BEMIDJI — A former elementary school in Bemidji may soon be listed on the market after an initial proposal for purchase from the Red Lake Nation fell through.
Oshkimaajitahdah, a tribal entity managing 22 programs for the Red Lake Nation, submitted a bid to purchase the former school to expand its services in the Bemidji area, which the board accepted last November. The entity currently uses another former district building for its Bemidji office.
Since then, Red Lake withdrew its offer to purchase the school, and Central Elementary was again declared a surplus property in April.
While the minimum threshold price for the building set by the School Board is not public information, Superintendent Jeremy Olson told KAXE in a Friday, May 31, phone interview that the asking price would be public information once it is listed by a realtor.
Olson said he was open to engaging in conversations with anyone interested in developing the building near downtown Bemidji. The Board did set two provisions for the sale of the property: that it cannot be a school serving K-12 students, and that it can’t be used for the production, manufacturing or sale of cannabis.
Oshkimaajitahdah did not return a request for comment Friday.
-
Contributed/Paul Bunyan CommunicationsServices for the cooperative's all-fiber optic network expansion are expected to be available by winter. -
Contributed/Ken Lund via FlickrThe appeals court ordered a reversal, agreeing that evidence shown to a jury and submitted by Beltrami County prosecutors was inadmissible. -
Jennifer Barr/KAXEApril was National Poetry Month. This week, our Question of the Week asks about your favorite poems and poets. -
Contributed/Malachy KoonsMolly Rocchio from the National Bone Marrow Donor Program joins the KAXE Morning Show to talk bone marrow and blood stem cell donations. People like KAXE’s Malachy Koons are donating and making a difference. -
dleaon1/iNaturalistDuring the Phenology Report for the week of April 29, Staff Phenologist John Latimer covers bud break, incoming and outgoing birds, eagles nesting and more. -
News Director Chelsey Perkins catches up on what's happening in St. Paul with Report for Minnesota student journalists Yvette Higgins, Sam Siedow and Elias Thomas. -
Lorie Shaull/KAXEIn spring, eggs have been collected at Cut Foot Sioux walleye spawning site in Deer River, MN, since the 1920s. Fertilized eggs are transported throughout the state. -
Plus: How precincts within Senate District 6 voted in the special election; and area robotics teams head to the MN state competition.
-
Wale Agboola/Red House RecordsChastity Brown returns to Northern Minnesota for Get Downtown with KBXE on Thursday, May 1, 2025. -
John Bauer/KAXEPatty Rohde was riding her bicycle near Crosslake on Sept. 12, 2023, when she was struck head-on by a vehicle. She and her dad Frank shared their story on the "KAXE Morning Show."
