Northern, MN, wins judge approval to be Northern MN's newest city

BEMIDJI — Northern Township may soon be called the city of Northern after its incorporation petition was approved by an administrative law judge.

The Tuesday, Feb. 10, ruling also denied the city of Bemidji’s annexation petition, which would have redrawn the city’s boundary to include all properties around Lake Bemidji.

Judge Jessica Palmer-Denig presided over two hearings last fall and stated in her decision that while Northern Township met the criteria for evidence supporting incorporation, Bemidji did not meet those criteria in support of annexing around the lake.

Township Administrator Chris Lahn said the name would remain Northern.

"The ZIP code isn't going to change,” he said. “People could, in theory, put either Bemidji, MN, or Northern, MN [on envelopes]. The ZIP code will get it to the right place, no matter what.”

Lahn said the township will host city council elections for four at-large members and a mayor during the November election, with incorporation as a city taking place upon a reorganization of the government in 2027.

In the ruling, the judge orders the city of Northern to incorporate as a statutory city, which differs from Bemidji’s home rule city type.

"The majority of the rules surrounding the city's operation are actually just set by state statute,” Lahn explained. “We won't have our own individual charter, which is in comparison to a city like Bemidji. There aren't very many out in the state like them [Bemidji], but they are a home charter rule city, so they have a different process.”

Bemidji Mayor Jorge Prince, in a Thursday interview, expressed disappointment in the judge’s decision.

“City Council and staff are currently reviewing the legal opinion and decision that was issued,” he said.

“Obviously, we're disappointed, as we didn't think this would be the outcome.”

The city has 60 days to file intent to appeal the decision through the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Lahn said the Township Board has been working on incorporating for years, as it works on a two-phase project to build a new wastewater treatment facility.

The project has secured three rounds of federal funding totaling nearly $7 million, with the most recent award carried by Rep. Pete Stauber and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

The new wastewater treatment facility will service homes around Lake Bemidji, which are currently serviced by septic systems, some of which the township identified as far past their useful life and a potential threat to the lake.

The cost of the wastewater treatment facility — and who will pay for it — was a topic of much contention throughout the public hearing element of the boundary trial last fall.

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Town of Northern

Northern plans to place special assessments on property owners along the wastewater route to offset the cost of taking on bonds for the project. Construction is slated to begin this year to coincide with Beltrami County’s road construction project on Birchmont Beach Road, which accesses the Lake Bemidji State Park.

During public hearings last fall, some lake property residents raised concerns about the costs they would experience because of the project.

“Northern Township’s wastewater project will cost residents too much,” said Jeanne Jaeger during an Oct. 8, 2025, hearing. According to estimates she gathered, it will cost between $53,000 and $73,000 to remove her septic and connect to the new sewer, in addition to the special assessments for the project.

Lahn said he and the Township Board are excited to take on the next steps to being a city.

"We want to find ways that we can continue to be neighbors with Bemidji and work on things where it makes sense. Nothing has changed, from that standpoint,” he said. “We're next to each other and will be for all time, and certainly want to make sure that relationship stays as good as it can be going forward.”

Prince shared similar sentiments.

“Throughout the process, I've been very upfront about recognizing that we were neighbors before this happened, that we would be neighbors after,” he said. "We were going to have to work together and through it after the fact.”