Our People

CEO/General Manager

Since stepping into the role of CEO/General Manager in early 2022, Sarah Bignall has led Northern Community Radio through a period of significant growth. Under her leadership, the station has expanded its newsroom, launching innovative projects to increase local news coverage across Northern Minnesota. Sarah has also overseen a remarkable growth in the station’s digital presence, with KAXE.org reaching record-breaking levels of audience engagement. More

Email: sbignall@kaxe.org

Director of Business Services

Penny Holcomb has been with Northern Community Radio since 2004, handling a variety of finance, accounting, grants, human resource and operations functions as Director of Business Services. Penny is an avid reader and coordinates the Northern Community Radio book clubs. More

Email: pholcomb@kaxe.org

News Director

Chelsey Perkins became the News Director in early 2023 and was tasked with building a new local newsroom at the station. She is based in Brainerd and leads a team of two reporters covering communities across Northern Minnesota from the KAXE studio in Grand Rapids and the KBXE studio in Bemidji. More

Email: cperkins@kaxe.org

Music Director
The Music Director at KAXE since 2014, Kari (pronounced Car-ee) Hedlund reviews music on the daily. She also hosts New Music every Wednesday (2 and 10 p.m.) and Sunday (noon), along with the KAXE Morning Show on Thursdays. More

Email: khedlund@kaxe.org

Director of Content and Public Affairs

Heidi Holtan is Director of Content and Public Affairs. She manages producers/hosts and is the host of the KAXE Morning Show, including a variety of local content like Phenology, What We're Reading, Area Voices, Sports Page and much more, alongside Morning Edition from NPR. More

Email: hholtan@kaxe.org

Development Director

Chris Walker started as Development Director at the beginning of April 2023. Since then, he has worked on developing new sponsorship packages, overseen membership initiatives and assisted in the planning of Grand Rapids Riverfest. More

Email: cwalker@kaxe.org

Host/Producer

Jennifer Barr has worked at Northern Community Radio since 2006 and spent 17 years as Membership Manager. She shifted to a host/producer position in 2023. She hosts the Monday Morning Show and is the local host of National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" a few days a week. More

Email: jbarr@kaxe.org

Bemidji Area Reporter

Larissa Donovan has been in the Bemidji area's local news scene since 2016, joining the KAXE newsroom in 2023 after several years as the News Director for the stations of Paul Bunyan Broadcasting. More

Email: ldonovan@kaxe.org

Volunteer Coordinator

Dan Gannon was born on the south side of Chicago and remembers dancing to Booker T and the MG's as his first musical memory. What followed has been a lifelong adventure of hearing new music and being exposed to the people and communities that produced the artists. More

Email: dgannon@kaxe.org

Development Associate - Community Sponsorships

After being a KAXE member and off-air volunteer for nearly 20 years, Jen started at the station as a Development Associate in December 2023 working to connect local businesses and organizations to KAXE.

Email: jkellen@kaxe.org

Staff Phenologist

As a mail carrier in rural Grand Rapids for 35 years, John Latimer put his own stamp on a career that delivered more than letters. Indeed, while driving the 100-mile round-trip daily route, he passed the time by observing and recording seasonal changes in nature, learning everything he could about the area’s weather, plants and animals. More

Email: jlatimer@kaxe.org

IT/Broadcast Engineer

With over 20 years of tech work in non-profit industries under his belt, Steve Neu has spent nearly his entire career at the intersection of IT and AV. Among the hats Steve has worn are that of a hobbyist programmer, a live sound technician, desktop & server administrator, video producer and director, AV systems designer and installer, and of course broadcast engineer. More

Email: sneu@kaxe.org

Grand Rapids/Range Area Reporter

Megan Buffington joined the KAXE newsroom in 2024 after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from Pequot Lakes, she is passionate about educating and empowering communities through local reporting. More

Email: mbuffington@kaxe.org

Host/Producer - Area Voices

Email: adziengel@kaxe.org

Member Services Coordinator

Heather Johnson, a longtime KAXE/KBXE listener, is your point of contact for all things membership. Before joining the Northern Community Radio team in late 2023, Heather was a copy editor who untangled text for several companies and organizations. More

Email: hjohnson@kaxe.org

Producer - Minnesota Mixtape & Music

Malachy Koons started his radio career at a college radio station, where he played weird music in the middle of the night to possibly no one. On a good night maybe his parents were listening. Nonetheless, he was hooked on public radio and is still doing it today. More

Email: mkoons@kaxe.org

Phenology Coordinator

Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentially, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick. More

Email: cmitchell@kaxe.org

Development Associate

Peggy Stevens works primarily from KBXE in Bemidji.

Email: pstevens@kaxe.org