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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Plus: More than 100 people crowded into the Beltrami County Board Room Tuesday to voice concern about proposed cuts to local libraries and the county museum. -
And: Zebra mussels confirmed in Boy Lake; Crow Wing County accepting electronic waste Thursday; and Lake and Cook county residents can apply for Taconite Harbor redevelopment advisory committee.
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An amendment passed last year by the MN Legislature requires jails to administer medications to incarcerated people if prescribed before the people were booked into jail. -
And: Essentia Health-Fosston regains Level 4 trauma center designation; and University of Minnesota Crookston expects to break enrollment record.
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And: Highway 7 near Iron will be closed for about five days starting Monday; and the U of M seeks nominations from NW MN for Growing Local Leadership course.
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Plus: Walz appointed a Roseau County attorney to be the next Ninth District judge; a new study from the U of M School of Public Health found that access to obstetric care across the country has declined, hitting rural communities the hardest; the Superior National Forest will begin prescribed burns this week; and Paul Bunyan Communications says progress is on track for its broadband expansion projects in St. Louis and Itasca counties.
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Plus: West Fraser receives a Job Creation Fund grant from DEED; and the DNR predicts a vibrant fall color season.
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And: Walz announces vaccine access executive order; zebra mussels found in three more MN lakes; and MnDOT plans Hwy. 169 safety open house in Coleraine.
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Plus: A Duluth man was issued a misdemeanor citation for his role in the Camp House Fire this spring; DNR and Beltrami County are overseeing salvage timber harvests on storm-struck stands; and the Floodwood School Board will select a candidate to fill a vacancy at its Monday meeting.
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Plus: Crow Wing County offers tips for National Preparedness Month; and schools work to balance IEPs.
