BEMIDJI — Gov. Tim Walz extended the peacetime emergency in Beltrami County, initially issued Friday, June 27, after a severe storm downed thousands of trees and caused widespread, long-term power outages.
Beltrami County Emergency Management Director Chris Muller explained what the governor’s order means for response in the region. He said debris removal is the top need for the community.
“We have been having assistance with staffing from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency as well as other agencies that have been coming in to augment our services and support our staff so that they can get some down time," Muller said.
"A number of us also had impacts that we're still trying to clean up and, you know, we're still trying to serve our community, but we also need to get a break so that we can recover in our personal lives."
Muller said his house was in one of the more impacted areas around the southeastern shore of Lake Bemidji, but said he was fortunate that he only lost trees.
As residents continue to work on the cleanup, Muller reminded them that most area townships aren’t providing curbside pickup for tree debris. Just the city of Bemidji and Northern Township are offering this service.
"The rest will be responsible for getting that to the debris sites," Muller said. "We are still trying to figure out if there are any additional resources that may be able to assist in that process, and we will get that announced as quickly as we can make those determinations and identify those resources if they become available."
Small business relief
For small businesses, financial relief is also available. Greater Bemidji has launched the Bemidji Business Rebuild Program. It’s a rapid-response loan initiative designed to help small businesses get through the storm’s aftermath.
The program offers 0% interest loans up to $10,000 with no payments required in the first year. Executive Director Dave Hengel said this could help cover urgent needs such as insurance deductibles and temporary relocation costs.
“Boy, we're hearing a lot ... certainly, of course, it's the physical damages. Lots of roof damages, damages to buildings," Hengel said. "But the other part is the loss of produce, the loss of food, of inventory that might have gotten damaged."
Hengel said the rapid-response loans can help cover those costs that may not be covered by insurance. Interested businesses should contact Hengel at Greater Bemidji for more information.
Partners in the program include the city, the chamber of commerce, the Northwest Minnesota Foundation and the Headwaters Regional Development Commission.
