Callout: Help Us Tell Northern Minnesota's Stories
Help KAXE understand the impact of incarceration on Indigenous communities
WHO: KAXE News
WHAT: The KAXE News Team recently received a grant from the journalism nonprofit Poynter to explore the impacts of incarceration on Indigenous communities. KAXE News wants to better understand the impacts incarceration and the criminal justice system place on individuals, families and communities.
WHEN: Survey responses will be accepted through April 15, 2026. Survey responders may be invited to attend a free listening lunch for further engagement. The finished project will be published by July 1, 2026.
WHY: Despite representing 1% of the state’s population, Indigenous people are vastly overrepresented in the state’s prison system as well as in county jails in Northern Minnesota. KAXE hopes to hear more about how Indigenous families and individuals are impacted: hardships caused by cash bail, lost housing or jobs because of incarceration, and the funds needed to facilitate contact with an incarcerated loved one.
HOW: KAXE News is distributing a survey in Northern Minnesota and will host a series of listening lunches in the region, as well as conduct one-on-one interviews and research.
KAXE will not publish any identifying information gathered in the survey. If you have difficulty submitting the survey, contact news@kaxe.org for assistance.
More about Callout
Here at KAXE, we know our audience members are not only extremely knowledgeable but also engaged in their communities.
That's why we need your help to tell Northern Minnesota's stories. We intend to regularly tap you to create stories, maps and other resources to serve the public interest of the communities we care about.
This page is home base for our Callouts — when we ask you to submit information you have that can help us share a more complete picture.
Don't have anything to contribute this time around? That's just fine, but we sure hope the next Callout will be in your wheelhouse instead! In the meantime, we'd love it if you shared this with your friends and neighbors.
Or if you have a news tip that just doesn't fit our project of the moment, don't hesitate to reach out at news@kaxe.org. We can't do this without you!