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Contributed/Smokey the Bear | National Forest ServiceThe National Weather Service says a red flag warning will be in effect from noon to 7 p.m. March 28, 2026. -
Contributed/Francesco Ungaro via PexelsThe Cass County Sheriff’s Office received the report about 10:45 p.m. at the sawmill east of Highway 371. Deputies found the kiln drying and storage building engulfed in flames. -
Plus: Eighth District Congressman Pete Stauber's bill for Great Lakes restoration funding passed the House with bipartisan support; Minnesota will no longer recognize Cesar Chavez Day; and St. Louis County seeks public input on how to use opioid settlement funds. -
Contributed/St. Louis CountySt. Louis County has received three rounds of funding from the class-action opioid settlement and is seeking program ideas that assist people in the criminal justice system. -
The Republican from Hermantown authored the American Water Stewardship Act, and it passed March 24, 2026, with bipartisan support. -
Contributed/MnDOTThe Minnesota Department of Transportation will host an open house March 31, 2026, ahead of the first year of its project on Highway 210 in Brainerd. -
Contributed/Paul Bunyan CommunicationsThree projects in Aitkin, Hubbard, Itasca and St. Louis counties are expected to provide high-speed internet options to 3,200 locations. -
And: Bemidji community urges Board to keep J.W. Smith open; and a Cuyuna rec area land dispute prompts road closure confusion, concerns.
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Contributed/Cuyuna Lakes Mountain Bike Trails via FacebookThe DNR said a closure notice because of a land dispute in the Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area was an error, but it’s unclear how access could be affected moving forward. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEBemidji Area Schools is considering consolidating its elementary schools by closing J.W. Smith, and community members are urging the Board to look at other options.
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.
