BEMIDJI — For the first time in nearly five years, the doors of the old Central Elementary School building opened its doors on Friday, March 20, for a special celebration.
Around 25 community members gathered in the gymnasium for a potluck, round dance and a few words celebrating the spring equinox, a birthday and the new direction for the school building.
“It feels good to be in this space, which hasn’t had people in it in a long time,” said Erika Bailey Johnson, the director of Sacred Bundle’s Minwaadizi Project.
Sacred Bundle, a nonprofit through the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, purchased Central from Bemidji Area Schools, closing the sale on Feb. 27. The school was closed after the 2020-21 school year as a cost-saving measure.
The first project on the horizon for the new space is a public computer lab through grant funds, but future goals include environmental program offerings, a child care center and affordable housing.
"We just kind of open the doors, bring people in, get some life back into the space and then slowly we'll just build on that,” Bailey Johnson said.
Potluck offerings included corn cakes, smoked brisket and fresh berries, and most attendees participated in at least one round dance, side-stepping to the beat of the hand drums.
In a previous interview, Bailey Johnson described the Minwaadizi Project as an “un-boarding school,” referencing some of the harms of the residential boarding school system in Indigenous communities. Sacred Bundle is an Indigenous-led nonprofit focused on reconnecting people of all backgrounds to the land and the culture of Northern Minnesota.
-
Contributed/Pixabay via PexelsA new statewide research project created by the Legislature is connecting the dots in trying to make health care affordable for everyone. -
Scott Rodgerson/UnsplashThe Minnesota State Patrol reported the driver was not wearing a seat belt. -
Contributed/Beltrami County Sheriff's Office via FacebookThe Beltrami County Sheriff's Office reports the driver veered off-road through a yard before entering the Mississippi River southeast of Bemidji. -
The proposal creates a statewide framework to evaluate whether suicide prevention measures are necessary when new bridges are built and when existing bridges are repaired. -
Current state law prohibits these facilities from serving alcohol without a license or permit, but the process of getting the licenses can be time-consuming, expensive and redundant. -
Contributed/Karina Kafka / Report for MinnesotaOne would prohibit local governments from entering into NDAs with private companies. The other would require two public hearings and disclosures like the company behind the project, size and potential impacts. -
Contributed/Karina Kafka / Report for MinnesotaThe bill limits permitted uses of AI to services such as transcribing and documenting sessions. A human therapist would then have to review the documents created by AI. -
Contributed/AirCorps AviationAirCorps Aviation plans to invest nearly $1 million into an expansion project that is expected to create 14 new manufacturing jobs. -
And: Bemidji's Aircorps Aviation receives MN DEED grant; and Beltrami County seeks feedback for safer roads planning. -
Plus: Bemidji Public Library to cut hours, staff; a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a former Rock Ridge School Board member; Northern Minnesota tribal leaders testified in the nation's capital; and Minnesota Forest Industries' Tom Radovich was appointed to the state's Forest Resources Council.
