Affordable Housing

The United Way of Bemidji Area will accept proposals that address area housing needs from qualified organizations through Oct. 31.

Plus: MnDOT will host an open house at the Rock Ridge High School about planned construction on Highway 53 near Eveleth; MN DNR is seeking input on changes to its trail systems; and a Minnesota mom shares her experience expanding her family after the U.S. Senate fails to pass a bill that would safeguard access to in vitro fertilization.

With partners Beltrami County Health and Human Services and Bi-County Community Action Plan, or BiCAP, the new seminar seeks to eliminate barriers to housing conversations.

In a special meeting Monday, the Hibbing City Council and the HRA discussed an alternative site after the Council canceled the Cobb Cook Park purchase agreement.

The homes on the site of the former Forest Lake School in Grand Rapids are the first community land trust homes in the county.

Organizers hosted a Save Cobb Cook Park rally before the Council meeting June 26 and spoke at the meeting. Monday's meeting appears to be a reaction to their efforts.

The low-income Red Pine tenants, all elderly or disabled, were given very little notice to vacate in June 2023 after building inspectors found structural issues.

The public has largely responded negatively to the plan to turn a Hibbing neighborhood park into 52-unit workforce housing to replace aging public housing.

Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township, is in his second term at the Minnesota Legislature and serves as the Chair of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board.

Later in the meeting, the Bemidji City Council voted to eliminate online meeting participation after a "Zoom bombing" on Feb. 5.