In the mid-1990s, Lileks returned to the Twin Cities for a job with the Star Tribune, retaining his Newhouse column until late 2006.
When Charles left the Twin Cities, Lileks filled the slot and served as an afternoon-drive host on KSTP for a time in the late 1980s.
Lileks has also been a monologist for the public affairs program Almanac, carried on Minnesota PBS television stations.
The Bleat covers many topics in his personal life (including his daughter Natalie (referred to as "Gnat" until she became old enough to object) and the family dog, Scout), politics from a conservative viewpoint, and cultural points of interest ranging from art and architecture to movies and music (one perennial topic is the Minnesota State Fair).
[5] On May 7, 2007, Lileks announced that his home paper, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, was ending his column in the interest of budget cuts and putting him on a straight local-news beat.
They should look at the future, not just slash and burn.On June 5, 2007, the Star Tribune changed course and announced Lileks would serve as editor of buzz.mn, a community website.