The Bemidji School District has, so far, seen a decrease in enrollment this year. Enrollment is a driving force in any district’s funding formula, and while Superintendent Tim Lutz says it’s not a Bemidji-only problem, some students are falling through the cracks. The district had around 5,100 students enrolled in the Spring of 2020, but…
The Minnesota Department of Health reported 389 new cases of COVID-19 today, and 15 new COVID-related deaths, bringing the state’s totals to 82,249 cases and 1,884 deaths. Of those deaths, 1,375 were residents of long-term care or assisted living facilities. Of those cases, 8,948 were health care workers. Completed test numbers have been down the…
Marketplace Foods recently raised over $4,000 for the United Way of Bemidji Area’s Backpack Buddies program. Backpack Buddies ensures Bemidji Area school children have access to nutritious, non-perishable food over the weekends and school vacations. Last year, the program served over 450 children, and since the COVID-19 crisis, the program has served over 1,200 children…
The Bagley School Board voted Aug. 22 on a learning model to begin the school year, but that plan changed today, which Bagley Superintendent Erich Heise accredits to a lack of paraprofessional staff. “When the School Board voted to open the year with in-person learning on August 22, we had five vacant para-educator positions,” wrote…
The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners heard a COVID-19 update from Beltrami Public Health and Sanford Health during their meeting Tuesday. According to Sanford’s Dr. David Wilcox, Sanford now does not predict a peak of COVID-19 cases, but a rise and fall in numbers over time, with cases steady for the next four to six…
According to Minnesota’s Safe Learning Plan documents, Hubbard County’s new case rate per 10,000 people was 2.88 for the two-week period ending Aug. 15, down from 5.27 for the two-week period ending Aug. 8. Even with a new case rate of under 10, which allows all students to return to in-person learning, additional safety precautions…
Travelers should be aware of logging trucks and equipment as logging will soon begin on the southeast side of Glidden Road and U.S. Highway 71 north of Bemidji. According to a release, a local logger will harvest a 96-acre red pine plantation in early September, as the timber on this site was sold at a…
News Director Larissa Donovan has been compiling and summarizing back to school plans for area schools and districts. Bemidji Area School Board finalized an in-person elementary, hybrid model for middle and high school students during their August board meeting. Bemidji Area Charter Schools will also largely use the hybrid model. In northern Beltrami County, almost…
In northern Cass County, Cass Lake-Bena and Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig Schools opted for distance learning, while students in Walker-Hackensack-Akeley schools will attend in-person classes. The Leech Lake Tribal Council issued a recommendation in mid-August that schools within the boundaries of the reservation start the school year with distance learning. Guidance from the state instructed districts to follow…
In Clearwater County, a couple of new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in recent weeks, but under the Safe Learning Plan spreadsheets, Clearwater County has had a 0 case rate per 10,000 people for the last two reporting periods. That rate changed to 1.13 for the two-week period ending Aug. 15, in an update posted Thursday,…
