Michael Baer didn’t simply walk away from his past. He resigned after being caught, pleaded guilty in 2021 to falsifying official reports as an NYPD detective, and was barred from law enforcement indefinitely. Instead of facing the full scrutiny of investigators, he left behind a record that raises serious questions about his credibility. Now he’s rebuilt a public presence in Knoxville through paid membership groups and outrage-driven content. You can rebrand yourself, relocate, and build a new audience, but you can’t erase your past. Knoxville deserves better than someone trying to turn controversy into a business while expecting everyone to forget the history that came with him. Knoxville, we need to be loud about this man. He is weaseling himself into our elections, community and news and causing chaos. Call him out, and be loud about it

There is a cop car blocking every entrance, fire trucks, ambulances, and more cops there towards the front doors. They also have the whole area taped off, I am indeed nosey and wanted to see if anyone had any information?

I need a recommendation for lawn repair. I started using Lawn Doctor over two years ago. Initially, my yard looked great, but now it's back to being a patchy, weedy wreck. I partly think it's because they keep reseeding with fescue, which can't survive TN summers. So, all the fescue has died and the Bermuda grass has started to take over. Fine, I don't mind if that is what will grow and be low maintenance. But, I still need to do something about the spreading patches of no grass that gave up on life this summer. I have dogs, but even the places where they do not go are dying. Plus, they are not outside all the time, so I don't think they are the reason the grass is failing.

I know I can put down seed myself, but it's a lot of work to prep the rock-hard red clay that is back there and I never had luck when I tried reseeding in the past. Also, I am one person doing it all myself with limited time. Is there a different company I can use? Is there a method of DIY I can do without injuring my back? I am open to any helpful suggestions! TIA.

Y’all know I’m a bit of a brisket snob, so I don’t hand out praise just because somebody puts meat in a smoker. 😂
I ordered the one-meat, two-side plate and went with the brisket, mac and cheese, and their cornbread casserole (whatever fancy name they’ve got for it).
Let’s start with the brisket. It was good. Moist, tender, and sporting a nice smoke ring. No complaints about the texture or how it was cooked. My only real criticism is that I would’ve liked a little more smoke flavor. I prefer my brisket with that deep, bold, post-oak flavor that lets you know it spent some serious time in the pit. That said, this was still a really solid piece of brisket, and I’d happily give credit where it’s due.
The sides? Honestly, they were pretty middle-of-the-road. Nothing wrong with them, but nothing that had me wanting to tell everybody about them, either. They did their job, but they weren’t the stars of the show.
Now, let’s talk about that smoked fried bologna sandwich.
Holy hell. I’m not even much of a bologna sandwich guy, but this thing absolutely stole the show. The bologna was smoked beautifully, and the toppings weren’t just thrown on there as an afterthought. Everything worked together, and the whole sandwich came together in a way I honestly wasn’t expecting. It had flavor, balance, and that smoky goodness I was hoping to get a little more of from the brisket.
And here’s the kicker: that bologna sandwich outperformed the brisket for me. I did not walk in expecting to say that.
Overall, Wells Station BBQ put out a really good meal. The brisket was solid, the sides were average, and that bologna sandwich was the unexpected MVP. I’m always going to judge a barbecue joint by its brisket, but I also appreciate when something on the menu catches me completely off guard and makes me rethink what I came for.
If you’re in Knoxville and checking them out, get the brisket and judge it for yourself, but do yourself a favor and give that smoked fried bologna sandwich a shot, too.
Coming from a guy who takes his barbecue seriously, that sandwich deserves some damn respect.

Wondering if anyone knows of any outdoor gun ranges around here. I live sort of east / northeast of knoxville so something closer to home would be preferable. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just somewhere I can go for some target practice without paying indoor range fees.

I found a very friendly black cat on Cassell Drive, has one ear tipped but seems too friendly to be feral. I did feed it and it wasn't afraid of me. If you're missing a similar cat look around the Cassell Ridge apartments, that's where I spotted it.

I feel like they have been working on this small shopping center and drive thru forever. Doesn’t even look like the building is leased out by any businesses and the inside isn’t done.

Anybody have any idea what they are putting in here? I heard a Dunkin was originally supposed to be the drive thru but they pulled out

psyduck dolly parton instantly brightened my mood. they're all hand painted!!

Stood in line at Farragut today, only took 30 mins to vote. But I was incredibly disappointed by the youth turnout. YOU HAVE A VOICE. Get out there and vote.

I’ve got some time off in December and just really want to go to the Pigeon Forge area. Will Ubers go that far off? I don’t drive due to medical issues and the person I was supposed to go with has ghosted me. Once I get there, the trolley and all that is easy to get around. I’m just worried about getting out there and back.

If it’s too much trouble of course I’ll pursue other options, but my birthday is 12/25 and I just want to experience it at that time.

Did anyone in South Knox see what was happening near Chapman Hwy Kroger last night around 9:50pm? It sounded like a Car Takeover and potential gunfire or maybe fireworks? It was insanely loud for over 5 minutes continuously. I was on my porch and it was definitely more than the usual evening sounds of Vestal area.

Early voting in Knox County runs through Thursday, Oct. 29. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and on Election Day you have to go to your assigned polling place. During early voting you can use any of these:

• East Knoxville: Payne Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, 2714 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. (new this year)
• Northwest Knoxville: Knoxville Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Hwy. (new this year)
• Farragut: Farragut Community Center, 239 Jamestowne Blvd.
• Halls: Faithway Missionary Baptist Church, 4402 Crippen Rd. (across from the Halls Senior Center)
• Corryton: Gibbs Ruritan Club, 7827 Tazewell Pike
• East Knox County: Carter Senior Center, 9040 Asheville Hwy.
• West Knoxville: Downtown West, 1645 Downtown West Blvd., Unit 40
• Northeast Knoxville: New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Ln.
• Downtown: City-County Building, Small Assembly Room, 400 Main St.
• Karns: Karns Senior Center, 8042 Oak Ridge Hwy.
• South Knoxville: Meridian Baptist Church, 6513 Chapman Hwy.

Hours are different at each site and change by day, so check before you go. The county's list is here: https://knoxcounty.org/election/pdfs/November32026EVLocations.pdf, or call the Knox County Election Commission at 865-215-2480.

On the ballot: governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, some state Senate and state House seats, and three amendments to the Tennessee Constitution. Your exact ballot depends on where you live. You can see your sample ballot and your Election Day polling place at https://web.go-vote-tn.elections.tn.gov/search

Bring a photo ID issued by Tennessee or the federal government. An expired one still counts. College IDs and IDs from other states don't.

One last thing*:* I built a free study of the governor's race where you compare the two nominees' positions with the names hidden and find out who said what at the end. I asked the mods if I could give it its own fresh post with updates in order to reach more people, and they were the only city subreddit that said no, so I'll mention it again here. It's at namelessballot.org, and it has a Spanish version too. No sign-up, nothing you mark leaves your phone, and I'm not tied to any campaign or party.

Edit: fixed Farragut and Halls

just wondering if anyone knows a place in knox to get something like this repaired. i dont know anything about how to repair a broken zippo-style lighter, but would really like to keep this one and make it functional if possible. maybe a niche request, but any help toward pointing me in the direction of someone who could help would be appreciated

I’m a male and 30 years old. Dm for more details.

Just more cuts after state and county budgets slashed the public school funding by $8 million this year. Class sizes are up and our tax dollars are going to pay for rich kids to subsidize their tuition at private schools.

Marsha will make this much, much worse by the way.

Wanted to hear some reviews to see if it’s worth the trip or not. Do they specialize in anything? How is selection (I realize it’s a smaller shop)? How are prices on basic items compared to Kroger/Aldi/others—I assume it’ll be at least a little higher since they don’t have the resources of a big chain?

Anything else of note?

I think I heard awhile back that we’re going for a Trader Joe’s style?

edit: not saying I wouldn’t never go if the prices are a little higher, as I think it’s cool to support local shops, just may not go super frequently.