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Megan Buffington/KAXEThe Pequot Lakes Fire District and Breezy Point Police Department responded to the fire the morning of March 14, 2026. The incident is under investigation. -
Contributed/Lakers Music BoostersSeveral Detroit Lakes High School band and choir members are currently on a northbound bus, and Music Director Tim Siewert said the travel fiasco will add $35,000 in unexpected costs. -
The 110 investor-owned utilities included in the report had an average profit margin of 12.8% from 2021 to 2024 and 14.6% in 2025. Xcel and Otter Tail were in the top 40 both years. -
Contributed/Ellen Schmidt / MinnPost / CatchLight Local / Report for AmericaHundreds of cities are vying for state bonding bill dollars to fund local infrastructure projects at the Legislature. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEAn estimated 9 million trees around the Bemidji area were damaged or downed in the June 2025 storm. Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood said planning for spring fire danger has been ongoing since. -
Contributed/John Muhlenpoh / MSHSLMountain Iron-Buhl finishes its season with a 30-2 record. Anna Neyens and Paige Norman were named to the all-tournament team, as was Kelliher/Northome’s Kate Thayer. -
Planning and preparation for the 2026 spring wildfire season began shortly after the major blowdown storm in the Bemidji region, which saw an estimated 9 million trees downed or damaged. -
And: A new bill in the Minnesota Legislature would allow small school districts to shrink their school board size.
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Contributed/Beltrami CountyIn a Thursday, March 12, 2026, order, Judge Jeanine Brand said the attorney general’s office showed sufficient probable cause for the case against Michelle R. Skroch to move forward. -
Contributed/US House Clerk YouTube screenshotThe legislation was previously introduced in the Senate and aims to prevent fraud in the child care assistance program. The Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota condemned the bill's name.
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.
