PRESCOTT – Journalism is alive and well in the St. Croix Bluffs neighborhood of Prescott, where 11-year-old Poppy Knox has founded her own newspaper.

Called “Neighborhood News, The Best Newspaper Ever,” Knox’s newspaper details the adventures she has with her brothers, Ethan (7) and Gabe (8), parents Pat and Jaime, four cats (Spice, Batgirl, Tigger, Peaches) and bunny (Clover). Knox is quite accomplished for a tween: She published a previous newspaper called “The Kid Times,” but has since moved on to found a new publication, “Neighborhood News.”

“I had another one I did for a while, but I quit after a little bit,” Knox said. “I found a template online and thought it would be fun doing it again.”

While the public was only treated to four editions of “The Kid Times,” “Neighborhood News” is getting ready to publish its sixth edition. The paper comes out every two weeks and began on Jan. 11, 2025.

“When she was 7, she had some handwritten ones,” mom Jaime said. “She would start and then she would quit it for awhile.”

Examples from the inaugural edition of Knox’s paper include features on the family New Year’s Eve festivities, a missing hedgehog returned safely to his friends, a seasonal garage band called Super Rock Kids, a sneaky opossum stealing sunflower seeds; a section of jokes, cartoons, and an advice column from Etti-Cat (aka Tigger), the “local cat etiquette expert, known for his good advice to cat’s seeking answers about everything from their owners’ strange behavior to how to properly annoy a person.”

Knox’s ideas are creative and an extension of a busy, joyful household. She and her brothers are also members of the St. Croix Stars 4-H Club.

“I’ve always just thought it was fun,” Knox said. “I like writing the stories and designing it.”

She uses a template on Word to design the newspaper. Photos come from Poppy’s Photographing Agency.

“She taught herself the computer aspect,” said Jaime, who homeschools the kids. “And she does use AI for some things.”

Knox tries to include four pages of news and two pages of “funnies” each edition. Her brothers seem especially enthused with her decision to run “Garfield” comics.

“I like writing about all the stuff we do,” Knox said. “And the cats provide a lot of material. They are always doing goofy things.”

Her brothers sometimes give her ideas for stories, such as the cardboard slide they built on their basement stairs. Clover the bunny also provides breaking news ideas, such as the time he tunneled his way out of the pen.

Jaime is quick to point out that Knox should advertise her bakery in the paper. Yes, the journalist is also a talented baker with her own business. Her gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip bread is especially delicious.

“She provides the fellowship snacks for our church every week and she invoices the church monthly and they pay her,” Jaime said.

With all these talents, Poppy Knox will have no trouble seeking a rewarding career. Despite her successful newspaper, she sees herself running an animal sanctuary someday. She agreed with her mom that writing a newsletter would be a valuable skill for that endeavor.

Knox sends the newspaper digitally to her relatives and pen pals. Jaime, who is originally from Seattle where the kids were born, said she and Pat moved to Wisconsin to be closer to his family in Glenwood City.

“They all really like it,” Knox said of readers’ feedback.