Megan Buffington
Grand Rapids Area ReporterMegan Buffington joined the KAXE newsroom in 2024 after graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally from Pequot Lakes, she is passionate about educating and empowering communities through local reporting.
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Speakers from Bemidji, Cass Lake-Bena, Pequot Lakes, Pillager, Walker, Laporte, Cherry, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Red Lake County, UNC, Staples-Motley and Crookston took home hardware. -
And: Experts say Minnesota has tools to counter growing wildfire risk. -
Plus: Essentia Health recently broke ground on a $12 million expansion of the Fosston hospital's emergency room.
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Daniel Dale was out on $1 million bail when he allegedly got into a physical altercation with two family members April 21, 2026, resulting in domestic assault charges. -
The Grand Rapids-based foundation said there is an ongoing conflict of interest in the trust management, amid several years of underperformance that is "not sustainable." -
And: Minnesota Outdoors Recreation Industry Partnership will share economic impact report at Brainerd event Tuesday, April 28.
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Plus: Bemidji Area Schools approved a 3-year teaching contract along with $2.7 million in staff reductions; Gov. Tim Walz signed the nursing home "happy hour" bill into law; and the Lakes Area Food Shelf opened a new location in Baxter.
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Plus: The city of Virginia will begin removing and replacing ash trees in a proactive move against the invasive emerald ash borer.
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And: Most of Northern MN under spring burning restrictions; SNF open houses Thursday, Monday; and Northland students to compete in speech, robotics state meets.
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The qualifiers span 27 Northern Minnesota teams and all 13 categories. Over 30 are repeat qualifiers, including five medalists and one reigning champion.
