Bemidji Public Library

The Bemidji Public Library is cutting its staff and reducing its hours following significant reductions in funding from Beltrami County.

Bemidji Public Library will shift from being open six days a week to four, as well as reduce its staff by two employees.

Plus: the city of Walker is accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Walker City Council, with applications due by noon on Nov. 26, 2025.

The Beltrami County Board heard from the Kitchigami Regional Library System and Beltrami County Historical Society after voting to reduce funding for the institutions in 2026.

Working with Crossing Arts Alliance, the libraries offer art kits to visitors. Allison Royce, regional programs coordinator, joins “Area Voices” to share more.

More than 100 people crowded into the Beltrami County Board room in support of public libraries and the local museum as commissioners voted 4-1 to adopt its 2026 preliminary budget and levy.

Beltrami County is proposing a 41% reduction in community funding for libraries in Blackduck and Bemidji, as well as the Beltrami County Historical Society and Paul Bunyan Transit, for the 2026 budget.

Learn about new books and events from the Brainerd and Bemidji public libraries. Also, readers chime in on favorite books about the great outdoors.

Moose and Sutherland will share these special stories in Ojibwe and English. The event will be livestreamed at the Cass Lake Public Library as well.

Hear about new books and events at the Bemidji and Brainerd Public Libraries.