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Chelsey Perkins/KAXEThe state of Minnesota and Fleet Farm filed a settlement in federal court Feb. 24, 2026, in a lawsuit accusing the retailer of enabling straw purchases of firearms. -
Contributed/Hibbing Boys JV & Varsity SwimmingStudent-athletes from 10 rural Northern Minnesota schools will compete at the state swimming and diving meet Feb. 26-28, 2026, in Minneapolis. -
Contributed/MnDOTMinnesotans voted for their favorite names out of 30 finalists. The winning names will be assigned to one plow in each of MnDOT's eight districts. -
Contributed/MedicAlert UK via Unsplash.comLaunch North from the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging will host events in Duluth, Grand Rapids, International Falls and Cloquet, where health care careers will be the topic. -
Plus: Stauber introduces legislation to require judges be natural born citizens; and the latest round of names for MnDOT snowplows is released. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEAs the district looks to trim $3 million from its budget this spring, community members, teachers and parents rallied against the shuttering of J.W. Smith Elementary. -
Contributed/Arrowhead TransitAll of the public transportation services in Northern Minnesota will be available on MnDOT's trip planning app and website by this summer. -
Contributed/Picasa 2.7 via FlickrThe Public Utilities Commission declined the request from environmental group CURE and said further discussion and regulation of data centers could take place in separate cases. -
Plus: The U.S. Senate is expected to soon vote on whether to allow copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters; and the latest in winter high school sports.
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Contributed/Sora Shimazaki via PexelsCyndy Martin's defense indicated they are still seeking a plea agreement, but Judge Heidi Chandler set a trial date of Aug. 31, 2026, for the alleged 2024 hit-and-run.
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.
