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And: A bear visits Main Avenue in Thief River Falls; Highway 169 J-turn construction starts Monday; Hermantown corridor study set for Monday; and registration soon for tech career pathway programs in Itasca County. -
Contributed/ThisIsEngineering via PexelsSmart North offers no-cost, paid training with industry certifications for youth 16 and older and adult women, with additional support like child care and transportation. -
Contributed/Minnesota Pollution Control AgencyCanadian wildfire smoke began impacting Northeastern Minnesota Thursday morning, moving west over time. It will be joined by additional smoke from the northwest Saturday. -
The recent wildfires forced the township to cancel its appeal and equalization meeting without time for the township to give proper notice for a rescheduled meeting. -
Contributed/St. Louis CountySt. Louis County is looking to make a segment of the road near Pike Lake, northeast of Hermantown, safer, as there are a variety of concerns. -
Contributed/St. Louis CountyThe construction at the intersection of highways 169 and 25 will end in early August 2025 and make one of the most dangerous intersections in the county safer. -
Chelsey Perkins/KAXEDozens of Northern Minnesota farmers markets make fresh produce and other homemade products available direct to consumers. Find a farmers market near you using KAXE's map. -
Chris Walker/KAXEThe bill is likely to change in the Senate, where clean energy advocates and industries are pressing GOP lawmakers. -
Contributed/A.J. Olmscheid/Senate Media ServicesBonding bills require a 60% supermajority in both the House and Senate to pass, meaning it needs robust bipartisan support. Partisan tensions appear to have won out this year. -
Plus: A McKinley City Council member is facing three felonies after allegedly disrupting power service to three Iron Range cities; St. Louis County assessors are setting up an alternate process for Fairbanks Township residents to appeal their 2025 valuations due to wildfire evacuations; Amazon is building a distribution facility in Grand Rapids; and drifting Canadian wildfire smoke is prompting air quality alerts in the Northland this weekend.
Chelsey 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.
Megan 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.
Larissa Donovan has been in the Bemidji area's local news scene since 2016, joining the KAXE newsroom in 2023 after several years as the News Director for the stations of Paul Bunyan Broadcasting.
