KAXE News earns 18 Eric Sevareid Awards at 2026 MBJA ceremony

The KAXE News team earned 18 Eric Sevareid Awards from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association at this year’s 2026 Midwest Journalism Conference.

Among Medium Market Radio entrants, the team earned nine First Place awards and nine Awards of Merit.

First Place Awards

• Breaking News: Federal Grant Freezes 

•  Broadcast Writing: Up North Report Features — The unhoused in the Brainerd area have nowhere legal to sleep this summer; US Steel permit requests reignite debate over wild rice sulfate limits; 20 years after shooting, former Red Lake students closer to memorial goal 

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Frustration over racism at Rock Ridge 

• General Reporting: Sheriffs and ICE 

• Hard Feature: Homelessness in Brainerd 

• Investigative: Automatic License Plate Readers in Northern Minnesota 

• Morning Newscast: Up North Report — April 10, 2025 

• News Series: Severe Bemidji Windstorm (see summary from our Top 10 Stories of 2025) 

• Weather Breaking Coverage: Brainerd Lakes Area Tornadoes 

Awards of Merit

• Breaking News: State Sen. Justin Eichorn’s Arrest 

• Evening Newscast: Up North Report — Aug. 20, 2025 

• General Reporting: Essentia Health Advanced Practice Providers Strike; Tribal Colleges Face Funding Fluxes 

• Hard Feature: Mining, Wild Rice and Sulfate; Red Lake School Shooting Memorial Project 

• Soft Feature: GoMARTI 2.0 Launch Party; Lifelong Crane Laker Butch Eggen 

• Sports Reporting: World Junior Men’s Hockey Tournament 

News Director Chelsey Perkins and CEO/General Manager Sarah Bignall collected the awards at a banquet Saturday, April 11, at the InterContinential St. Paul Riverfront hotel.

"Feeling really proud of the news team at KAXE right now. They brought home 18 awards from this year's Eric Sevareid Awards for their reporting over the past year, which is incredible," Bignall said.

"The ceremony was a great reminder of the strength of local newsrooms across the Upper Midwest. So many talented journalists doing important work in their communities. Seeing our team recognized in such a big way was very special."

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Since 1976, KAXE has served the communities of rural Northern Minnesota with independent community radio, powered by people. The mission of KAXE News is to ensure we provide our listeners and readers with the highest-quality independent, fact-based news and information about Northern Minnesota. Our stations are located in Grand Rapids and Bemidji. Listen to us at 91.7 FM in Grand Rapids, 90.5 FM in Bemidji and 89.9 FM in Brainerd.

The Eric Sevareid Awards are named for the North Dakota-born and University of Minnesota-educated journalist best known for his work as a correspondent for CBS Radio and Television.

Each year, the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association presents awards to the best work done by broadcast news operations and journalists working in small, medium and large markets in its six-state region on radio, television and online.

A distinguished panel of judges is made up of journalists and educators who live outside of Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Iowa and Nebraska to help ensure impartiality.