opinion

When James French became the last person to be executed in 1966 under Oklahoma’s death penalty law, he uttered these famous last words (no joke) that quickly belong to the...

It is reasonably simple to find your way here in America: Follow the rules. Integrate. Drop labels. Assimilate. Be productive. Repeat. Before long, you begin to experience the freedom that...

I really appreciated reading the well-written letter from Terry Larson of Cass Lake and published in last Sunday’s Pioneer. He was responding to Susan Brown’s commentary “Where was God during...

I listened to a Frank Sinatra tune this week — “The House I Live In” — and enjoyed a renewed desire to fight on. Sinatra performed the patriotic song in...

It was a common thought among people of good will: Please, please don’t let those responsible for the Boston Marathon bombings be Muslims. Unfortunately, it seems that those who carried...

Martin Richard’s life ended as he waited at the Boston Marathon finish line on a local holiday. He was there to celebrate his dad’s victory with his family. Instead, he...

When Margaret Thatcher died recently, it was shocking to realize that she became Great Britain’s first female prime minister almost 34 years ago. Today, 17 nations, from Brazil and Bangladesh...

Blackduck speakers shine at state Congratulations to the Blackduck High School speech team for an outstanding season, capped off with two champions at the Minnesota State High School League Class...

In the wake of the Boston Marathon attacks, where is the hue and cry from liberals calling for a ban on pressure cookers? At bare minimum there should be a...

Thank you, Bemidji Pioneer, for printing Susan Brown’s commentary “Where was God during marathon?” on April 18. With the ever-increasing amount of violent acts, committed against perfectly innocent victims, in...

Thank you, Joe Lueken. Nice to know there are still good people like you still around for what you have done and built for Bemidji. No wonder your employees are...

Everyone presumes that Sen. Chuck Schumer, the media-hungry Democrat from New York, wants to be the next Senate majority leader. His performance in the negotiations over the Gang of Eight...

Do you know about “net zero?” That’s the wonky phrase attached to an elegant idea: converting communities to total renewable energy, complete recycling, and a culture of conservation to bring...

I was skimming through the April 16 edition of the Pioneer and ran across an article by Steve and Cokie Roberts entitled, “What are we afraid of?” First of all...

Did you catch The Rev. Jesse Jackson the other night on CNN demanding a Senate hearing into why regulators never cracked down on that gruesome abortion clinic in Philadelphia? Did...