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Contributed/Brian DowThe Bemidji Police Department was not a part of the operation, and no more information had been shared with the city as of Friday morning, June 12, 2026, according to Mayor Jorge Prince. -
And: A missing Alexandria woman found alive in mud puddle near Backus; a nature-based early learning center opens in Coleraine; and Brainerd boys and Detroit Lakes girls are state golf champions. -
Contributed/briandjan607 via FlickrThe Emergency Forest Order, which prohibited campfires and charcoal-fueled cookstoves, will be lifted on June 12, 2026. -
Contributed/Bemidji Fire DepartmentThe Bemidji Fire Department responded to the multi-family structure fire in the nearby city of Wilton on June 10, 2026. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEThe Paul Bunyan Playhouse is bringing back professional theater to the Historic Chief Theater for the first full season since 2023. -
Erin Bowman/KAXEChildren at the nature-based Roots and Wings Early Learning Center in southern Coleraine typically spend five to six hours outside each day on the 25-acre campus. -
Contributed/Minnesota Chippewa TribeMembers of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe bands cast ballots for secretary-treasurers and tribal council representatives on June 9, 2026. -
Plus: the Brainerd City Council is considering a plan to redevelop the City Hall parking lot into a four-story apartment complex.
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Chris Walker/KAXEThe Hibbing Gas Manufacturing Plant was torn down in 1980, but the industrial processes of the past left contamination in the soil, groundwater and nearby surface water. -
Contributed/National Weather ServiceThe Level 3 of 5, or enhanced risk of severe weather, has shifted east to Wisconsin, but much of Northern Minnesota is still at a Level 2 for Wednesday, June 10, 2026.
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.
