The Bemidji City Council will further discuss the issue of displaying tribal flags at City Hall.
Michael Dow approached the council as a citizen with business on the issue at the beginning of the meeting, saying the gesture would “speak volumes on the sincerity of reconciliation,” with Indigenous people.
The council voted 5-2 to take the matter up in a work session in November, with council members Dan Jourdain and Audrey Thayer voting against it.
Mayor Jorge Prince declared in a proclamation that Oct. 10 would be observed as Indigenous-American Peoples Day.
The council also moved forward with the 2023 Street Renewal project, which is looking at 11th Street from Mississippi Ave. to Jeannette Ave., and Mississippi Ave. from 5th St. to 12th St.
In the several years since the street renewal projects began, around 18 miles of streets have been reconstructed with about $26 million invested, including $10 million in state and federal funds.
The council held two public hearings that received no comment, one on a resolution adopting costs from lot maintenance on private property, and another for the second reading of an ordinance amendment for the Public Arts Commission.
