BEMIDJI — I've been covering local elections since 2016, with many late nights of greasy pizza, bitter coffee and impatiently refreshing the Secretary of State’s unofficial results page.
Election coverage tends to be candidate focused. Eager candidates with fresh ideas talk about ways they think they could help improve their communities, whether that’s a new park, a lower tax levy or improved streets. Incumbents point to their past accomplishments and their experience in making sometimes difficult decisions as stewards of tax-payer dollars.
“No offense, I’m sick of talking to you guys, I want to hear from the voters,” I blurted out to Matt Grossell, incumbent candidate for the District 2A House race in 2022, who did laugh and said he didn’t blame me when I ran into him at a candidate meet-and-greet on the Bemidji State University campus.
While federal and state candidate races receive the most attention from media outlets, we have a unique opportunity at KAXE to curate more community-oriented election coverage on issues that affect us here in Northern Minnesota. And that’s why I’m hosting a listening session at the Bemidji Public Library from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.
Talk to me about what you love about our community. I love it, too! I love it so much I’m losing sleep as I help coordinate the Bemidji Jaycees 80th Annual Water Carnival, set for July 3-7.
Tell me about what needs to get better. I’m a single mom and I know about the challenges young families can face when it comes to affordable housing, affordable day care and accessing mental health services.
I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but I am persistent enough to try to find those answers for you.
We’ll have extremely light, librarian-approved refreshments on hand for this free, kid-friendly event. Tell us you're coming or spread the word by visiting our Facebook event.
We want to hear from communities all over the KAXE / KBXE coverage area, so invite us to host listening sessions in your town by emailing news@kaxe.org.
If listening sessions aren’t your jam or you can’t make it, check out more about our project supported by America Amplified.
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Ivie Roberts, 38, said she has experienced many setbacks from her prior convictions and hopes an expungement, or record seal, will lead to better opportunities. -
The Office of the Inspector General's audit of the Bemidji Post Office pointed to numerous failures by management at the district and local levels. -
The proposed donation from Dennis Dodge would also include the inscription: “We must put God back into our educational system before we lose our children and this great nation." -
There wasn't enough moisture last winter to extinguish Canadian wildfires that are blazing again, leading to an early start to smoky skies above Minnesota. -
Niganawenimaanaanig — a program designed to recruit and retain Indigenous students into nursing tracks at Bemidji State University — saw nine students graduate this year, a record class since the program's inception in 2017. -
A designation change, pending approval from the Centers for Medicaid Services, would move Mahnomen Health Center from a critical access hospital to a rural emergency hospital — the first in Minnesota. -
AirCorps Aviation, founded in 2011, restores vintage airplanes and manufactures unique parts in Erik Hokuf's hometown of Bemidji.
