Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

I was supposed to be in Washington this week, but I canceled my plane tickets in early December. We had been planning to attend the inauguration, taking advantage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to... Full story

The Supreme Court took a hard turn to conservatism when President Trump appointed Amy Coney Barrett just a few months ago. Despite the disappointing way she was confirmed to the court, she exhibits... Full story

Soon, the restrictions on evictions will end, and I expect to see an onslaught of evictions crowding the courts. I have several landlord clients for whom I handle their evictions, and I also... Full story

Thankfully, no one remembers my predictions from last year, so there's no way to gauge my accuracy or prognostic ability. Just trust me when I say I was very accurate and remarkably prescient. So,... Full story

The Thomson Town board came through bigtime for Esko Community Education during its meeting Thursday, Dec. 17. These are tough times for the organization, which is part of the Esko school district....

It was an infamous utterance made more than five decades ago. “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” So said Beatles member John Lennon in 1966, during a newspaper interview, where he was... Full story

In a way, I actually enjoy seeing people's continued protests over the 2020 elections. Such a demonstration of civic pride and patriotism is central to the American way. Now, I certainly think they...

A friend asked me around election time if things were as good for me now as they were four years ago. My Republican friend was implying that our lives are actually pretty good, so why switch the...

Now that dining rooms are closed due to the state shutdown order, many restaurants are shifting to takeout and delivery. As a guy who spent the last 25 years delivering pizza and sandwiches — first...

The Esko school board was given an update on the bus garage and athletic field parking lot projects at its Monday, Nov. 23 meeting. Project manager ICS reported the two projects are essentially...

Nothing seems to make a child happier than waking up to a snowfall and hearing their parents say, “School’s been canceled today.” But those days are numbered. Soon, snow days may be a thing of...

While the latest election was pretty decisive (about 51 percent for Biden, 47.3 percent for Trump), the fact remains that nearly half the voters preferred the Republican candidate over the eventual...

I’m one of the few people I know willing to state that the Electoral College is still a useful way to choose a president. The absurdity that a candidate can win the popular vote and still lose the...

I’ve operated a pizza restaurant longer than I’ve had children, but it’s time to say goodbye (to the pizza place, not the kids). I opened Eskomo Pizza Pies in the old Cloquet Co-op building in... Full story

It seems that, with the elections just a few days away, much of the conversation we hear involves politics and candidates. We've divided our nation so deeply I fear it will take a miracle, or maybe a...

Seven of the area’s judges are on the ballot this year, running for re-election for six-year terms. There are no contested elections this year in our area. Every incumbent judge is running... Full story

Local radio will never quite be the same after today. Kerry Rodd, who has been at WKLK Radio for about 14 years now, is retiring Friday. Well, retiring from radio, that is. He's planning to work at a... Full story

News that Jeff Walther, pastor at Esko's St. Matthews Lutheran Church, had tested positive for the coronavirus spread pretty quickly, in part because his daughter lives in my house with her husband,... Full story

I have never seen someone get booed at a high school graduation, or at a wedding or funeral. Have you? When I hear boos, it's usually good-natured ribbing - for example, when a Packers fan, all...

I got a fishing merit badge as a Boy Scout, not because I loved to fish and had grown up fishing. No, I precisely got the merit badge in spite of growing up without fishing, and having little idea of...

I am shocked how many people refuse to wear masks based on political beliefs. I recall a few years back when a nudie bar opened in Scanlon. The outrage! As I remember, a group of local people went...

Criminals should not benefit from their crimes. If a jewel thief is arrested with the stolen diamonds, he shouldn’t be able to keep the jewels. That’s just crazy, right? On the other hand, a... Full story

I’ve hired quite a few pizza delivery drivers over the years, mostly high school boys, but sometimes girls and adults. But, mostly, my delivery drivers are young. The first question I ask during...

One of my good friends called another of my good friends a “moron” the other day. In public. He’s not a moron; in fact, he’s quite intelligent and accomplished. His sin? He made some very...

Maybe I’m exaggerating, but the local cable access channel, CAT-7, may become great again. The city council just approved a contract with Pine Knot News to take over the daily operations of CAT-7,...