© 2026

For assistance accessing the Online Public File for KAXE or KBXE, please contact: Steve Neu, IT Engineer, at 800-662-5799.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

When rural districts combine, wins for budgets and students come with identity loss

The Iron Range offers a window into communities reckoning with how their identities must change for the betterment of future generations as schools increasingly collaborate.

This reporting is part of a collaboration with the Institute for Nonprofit News' Rural News Network and Big Local News at Stanford University, with data journalist Cherry Salazar’s analysis helping anchor the reporting. Six nonprofit newsrooms were involved: BenitoLink, KAXE, Mat-Su Sentinel, Mississippi Today, Oxford Free Press and The Texas Tribune. Support from the Walton Family Foundation made this project possible.

More from KAXE News

Stay Connected
Megan Buffington covers North-Central Minnesota from the Brainerd lakes area. Originally from Pequot Lakes, she joined the KAXE newsroom in 2024. Megan previously covered the Arrowhead for KAXE. She is passionate about amplifying Northern Minnesota voices and educating communities through local reporting.
Latest Episodes