Chelsey Perkins
News DirectorChelsey Perkins became the News Director in early 2023 and was tasked with building a new local newsroom at the station. She is based in Brainerd and leads a team of two reporters covering communities across Northern Minnesota from the KAXE studio in Grand Rapids and the KBXE studio in Bemidji.
The news team launched the Up North Report in August 2023 — a five-minute newscast airing daily on KAXE, WTIP and available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify and more. They also publish original stories at KAXE.org and make regular appearances on the KAXE Morning Show to dive deeper into their work.
In a short time, the team earned three second-place awards in the Public Media Journalism Association 2024 Awards in digital writing, daily newscast and interview podcast episode. In 2023, Chelsey was named a fellow of the Poynter Institute's Public Media Editorial Integrity and Leadership Initiative.
Chelsey grew up in Crosslake, Minnesota, where most of her family continues to live. She spent the first 15 years of her journalism career as a print journalist, primarily as a newspaper reporter and editor for the Brainerd Dispatch. There, she covered Crow Wing County government and served on the FCC Editorial Advisory Board.
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The KAXE News Team is breaking down your property tax statement, line by line. Next, credits, local government's preliminary tax levies and how others' value changes affect your taxes. -
Plus: More fraud uncovered in state-run Medicaid services, but total is disputed; and MPCA to study sulfate levels in Minnesota waters.
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Plus U.S. senators check in on status of postal delivery in the Minnesota-North Dakota district after recent woes; and a new coalition looks to reset the green building conversation.
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Plus: Red Lake Nation's NativeCare cannabis operation plans to open dispensaries in Thief River Falls and the metro; Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a $500M settlement with Hyundai and Kia over anti-theft devices; and MN DEED announced more than $91M in Public Facilities Authority awards for clean drinking water projects.
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Plus: Clipper expected to bring wind, snow and possible rain; Community Cafe moves to YMCA; and a Cass County woman is honored for conservation efforts.
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Plus: The sale of MN Power's parent company ALLETE to private equity firms closed Monday; Northern MN DFL party official Cyndi Martin resigns one year after criminal vehicular homicide charge; and traffic on the Highway 6 bridge near Big Falls will be reduced to single lane through spring.
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The KAXE News Team is breaking down your property tax statement, piece by piece. First, some background information, valuation and property classifications.
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Plus: The Minnesota Student Survey shows improvements in youth depression and vaping; and a parasitic fungus shows promise for controlling emerald ash borer.
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Plus: An agricultural policy expert in Minnesota says the new bailout package for farms is a temporary fix; and MnDOT's "Name a Snowplow" contest returns for its sixth year.
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Plus: As Pulsar Helium hopes to mine what may be the largest concentration of helium in the world, other companies are also exploring the potential for naturally forming hydrogen on the Iron Range.
