BEMIDJI — The Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee is touring the state to hear more about bonding requests ahead of the upcoming session, making a few stops in Bemidji on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
As part of the Minnesota State college and university system, Bemidji State University is frequently included in state bonding requests, recently receiving funds to upgrade the roof of its science building, Sattgast Hall.
Committee members toured the campus grounds, hearing a request to upgrade parts of the university’s heating plant before sitting down at the American Indian Resource Center for other regional requests.
The Area Special Education Cooperative pitched a special education center to serve rural school districts.
“This is not about just a school — it's a lifeline,” said Tiffany Litman, executive director of the cooperative. “A wrap-around, whole child system of support for students, families and our staff.”
Litman said with $6.5 million in state funding, the Crookston-based facility could serve 11 districts in northwest Minnesota for special education students with high needs. These students would otherwise be placed out of their homes, out-of-district, which can cost up to $100,000 per pupil.
Northern Township pitched a request for the second phase of its planned wastewater treatment facility. Township Administrator Chris Lahn said with additional funds for the $8 million second phase, the township could feasibly complete the long-term goal of installing sewer around Lake Bemidji within a few years.
"We have already gotten help on the federal level, we're kicking in money from the local community, too,” Lahn said. “Hopefully we can find a way just to get this project across the finish line and realize that 50-plus-year goal.”
Northern Township is in the midst of an administrative trial for incorporation as a new city as nearby Bemidji is petitioning to absorb property into city limits around the wastewater project area.
Lake of the Woods County Commissioner Edward Arneson pitched a $6 million request for a new jail. The 40-year-old correctional building was downgraded by the state’s Department of Corrections from a 90-day to a 72-hour holding facility in 2022.
Arneson said without any long-term holding capacity for inmates, the county is using staff time of one of its seven deputies for lengthy transports.
“Our county is large. We only have a population ... of 3,800 people, but from one end of the county to the other, it's over 100 miles, and part of that is lake,” Arneson said.
Lake of the Woods County’s seat is in Baudette, and it includes Minnesota’s Northwest Angle, which is only accessible from domestic soil by water across Lake of the Woods.
The Bemidji stops also included a tour of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension facility and a look at storm damage from the June 21 derecho that struck the Bemidji area.
House committee members asked a few questions of each presenter before loading back onto the tour bus.
In addition to Bemidji, lawmakers on the committee were slated to see Brainerd, Mahnomen, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Crookston and other communities in northwestern Minnesota before the tour ended Thursday.
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Larissa Donovan/KAXEThrough a partnership with the Nature Conservancy, Endazhi-Nitaawiging, Red Lake's first charter school, celebrated the arrival of its new pontoon with family boat rides and hot chocolate on Nov. 12, 2025. -
Contributed/City of HermantownMinneapolis-based Mortenson Development wrote in a letter that it wishes to host a public open house before proceeding. -
Contributed/Two Harbors Agates Swim and DivePark Rapids' Avery Schueller placed third in the 50 freestyle and fifth in the 100 freestyle, and Two Harbors' Bella Imholte ended seventh in the 200 freestyle. -
Contributed/Lancaster SchoolGrand Rapids, Mahnomen/Waubun, Fertile-Beltrami and Kittson County Central all lost, despite multiple attempts at fourth-quarter comebacks. -
Contributed/Canva Pro graphicThe incident near Onigum Road NW, northeast of Walker, is under investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. -
Red Lake Nation's charter school, Endazhi-Nitaawiging, recently partnered with the Nature Conservancy for a new pontoon, with a few school families braving cool temperatures to celebrate its arrival on Nov. 12, 2025. -
Plus: Local leaders sign the Civic Pledge for a Stronger Minnesota.
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Contributed/Chelsey PerkinsFrom sporting events to first days of school, annual festivals to spontaneous gatherings, moments of triumph or devastating tragedies, Kohls documented it as part of the first draft of history. -
Megan Buffington/KAXECurrent and former state legislators, city councilors and business and other community leaders signed the Civic Pledge for a Stronger Minnesota in Grand Rapids. -
Scott Rodgerson/UnsplashThe Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the Nov. 13, 2025, incident. The names of the victim and law enforcement involved have not been released.
