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Contributed/Glen Stubbe|Minnesota ReformerThe first day of the new session on Feb. 17, 2026, was the first time in 20 years Rep. Melissa Hortman was absent. She, her husband and their dog were killed in June 2025. -
Contributed/via National Weather Service DuluthA layer of wet, heavy snow fell on Northern Minnesota Feb. 17-18, 2026. Combined with heavy winds, the weather knocked out power throughout the Arrowhead. -
Lawmakers returned to St. Paul on Tuesday, Feb. 17. MinnPost senior government reporter Matthew Blake sets the tone for the session and shares the stories he's watching. -
Plus: Chip Rankin will be the next superintendent of Brainerd Public Schools; Polk and Mahnomen counties have new commissioners after special elections; and the latest updates for Northland winter athletes.
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Contributed/Ely Nordic Wolves via FacebookThe Ely boys Nordic ski team finished third at the state meet Feb. 12, 2026, and Brainerd senior Annelise Baird took fourth. -
Contributed/Bemidji Fire DepartmentThe remains of one person were located inside the home once the blaze was extinguished on Feb. 16, 2026. -
Winter storms will spread from North Dakota to the Arrowhead Feb. 17-19, 2026, bringing gusty winds and wet, heavy snow. -
Contributed/Lainie Hiller/Lainie Hiller Photography via Bemidji High School Girls HockeyBemidji is making its first state tourney appearance since 2007, while Warroad and Proctor-Hermantown hold the first- and second-longest appearance streaks. -
Election year ambitions and heightened partisan vitriol are undermining hope for the bipartisan comity needed to pass anything in the closely divided Legislature. -
Minnesota now has just 19 electric school buses, but more than 20 districts are waiting on deliveries, some by the 2026-2027 school year.
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.
