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

It was August 8, 1991, before I ever called my buddy Rolf’s dad “Bud” like everyone else did. Until that date, he had been “Mr. Kragseth” to me for over 20 years. This memory came back last...

Nothing strikes fear in a banker’s heart more than the words, “run on the bank.” It conjures up images of the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and Jimmy Stewart convincing his customers...

Thaw, freeze. Thaw, freeze. We’ve seen that cycle quite a bit this winter, especially as we close in on a record seasonal snowfall — will we beat the record of 113.4 inches? Stick around until... Full story

Gift certificates are very popular presents. They have been since at least 1978, when my sister Zora gave me a McDonald's certificate for Christmas. Fifty cents, which bought a burger and maybe a drin...

"Drill, baby, drill” is a fun slogan for those of us who can’t imagine a world without gasoline, and the protests over the Line 3 project cutting through Carlton County show that plenty of people...

It’s good to be back. Running for office was an interesting experience, but one of the most fascinating things I learned was how little most voters think about our lawmakers and how our legislature... Full story

I owe my career to Patty Murto, and now that she's no longer around to thank, Jana is letting me do it through this column. Not that I haven't thanked her before. Over the years, I told Patty plenty o... Full story

This will be my last “Harry’s Gang” column for a while. I have decided to run for Minnesota House of Representatives in District 11A, which encompasses all of Carlton County and a small part of... Full story

If I were our representative in the Legislature, here’s how I would approach some of the issues they are considering in St. Paul this session. For decades, “gaming” — which is a softer term... Full story

Now that the city’s mask mandate has ended, and most schools are removing their requirements that students wear masks at school, we can all hope that the pandemic is waning and may soon be over.... Full story

I’ve taught my kids that cops are the “good guys.” That cops can be trusted. If my kids find themselves in trouble, I’ve told them that the police will help them. Of course, most cops look a... Full story

Business people often think that any government regulation is an intrusion into their business and should not be allowed. In fact, that theme has become a plank in the Republican platform, as... Full story

The Minnesota Legislature starts up again next week, and while it’s fun to make fun of lawmakers, they really do an important job in our society, and most of them take their job very seriously.... Full story

I wonder what would happen if hundreds of strangers suddenly got stranded in Cloquet. Maybe a huge blizzard hits while we’re hosting a big hockey tournament? Or tragedy strikes on a summer Sunday... Full story

Strangely, in my career, I’ve made a lot of friends just by suing them. It sounds odd, doesn’t it? But it’s true. Usually, it would seem, lawsuits more often end up making enemies out of... Full story

The whole point of a representative democracy (which is the form of government we have used in the United States for a couple of hundred years or so) is to elect one person for every certain number... Full story

Last year’s predictions were so eerily accurate that some people thought I had cheated, like maybe I had looked up the answers before making my predictions, which is, of course, impossible. My... Full story

Greetings from the Pine Knot News family in Carlton County. It’s been quite a year for the family, so we’re excited to share this with our friends and extended family during this holiday season.... Full story

The loud, disruptive protest at a recent Cloquet School Board meeting by a local resident of the school district was a shameful display of chutzpah, ignorance and entitlement. People seem to think... Full story

I’m disappointed that our representative in Congress voted against the infrastructure bill last month. It seems to me it was a great bill for our region, but U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber didn’t agree... Full story

We live like royalty in America. We have stores full of food and trinkets. We work only 40 hours a week. Some people work even less and some of us choose to work more. Nearly everyone has indoor... Full story

Some people blame the two-party political system for many of our nation’s problems. I can understand why — it seems each party spends more time accusing the other party for everything wrong while... Full story

One of the questions I get most from clients is, “How do I avoid probate?” I can understand why they are so concerned — probate is an expensive process, but with careful planning, it can... Full story

One of the rallying cries in the war of misinformation we have seen in the last few years is the phrase “Do your own research.” There’s nothing more frightening than some misinformed person,... Full story