to their Payment in Lieu of Taxes fund, equaling approximately $300,000 in cuts, as Gov. Walz makes an effort to balance the budget. Pine County has 25.92% of its total land dedicated to State Natural Resource Land that is not on the tax rolls. This land has traditionally received compensation by the state in an effort to preserve the land for uses such as recreation, wildlife habitat and timber harvesting.