BEMIDJI — The state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded another grant to clean up Bemidji’s rail corridor.
The more than $900,000 grant is part of nearly $7 million DEED awarded in contamination cleanup grants, designed to clean up contaminated sites while also creating jobs and increasing local tax bases.
Bemidji’s Rail Corridor project is led by local economic development nonprofit Greater Bemidji — partnering with the Fargo-based YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties to create an indoor recreation center near Bemidji’s downtown. The city of Bemidji owns the roughly 19-acre land parcel and will provide a 25% match for this grant.
This award announced Tuesday, Jan. 21, comes months after DEED announced a nearly $600,000 redevelopment grant for the same site. Mayor Jorge Prince said this latest announcement is a step in the right direction for getting this project shovel ready, with a council work session scheduled before the end of the month.
"We will be discussing what exactly is the footprint going to be here, 'cause we're also talking about creating two additional pads for other business development there," Prince said in a phone interview Wednesday.
"We are also talking about the infrastructure side of it, from the city's point of view. Do we do just enough infrastructure to support the YMCA, or do we do more than that to prepare the other portion of the railroad corridor, the east side for future development?"
The 60,000-square-foot community wellness center will be operated by the YMCA, and the project is anticipated to create 77 jobs, increase the tax base by $30,000 and leverage $35 million in private investment.
The city of Bemidji purchased most of the rail corridor from the BNSF Railroad in the early 2000s, acquiring an additional 4 acres recently as the YMCA plan began to take shape last year. The city has done extensive site testing and evaluation over the last decade, contracting technical support from the St. Paul Port Authority.
The council created a $2 million tax-increment financing district for its eventual development. The historically industrial site has known petroleum and other contaminants in the soil, with this latest grant covering costs like contaminated soil mitigation and environmental consulting fees.
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Lorie Shaull/KAXEA man impersonating a police officer shot Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband in their Brooklyn Park home. Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times. -
Contributed/Erin HaefeleWhen the garden or farmers market gives you everything at once, the best way to handle it is to return to the fundamentals: roast, grill, bake, pickle, can, dry, freeze and sauté. These aren’t just methods, they’re survival tools during harvest season. Especially grilling. Because it’s summer. And everything tastes better with a little char and a lot of butter.This week, Amy and Heidi talked to Erin Haefele of Green Scene in Walker, Minnesota, "a charming food haven nestled in the heart of rural northern Minnesota where small-town warmth meets big-city sophistication." Erin inspires us with simple preparations to deliciously fresh garden ingredients. And we hear from Amy's friend Beth Friedrichson from Wisconsin, who gushes about dilly beans and life on the farm with chickens and alpacas.Lots of folks phoned in to talk about their harvests, whether it was peonies in Stillwater, garlic near Detroit Lakes, urban front yard CSAs in Minneapolis, potato varieties in Deer River or stuffed grape leaves in Chicago, you had a story to tell. Share yours! This week's community recipe to cook along with us is Onion Pie: kaxe.org/community-recipe-onion-pie-ham-radio-amy-thielen. Give it a try and send us your reactions and photos at comments@kaxe.org!Ham Radio Features original licensed music — "You Know How I Like It" by Jeremy Messersmith.Made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Culture Heritage Fund. Support KAXE by becoming a member today: https://donate.nprstations.org/kaxe/donate -
And: Brainerd senior Ty Nelson wins a second triple jump title, and Red Lake County will play for a baseball title Saturday. -
Larissa Donovan/KAXEEntrepreneurs shaped downtown more than 100 years ago near the Lake Bemidji waterfront. Members of the Bemidji Heritage Preservation are committed to sharing their stories. -
Contributed/Frazee Hornet Baseball via FacebookRain made for an interesting end to the baseball season for many Class A teams Thursday. Grand Rapids lost in the 3A consolation championship. -
Chelsey Perkins/KAXEThree of the four Republicans voted in favor of rescinding funding already allocated for public media organizations through the CPB and four Democrats voted against.
