KAXE News created this Northern Minnesota Election Guide for our audience — especially those who otherwise wouldn’t have access to candidate information.

Our goal for election coverage is to provide information to empower and inform about voting and elections. We don’t want to tell you how to vote, but we want to play a role in empowering you to vote by providing unbiased and trustworthy reporting.

As local journalists, we know your vote does make a difference in the policies that affect your daily life.

KAXE's Election Guide only includes candidates in contested races. Visit our full list of who's running for office in Northern Minnesota to see who else is on the ballot.

Don't see a race you know is contested? Races for which none of the candidates submitted answers were not included.

If you still have questions for the candidates, contact information for all those who've filed to run for office can be found at candidates.sos.state.mn.us.

KAXE contacted every candidate twice using contact information submitted to the Secretary of State's Office to invite them to participate in our Election Guide.

Candidate responses have not been edited and are published as submitted.

As necessary, our news team added contextual information clearly marked with an "editor's note" and in italics, though responses have not been uniformly fact-checked.

With our small team of three, we are unable to proactively fact check every statement made by candidates. But we will make every effort to make note of inaccuracies if they come to our attention.

Ensuring the health of our democracy in your city, township, state or country is central to the mission of our news team and to journalism as a whole.

Making sure we are giving our listeners and readers the best local journalism is our top priority.

Our goal is to provide the highest-quality independent, fact-based news and information about Northern Minnesota.

For more on our newsroom policies and how we do our work, visit our Policies page.

Are you tired of political spin and misinformation during election season?

Working with our partners at America Amplified, we're committed to covering elections YOUR way this year.

We want to make sure you have the facts about voting and the elections process. Think of us as your personal election information booth.

How will I know my input will be heard?

We are collecting audience feedback through surveys, social media, texting, emails and in-person events. We are using that community input to guide our questions and develop story ideas on emerging themes that matter to the people of Northern Minnesota. We strive to acknowledge our participants for their contributions in our reporting.

Why should I care about elections?

We don’t want to tell you how to vote, but we want to play a role in empowering you to vote by providing unbiased and trustworthy reporting. Ensuring the health of our democracy in your city, township, state or country is central to the mission of journalism as a whole. We encourage citizens to get involved in all aspects of the democratic process– whether that’s as an election judge, knowing where your polling place is, or how to vote early. As local journalists, we know your vote does make a difference in the policies that affect your daily life.

I’m running for local office. Can I buy an ad on your station?

As a public radio station, we are governed by different laws than commercial radio stations, meaning we cannot take money from candidates or political causes. If you’re interested in connecting with our news team for a potential interview, please reach out to news@kaxe.org.

Contact our news team at news@kaxe.org with questions or comments or to report any errors.

How do I know your coverage is fair?

Our team will work together to ensure fairness is at the forefront in our reporting. You will hear the conversation as it happened, so you can decide how you feel about elected officials’ answers. We abide by the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics and National Public Radio’s ethics handbook. We will be diligent in connecting with elected officials and candidates, and transparent about the responses we get from them.

What if I think you’re biased?

Tell us how you feel. We welcome all feedback from our audience because it helps us understand where we may need to provide greater transparency into how we cover elections. Our elections team is not part of any political party, following the rules of the SPJ Code of Ethics and the NPR Ethics handbook. The vast majority of local elections are nonpartisan and we intend to focus on the issues that unite people across party lines.