The Bemidji School Board will further explore an operating referendum request during their meeting Monday. According to the results of a community-wide survey, the district is fairly confident that a referendum would pass. The last operating referendum that was approved was in 2014, which was a $180 per pupil, 10-year levy that supports day-to-day operations…
The City of Bemidji will work over the next month to determine the viability of a wellness complex at the rail corridor site. The city has already invested around $225,000 in professional engineering and consulting services through the St. Paul Port Authority. Port Authority Director Monte Hillman assured the council that the money already invested…
The Bemidji City Council will hear updates on the rail corridor this evening. The meeting will include a presentation from the St. Paul Port Authority, which was contracted a few years ago to work on rail corridor development plans for about $100,000. The original plans included apartment buildings and possibly large hills made of semi-contaminated…
The Minnesota Legislature passed what it has called the biggest increase to e-12 education in the last 15 years, and Superintendent Tim Lutz says while the district is thankful for the increases, in the big picture, the district is still heading into financial trouble. The 2 percent per-pupil funding formula was increased, and Lutz said…
Beltrami County stands to receive a $2.2 million grant from the state to reimburse Enbridge for overcollection in taxes. This was due to a recent amendment to the state’s tax bill that would give millions of dollars to counties across the state for this tax case. Beltrami County Administrator Tom Barry said in a meeting…
The Bemidji City Council approved a number of measures during their meeting Tuesday. The council will move forward with the creation of a police advisory committee. The council will hold the first reading of an ordinance creating the committee during their meeting on July 19. Chief of Police Mike Mastin presented a memo with some…
Lawmakers agreed to an amendment that would give counties one-time grants of up to $29.4 million to reimburse Enbridge for overcollection in taxes. Beltrami, Cass, Clearwater, and Hubbard were among those counties that collected property tax dollars from Enbridge for years, and a state court recently ruled that Enbridge overpaid. ‘The state assessed the property,…
The Bemidji City Council will discuss the expiration of the governor’s peacetime emergency powers, as well as the city’s own executive order. Before the special session in St. Paul ended, House Democrats agreed to end the governor’s order, which went into effect the next day on July 1. The end of the emergency orders removes…
The Bemidji City Council’s first regular in-person meeting this Tuesday will cover a heavy agenda. Under new business, the council will consider establishing a police advisory committee, an extended partnership agreement with the Bemidji Community Arena, a request to extend municipal services and annexation for Ruttger’s Birchmont Lodge, and discuss the expiration of Gov. Tim…
The public is invited to an open house ahead of the Bemidji City Council’s first regular in-person meeting in more than a year. Council chambers have also been through some light renovations, described in the notice as a “facelift.” The open house is from 5:15 to 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, with the regular…
