White Pelicans

Sarah Bignall has led KAXE through a period of bold growth and recognition since becoming CEO/General Manager in 2022, including being named Ampers 2025 Station of the Year. Under her leadership, the station’s award-winning newsroom has expanded local coverage across Northern Minnesota and elevated KAXE’s digital reach to record levels. She’s also been sought out by outlets like KARE11, the Star Tribune, MinnPost, and Politico to speak on the far-reaching effects of CPB funding cuts on rural public media.

As a mail carrier in rural Grand Rapids, Minn., for 35 years, John Latimer put his own stamp on a career that delivered more than letters. Indeed, while driving the hundred-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, and becoming the go-to guy who could answer customers’ questions about what they were seeing in the environment.