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Contributed/Alyssa Chen | Minnesota ReformerMinneapolis businesses are estimated to have lost $10 to $20 million in sales each week of Operation Metro Surge, which began in December 2025. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEAn administrative law judge ruled in favor of the township's petition to become a city while denying Bemidji's counterpetition to redraw its boundary around Lake Bemidji. -
Megan Buffington/KAXEThe School Board voted down the alternative schedule 4-2. In the coming months, the district will have to figure out how else to cut 12% of its budget. -
Contributed/Brainerd Public SchoolsThree rural Northern Minnesotans placed at the state alpine ski meet in Biwabik on Feb. 10, 2026. -
Contributed/Minnesota HouseDuran, a Republican from Bemidji, was first elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 2024. -
Contributed/Nicole Neri / Minnesota ReformerThe unprecedented federal incursion brought 1000s of immigration officers to MN over the objections of local Democratic leaders, and led to massive protests and two deaths. -
Plus: St. Louis County seeks resident input on updates to its hazard mitigation plan; and United Way of 1000 Lakes is accepting Volunteer of the Year nominations. -
Contributed/United Way of 1000 LakesThe Volunteer of the Year will be honored during United Way’s Community Celebration on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEMinnesotans Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin are the first Americans to medal in the event, and Thiesse is the first American woman to ever medal in Olympic curling. -
Chelsey Perkins/KAXERecent court decisions have given the Trump administration room to carry out its controversial actions, but legal experts point to ICE consistently ignoring release orders, drawing admonishment from judges.
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.
