The KAXE News Team won two 2025 Public Media Journalists Association Annual Awards.
The team earned second place recognition for the Feb. 13, 2024, edition of its daily newscast, the Up North Report, which covered the Crosslake City Council’s consideration of absentee ballot processing, the Grand Rapids Legionnaire’s disease outbreak and the Grand Rapids School District’s looming budget cuts.
An additional second place was awarded in the spot news division for KAXE’s subsequent coverage of Crosslake’s decision not to administer absentee ballots.
The PMJA Awards are designed to recognize the very best work done by local public media outlets. KAXE competed against other organizations with up to three newsroom staff.
"I'm proud every day of the work done by our News Team, including reporters Larissa Donovan and Megan Buffington," said Chelsey Perkins, news director. "It doesn't take us winning awards for me to recognize the excellence of their work and the value our audience consistently tells us they gain from it.
"But as a relatively new team within a strong organization, it's still nice to compete at a high level and have that recognized by our national peers."
KAXE’s recognition is especially impactful amid ongoing threats to public media funding.
"We're tirelessly committed to presenting local news as best we can, and we can't do that without the support of Northern Minnesotans who care about what we provide," Perkins said. "Please help us keep going by telling your legislators what public media means to you."
This year, the KAXE News Team has also won a prestigious Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, 10 awards from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association and six awards from the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists.