Up North Report

And: Questions about investigation go unanswered at Cass County sheriff candidate forum.

Plus: Essentia Health, nurses' union reach labor agreement for Deer River hospital; DNR finds "gaps" in review for Hermantown data center; and the fall color finder map is now live.

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: Itasca County Board results; Bemidji contemplating data center moratorium

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