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: Environmental group CURE is asking the state to reassess the private equity sale of Minnesota Power, given new information about the utility's data center plans. -
He was especially heated about Trump amplifying a conspiracy theory that the governor was involved in the assassination of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband. -
Plus: Bridge to Health Survey seeks more Northland respondents to survey collecting anonymous health information; and local hospitals list top baby names of 2025.
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And: Former Iron Range teacher sentenced to 18 years for criminal sexual conduct; 8 Northern MN housing projects awarded state funds; and MN awarded $193 million in federal rural health dollars.
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KAXE reporter Megan Buffington foregoes naming a favorite story and instead examines a favorite beat — and how it answers the oft-asked, "Why did you become a journalist?"
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Our No. 1 and No. 2 stories of year follow the wide-ranging local impacts of sometimes swift and surprising decisions in Washington, D.C., and a severe natural disaster changes the landscape in the Bemidji area.
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Our No. 3 and No. 4 stories of year examine the state's wild rice sulfate standard as U.S. Steel seeks a variance from the MPCA, and the arrest and subsequent resignation of former state Sen. Justin Eichorn.
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Our No. 5 and No. 6 stories of year break down what it means for local sheriffs to help enforce immigration laws, and the impact of budget cuts to library systems across the region.
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Our No. 7 and No. 8 stories of year cover the proliferation of automatic license plate readers as a law enforcement tool in Northern MN, and spring wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and hundreds of structures.
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KAXE covered natural disasters, federal funding chaos, Eichorn's arrest and resignation, mining permits and wild rice, library budget cuts, sheriffs teaming with ICE and more.
