GRAND RAPIDS —It's been an unseasonably warm fall in Northern Minnesota, but beautiful, as always. Yesterday was in the mid-80s. But I woke up this morning to a slight but welcome chill (it won't last long) and thought, "Sweater weather!"
On Wednesday mornings, I'm not usually on the KAXE Morning Show, so it's a more leisurely pace of making coffee, feeding the cat, and, of course, turning on KAXE.
I caught the tail end of the Up North Report with stories about rental assistance, donating winter coats at local churches and paid leave laws. Then, I heard hosts Andrew Dziengel and Dan Gannon reading texts from listeners, playing new music and talking about green smoothies and growing Swiss chard.
They moved on to birthday and anniversary announcements, a new song from SHOUND and Vance Joy, and then nature with John Latimer. All of this, woven in with Morning Edition from National Public Radio.
It was an ordinary morning, and once my coffee brewed, I actually sighed a little bit.
And then it hit me. Today — Oct. 1, 2025 — is the first day that KAXE has ever operated without federal funding.
Back in July, when Congress gutted public media funding, we learned we’d lose nearly $230,000 we have historically counted on, every year from this point forward.
I’ll be honest. There was a moment I wasn’t sure we’d make it to our 50th anniversary on April 23, 2026. But since then, our listeners stepped up in historic fashion, generously giving more than $170,000 in support. Today, I know we will.
The dollars matter, yes. But it’s the people behind them who lift us up. The generosity is what keeps us moving forward, finding new ways to fund people-powered radio.
We are here to serve the communities of Northern Minnesota. We provide news and music and conversations, each and every day.
We've got a dedicated and talented staff of people who work hard and, more importantly, care deeply about what they do. But we don't do it alone.
Our volunteer DJs produce great programs that help us achieve our mission.
Our board of directors keeps our infrastructure healthy and moving forward.
Off-air volunteers answer phones, help us clean up after events, haul garbage and keep us trucking, too.
Listeners give us news tips, call in for Green Cheese trivia, send in stories and tell us when we get it wrong.
To everyone who has donated, tuned in, texted, shared our stories, come to Grand Rapids Riverfest, or simply kept KAXE in your daily life: thank you. You’ve shown that local media is a precious resource we can’t let die.
KAXE is people-powered radio in Northern Minnesota. Join us at kaxe.org.
Here's to the fall of 2025: cooling temperatures ahead, sweaters and the steady sound of KAXE.
