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.
-
Sheriffs Joe Dasovich and Bryan Welk say joining will increase safety in their Northern Minnesota communities, but the program carries profiling and liability concerns. -
Plus: Megan Buffington recaps a candidate forum for the special Itasca County Board elecion. -
News Director Chelsey Perkins catches up on what's happening in St. Paul with Report for Minnesota student journalists Yvette Higgins, Sam Siedow and Elias Thomas.
-
Plus: Leech Lake clarifies DOGE eyes the smaller IHS office lease; Voyageurs National Park Crane Lake visitor center not impacted by lease cancellations; Turtle River student wins essay contest; and KAXE's Rock Ridge Special Election Guide helps inform voters.
-
Plus: Rural MN girls basketball teams head to state; and ICTV and KAXE will co-host an Itasca County Board District 4 candidate forum.
-
Plus: the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed Aitkin County's decision to convict a Minneapolis woman of unlawful assembly and trespass during the Line 3 construction; and rural Northern Minnesota athletes in three sports gave it their all in state tournaments last weekend.
-
Plus: The Minnesota DNR enforcement division formally recognized 18 people and 1 dog for their lifesaving actions in 2024-25; and experts are leery of the Trump administration's $1 billion new plan to combat avian flu.
-
Plus: Bemidji residents, officials lobby at for the region's priorities at the state Capitol, and United Way of 1000 Lakes seeks Volunteer of the Year award nominations.
-
The University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication program placed student journalists in the state Capitol to cover the 2025 legislative session. -
3 men plead guilty to Bemidji murder and robbery; U.S. Sens. want answers about MN federal buildingsPlus: Social media post on Grand Rapids trans bathroom use prompts public comment; and family-owned Cragun's Resort to be sold to investment group.
