WELY News

Plus: The Mesabi Trail is complete after 30 years

Emma Krab interviewed LiUNA Local 1097 business manager Shawn Braford about the state of labor in 2026.

Plus: Marble getes funds to install water filters for manganese and iron; ag department accepts comments on socioeconomic impacts of large dairies, and it’s a prolific pinecone season.

Plus: District judges in Crow Wing County request deputy presence at hearings, highway construction project moves forward in Bemidji

Plus: Wildfire-affected areas in and around the Boundary Waters continue to reopen; lake associations are seeing impacts from new boating laws; and Grand Itasca Clinic is changing its name.

Plus: 4-H competitors show animals at Minnesota State Fair

Plus: Sanford Health and North Memorial Health sign 10-year agreement with state AG for a merger; and the Beargrease sled dog race returns to “out-and-back” format for 2027 event.

Endazhi-Nitaawiging, a charter school on the Red Lake Nation, partnered with the Trust for Public Land for a new natural playground as part of a revamped schoolyard.

And: Bemidji data center moratorium clears first step; and Flock cameras coming down in St. Louis County.

Plus: Wild rice season shows promise despite shaky start

Plus: A paved trail wrapping Gull Lake is one small section away from completion; and Leech Lake celebrates a new family-oriented homeless shelter in Bena.

Plus: Lindell files recount lawsuit against secretary of state’s office; United Taconite received emission testing fine; Detroit Lakes sticker policy in limbo following split vote

Plus: High fish kills were reported this summer after prolonged heat and drought; and an iron reclamation project is underway at an abandoned Calumet mine.

A new state aid covers part of the operating levy for school districts that have lots of cabins. Some districts say they’ll offset the levy if voters approve it, meaning more money for the school, while taxes stay the same or go down.

Plus: Bemidji is closer to being the next home of a YMCA after a ceremonial groundbreaking; and local governments receive assistance to replace emerald ash borer-damaged trees.

Plus: Changes to ‘roadless rule’ could open areas of Superior National Forest to logging; and researchers consider climate change’s impacts on pathogen spread.

Plus: The FBI launches a new “Voices Not Forgotten” initiative to raise awareness of cold cases in tribal nations.

Plus: Meat processing facility in Staples opens

And: Glen’s Army Navy in Grand Rapids to close after 80 years.

Red Lake and four other Northern Minnesota counties are classified as legal deserts, with fewer than one practicing attorney per 1,000 residents.

And: The DNR confirmed zebra mussels in LaRue Mine Pit and Kabekona Lake; and Fulton Brewing will acquire Bemidji Brewing.

Plus: Wiener overtakes Utke in Senate District 5 race, public hearings on property tax

And: DFLer Trina Swanson to face Republican Rep. Stauber; a multigenerational election duo in Wadena; a Bagley pollworker’s thoughts on election security; and who to vote for in 2046.

This is the final part of KAXE’s “Overrepresented, undercounted” series exploring the impacts of incarceration for Indigenous Minnesotans.

Plus: Minnesota faces storage drought; Forest tent caterpillars cause tree damage

Plus: MN DNR took comments on Tamarack Mining Project; and proposed lodging denied by Nashwauk City Council

Plus: Leech lake fisheries seeks public input, youths tackle aquatic invasive species issue

Plus: DNR chooses annual fish stamp contest winners

Plus: Detroit Lakes’ School Board voted to remove rainbows from school property; and the Hubbard County Food Shelf is fundraising $2 million for a new building.

This is an audio version of the second part of KAXE’s “Overrepresented, undercounted” series that explores the disproportionate rates of Indigenous incarceration in our region.

And: U of M’s Natural Resources Research Institute launches new simulator to test innovations in iron refining.

Plus: Indigenous-led walk carries water 13 miles for Mississippi watershed amid mine discussion

Terri Pylka and Joel Karnick…………..

Plus: Federal judge stops MN law banning prediction markets; Municipal cannabis dispensary moves forward in GR; and the filing period closed Tuesday for many elected positions

Plus: The Brainerd Police Chief will retire early due to cancer; a new solar cooperative is forming in north-central MN; and MN DEED recently awarded more than $7 million in housing infrastructure grants.

Our No. 1 and No. 2 stories of year follow the wide-ranging local impacts of sometimes swift and surprising decisions in Washington, D.C., and a severe natural disaster changes the landscape in the Bemidji area. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Our No. 3 and No. 4 stories of year examine the state’s wild rice sulfate standard as U.S. Steel seeks a variance from the MPCA, and the arrest and subsequent resignation of former state Sen. Justin Eichorn. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Our No. 5 and No. 6 stories of year break down what it means for local sheriffs to help enforce immigration laws, and the impact of budget cuts to library systems across the region. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Our No. 7 and No. 8 stories of year cover the proliferation of automatic license plate readers as a law enforcement tool in Northern MN, and spring wildfires that destroyed thousands of acres and hundreds of structures. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Our No. 9 and No. 10 stories of year include an unusual strike over whether a wide range of Essentia Health providers can form a union and the controversial sale of an MN utility company. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Staff and residents at Havenwood Care Center celebrate the holidays throughout December in Bemidji. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

It was a packed house for Misty Jarvi, Rhys Britt and their two daughters’ home dedication one week before Christmas 2025. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Hockey teams from Slovakia, Czechia and Latvia competed in exhibition games at Bemidji’s Sanford Event Center Dec. 19-22, 2025. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

The KAXE News Team is breaking down your property tax statement, line by line. Next, credits, local government’s preliminary tax levies and how others’ value changes affect your taxes. The Up North Report is a product of KAXE and can be found at https://www.kaxe.org/upnorthreport.

Plus: More fraud uncovered in state-run Medicaid services, but total is disputed; and MPCA to study sulfate levels in Minnesota waters.